After the excitement of opening weekend at Holcombe Park and the manner of the results against the quality of opposition, Game 2 for both our Men’s and Ladies provided us with a simple objective; keep moving forward.

Having picked up some valuable points, throwing them away with a lacklustre performance the following week would have been criminal. Thankfully both sides put in dominant away performances to run out comfortable winners against the perennial challengers that are Reading and position ourselves well in the early table.

Both Men and Women’s sides were able to strengthen this past week;

The Women welcomed back Wales Internationals Leah Wilkinson and Sarah Jones and had it not been for her junk folder, would have re-registered Captain Steph Elliott in time for the game after her transfer from the New Zealand domestic league. With Leah and Sarah coming off the back of a successful International tournament, their sharpness over the coming weeks will be invaluable.

On the men’s side, we welcomed back Double Olympian Iain Lewers along with GB and England Captain Barry Middleton. Although they played minimal minutes on Saturday due to illness and fatigue respectively, both still played a pivotal part and it will be great to have them back in full training this week.

We also had debutant Aaron Cheema in our ranks on Saturday night. The ‘Mandem’ has already become a key part of the group this year and it was great to see him carry his form over to the Premier League on Saturday night. He can stand alone as having some of the fastest hands in the league and seeing him showcase his skills this year is exciting just to think about.

Saturday was tough.

The circumstances surrounding the day as a whole were horrific and the gulf that has been left in that club was almost tangible. It wasn’t until I was chatting to one of the Reading players down by the changing rooms a couple of hours before the start of our game that I truly appreciated what they were all going through.

The outpouring from the Hockey community has been incredible and I know that everyone at Reading is eternally grateful for the support they’ve received. The ceremony in between games was heartfelt and the minute’s applause paid testament to Ravi as an individual – Reading were right; it was a celebration of his life, not a mourning of loss.

The games were played in an exemplary spirit and the whole occasion was dealt with in as perfect a way as a situation like that could ever be.

At the moment, both Holcombe sides have slightly different focuses towards ultimately achieving the same goal.

Our women, after being run so close for that final playoff place last season, are chasing points relentlessly. Securing that 4^th position on the final game of the season was an unwelcome stressor over the final month of the league and securing their place in the post-season as early as possible is a huge incentive.

For us, we have had the hardest possible start but it serves as perfect preparation for our European debut. Our trip to Hamburg to play some of the best sides in Europe has been followed by last year’s regular season runners up, third place and this coming week sees us take on last season’s 4^th place finishers but defending champions after their playoff success.

With the reigning European champions Kampong of Holland waiting for us in our group in Northern Ireland, we’re welcoming the tough start to the league to get us as ready as we can be.

The squads are settling down now and there’ll be continuity from Games 2 to 3 that has been absent throughout pre-season and the season so far. With the majority of the rest of the club beginning their own competitive leagues either this weekend or the following, the positive starts for the 1’s has given confidence to everyone involved with the club.

With our 1^st teams split across the country this coming weekend, the women are off to Leicester Saturday afternoon whilst we host the 2-time defending champions on Saturday evening.

Another tough week is in the books for both sides with points and goals to celebrate.

Strong performances always lead to the same sentiment at Holcombe;

On to the next one.

 

@BandurakWriting on Twitter or via www.nickbandurakblog.wordpress.com