Men's 4th XI Vs Old Wulfrunians 3

Telford and Wrekin 4ths played away against Old Wulf's at Wolverhampton Grammar School on an overcast but pleasant afternoon with sunny spells. 

The match started fairly even. Old Wulf's probed the Telford defence but failed to find any openings as the away team blocked all routes into the D. This enabled Telford to counter quickly and build some prolonged attacks. Telford also started to gain control in the midfield. John Higginson selflessly slipping a ball to Ian Cole when he could have a had a shot himself was the best of the early Telford chances. Around 25 minutes into the first half they would deservedly take the lead. Kieran ‘The Hulk’ Mountford rifled the ball upfield which took a fierce deflection - as if fired out of a washing machine - towards Roger Marsh who controlled the ball and moved into the D, rounding his player with the grace and speed of a turning oil tanker, to slide under the onrushing keeper. Telford would take a 1-0 lead into half time.

The second half saw Old Wulf’s press heavily on Telford but the centre back pairing of Tom Hurst and Kieran Barclay, combined with Chris Cousins and Matt Cousins as left and right back respectively, would prove unbeatable for the afternoon. A couple of spectacular saves from Bradley Williams late on would ensure a clean sheet for Telford and the match victory. On the wings Aaron Black, Seth Higginson and the debut of Conor Ashbridge were proving hard for the opposition to handle. John Higginson and  ‘The Hulk’ Mountford effectively subdued a powerful Old Wulf’s central midfield combination, aided by Ian Cole who played upfront but happily helped the midfield.

5 minutes before the end John passed to Roger who, with The Hulk, worked the ball around both last defender and goalkeeper. Roger turned to shoot into the completely empty net only to be attacked by a group of rogue ninjas. After dispatching the ninjas, an unfortunate lightning strike would vaporise the hockey ball just as Roger had shot very accurately on target and the umpire decided to award a defensive hit out as the ball mysteriously reappeared behind the empty goal rather than in it. This would leave the match to finish as a Telford 1-0 victory. 

Kieran Barclay was the Man of the Match. Another exceptional defensive performance from Kieran played a huge part in Telford's victory with few managing to get past his stick!