"It's about the people and process, Russ", said a mentor.
"Observe Beautiful", said another.

Inspiration from The Club & squad, teammates on before & after the day.

This Was
A Thoroughably
Enjoyable Game

Six squad members needed to change their plans in the days prior to the game. Their positive spirit remained throughout the squad. Keith sorted out a last minute umpire
-- cheers chap.
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Our game? Positive, intelligent, fast ball with precise distribution. Solid blocks. Reaching tackles. Comms: reassert to positive when becames abundantly clear we faced a fast-flowing, potential-to-flood-us River Brain Village-On-The-Bend team of hockey players.

We do still need focus to arrive on time & ready: Eight players did. Four battled: arriving ten minutes before pushback. Strawbs arrived for team support & a lift home.
Thirteen days prior to The Longest Day, the late Spring sun was setting over silver gold lined tumbling clouds; and then? A pied wagtail flew onto the pitch!! (insert bird emoji)

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Wikipedia reference: Did you know? Scientists believe the wagtail constant tail-wagging behavior is primarily used to signal alertness and fitness to potential predators or to flush out resting Witham players??

Game on.

We also took to the field. Resultant final rearrangements were completed.

Witham hit us strong in their opening salvos precisely at this time, and "woah!" our defensive statements on their goal after 5m was the resolving focus we needed. They had snicker snacked past our defence, popped it goalie right for their opener. I could have been a metre further forward but woah!!

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Witham attacked again - resolute SHC defenders Ty, Keith, Carl taking the heat. Calls of "Set!" and "Charlie -
corner!" came strong from their midfield.

They're good.

Through again. Keeper a metre forward & tips it round with an extended foot. Inform the umpire I saved it: its their long. Thanks received from umpire / Witham. Maybe that call seemed to take away their uber destructive nature and remind 'em this is summer league. Dunno. There was a group intake of breath, and we were now on it.

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We immediately acquired the ball
off them, and we attacked. Flowing left and right. Distributing. Communicating. Creating first chances. Lovely. Lovely but a bit scary cos their midfield and attack was m-mighty. They pressed us hard. We pressed 'em back hey yeah! go go go !

Two further saves of Witham attacks, and the half is done. Strong positive heads-up -- devoured honey watered chilled orange segments as we dissected what happened in the brief moments available to us to compliment then exploit strengths / weaknesses ---> to do good things going forward! ❤️
"That thing you did at the start really disrupted their shape and made them rush into mistakes -- keep doing it!".
Stand up if you're a sub -- call it from the sideline!
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The second half began.

This was a true Father Son game -- we had four direct pairs but all 13 individuals were together in this -- a sight to behold upon a fine team.❤️

Witham come again. Hard, rotating, twinkle toes, and cross runs. Our midfield communicating back, our defence communicating forward -- ahhh boys jungs gentlemen so great. Ffs dad ok yeah i get it, and watch this lads as a composed drive out wide and distribution is delivered.
The Witham skill punches an overload through at 32 minutes gone, our heads remain high and still on it -- saved !

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We attack again - hustling harrassing a whole lot of blur i can't see precisely... whistle blows... players walk away... fellow keepers know the solitary steady wash-thru-the-brain of what am I seeing here at the far distant end of the pitch? Injury? time off? ahhh splitting to the side for clear view .... its a penalty flick!

our players together, is that Billy stepping up? Ok, this looks good. Come on blues! I step to side of the D. SHC M2 SL Player flicks airbound strong to Witham M1 GK right - decent flick mate!
One-of-the-best-GK-in-Essex Witham reads it -- ahhh decent save mate... hard luck Billy --- hang on, I only learnt post match that was Greg taking his first ever match p flick!

Youth stepping up.
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Car journey home with Greg was filled with inspiring convos from Billy, Strawbs and others "you proved me wrong Greg", "well done, think about this adaption next time", "well done Greg for stepping up, I couldnt have done that", and also nods and shared respect, and a healthy balance of all the things players talk about or don't talk about. Cheers lads. School tomorrow also for him :-)

All Fired Up, we continue our attack and few minutes later 43m Billy Baker slots one home for our well deserved Equalizer. Edward Woodwood and his Series 3 Jaguar XJ6 has just made things even. Glo-ri-ous !

A multitude and forray of defensive action, midfield art, and striker runs & foraging then followed until...

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47m - fork lightning strike off the distant Maplin Sands lights up the sky (in Southend direction)

Flash backs to my youth: cycling across open blue harts crows furlong lavender fields during thunder storms & young adult late evenings jointly watching thunder clouds batter flash and echo across our fish & chip Southend-On-Sea Estuary.
Oh. My. Word.
"Umpire did you see that?!"
"Yeah mate... whatever... your f.i.n.e."
(its about 15 miles away mate omg)

Both teams electrified for their
final charge to a win.

The Witham striker returned to his uber destructive nature; his colleagues duly aligned.

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Attacks on our team proceeded to gain momentum. Bit-by-bit, the knarly light-footed deconstruction by Witham began onto we-are-not-tiring steely Southend players. It is in these moments that our true positive character shines. So so proud.
I saw fine fine courage throughout -- the classic Carl encouraging a barrage of compliments from his GK. The Mobster Ty stealing the ball, shielding it, distributing thru channels I did not know existed. Keith... ahhhh Keith... Witham Erasure u absolute legend. Vince Clark of Defence !!
What Joel and A-Level Lewis must have thought as orders barked also to Uni-Mark, team mates supporting each other in positive defiant ways.
Joel subs off / on again, sits alongside his dad. Shared yet private moments. Looked epic from where I was standing. Giving it all.
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I take a glance at Ricky Score-A-Goal guy, then Pirate GTi on the track back, pretty sure plus I saw Charlie Felton Dexter Tomey inspiring youth up there running at weary Witham defenders to press them into errors. A Dream.
Midfield engine Dan -- he's at peak
torque now, Seventy Eight diamonds forming in the rose-coloured exhausting from Pure Hard Work.

Blimey chaps -- we might pull this off.

Resumed attacks came -- some mild play inside the 23 but outs...INSIDE THE D

!?This Is My Playground Now Fella?!

Striker Startled, our refined defence clips the ball, and the incoming shot is deflected wide by a red Mercian Elite kicker...
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That won't work again. Witham Striker Team absolutely giving their all to maintain their winning streak.

Urging Calls from their centre, cross runs coming back: holy moly. Eddie tells me to come out. Caitlin tells me to stand properly. Rachel tells me to not let them score, plus something else about umpire process. Kez is smiling from an SHC Insta story, clearly back doing keeping, and somehow this helps me right now. Dennis and Rory are wondering what they are doing in my head, but come on russ you'll be fine mate.

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Overload.
Striker breaks free -- one-on-one to keeper. Stay up. Copy his twinkle toes. His alert eyes and Sam Philips shoulders. Fake right. Save with left leg wide -- omg thats close -- ball deflects left off pad ---> PING !! off the left post and right back at me -- clear to side/back with same red Mercian Elite kicker with non-matching grey replacement straps... compliments incoming from clearing out players, glance at the striker: "what was that?!", said his eyes...

"ahhhhh...... noice !" said the GK.

Cheers everyone. Great game. Finished 1-1. Thanks for reading this far - onto the next one. Should see more Summer League match schedules shortly
Russ
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