Nine impressive goals for Penarth Hockey Club against struggling side

Penarth A 9 - Whitchurch C 2

Penarth’s 2nd XI looked to keep the pressure on the top two teams in De Cymru 1 as they hosted a struggling Whitchurch team already beaten by eight goals in the first meeting between the sides at the start of the season.

The home team started well and scored with their first attack, as Chris McCarthy broke down the right before driving into the ‘D’ and finding Phil Lane. He, in turn, picked out David Joyce, who rounded the 'keeper and found the back of the net.

The lead was doubled soon after, with Lane spinning at the top of the ‘D’ before rifling a powerful shot past the motionless ‘keeper.

At 2 - 0, however, the Bears became a little complacent and allowed Whitchurch more possession, which eventually resulted in the visitors working the ball well and scoring a deserved goal to reduce the deficit.

This spurred Penarth back into action and the two-goal lead was quickly restored, as Rich Baker set-up David Kidby for another tap in.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, the Bears were awarded a penalty corner when captain Sam Chick was wiped out by the Whitchurch ‘keeper, allowing the home defence to push forward with impunity.

After Joyce’s initial effort was well saved, the extra men paid off, as the rebound was wonderfully controlled and smashed home by right back Dave Stevens, a finish any centre forward would have been proud of.

The second half saw more of the same and the fifth goal didn’t take long to come as Joyce grabbed his second of the game. Penarth were in full control by this stage and a sixth strike followed swiftly with Lane again finishing well from the top of the ‘D’ after a superb cut-back from McCarthy.

To their credit, Whitchurch continued to push forward and grabbed a second goal from a well-struck penalty corner, but any chance of a comeback was soon removed as Joyce netted twice more to rack up an impressive four-goal haul for the game.

Determined not to be out done, the scoring was rounded off with the final touch of the game as Lane completed a well-deserved hat-trick by finishing from an acute angle.

Although the comfortable scoreline will do much for Penarth’s confidence and goal difference, they now face a difficult trip to face Swansea City A this weekend, looking to make it three wins in a row since the Christmas break.

Goalscorers: David Joyce (4), Phil Lane (3), Dave Kidby, Dave Stevens

Swansea University C 1 - Penarth B 1

The 3rd XI travelled to Swansea for a top-of-the-table clash against a university who had already triumphed in both their previous clashes this season and had yet to drop a point to any opposition in De Cymru 3.

With a much-changed team due to unavailability, Penarth decided to switch tactics and line up with only one forward and play a counter-attacking game in a bid to bolster the midfield and protect the back four.

This tactic seemed to work, with the defensive midfield duo of Rob Harrison and Mark Robinson giving little opportunity for the students to muster any significant attacks and, when they did manage to get through to last line of defence, this stayed solid, with Craig Llewellyn and Ian Brookfield covering well to leave goalkeeper Mark Harris with a much quieter first half than expected.

The students duly grew more frustrated as the half went on, and began to leave gaps at the back for Penarth to exploit. Taking advantage of the unexpected opportunities, the visitors won a series of penalty corners and, from their second, went 1 - 0 up as skipper Dave Watkins finished off a well-worked move to claim his 20th goal of the season – and break the university’s season-long clean sheet on home soil in the process.

The shock of conceding at King George V Field seemed to spur the students on and, within five minutes or so, their pressure eventually led to a chance to draw level, with a well-worked move down the right ending in an overlap and tap-in at the far post.

Penarth, buoyed by their first half performance, continued in the same vein after the interval, with much the same result, with the students getting frustrated as the Bears counter-attacked with strength.

As the second half wore on, the visitors continued to gain greater possession and territory, allowing central midfielder Dave Thomas the space to start spreading passes and create further half chances for the forwards.

Richard Cousins and Sam Salisbury both found themselves with shooting opportunities, only to put the ball wide of the post as the game drew to a frantic conclusion.

The students thought that they had snatched a winner, largely against the run of play, only to be thwarted by an excellent reaction save from the stick of Harris, while Penarth had the final opportunity of the game, only for Watkins to misjudge a pass to Marc Sawyer with an open goal waiting.

With the game ending in a 1 - 1 tie, Penarth remain well behind the students, in second place overall, but strengthened their promotion bid by opening an eight-point gap between themselves and the next best team ahead of this weekend’s bye.

Goalscorer: Dave Watkins

Three Penarth teams will be in action this week, with the 1st and 2nd XIs facing bitter rival Swansea City at home (1.45pm start) and away respectively, while the 4th XI return to De Cymru 3 action with a trip to Gwent.

Penarth Hockey Club always welcomes new, old and returning players, umpires, supporters, friends and helpers regardless of age and ability. When the regular season resumes, training will take place on Wednesdays at Stanwell School, with the juniors on the pitch between 6.15pm and 7.15pm and the seniors between 7pm and 8.15pm.

Anyone interested in joining the club at senior or youth level can contact club secretary Dave Stevens (d_stevens81@hotmail.co.uk) for further information.