Newmarket started their season
against March Town III in the ne14hockey division 5.
March took the lead early with a
short corner routine that resulted in the ball going through the
legs of keeper Dan Brown. This got the home team fired up knowing
that it was not going to be an easy game. Tensions flared as
Newmarket felt umpires decisions were not going their
way, and this resulted in the yellow carding of centre back Neil
Badcock for grabbing one of the opposing players.
With there now being a gap in the defence, Josh
Dawson moved from up front to centre back , leaving Mark Pears as a
lone striker. The yellow and blues were
now a man down, but played better hockey, using the flanks and not
rushing to get forward. Newmarket equalised through midfielder Chris
Jefferson, who was at the end of a driving cross from Pears.
The first half
finished 1 - 1.
The second half
started with Newmarket still down to 10 men, and Badcock was not
expected to come back on until 2 minutes from the end, so the home
team had to work hard to get 3 points from this game.
The first 10 minutes
saw both teams have an equal amount of possession, with the ball
going up and down the pitch. Striker Mark Pears went off with an
ankle injury, meaning Barney Bowens took over the lone striker role.
Things then looked up for Newmarket when one of the March
midfielders was given a yellow card for repeated bad tackles, and it
was moments after this when the Captain took a free hit on the top
of the opposition's
area and found the stick of Bowens to give the home team the lead.
March quickly
equalised, making best of a defensive mistake by Newmarket and the
score was then 2 - 2.
Both teams showed
some tiredness towards the end of the game, so they were relieved
when the sent off players came back on. With only two minutes to go,
Josh Dawson took his place back up front. He was awarded Man of the
match for winning the game for Newmarket when he picked up the ball
30 yards from goal, dribbled around a March defender which left him
one on one with the keeper. Josh then used his pace and just skipped
past the keeper, firing the ball into the back of the net, making it
3 - 2, giving Newmarket 3 points towards this season's
campaign.
Newmarket II where
due to play March V away but had to cancel due to lack of players.
