Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Boyne delighted With first Win
Canterbury player-coach Craig Boyne said he couldn’t have been any more proud of his side after they collected their first points of the season in the Men’s Hockey League.
Boyne admitted he went through the full range of emotions as bottom club Canterbury saw a 2- 0 advantage wiped out before edging home 3-2 against fellow strugglers Sevenoaks at Polo Farm on Saturday.
The win was their first in six attempts, and Boyne said that the circumstances in which the victory came made it particularly sweet.
The hosts had seen Harry Roberts sent off early in the second half and were down to nine late on following a yellow card for James Oates when Nathan Mcguire snatched the winner.
Boyne explained: “It was undoubtedly a big win for us and made even more satisfying given the circumstances.
“It was a pressure game and when Harry was sent off it would have been easy for the team to sit back and just let things happen but they didn’t, they came back fighting, I was really proud of them.
“Things looked like going against us and, as a coach, you can allow dark thoughts to creep in, but it was good to see the players take responsibility for the situation.
“There’s more to being a player than just having stick skills and they showed real character.
“They could have just given in but instead they said ‘No we believe in ourselves and our structure and if we stick to playing the way we are we can still get a result’ and we did.
“The way they celebrated at the end showed what it meant to them.”
Boyne was delighted for Paddy Brookson and Australian compatriot Mcguire – both of whom scored their first goals for the club – and also hailed the performance of 19-year-old goalkeeper Nathan Redman.
He added: “Being a keeper is the toughest job in that you make a mistake and it’s a goal but Nathan was dominant and showed a vast depth of maturity.”
Canterbury’s win moved them onto three points alongside Sevenoaks, and they are now within two points of Wimbledon, and three behind Brooklands MU ahead of Saturday’s home Kent derby with Holcombe.
The Medway side have won three and lost three this season and Boyne is anticipating a close contest at Polo.
He added: “Their results suggest they’ve had some good games and some bad games and that probably stems from being a relatively new team. We know they’ve got some quality players but in the past we’ve managed to be competitive against them.
“There’ll be a big crowd, so it should be an excellent atmosphere.”
The men’s match starts at 6pm and will be preceded, at 4pm, by an Investec Women’s League match between the two sides.