Royston M1 XI (4) - (1) St Albans 4 XI

With the end of lockdown it was once again time to down pies and up sticks. The unbeaten Crows’ first fixture at the restart saw them welcome low flying St Albans who have so far struggled for form in this disrupted season.

Given the circumstances it was no surprise to see players from both teams making early mistakes as players lacked fitness, form and composure in what quickly turned out to be a highly lethargic display of hockey. Fortunately, Royston found themselves able to string some brief moments of quality together to create chances which were a class above what their opponents were able to muster.

The breakthrough came after Toby found Toby who turned neatly on to his right side before slotting a tidy tomahawk past the keeper. Further moments of quality produced a gilt edge 1 v 1 opportunity for Callum ‘buy your own bloody shirt’ Weir and a good chance for Captain Hall who was able to create a half yard for himself before unleashing towards the bottom corner. Both opportunities were dealt with by an impressive visiting keeper who was by far St Alban’s standout man. At the other end Royston were handling their counterparts comfortably, seeing few chances created to test stand-in keeper Keith ‘The Power’ Markham.

The second half took a familiar form as rusty play all over the pitch prevented the game from flowing. On top of this, the lack of fitness all over started to take its toll as Royston players began picking up injuries at the back, this led to the remaining players unable to sub their tired legs. Royston shifted gears into a possession focussed approach in order to preserve energy which paid dividends as they started finding growing pockets of space as the St Albans defence began to break lines chasing the ball. The Crows took advantage of this space to extend their lead after a driving run and driven shot from R.Woodhouse left the (socially distanced) crowd stunned. As the half grew on, The Tangerines looked more and more leggy which led to Usain Farmer licking his lips at the prospect of space in behind. He took full advantage as he throttled to the baseline twice before teeing up Kane and Son for tap-ins as the Crows went 4 goals for the good.

Royston were able to see out the remainder of the game with little incident other than a well worked short corner flick for The Oranges that left The Power stranded, an unexpected moment of quality for St Albans.

A sigh of relief at the full time whistle for bodies that weren’t ready for competitive hockey. 3 very welcome points for Royston who extend their unbeaten run to 7 so far this season.

Man of the Match: Toby ‘what lockdown, I feel fine’ London
Dick of the Day: Peter ‘only an 8/10 performance’ Fletcher