Aldershot and Farnham Hockey Club head coach Ian Jennings was delighted with his side after they won 3-0 at Lewes in the South East Premier League last Saturday (October 1).

The Shots picked up their first victory of the season, to add to their 2-2 draw against Tunbridge Wells on the opening day. And Jennings was full of praise for his side.

“I have taken a real sense of pride in the way the team have taken to the task of competing at this level and a real sense of achievement when the final whistle goes,” he said.

“Each team will bring with it something different that we haven’t seen before and that has been the case so far.

“What has pleased me the most is how we have adapted to each of these situations which has made us grow stronger as a unit.”

Despite the praise, Jennings stressed his side still have areas to work on and improve.

“We are not working our way out of our circle penetrations,” he said. “We have to think more quickly, responding to the game picture we see before us and execute accordingly.

“We need to be more ruthless at training and that is a controllable.”

Aldershot and Farnham welcomed back Morhall and McCafferty to the squad of 14 for the trip to Lewes.

The match was immediately free-flowing with Lewes employing a tactic the visitors had not seen recently, playing very advanced strikers.

This initially disrupted the defensive pattern, but the team quickly adjusted to mitigate this and established a degree of dominance through the aggressive press of the opposition ball carrier. Baron and Boot neatly controlled the midfield, with the strong presence of Herring keeping the back line organised in the face of a different threat.

Openings were worked, with Weston a constant threat, and after several attempts on goal, Baron opened the scoring with a neat run into the opposition D, deceiving the goalkeeper with a cleverly placed finish.

Lewes threatened on the break but the visitors showed their tenacity and no little fitness through tireless chasing back to nullify this threat, ably supported with excellent goalkeeping by Edgley.

Wilkinson and McCafferty proved excellent foils for Herring at the back and the forward line of Frost, Cradden, Chinn and Combes continued to harry the Lewes defence, impeding them from quickly or easily moving the ball forward.

Starting the second half 1-0 up, Aldershot and Farnham persisted with their attacking intent. Morhall and Perry threatened constantly, while Rushmere relentlessly tied up the Lewes defence.

This led to several short corners and a second goal via a powerful drag flick by Perry.

The game opened up as players tired on both sides, although the visitors continued to look dangerous on the break. Chinn proved a menace near the goal and came close to increasing the lead before Perry latched on to a quick break from defence, carrying the ball 49 yards at pace before beating the Lewes goalkeeper for the third goal.

Herring made an outstanding, brave stop on the goal line from a late Lewes short corner, ensuring the game ended 3-0.

Report: James Combes

Photos: Steve Tarsey