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Khalsa taken to the cleaners

Khalsa 2nd XI  2 Coalville Town 2nd XI  5

BodyKraft 2nd XI East Midlands Premier Division

For the second week in a row, Town’s 2^nd X1 journeyed to a team previously unbeaten at home and turned in a superb team display of controlled and disciplined hockey to destroy the opposition 5 - 2.

  In a thrilling and entertaining game played on a cold and windy day, Town carried on from last week’s brilliant win and wasted no time in showing their class to a confident opposition. 

It took Town all of two minutes of non-stop attack to put the writing on the wall when Richard Wright collected a square ball in the dee from Scott Meadows to rifle home a reverse stick strike past a helpless defence. 

Playing fast, furious and skilful hockey, the home side couldn’t get a look in as Town relentlessly poured forward as the midfield trio of Wright, Tony Crowie and Brent Clamp took an iron grip on the game. With Stuart Jobburn adding his power behind these three and with Glen Marston charging forward from the back, it was no surprise that they made it two after just 12 minutes, when following a darting run through the defence by Wright, his through ball found Niki Arnold who in turn found Meadows and his angled drive found the back of the net as the home side stood and watched.

  Although it was nearly all Coalville, the home side were trying to make a game of it and they nearly pulled one back when they broke from defence into the dee only to see Joel Barker in the Town goal pull off a good save. 

Despite the home side’s odd venture into Town’s half, with which the back three of Marston, Ian Wright and Sam Crowie were having little problem, Town pushed on unabated and made it three after 22 minutes. Taking a ball from the right side, Meadows piled in a shot which the keeper saved only for Richard Wright to pick up the rebound and blast it home. 

At this point skipper Crowie brought on Aiden Spilsbury for his 2^nd X1 debut and his early nervous touchs and runs brought some extra width to the Town attack, while on the other side of the pitch, Clamp was causing his usual threat down the left flank.

 After their early rampage, Town started to back off a bit and paid the penalty as the home side pulled one back after 33 minutes from a well worked penalty corner routine which gave Barker no chance with the strike at goal.

  The second half started as the first had finished, as Town poured through the ravaged home defence as the right flank combination of Marston, Wright and Meadows gave their counterparts no respite, and with Matt Taylor moving out to the left flank, and being joined by Sam Crowie and Clamp, the opposition found no joy here either. 

With Ian Wright finding life too dull in defence, he was also beginning to surge up field with the odd run or two, and with his old sparring pal, Jobburn, it really became one way traffic. Tony Crowie was controlling the middle and spraying passed around but it was Richard Wright, as the springboard to attack, who was having a storming game covering all parts of the field.  

The fourth goal came after 45 minutes when Wright’s pass found Arnold out on the left and after some progress down the flank, unleashed a superb cross field ball to Taylor in the dee who calmly stroked the ball past the advancing keeper.

  Despite the relentless pressure, Khalsa kept pushing forward and Barker was again asked to make a double save to keep the home side out, however after 58 minutes they did managed to pull another goal back to make it 4 – 2 when they broke quickly from defence with a finish that gave him no chance. 

But back came Town and they made it a three-goal gap again on 60 minutes when Jobburn converted a penalty corner pass with a well drilled shot past a bewildered defence for his opening 2^nd X1 goal of the season. It was now a case of trying to add another and they nearly did as a flashing move through the field again found Arnold out on the left and try as he may, Taylor could not quite fully reach the cross field ball as he stretched to glide the ball onto the post which was cleared by the keeper before he could regain his balance.

  A resounding and well deserved win against a home banker side continues to see them gain momentum in the top half of the league and playing in this awesome form of late is beginning to fuel their confidence to the point where they can feel they can now take on anyone, and on their day, destroy them with their pulsating team play.