Bath Buccs 1 - 1 Marlborough

Marlborough maintained top spot in Central 1 with a hard fought draw away against 2nd place Bath Buccs.

Marlborough arrived to the fixture full of confidence and following a intense warm up started the game well. They took the lead early on when they stole the ball high up the field and John Berry managed to ride two very "agricultural" tackles before slotting the ball into the far corner of the goal. Unfortunately, Marlborough's chances of winning the game took a serious dent when John Berry was unable to play any further part in the match.

Marlborough played some very composed hockey in the first half, transferring the ball well and creating space high up the pitch, despite several chances Marlborough were unable to extend their lead and Bath began to grow further into the game on the counter attack.

At Half time Marlborough knew they were up against it, down to the bare 11 against a 16 man squad of energetic students wasn't an ideal situation.

The second half started with Bath beginning to establish more of a foothold in the game, creating several half chances which Brian Marnane was alert to and saved well to safety. Unfortunately the change in momentum was being "helped" by many 50/50 decisions going Bath's way and they were able to draw level following a quickly free hit outside the D. With the Marlborough players expecting the hit to go their way they were caught out of position and Bath worked the ball to the baseline. The first attempt was well blocked but the rebound was played towards goal and left Brian Marnane helpless when the deflected the ball in front of him.

Marlborough knew this could be a season defining last 20 minutes and began to re-establish themselves as an attacking threat. Some excellent ball carrying through the inside left channel from Will Radnedge enabled him to win Marlborough a short corner with 10 minutes to go. From the corner, Captain Anil Sud slipped the ball towards the back post looking for a deflection. No touch was coming but the ball bounced back of the post and fell to Rich Fynn, who trapped the ball and fired into the open goal. Unfortunately and disappointingly the goal was disallowed by one of the Bath umpires as he deemed the ball hit Rich's foot despite being a matter of metres away from the decision and with a clear view.

To their credit, Marlborough retained their composure and stuck to the game plan, despite Will Radnedge receiving a Green Card for "tackling from the wrong side". The last 10 minutes played out with Bath in the ascendancy and Marlborough resolutely defending their circle. The game appeared to be over with Worcester Bawden providing an excellent covering tackle to clear the ball away from goal, however, after complaints from the Bath team a short corner was awarded with Worcester judged to have deliberately played the ball over the baseline. One final chance to Bath and Marlborough knew the importance of the moment. Fortunately Bath were unable to take advantage of the situation following a poor injection and the ball never leaving the circle.

With the final whistle there were very mixed emotions from the Marlborough team. The knew the potential significance of picking up a point but also felt they had done enough to win the game despite some very challenging circumstances. They now sit at the top of the league going into the Christmas break, 2 points ahead of Bath. With Bristol University losing (Thanks Bassett!!!), Marlborough now have a 7 point cushion ahead of them in 3rd place.

Man of the Match was awarded to Brian Marnane who one again kept Marlborough ahead in the game at a time when they were really under pressure in the first half.

D*** of the Day was "awarded" to Rich Holman who shall henceforth been known simply as "The Chairial" following a couple of "misplaced" aerials. Though a special mention must go to Rich Fynn for his successful pre-voting campaigning to effectively dodge a bullet.