Newent & Ross 4–0 Devizes

Newent & Ross Hockey Club Men’s 1s welcomed newly promoted Devizes Men’s 1s to John Kyrle High School on Saturday, with the unusually warm and sunny conditions making it feel more like the middle of summer than the start of the hockey season.

NRHC started brightly, moving the ball around well and creating a number of early chances. However, the Devizes goalkeeper was clearly in no mood to hand out any early presents, pulling off a number of good saves to keep the visitors in the game.

Eventually, though, the pressure told.

A perfectly weighted Cross aerial sailed over the Devizes defence and into the path of a charging Isbell, who controlled the ball brilliantly before drawing the keeper towards him. With the goalkeeper committed, Isbell quickly squared the ball across to the onrushing Aitken, who made no mistake, slapping the ball into the onion bag.

1–0.

NRHC continued to create chances but couldn't add to the score before the break, meaning the hosts went into half-time with a slender one-goal advantage.

The second half was a different story, with NRHC turning up the flair and looking much more dangerous going forward.

The second goal came from a short corner — although quite how we describe it depends entirely on who you ask.

According to Spils, it was a fantastic pass into the path of Cross.

According to everyone else, it was a complete duff of a shot which Cross somehow managed to pluck out of the air and deflect past the goalkeeper.

Either way, it ended up in the net.

2–0.

With Devizes beginning to tire, NRHC pushed for more. Some fantastic work from T. Fuller saw him drive a quick free hit from deep in his own half almost to the halfway line, finding the speedy Doldy out on the wing.

Doldy found Spils, who beat his man before finding Cross in space. Cross then proceeded to beat his man as well before producing a lovely little reverse flick which sailed past the Devizes keeper.

3–0.

And still NRHC weren't finished.

With the clock winding down, Spils picked up the ball and proceeded to do what Spils does best — beat a player, beat that same player again, and then attempt a shot from an angle that frankly shouldn't have been physically possible.

Thankfully, Isbell had anticipated the madness and was waiting at the back post to deflect the effort past the keeper.

4–0.

The final whistle brought an end to a strong performance from NRHC, with four goals shared around and plenty of positives to take from the afternoon.

It was a game that could easily have produced even more goals, with the team creating a number of good opportunities throughout. More importantly, there were plenty of signs that this squad is starting to click as the season gets underway.

A good, strong performance, a clean sheet and four goals — a very good stepping stone for the season ahead.

And, for the record, it was "definitely a pass" from Spils for the second goal.

Goals: Aitken, Cross x2, Isbell
Assists: Isbell, Spils x3