Stratford 1sts 4 Finchfield 1sts 2
FOLLOWING last week’s vital win against Kings Heath Pickwick, Stratford played host to promotion-chasing rivals Finchfield on Saturday in the last game of the season. The build-up to one of the most important fixtures in the club’s history was made even more interesting during the course of the week when the league leaders, Wolverhampton, were docked points for fielding ineligible players.
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All this meant that victory for Stratford would see them crowned BodyKraft MRHA West Midlands Premier League champions and ensure promotion to Midlands Division 1. However, defeat could also have meant finishing in third spot and missing out on going up.
On a perfect spring afternoon in front of around 80 enthusiastic supporters, the match got off to a disappointing start for the home side, conceding in the first two minutes. Following some scrambled defending in the circle, Finchfield’s centre forward Matthew Stocken was able to drive the ball home through a tangle of feet and sticks past the unsighted Martyn Helliker in goal.
However, this seemed to settle the home side’s nerves, who conjured an equaliser after 14 minutes
Mark Leary was the man who registered on the scoreboard, with a simple tap-in at the far post following an excellent reverse pass by Greg Ricketts.
With Stratford now back in the game, the home support grew more and more vocal and spurred on a number of raids into the Finchfield circle with Russell, Jones and Brookes all making good inroads up front.
After 27 minutes, Stratford took the lead when Nick Russell opened his bag of tricks at the 23-metre line, rounding both centre-back and sweeper before lofting a fantastic reverse stick strike over the onrushing keeper.
Two minutes later it was
3-1. Following a driving run from Ed Grigg down the right flank, a penalty corner was awarded and was duly dispatched by Ricketts with a thunderous straight strike.
The remainder of the first half was mostly a midfield battle, with both sides trying to gain dominance. The effort and workrate of skipper Stuart Guise and the rest of the midfield proved themselves up to the challenge when tested. Running on adrenalin, bodies were even put on the line where necessary, with central midfielder Matt Hyatt having to leave the field of play to have a blood injury attended to after some full-length tackling which left his white shorts streaked with blood.
A solitary lapse in concentration saw the first half end on a sour note for the Black-and-Whites when Finchfield’s Luke Piper found himself unmarked with plenty of time in the circle to get a shot away. Although Helliker made a fine stop, the ball fell kindly for an easy tap-in to make the score 3-2.
Coach Andy Hodges delivered a concise half-time team talk to quash any signs of unease. This was displayed in Stratford’s precise passing after the restart and resolute defending from markers Chorley and Gray, expertly marshalled by sweeper Edward Simpson.
The longer the game went on, the more men Finchfield threw forward in search of an equaliser, which would effectively see them promoted. This resulted in a string of penalty corners for the away side which were admirably defended by the Stratford quartet of runners, getting whatever was necessary in the way of any goalbound strikes. In the case of the unfortunate “man of the match” Hyatt, this was especially true.
Having returned to the field of play only moments earlier after being patched up for a second blood injury, a thumping shot struck him squarely in the sternum, sending him to the ground.
With 10 minutes remaining, victory was sealed when, following a quick break, Brookes threaded a delightful pass through to the unmarked McKee, who expertly drew the keeper before slipping the ball to Leary. His goalbound shot struck a defender on the line and a penalty stroke was awarded to Stratford and Leary sent the keeper the wrong way for his second.
When the final whistle blew, a small pitch invasion triggered celebrations which will be long remembered.
A jubilant skipper Stu Guise said afterwards: “We thoroughly deserve to be league champions. It is something that everyone in the team and club have worked hard for. The input from our coach Andy Hodges has helped focus everyone’s ideas and drive which have culminated in this fantastic day.”
