Worksop Stalemate

Chap 3’s were not happy. Following on from last week’s victory against the 4s the HotDog had gone missing. The evidence suggested that the person responsible for this loss was none other than Chuckle#2. So how do you punish such a vile offence. That’s right, he was sent to the 2’s. Other changes saw Bambi return to defence and a debut for new boy Dan Dare. Gina G was unfortunately unavailable for this fixture.
The changing facilities were somewhat cramped, particularly when Boss Hogg decided to rearrange the benching for a spot of Yoga (more on that later). Following the new rules the playlist of Chuckle#2 was booming out even in his absence including ‘Eye of the Tiger’ which quickly cleared out the non-hockey presence in the changing room.
With the team pumped up it was out to the pitch for a ‘professional’ warm-up supplied by newbie Dan Dare. With the blood now pumping it was time for action.
The game started briskly on a fast pitch. Worksop had the early possession and ‘The Watcher on the Wall’ Crumpy was in the action early with some fine saves off his pads. Chap then had a break down the left as Mad Max fed in Tomahawk Bandit whose swirly whirly move to beat the defender once again brought gasps from the crowd before attacking the D at a profit of a penalty corner. The feed was good and Tomahawks shot looked like it was going to be tucked away by Iceburg but he came a little bit tangled up and the ball came off his foot rather than his stick.
The game became both fast paced and end to end. The three B’s, Boss Hogg, Bambi and Bigfoot were standing resolutely to the tricky Worksop forwards whilst Flavio, Fitbit and Shep were competitive to shut down the Worksop midfielders. Chap however continued to look dangerous down the left. Von Ryan’s Express and Mad Max, sharing the left midfield role, were giving Tomahawk an excellent supply down the left channel. In turn they were supporting effectively and getting the ball into the opposition D. It was from one of Mad Max’s runs that a second short corner was learned. This time Bambi was forward to shoot and in a near action replay of the first the shot headed to the near post where the injector Iceburg was coming across. This time there was to be no tangling up and Iceburg tucked the ball away for 1-0.
Worksop again came on the attack and it was to be painful for Boss Hogg. The changing room Yoga had caught up with him and he pulled a leg muscle clearing a ball to end his game early. Chap then once again had to be thankful to Crumpy who made some excellent saves including one that fully tested the reach of his toes. Eventually half time was reached with the score still 1-0.
The second Half started with the expected Worksop onslaught. Homer was on for Boss Hogg and the defense continued to working gamely to keep the ball out. The pressure eventually told and Worksop equalised with a deft back post finish. Chap were nothing but determined though and were back in front almost immediately. Tomahawk, now being double marked by Worksop’s wary defence won a free hit at the top of the D. Hutch caught the defence napping by taking the hit straight away and carrying the ball wide around the D. When the required 5 meters had been travelled he cut in and pulled the ball back for the waiting Flavio who fired in from about the spot.
The game then fluctuated from end to end. Dan Dare was on at centre forward and his physical presence offered a new challenge to Worksop. He nearly extended the lead powering around the centre back but his shot went wide. Worksop also had opportunities and the woodwork saved Chap. This was to be short lived as the next attack saw all 3 defenders go for the same ball causing confusion from which Worksop equalised.
Both teams had opportunities to win notably Worksop again hitting the post and Tomahawk having two good opportunities. The first seeing him slip just as he arrived at the backpost to meet a Hutch cross, the second seeing the ball rebound off the keepers helmet as he lifted it over the advancing keeper.
But the score was to remain a fair 2-2. The after match pleasantries saw ‘The Watcher on the Wall’ Crumpy gain the MOM Starblazer with the Muscle pulling Yoga expert Boss Hogg getting the HotDog DOD.