‘Probably the greatest day of my life’ says skipper Mat Ming following his side comprehensive Surrey cup final victory over Reigate Priory.
Unfortunately for the OC’s, this prestigious season finale coincided with the tour of Malta, a tour of Holland and the Durham alumni day. This meant we fielded a team that consisted of only 5 first XI. Although following the performance of many first XI players, the Director of Hockey was left questioning the clubs current selection policy.
However, there were welcome returns to the first XI set up for ‘Cinderella man’ David Knapp and ‘Club legend’ Cato Choi. This injection of experience lifted OC’s average age to 44 respectively.
‘Probably the greatest day of my life’ said skipper Mat Ming following the comprehensive 2-0 Surrey Cup final victory over Reigate Priory.
Unfortunately for the OCs, this prestigious season finale coincided with the tour of Malta, a tour of Holland and the Durham alumni day. This meant we fielded a team that consisted of only five of the first XI. Although following the performance of many first XI players, the Director of Hockey was left questioning the clubs current selection policy. However, there were welcome returns to the first XI set up for ‘Cinderella man’ David Knapp and ‘Club legend’ Cato Choi. This injection of experience lifted OC’s average age to 44 respectively.
With a full quota of 16, the OCs’ game plan was clear; press hard, move the ball quickly and measure our passes in the circle. With these words ringing in the team’s ears, Thomas produced an exquisite break into the circle to set up Wiseman for an easy finish. 1-0. Although at the other end, turnovers plagued the defence which meant Doble had to be sharp to deny Reigate an equaliser on the counter attack.
Arguably the biggest challenge of the day was for OCs to silence the Reigate supporters who made it a hostile 20 minutes for Sam Way before he was eventually substituted. Way left the pitch to be replaced by ex- first team captain Nick Ripley, who joined Sam Carne to shut out any Reigate attacks. The remainder of the first half continued to be a cagey affair and OC’s entered the break in a deserved lead.
As the second half resumed, OCs battled hard on the unpredictable Purley pitch. Although the more experienced Cook, Knapp and Choi were having a field day on a surface that reminded them of their glory years on grass and RedGra. OCs managed to steal an early second half goal to seal the victory. This came with an example of fantastic full pressing from Chris Wiseman who got his second of the afternoon deflecting the ball passed the advanced goal keeper. 2-0.
The second half continued with both sides struggling to maintain possession. Mat Ming and William Page continued to win the midfield battle and Carne put his body on the line (literally) to ensure Doble’s clean sheet remained in tact. OCs rallied a late storm from Reigate and as the whistle drew the match to a close, the team mustered one more attack which saw Pettitt unleash a wild shot into the top corner. 3-0. Unfortunately that never happened- he instead let go of his stick, threw it 20 yards over his hea and missed the umpire fractionally. Many questioned whether this was a deliberate act of violence as the board continue to review Pettitt’s coaching contract for next season.
However, as the final whistle blew captain Ming lifted the cup to ensure that OCs are still the best team in Surrey. This sparked wild celebrations, a pitch invasion from Mrs. Ming and the boys celebrated long into the night. Let’s hope for a repeat as our O40’s head to Lee Valley next Saturday.
Mom: Sam Carne
Dod: Sam Way