Hawks C vs. Lakers C, February 15, 2020

Overcast skies, temperature hovering at around 7 degrees Celsius (44.6 Fahrenheit).
I arrived at the field in time to watch some of the Masters vs India game, and was shocked to see Douwes in red. Shocking.

Our game started on time (I think), and in very short order we had a 1 goal advantage. This came as a result of a blindfolded pass by Lakers defence to fancy Chris who calmly collected the ball with his stick and with blazing speed raced into the D. and then the unimaginable happened; he wound up, swung, actually connected stick with ball, and looped a crazy shot into the goal. The crowd (1) went wild…..
Lakers sort of got their shit together in the 2nd quarter and had the Hawks on their heels for some time, hitting the post (Chad’s best buddy) twice. They were finally able to slip one past Chad on a penalty corner. 1 green card for me.

Half time came and coach Cedric had some tough words for the team (something like the Lakers suck, the Hawks are much better, pull your fingers out, go and have fun). So we got back onto the field and started to play some really decent hockey, putting intense pressure on the Lakers defence, and our defence on their forwards. I think we got out 2nd goal in this quarter, developing from an outlet pass from our defence to Carter who squeezed and slithered through umpteen whacks and hacks to pass the ball to Declan to put it into the Lakers net. 2 – 1 for the good guys. The crowd (Angus and Mia) was hysterical…..There was also a slight altercation between Ed and “Uncle” which resulted in Ed getting a yellow card. Boos and hisses from the crowd……

A quick break for water, then into the 4th quarter. Once again the hungry Hawks were buzzing like angry wasps, infuriating the lackadaisical Lakers, culminating in yet another goal, this time from Kirin who received a 50 metre areal scoop (Bleck) in the Lakers D and calmly moved the ball past their keeper into the net. This time there was no containing the crowd as they invaded the field to carry Kirin on their shoulders back to our half.

The game was not won by the 3 goal scorers, but by a combined team effort where all played with determination and flair. The forwards were able to gather the ball and create scoring opportunities, the midfield were tireless in their attacking and defending roles, the defence were rock solid, and Chad was, as always, just amazing.
And hats off to the supporting crowd (now numbering in the 1,000s) and off course to Cedric.
Enough said.

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