Teamwork puts Men's 3s back on track

The 3s put last week’s disappointment behind them with this well-earned victory over St Andrews Uni.

A healthy squad of 15 meant competition for places. With an abundance of midfielders and attackers, Coach Kenny started Stephen Rome at left back and went for a front pairing of himself and Kyle Moir.

The match was competitive right from the start with play oscillating from end to end. In the first quarter, Finlay Ross was kept busy in the ‘Hill goal as Saints repeatedly got in behind the ‘Hill defence, but he was more than up to the task.

Play continued to go back and forward. ‘Hill had plenty of the ball but the final pass was missing due to a failure to adapt to the slow surface.

The home keeper had a quiet first half until an incisive pass out of defence by ‘Hill caught Saints upfield and set Kenny Watson free. As Kenny bore down on goal, he was cleaned out by the Saints keeper. There was a strong case for a penalty flick but only a short corner was forthcoming and ‘Hill failed to convert. This was to prove costly as, minutes later, Saints were 1-0 ahead.

The half time whistle gave ‘Hill a chance to regroup. Kenny emphasised the positives and encouraged the players to use the width of the pitch instead of going through the middle. The full backs & midfielders were obviously listening as they combined to stretch the play. A good spell of hockey culminated in RICHIE BAIN netting the equaliser with a well-taken shot when Saints failed to clear their lines.

It was all ‘Hill now and they thought they’d gone 2-1 up with a deflected shot, only for the umpires to confer and rule out the goal as a ‘Hill player hit the original shot from outside the D. This was only a temporary setback however as KYLE MOIR was on hand to put ‘Hill ahead with a fine sweeping finish.

As the clock ticked down, KENNY WATSON put the icing on the cake, turning the ball home after some excellent play from Matthew Ogg.

This was a great team performance from the 3s. Every player put in a huge amount of effort and responded to Coach Kenny’s tactical tweaks throughout the game. Special mentions go to the defence (Shaun Craig, Ryan McGinn, Stephen Rome, Ollie Holden & Edward Cooper) for organising themselves in response to early pressure from Saints and to Ptolemy Goad for his best performance of the season so far.