After the contextual success of last week, both squads headed into this week’s fixtures on the back of differing results and facing altogether different challenges.

  

For the girls, suffering such a crucial blow so late in the game last Sunday was a real sucker punch, undoubtedly compounded by the fact that you then have the best part of 5 hours in a car back to Kent throughout which you simply sit and reflect on everything you could have done to turn that result around.

For the men, we had a professional and prolific 6-0 win away from home and some valuable time away together as a group. Naturally fuelling even further the tight bond we have together as a squad.

Going into this weekend’s fixtures, the women had a real challenge in every sense. A rotation of the squad was inevitable. Appearance regulations across the 2^nd team makes life very complicated going into the final couple of Premier League games, potentially impacting upon the strength of the second team up until February.

As such, continuity was never really viable going into the clash with the University of Birmingham. Add to that the recovering Sarah Jones from last weekend’s hamstring injury and Emma Trunks taking the bench to run some minutes after only having the pin removed from her finger earlier in the week and having not trained for over a month and you get the picture.

The opposition were obviously weakened. You can’t lose 9 junior Internationals to the Junior World Cup and be quantified as anything but.

This presents a different challenge altogether. There’s the expectation of victory, especially playing at Holcombe Park and that creates a completely different kind of pressure.

Having said they were weakened, UoB still had a side littered with senior and junior internationals, not to mention Olympic Gold medallist Lily Owsley.

With the first half actually being pretty even, the girls being able to convert their chances in the final third pad dividends. I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to say that last season, a game like that would have cost points because we just wouldn’t have been able to put the ball in the goal.

The best thing to come out of that game however is the mind-set. Everyone I spoke to was of the same opinion; “It’s fine, but we can’t have that second half next week.”

And that’s exactly how it should be.

All of a sudden, UoB aren’t the focus, the focus is something bigger and there’s a process to be achieved along the way. Holding themselves to higher standards is what will make the difference in tough games down the stretch from February.

We had a different challenge on our hands.

Beeston have had a great start to the season and picked up some valuable points. We represent the half-way point in the season and as current leaders, a measure against which all teams can gauge themselves.

Sitting third in the league going into Sunday, Beeston have demonstrated they are a quality side this year and remain tough for anyone to beat.

Contrary to the headline that England Hockey led with in the build-up the game, there was never any motivation of ‘revenge’. We wanted and needed those points and had to send a clear message of the level to which we are capable of playing.

Sadly, that was 35 minutes in waiting.

We were awful that first period. Whether that is entirely down to us or whether credit is due to Beeston becomes a chicken-and-egg scenario. I honestly think it’s a combination of both. Beeston were massively up for that game yesterday; the crowd celebrating Gleggy charging down 4 consecutive corners as though it were a goal at half time would tell you that.

They played well, with energy and put us under pressure. Pressure that we didn’t deal with. We were caught cold and couldn’t get going.

If you had to take positives out of a situation like that, being 2-0 down at half time away from home to third in the league is a pretty desolate place to be. To have enough about us as a group and as athletes to wrestle it back in the clutch and claim the win tells you everything you need to know about the belief in our squad.

In the interest of transparency, I also feel like I should mention that late goal that was disallowed for Beeston.

I was in the circle when the ball came in and my initial thought was that the ball was missed and Ali Bray had his stick smashed. Those of us that were asking Dan Barstow were saying precisely that and Josh’s back-stick wasn’t raised as an issue – it certainly wasn’t a consideration of mine.

I’d like to see it again but the honesty in me would say that we had a bit of luck with that one. The Cannock in me would also say that we were owed one for Cat’s overtime goal last year that was disallowed.

Swings and roundabouts.

 

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