Sheffield Hockey Club

SUNDAY 15 April 2012
ABBEYDALE PARK
EHB Mixed Trophy Round 3
MIXED 6-3 W v Cannock

GK: Mark Wilson 

GS: Sandie Lockley 37,45 - F,F Phil Roper 42,58,69 - PC,PC,PC Nicola Perkins 69-F

Hallam’s mixed cup side took a big step into the quarter-finals of the EHB Mixed trophy Competition when they thoroughly outclassed one of the competitions favourites, Cannock, at Abbeydale Park lat Sunday.
Cannock brought a side representative of their lofty status in English hockey and it was Cannock who not only impressed in the first half but took a 2-0 lead into the break.
The Midlanders had looked impressive from the start running the ball with pace and accuracy and showing that every member of their team had good skill and ability and in some ways it appeared as though they expected to win.
It took Hallam a while to get going, mixed is not a normal formation for club members to play, but they did show early on that they were not there just to make up the numbers.

Cannock won an early penalty corner after two minutes but despite good pressure and a couple more pc’s were unable to score against a resolute Hallam defence until the 24th minute when good passing move from half way found their no.16 Lucy Spencer free to slot home from close range.
Two minutes before the break they increased their lead to 2-0 when Stuart Gooderham finished off another Cannock attack with a shot home from the edge of the circle.
At this point it seemed possible that Cannock could run away with the match and had they scored a third after the break that may have happened.

Fortunately though it was Hallam who stunned the Cannock team when Alex Bailey broke at pace from his own 22 and fed the ball to Tristan Gilbody on the half way line and he took on the Cannock defence down the left side of the park finally feeding an inch-perfect pass to Sandie Lockley who was waiting in one of her favourite positions inches from the far post where the tap-in was just a formality.
Stunned Cannock, a jubilant Hallam and delighted spectators who then witnessed the rebirth of Hallam’s challenge and within five minutes Phil Roper had put the home side level when he converted Hallam’s second penalty corner with a high wide drag-flick into the top left-hand corner.

Hallam were flying now as Cannock failed to find their first half fluency and were often having to play fast passes as they were quickly closed down by the Hallam players.
Sandie Lockley was the provider of Hallam’s third on 42 minutes when the ball was worked down the right wing to Nicola Perkins and she took it along the back line into the circle and her pass back to the penalty spot was met by Sandie who had no trouble beating the Paul Parker in the Cannock goal.
From then on in it was Hallam at their best as they continued to prove that they were more than a match for their illustrious opponents and for most of the second half, much better!
Half way through the second Phil Roper scored his second, this time beating the keeper with a low penalty-corner drag flick into the centre of the goal and at 4-2 the home team were cruising.
They did not let up the pace and pressure but knew that any slackening of effort could well let Cannock back into the game and with their sights firmly set on the ultimate prize of a finals weekend appearance in June on their own Abbeydale Park pitch they were not about to do that.

As the clock wound down Cannock looked like a beaten side as they tried in vain to find a third goal and as so often happens pushing forward opens up gaps at the back and these Hallam continued to exploit with relish.
There was a final flurry of activity in the final three minutes when Phil Roper completed a hatrick of penalty-corner drag-flicks with his best effort yet as the ball was a fired into the top left hand corner once again but this time so close that it grazed the post and cross bar.
Immediately after Cannock did score a third when their most impressive player, Paul Harris, pounced on a loose ball in the Hallam circle but they gained no impetus from this as almost from the restart Hallam raced into the Cannock circle where Roper turned provider reverse-passing the ball to find Nicola Perkins at the far post where she scored the final goal of the match.
This was an awesome display of hockey from both sides and one of the best seen at Abbeydale this season.

That Hallam should win it with such a display is testament not only to the skill and ability of the current crop of players but to the coaching regime that exists and the desire of the club to compete at the highest level possible.
It is hard to pick players who stood out during the game when all played so well but Roper’s hatrick and his elusive and pacey dribbling contributed a great deal to this match and Caroline Barclay was simply awesome often tying up the entire Cannock defence in knots as she wove, twisted and turned her way towards goal. These players she was beating with ease are amongst some of the best in the country, both male and female, who play national premier division hockey!

It was privilege to watch this match and know that this was Sheffield Hallam performing these feats out there on the park.

Quarter-finals next on Sunday 20 May and as with any cup competition when you get down to the last few there are no easy games left but Hallam will have sent a warning to all the remaining teams that they are a force to be reckoned with and must now be one of the competition favourites alongside last year’s winners Olton & West Warwicks (who beat Hampton-in-Arden 7-2 on Sunday).
This year’s EHB Trophy and EHB Plate finals will once again be held at Abbeydale Park on the weekend of 9/10 June 2012 with the semi-finals taking place on the Saturday and the 3rd/4th play-offs and finals on the Sunday.

Hallam Mixed Squad (Photo Hallam Mixed Squad):
Back Row: Ed Cant, Adursh Ruperalia, Saul Halladay, Chris Woodcock, Tristan Gilbody, Duncan Longson, Mark Wilson, Phil Roper, Craig Hilton, Alex Bailey, Jon Beeden.
Front Row: Kath Hughes, Caroline Barclay, Michelle Daniel, Naomi Halladay, Sandie Lockley, Nicola Cox, Nicola Perkins.