Match Reports
12/01/08
Fareham 7-2 Men's 1st XI
Brighton started the second half of the season 3rd from bottom and a trip to leaders Fareham who had only dropped points against 2nd place Chichester. With the festive period over and a friendly 6-1 win against Belvedere & Bexleyheath the week before, Brighton were looking to do all they could to stop Fareham from walking away with another 3 points. Unfortunately Fareham proved too structured and well drilled for a Brighton side who added to their own demise by surrendering the ball far too easily.
Brighton started the game with the return of Simon Turner in midfield.
Neil Burlison who has been Brighton’s number 1 for over 2 years kept Brighton in it with a number of good saves but the break hockey that Fareham employed was relentless and by half time they were 3-0 up.
The second half saw Fareham score twice more before Brighton dug deep with 15 minutes to go. Brighton’s first goal came from a fast break which saw Chris Hann with his back to goal and a defender tight on him. With little room to move, Chris managed to find enough space to get a reverse stick shot which deceived the goalie enough to creep in the right post. This goal restored some belief into the Brighton players who upped there game and five minutes later scored another reverse stick goal through their player coach, Matt McNeill. Matt’s first league goal for the club was a nicely taken solo effort which beat the oncoming Fareham goalie.
While Brighton were then searching for more goals, Fareham exploited the gaps and netted a further 2 goals to take the tally to 7-2. Although Fareham deserved the 3 points, Brighton will be frustrated that they made it easy for them, especially in the first half. Next weeks home game against Maidstone is a must win game for Brighton if they are to move away from the bottom of the table.
Team:
Neil Burlinson
Richard Baker
Hugh Salter
Kevin Browne
Tom Langston
Gareth Lendrum
Ben Butlin
Simon Turner
Sam Forster
Jon Tu
Simon Accott
Chris Hann
Matt Mcneill
John Edwards - Manager
Luke Williams - Waterboy