Date: Saturday 23rd September 2023, 14:00
MOM: P Welsh
Goals: P Welsh
J Alexander
Glorious blazing sunshine in north shields was the setting for Stokesley men's 1s opening game of the 2023/4 season. Luckily, our new kit providers don't offer long sleeves, so we were ready to sweat it out in style.
Now, let's talk debuts with Kenny, Dawson, and Matthew, making their first appearances for the boys in yellow. Eddie Medley was away trout tickling and Alex Schmuck was busy with mortgage paperwork.
It was unfortunate that our first game of the season was to be against a team that had been relegated to our league and they took full advantage, with lethargy and rustiness running amok through the Stokesley squad. Sloppy errors led to North Shields plundering four goals from penalty corners and deflection ping pong.
To add insult to injury our defensive kingpin, Phil Rose earned a soft tissue injury to his heel when intercepting a shot on goal. But Phil's spirits were high when the subsequent short corner was dismissed with ease by the Stokesley defence. We wish Phil Rose a speedy recovery.
Now, on to the dramatics! Tom Atha broke early on a penalty corner, denying Matthew Breeze a debut goal from a thundering drag flick into the side net. Phil Welsh earned a yellow card for hitting the ball into the oppositions shin pad and suddenly the flood gates were open. A litany of Green cards flew around like confetti at a wedding, handed out for appealing, umpire chit-chat and spirited tackles.
After a 10 minute breather on the sidelines Phil Welsh, in his dual role as hero and villain, opened the scoring with a goal of the season contender when a sublime deflection/miss-trap from somewhere between the 23 and just inside the top D rocketed past the clueless goal keeper. The umpires even agreed that it was, in fact, inside the D.
The game concluded with North Shields snatching a 4-2 Victory with Josh claiming Stokesly's second from some excellent rebound poaching from a penalty corner. Ultimately we were left scratching our heads, knowing we could play better.
Our reward for such a disappointing effort? Ice-cold showers, of course. It's the perfect way to wash away the shame.
Next game: Hartlepool 1's Away (Saturday 30th September 2023, 14:30 push back)
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