University of East London and University of Chichester came head to head in the first round of the BUCS Hockey South Eastern Conference.
The teams had never played each other before so an exciting was in prospect.
It was a thrilling start for Chichester in the first few minutes when they had a penalty corner but were unfortunate in being unable to score.
The pressure began to build for East London, with majority of the play in the first half owned by Chichester. The boys in yellow created many great opportunities for themselves, opening up space and chances. It led to UoC scoring their first goal in the 15th minute.
Two minutes later Chichester scored again knocking East London’s confidence, although they continued to carry on trying hard.
Missed
Rob Wheeler usually plays on the right wing but took up the position of centre midfield. Wheeler and captain Phillip Wilson played extremely well together. Good team work shone through and both players seemed to bounce nicely off each other.
Overall, UEL lacked communication skills, however, resulting in missed passing opportunities.
It was no surprise when In the 25th minute Chichester scored their third goal.
Wheeler went close but on the counter attack Chichester scored the final goal before half time in the 29th minute.
After a motivating team talk by Wilson and Mcgrath, UEL began the second half with great fortitude. The action was spread out between both ends of the pitch.
Determination
From the blow of the second whistle East London pulled together as a team. They displayed better communication with one another and created more chances, illustrating the determination in every player’s face.
In the 44th Chichester scored once again, and added another from a short penalty corner in the final few minutes of the game. UEL just lost confidence and let in an own goal in the dying seconds.
The game finished 6-0 to Chichester who will now go through to the next stage of the cup.
After the game Wheeler said: “defensively we played much better in the second half but we just have to start the first half like that next time”. East London need to continue working on their defending and gelling better together to succeed well for the rest of the season.