Tough first fixture

Having our first fixture at 5.00pm on the other side of Bristol, it was always going to be tough getting a team together. We ended up playing with nine men including one, Nick Leach, who raced across from working in Bath to just make the starting whistle. Firebrands were determined to stretch our depleted numbers from the start and we were having to work hard to keep them at bay. We were soon one goal down following a well placed interception by a firebrand players foot. We were managing to threaten the opposition goal thanks to some well timed leads in the centre of the pitch from both Phil Gill and Nick Leach who were well supported out wide by Gabe Dellar and Steven Bishop. A couple of well placed hits into the circle came tantalizingly close to being touched in by our high man, Chris Newton. Despite our goalie, Ben Marren, making some great saves the Firebrands goals kept coming and their high press took its toll on our defensive hit outs. Nick Jephson worked tirelessly in the central defence position, somehow managing to keep the marking tight with the help of Tom Devenish and James Lane but the disparity in numbers told with regular overloads against us in the circle. At half time, the captain needed 5 minutes to get his breath back so the team talk was a terse 'more of the same'. In the second half, Marlboroughs superior fitness showed as we managed to mostly keep the opposition at bay despite them regularly subbing on and off. Final score was an 8-0 loss, not bad considering the circumstances. Player of the match was goalie Ben Marren whose efforts kept Firebrands out of double digits. Many thanks to Firebrands for their excellent hosting and to the umpires for fairness and consistency throughout the game.