Yate Mens 1st team 4 Team Bath Buccs 1
For their final match of the Summer League season, Yate entertained a youthful TBB knowing that a draw would be sufficient to win the league and earn promotion to Division 2.
Yate didn't start the match particularly well, perhaps conscious that prospective new coach - ex-England player Jon Roberts - was in attendance. The passing was somewhat disjointed and a quick TBB forward managed to find space in behind the defence on too many occasions. Indeed, from one of their counter-attacks, TBB should have taken the lead but fired wide with the goal gaping and Yate goalkeeper Ollie Baldwin beaten. As the match progressed, Yate gained more control and Dominic Chambers just missed the post from a penalty corner but they took the lead shortly after when late arrival Matt Clark scored with his first touch - a neat deflection past the excellent TBB goalkeeper - following a great pass from Rhys Gamlin.
That settled Yate down and they began to apply more pressure on the visitors, with a resulting corner finished with aplomb by Chambers to give Yate some breathing space at half-time.
Credit to TBB, they continued to apply pressure when they could and Baldwin had to react smartly on a couple of occasions to thwart the attackers. The Yate midfield though slowly began to dominate with Jason Newman, Danny Pearce, Aaron Thomas and David Sharpe all putting in a good shift, on and off the ball. Youngster Josh Whittle was also demonstrating his skills and he expertly set up player of the season Nik Perry-Gough for the 3rd goal. A few minutes later, captain Mike Chaney added a 4th with a smart finish.
The Yate defence still came under pressure as the visitors continued to press forward and Ollie Adams, Josh Johnson and Alex Robins were all instrumental in keeping the visitors at bay until the very last hit of the match when TBB scored a well deserved consolation.
With seven wins and a draw in their 8 matches and a goal difference of +40, Yate were worthy champions. The whole squad would like to thank the umpires, Adrian Chambers and Clare Kane, and Josh Cullum, who provided the pictures.
Anyone interested in playing should contact mail@yatehockey.com.
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