Well, I was delighted to be asked to umpire my first hockey match for a few years this afternoon as the mighty Under 11C team took on Craigclowan.  We went for a 2-2-2 formation and before the game, we talked about holding our shape, passing quickly and playing with our heads up, transferring the ball quickly and using the width of the pitch.....the fact that the boys nodded sagely in our team talk meant that perhaps I had spoken some sense and so we were ready for battle!

First of all, hats off to our two goalies, Max and Oliver: they alternated, playing for the opposition and Cargilfield and both played really well, making a number of excellent saves as the Cargilfield boys attacked in never ending waves; they stopped numerous scoring opportunities and bravely got in the way and stopped some fierce shots. Well done, boys!

We were very solid at the back with Leo and Honour both very effective in defence: although Craigclowan made very few forays in to our D, they were quick to snuff out and potential danger and then moved the ball quickly in to the midfield. Theo and James were excellent in the midfield, working hard up and down the pitch and linking well with our forwards; Theo, in particular, never stopped moving and he scored a hatful of goals as he was quick to spot the space in behind of the Craigclowan defence.  Up front, Oliver and Edward both scored lots of goals but also got in to really good positions, with Oliver staying wide, pushing the ball across for Edward to finish at the far post.  It was fabulous to watch, in fact, even if the match was over as a contest after the first five minutes.  I was particularly pleased to see how well we played as a team, with everyone keeping their shape, moving the ball quickly through the midfield and staying wide and looking to use the space.  Exactly what we talked about at the beginning of the match, in fact!

Well played indeed - a terrific team performance and we scored a lot of goals!