Morris strikes twice as Beavers move to the top

SATURDAY saw a shift in the balance of power in the Investec Men's Division One after Beavers trounced Investec Colombians 5-2 to take the top spot from their big rivals. 'It was a must-win game,' said Beavers captain Andy Whalley at the Memorial Field afterwards.

'They knew it as well and it showed in the first half as it was really tight. It was important that we kept our shape and that gave us opportunities to score goals.

'Also we were playing really nice one and two-touch hockey and on a quick pitch with quick passing, that's what hurt them. It was a great performance.'

It certainly was a highly entertaining match played at a furious pace.

Beavers opened their account 15 minutes into the game through Dave Morris with a great reverse-stick strike.

The yellows equalised after five minutes at a short corner when TJ Ozanne slipped Tristan Cairns in to score.

But with five minutes of the half left, Whalley put his team ahead again when he scored in open play.

Within 10 minutes of the second half Beavers were 3-1 ahead thanks to a simple tap-in at the far post from Morris.

Beavers were now controlling the game and it was evident that Colombians were badly missing their island defender Matt Elston.

Just past the hour mark Beavers winger Simon Beck made it 4-1 with another easy tap-in before he extended the lead even further a couple of minutes later with yet another close-range effort.

Cairns dragged the score back by one as the clock was ticking down but it was never going to be enough.

'I think we played very well but full credit to Beavers: they soaked up our pressure and hit us on the break,' said Colombians captain and keeper Kees Jager.

'I don't think the score reflects the game but full credit to them. They played us at our own game.

'I think over the three games we've played them we've been the better team. We've beaten them twice.

'But today was our age-old problem of not scoring enough goals.'

Both teams are now on 15 points with two games left, but Beavers have a far better goal difference. The dark blues have a difference of 18 goals while Colombians have eight.

If Beavers beat Unwantables this coming weekend, the title is near enough theirs.

'They are in the driving seat,' said Jager.

'We just go on to our next games and I feel sorry for Yobbos and Unwantables because we're going to go five up front and score 10 goals.'

While the Beavers and Colombians game was as good as it gets, the following game between Mosgrove Yobbos and bottom-placed Coreix Unwantables was very much a case of After the Lord Mayor's show.

Unwantables came away from a drab affair with a 4-1 win. But Andy Alford, standing in as captain for John Bell, did not see it like that.

'It was a good game, we put lots of pressure on them,' he said.

'It was our best game all season. We broke them down, we put in lots of effort and we were strong in the tackle.

'It's always nice to get the win.'

The game came to life in the 24th minute when Alford, who was easily the best player on the pitch, executed a delightful reverse stick undercut that rocketed past Yobbos keeper Andy Good into the back of the net.

Six minutes later, the midfield playmaker got another with a blistering low strike.

A woeful Yobbos side did not have a meaningful chance all first half and shortly after the restart, their opponents got their third goal thanks to Kev Smith with a little touch from a short corner strike.

Midway through the second, Yobbos' Tim Ravenscroft showed his class when the young attacker unleashed a reverse-stick shot to score a goal that rivalled Alford's earlier effort.

Unwantables made sure of the points with a late goal from Alex Burne to make it 4-1 in the bright sunshine.

'I think we were enjoying the weather too much,' said Yobbos skipper Steve Ward.

'Two excellent goals from Andy Alford left us chasing the game. I'm very disappointed.'