Successful start for UoB’s Men’s Hockey 1sts as they triumph over Nottingham Trent in 7-3 victory
Once again, Bournbrook hosted the debut game of the season for the University of Birmingham Men’s Hockey 1sts as they took on Nottingham Trent, successfully bagging a 7-3 win.
Determined to win their first BUCS league game of the season, Birmingham were quick to dominate possession of the ball, forcing Trent to play defensively throughout the majority of the match.
The University of Birmingham’s first goal came just under ten minutes of play, when the Lions were awarded a penalty corner after a foul was committed by Trent. An aggressive slap shot across the shooting circle made it easy for the home team to secure their first goal and take a convincing lead over their opposition.
Less than five minutes later, the Birmingham side performed a well worked move inside the shooting circle which originated from yet another penalty corner. The Trent keeper made a decent attempt to clear the ball with his kicker but was unsuccessful, making it 2-0 to Birmingham.
Another goal was then added to Trent’s conceded tally midway through the first half as Birmingham comfortably took a three goal lead after another good team move.
Although the Birmingham side had been dominating the field of play from the very off, in the latter stages of the first half Trent capitalised on their first counterattack of the game to score their first away goal of the season. Nevertheless, Trent’s celebrations were quickly subdued when the Lions were awarded another penalty, giving Birmingham a 4-1 lead going into half-time.
The Lions’ supporters, who deserve an honourable mention, provided additional entertainment as they mimicked the team’s style of play with a series of ‘bangers’. Numb hands and shivering knees were soon forgotten when Biggie Smalls’ Thomas the Tank Engine Remix provided ‘subtle’ background noise to a proportion of the game. Also, the suspense of a Nottingham Trent’s short corner was not lost when it was accompanied by the Jaws theme tune.
The second-half started much as the first had done, Birmingham dominated play, grabbing yet another goal to add to the score sheet.
Despite Birmingham’s aggressive style of play, the Trent side didn’t back down and went on to score a further two goals, closing the lead on the Lions to bring the scoreboard to 5-3. Unlike the first half, the visitors played more forcefully and on the attack, yet still they couldn’t keep Birmingham out of their shooting circle.
In the concluding moments of the game Birmingham managed to increase their lead by a further two goals. The penultimate goal of which came from Birmingham’s George Sweeting who drove the ball straight passed the keeper, leaving him with little time to react. The last goal of the game cemented Birmingham’s victory over Nottingham Trent in an outstanding 7-3 win.
All in all, the Lions had an idyllic start to their BUCS campaign. This unbeaten style will be something The University of Birmingham side will hope to replicate in next Wednesday’s away game against the University of Nottingham.
