Men's 2nd XI Vs Bridgnorth 2

Having lost their first game of the season in the penultimate fixture, Telford 2s welcomed Bridgnorth to St George’s in their final game of the season. Bridgnorth found themselves in a relegation position knowing they needed a result to be in with a chance of staying up so Telford knew they would be in for a tough fixture. Telford were without Jon Cook, Tom Jones, Gareth Hawkins and Owen Shave but welcomed back Matt Denver and Matt Hadley-Moore, with Ryan Dymond-Link also making his first appearance for the 2s since re-joining the club.

Telford were hoping to make a quick start but it was Bridgnorth who looked the most threatening from the start – testing the Telford backline with some dangerous balls into the D. Telford however managed to grow into the game and with 7 minutes on the clock opened the scoring. The previous game’s man of the match Josh Sykes showed some great skill before forcing a save from the Bridgnorth keeper, with Jordan Keeble on hand to bury the loose ball. Bridgnorth however managed to equalize a few minutes later with a well taken drag flick from a short corner. Telford managed to regain the lead on 20 minutes, Dymond-Link picking the ball up in the Bridgnorth half before threading a lovely pass through to Sean Huffer on the move who took a touch before burying his effort past the keeper for his 20th goal of a tremendous season for the forward. Within 5 minutes Huffer had his second, managing to convert from close range having been set up by Hadley-Moore.

Telford went into half time 3-1 up knowing that there was definite room for improvement as Bridgnorth ended the half in the ascendency, with some great saves from Nathan Capes keeping them at bay. Words of encouragement from manager Tom Williams accompanied a tactical reshuffle which helped Telford retain control for the majority of the rest of the game. 5 minutes into the second half Telford made it 4 – Huffer having a reverse stick strike saved by the keeper, the ball hitting the body of a defender but with advantage being played, Sykes was on hand to clinically bury his first goal for the 2s. 3 Minutes later, Huffer completed his hat trick, Sykes turning provider to set Huffer up on the left shoulder of the D who then buried a trademark reverse into the far corner. Telford completed the scoring and made it 6 with Hadley-Moore carrying the ball forward at pace on the break, setting up Dymond-Link on the left hand side of the D – the debutant cut inside before hitting a strong shot into the near post with the keeper stranded.

This 6-1 result gave Telford their 18th win in 20 games to cap a tremendous season in which players have developed and progressed up through the club - all while playing some fantastic hockey to secure successive title winning and promotion seasons. On the day Huffer took home the man of the match award for his hat trick, assist and great all round performance, but over the course of the season it must be said every player in the 2s has acquitted themselves brilliantly and deserve great credit for how they’ve performed this year.

Goals: Jordan Keeble, Sean Huffer x3, Josh Sykes, Ryan Dymond-Link

Assists: Josh Sykes x2, Ryan Dymond-Link, Matt Hadley-Moore x2, Sean Huffer

MOM: Sean Huffer