St. Faiths v Culford

Relatively, this hockey match was uneventful, and the workrate of both sides, most especially St. Faiths, was very low. However, there were quite a few chances for both sides, and only one managed to get behind a goalkeeper's feet. Unfortunately, that goalkeeper was ours. Our coach told us that Culford deserved to win, which I wholeheartedly agree with.

Very early on in the match, our right winger Luke blasted a cross through the Culford defense to me, but I wasn't very well positioned, I must admit, and tapped it wide. Later on, this time at the other end of the Astro turf, the Culford winger crossed it , and the receiver managed the tricky reverse-stick hit to deflect the ball in. Unlike most goals, our hopes - or at least my hopes weren't down.

In the second 15 minutes or so of the game, there were some pretty scary moments on both sides. At one point, an attacker of theirs somehow managed to fake out two of our men into a breakaway, but eventually, St. Faiths cleared it away.

Another time, Luke was taking a free hit from just outside the D (the shooting area) on the right-hand side. There was a pretty large opportunity for St. Faiths to score. I wasn't being marked, and there was a narrow gap for Luke to smack the ball through. I did what our coach told me to do after I missed a cross the first time. Stay low and sideways on to the goal. Luke saw me and hit the ball. He was very, very unlucky and the ball went out of bounds across the goal line.

In the very last minute, Luke saw John, our left winger, open in the D. He crossed it on the run - in bounds this time - but John stumbled a bit, and there was a mad scramble for the ball, but Culford - I honestly don't know how - managed to clear the ball away, securing their hopes of a shutout win.

St. Faiths vs. Bedford (hockey)

I was extremely nervous before this match. It was my first ever hockey match for the A's against the team that were supposed to be undefeated in rugby.

Our hopes were down when Bedford scored the first goal of the game. Their left wing managed to sneak the ball past two of our defenders, crossing it so that their right wing could deflect it in the net, giving no mercy to our helpless goalie. However, our centre-half and -forward managed to sneak in 1 goal each to make the score 2-1 at halftime.

The second half was almost completely uneventful, the ball somehow getting to every square centimeter on the pitch, except behind the goalkeeper. Except for one thing. Bedford were awarded a short corner, and I was supposed to charge down the person receiving the ball so he couldn't shoot, as I was the fastest. So I charged at him, but he still shot it, rather than trying to maneuver his way around me. The ball deflected off my stick and straight into my forehead, and my trusty sports goggles protected my eyes for being hit.

At the end of the game, I got ice and put it on my forehead to stop the swelling while I watched the B's team play. Well, my injury wasn't the best end to the day, but at least we won.

Hockey

This would be the second new sport that I will have learned. First rugby, and now this. Soon to come in the summer term will be cricket. Anyway, I have found my 3 1/2 hours of hockey training so far very enjoyable. I am surprised to notice that when I am finished, I'm hardly tired at all, but my legs are seriously sore. With rugby, it was the other way round.

I have a hunch that I won't improve as quickly as I did in rugby, or improve as much I did in rugby, but I will try. It seems like it's a pretty fun sport so far.