Mens 1st team
Matches
Sat 11 Jan 2020  ·  South East 1
Tiverton
3
5
Chard Hockey Club
Mens 1st team
Chard 1st XI beat Tiverton 1st XI 5-3

Chard 1st XI beat Tiverton 1st XI 5-3

Hannah McGown13 Jan 2020 - 18:21
Share via
FacebookTwitter
https://www.chardhockeyclub.co

Chard HC Men’s 1st XI carried its winning streak into the New Year with a hard-fought 5-3 victory at fellow promotion chasers Tiverton.

The team’s eighth win in a row keeps it in 3rd spot in the South East 1 division but the result didn’t come easily, with the whole squad showing the kind of rustiness that you would expect after nearly a month off competitive action.

Despite this, Chard did put together a few dangerous attacks in the early stages with left winger Harvey Lupton coming close to finishing off a couple of swift passing moves.

But it was his brother Bertie who got the first goal, drag-flicking past Tiverton’s defence after a well-executed penalty corner routine.

Tiverton were dangerous on the break throughout the game - aided by the fast and unpredictable playing surface at Tiverton Leisure Centre - and caught Chard out several times by hitting through or over the midfield to their lone striker.

This tactic earned them an equaliser against the run of play and the two teams exchanged goals again. Bertie Lupton finished off another penalty corner before Tiverton scrambled the ball in after some confusion in Chard’s D.

Chard went in 3-2 up thanks to central midfielder Ben Larcombe sweeping home after some concerted attacking pressure.

At half time, Chard changed shape and added an extra man to its midfield, which stifled Tiverton’s big hitting.

Barnaby Willis’s nimble dribbling frustrated Chard’s opponents throughout the half and the 16-year-old capped another fine performance in central midfield with a sharp deflected finish for the fourth goal.

Tiverton pushed hard in the last 15 minutes and snatched a third but left space at the back for Chard to exploit.

The game was effectively over when right winger Matt Sheahan ran flat-out to start and finish a sweeping counter attack.

Despite the team’s decent offensive effort, goalkeeper Tom Angel was voted Man of the Match. His kicked clearances were flawless throughout and he made string of vital stops when Tiverton were in the ascendency towards the end of the game, including a fine double save.

Chard will aim to continue the good form next week with a home game against Exeter side Isca D.

Thanks to match sponsors Koller.

Match details

Match date

Sat 11 Jan 2020

Kickoff

14:00

Competition

South East 1

League position

1
Chard
9
Tiverton
Team overview
Further reading