Having endured a last-minute postponement ahead of their opening fixture a week ago, Holcombe went into their first match of the season having not played a fixture for three weeks.

With five debutants in their ranks, they welcomed a Beeston side fresh from a 1-1 draw with last years’ regular season champions Wimbledon, boasting a formidable attacking threat including two of Holcombe’s strikers from last year.

Sam Ward and Gareth Andrew combined for 22 goals in the 20 games of last season and having made the move north to the Nottingham side, were welcomed back to Holcombe Park on Sunday for the first time since their departure.

Having endured such a frustrating opening weekend to the season, it was in fact the home side that settled into their rhythm straight away, moving the ball around with purpose in the opening exchanges.

Some early forays into the Beeston half were dealt with comfortably by the visiting defence before a deflection from Rob Field forced an early save from Simon Hujwan in the Beeston goal.

Seemingly alerted to the pressures of the home side, the Nottingham outfit began to press higher up the pitch and negated any chance for Holcombe to progress up the field.

With both Sam Ward and Gareth Andrew looking lively up front for the visitors, a string of Beeston penalty corners produced a combination of brave defensive running and some fine saves from George Pinner to keep the scores level.

Ultimately, it was to be a Beeston penalty corner that would break the deadlock. With the initial shot from Sam Ward comfortably saved, the ball fell to former Holcombe talisman Gareth Andrew who saw his push across goal deflected up into the top corner by Holcombe debutant Mo Mea.

With clear-cut chances hard to come by for either side, an overtime penalty corner for Holcombe at the end of the first period was well dealt with by Beeston’s defensive unit as a combination of Oli Willars and Stephen Lawrence negated the threat to preserve their lead at the interval.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first; Beeston continued to press aggressively, forcing Holcombe to rush connections between their lines. Some resolute defending by both teams lest Pinner and Hujwan largely untroubled until, with 20 minutes to go, Beeston won another penalty corner. After a worked move at the top of the circle, Sam Ward saw his effort rebound off the inside of the post before striking the back of Pinners’ heels and rolling into the goal.

With a two-goal cushion secured, Beeston moved the ball around well, staying compact in defence and minimising opportunities for Holcombe to gain a foothold in the contest. With time running down, the Holcombe had a spell of dominance around the Beeston circle but were unable to convert their pressure into shots on target as Beeston came away from Kent with a professional display to earnt the points.

Speaking after the game about his sides’ opening game of the season, Holcombe Captain Richard Lane said; “The team played well on the whole and our defence was solid throughout. We were slightly down on match practice having not had a game in three weeks however there were positives to take from the game and we’re pleased that David Ames, Dan Webster, Mo Mea, Glenn Eyeres, and Jatinder Bachu all played their first games for the club.”

Next weekend, Holcombe welcome fellow local rivals Sevenoaks to Holcombe Park on Saturday for a Kent Derby under-lights at 6pm.

Images courtesy of http://www.groutphotography.co.uk/