Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Mcguire strike settles thriller
CANTERBURY OVERCOME DISMISSAL OF ROBERTS TO SECURE FIRST POINTS OF SEASON IN FLUCTUATING DERBY AT POLO FARM
Nathan Mcguire grabbed a dramatic late winner as Canterbury just about held their nerve to record their first win of the season in the Men’s Hockey League Premier Division at Saturday.
Looking comfortable on a 2-0 interval lead at Polo Farm, Canterbury suffered a blow early in the second half when Harry Roberts was sent off following an incident with a Sevenoaks opponent.
The visitors then pulled a goal back, and, with Canterbury down to nine following a yellow card for James Oates, equalised, only for Australian Mcguire to claim the winner three minutes from time
Player-coach Craig Boyne admitted it had been a tense climax, but hailed his team’s resilience in trying circumstances.
He said: “We were strong in the first half and pretty much in control. We probably should have put a few more chances away but I was disappointed with the way we started the second half.
“The card for Harry was a little bit controversial.
“He turned around and clipped their player with his stick, he was immediately apologetic and said it had been acccidental.
“The frustration is the lack of consist- ency on these things. We had a similar situation against Brooklands when one of our players was clipped but the difference was he did not milk it.
“Sevenoaks probably weren’t as ruthless as they could have been when we were down to 10 but I was pleased with the way our team stood up.”
The match started with some good pressure from Canterbury, and this resulted in youngster Paddy Brookson getting his first Premier League goal in the sixth minute.
Canterbury remained the dominant force in the first half with the majority of possession and plenty of attacking pressure but they had only one more goal to show for their efforts when player-coach Boyne nutmegged the Sevenoaks keeper on 23 minutes.
Roberts – playing his last match for Canterbury before joining the Marines – saw red six minutes into the second half but Canterbury stood firm until the 61st minute when Ali Taylor halved the deficit.
Oates was then yellow carded as he tried to win the ball high up the pitch and Sevenoaks immediately capitalised when Tom Samuel brought them level.
Only six minutes remained at this stage and the clock was showing 67 when Boyne led another counterattack, supported by Mcguire who took his team-mate’s pass before slapping the ball home to claim his first goal for the club.
Even then the game was not won as Sevenoaks replaced their goalkeeper with a kicking back, but despite conceding a couple of corners Canterbury held on to claim their first points of the campaign.
Boyne added: “It was tense. Sevenoaks did have a few good chances in the second half but I was pleased with the way the boys took it upon themselves to deal with the situation.
“I was also pleased for Nathan. Often when a player makes a break like I did in the final minutes the others say ‘Good luck away you go’ but he stayed level with me and then overtook me which showed how determined he was.
“It was a nice moment for him to get his first goal and you could see from the celebrations what it meant to everyone.”