Worcester 2s vs Birmingham Kings 2s (2-0 1-0)

Worcester International Hockey Centre – 12:30 Pushback

A beautiful afternoon at Worcester International Hockey Centre provided the perfect setting for another highly anticipated fixture, with the weather behaving itself and the crowds flocking to the pitch to witness what promised to be an afternoon of high-quality hockey.

The Worcester 2s arrived in good spirits and, following an excellent warm-up, looked ready to put on a show. And for the opening 20 minutes, that is exactly what they did.

Worcester started the game on the front foot, dominating possession, moving the ball well and putting Birmingham Kings 2s under serious pressure. The only thing missing was the all-important goal.

That looked to have arrived after 25 minutes when Ryan found the back of the net. Unfortunately, his attempt was ruled out for lifting the ball dangerously, meaning Worcester were forced to wait a little longer for the breakthrough. Ryan was later rewarded for his efforts with Man of the Match, largely on the grounds that scoring a goal which doesn't count is apparently enough to win the award.

After the initial dominance, Worcester unfortunately began to drop towards Birmingham's level and allowed the travelling umpire to have an increasing influence on the flow of the game. What had started as a controlled Worcester performance gradually became somewhat more chaotic.

The second half provided no shortage of entertainment.

On 50 minutes, a whistle from the nearby Ladies 1s match caused a moment of confusion, with Birmingham Kings 2s believing it had come from our pitch and duly stopping play. Dillon, showing excellent awareness of the situation and a commendable commitment to the laws of the game, took full advantage and was given three attempts to find the net before eventually slipping the ball home.

At 52 minutes, things became even more interesting.

Sam Grew was subjected to some less-than-friendly attention whilst defending, prompting captain James to step in and defend his teammate. After having a word with the travelling umpire, James then calmly attempted to explain to WHC why the incident wasn't actually a foul.

The umpire, perhaps concerned by the visible signs of exhaustion in the captain, decided that James looked like he needed a two-minute breather and duly sent him to the sidelines.

A generous gesture, really.

After completing his enforced rest and returning to the field, James was promptly hit over the head, apparently confirming the umpire's earlier diagnosis. This time, the recommendation was upgraded to a four-minute breather.

During James' second period of enforced relaxation, Sam Grew apparently decided that he too deserved some time off and got his revenge on a child, earning himself a card in the process.

A strange afternoon.

Despite all the distractions, questionable whistles and increasingly creative interpretations of the rules, Worcester managed to see the game out and secure a deserved three points.

It wasn't Worcester's best performance of the season, but the important thing was getting the job done. There were plenty of lessons to take away, not least the importance of maintaining our own standards regardless of what is happening around us.

The afternoon was rounded off in traditional Worcester fashion with three cheers for Barford, bringing proceedings to a suitably dignified conclusion.