Hockey Men’s 1s make first bid for Sliverware

Despite the almost blinding light from the dying sun, a strong start from IC produced the first opportunity within just a few minutes. Graham took it perfectly, dribbling easily into the D and dragging the ball straight past the keeper for a great first goal. This, however, was shortly followed with a quick response from UCL which equalised the game at 1-1.

The intensity really started to pick up with both teams now off the mark and battling it out for the lead and a place in the next round of the cup. A huge aerial from Gilles, which flew right over the UCL defence, coupled with some impressive speed and stick skills from Richard, gave a great opportunity which unfortunately couldn’t be converted to a goal, but did result in a short corner. Soon after, IC once again took the lead after Christoph finished off a short run, utilising his well-practiced dribbling skills, with a clean and powerful strike.

Just before the end of the first half, some solid defending and flare skills by the midfield resulted in Christoph charging down the right hand side and delivering an amazing ball straight across the D for Tom to finish with a text book deflection, bringing the score line to a comfortable 3-1 lead – a good start for IC and a fair reflection of play.

The second half started quite slowly with a lot of missed opportunities and stray passes from both teams. After quite some time and improved composure from both sides, the game picked up again and a UCL striker somehow managed to score an unlikely goal from angle, despite having completely missed the ball on his first attempt at goal, bringing the score to a less comfortable 3-2.

A nerve wracking final twenty seconds saw UCL gaining a short corner, which fortunately was missed – giving IC a well-deserved win and a place in the next round of the BUCS cup.