Maids caught cold in curtain raiser
Maidenhead Hockey Club: Familiar foes Staines run out comfortable winners
Saturday's start to the South Central Hockey League Premier Division 1 season didn't go exactly to plan for Phil Cowell's Maidenhead men's 1st team as they were thrashed 6-1 by familiar foes in Staines 1sts at Altwood School.
Maids have been moved up into the division following a restructure of the leagues and the emphatic nature of Saturday's result suggests they'll have to find their feet quickly if they're to avoid a season of struggle.
There were elements of Saturday's performance that skipper Cowell wasn't too displeased with, most notably an improved second half display in which Cowell scored.
Overall, they were very much second best to a side they've matched up well against in previous campaigns.
Staines pressed well in the first half, netting twice before the break and while Maids offered more of an attacking threat after half-time, they were picked off by some clinical finishing on the counterattack.
Reflecting on a surprisingly difficult opening league game, Cowell said: “I don’t think the team would mind me saying we were poor in the first half.
“We didn’t get into the game, and we got bogged down at the back. They scored a well-deserved goal, and their second goal was a little unfortunate because it went through our keeper, but we went in 2-0 down at half-time and that was probably deserved to be honest.
“The frustrating thing is that second half we actually played a lot better and moved the ball around quite nicely and created some chances. We transitioned well from defence to attack and created a lot of chances, but because we were pushing through, we were stung on the counter attack, and they were quite clinical to be fair to them.
“They’ve got some high-quality forwards and took their chances really well. One of them was a penalty stroke, so yeah, we got a goal from a short corner, from me, but it was less than a consolation.”
Maids lacked structure throughout and Cowell believes they were missing the encouragement and tactical nous of coach Rohit Kapoor, who couldn't make Saturday's curtain raiser.
They'll now look to bounce back at Slough Men's 1sts on Saturday in what promises to be a 'feisty' clash.
Cowell said: “We didn’t actually have Rohit (Kapoor) coach, on the sidelines on Saturday which I think was a big factor.
“Our structure on the press was quite poor and we didn’t really have anyone to get a message on.
“It's not a great start but we showed glimpses of what we can do in the second half.
“They have a very good forward who scored two of their goals, but I feel that in the return fixture we’ll have a chance.
“The scoreline didn’t reflect the game. First half we were poor but second half we had most of the possession. A fair result but a bit of a harsh scoreline.”
He added: “We're now away to Slough at 12pm on Saturday. It's another massive game but we'll take some confidence into it.
“They lost 3-2 to Henley. It’s usually a feisty clash with Slough so looking forward to that one.”