Yate Mens 1st team 5 Weston-super-Mare 2
Yate made it 3 wins from 3 with a clinical performance on a tricky pitch away at Weston-super-Mare. The first 10 minutes were very even, with both teams creating half-chances but the home team scored first, with a well struck shot from the top of the 'D. This woke Yate up and they started to create more opportunities with the pace of Rhys Gamlin, Nik Perry-Gough and Josh Whittle causing panic in the Weston defence.
Following a mazy run, Whittle was fouled and a short corner awarded, his drag flick was saved by the GK but Gamlin scored from the rebound to equalize. A few minutes later, Yate were ahead as a Whittle shot was saved by the GK but Perry-Gough was in the right place to slip the ball into the net. In a match that was end-to-end the Yate GK Ollie Baldwin pulled off a couple of great saves to keep Yate ahead, ably supported by some strong defending by Josh Johnson, Dominic Chambers, Gareth Slater and Jon Edwards.
With 28 minutes gone, veteran Andy Bethell drew a foul on the left side of the Weston 'D' and he sent an aerial to the right side, spotting Martin Emery in space. Emery delivered a brilliant through ball to Gamlin, whose shot was saved by the GK who was once again unlucky as Angus Friell picked up the rebound and flicked the ball into the net. Alex Robins also tried an aerial but his technique eluded him and the ball ended up 6 metres behind him, falling nicely to a very grateful Weston forward, With Yate full of confidence and storming forward in numbers, Gamlin added his second of the match to give Yate a 4-1 lead going into half-time.
The weather was very hot which contributed to a slower pace in the 2nd period. Yate had good chances to score with Bethell trying to pass when he should have shot and a Weston defender pulling off a magnificent goal line save from a reverse flick by Whittle. The hosts reduced the deficit midway through the half but the result was sealed shortly after when Matt Clark scored with a superb deflection following a through ball by Danny Pearce. Clark was overjoyed at scoring his first goal on his return to hockey and set off on a sprint reminiscent of Usain Bolt at his peak. Weston pulled a goal back as the clock ran down but Yate were deserved winners 5-3.
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