Kelburne Men's 5s Beat Giffnock 2s 2-1

On 24.11.18 - Kelburne went on the offensive straight from their pass back, setting the tone for the first half, with intricate passing and movement. Great work by Hamish Walker and Sam Hunt, passing round their opponents which led to the first Kelburne short corner of the first half on 4 minutes. That short corner came to nought but on 14 minutes came the first Kelburne goal. A rampaging Dick Donaldson manoeuvred the ball to Sam Hunt who slammed it home from a reverse stick, just inside the D. This was a deserved Kelburne lead. The team continued to play great passing hockey with notable contributions from youngsters Andrew Stewart, Tommy Austin, Jared Bolland, Nicholas Knox, and Rory Donaldson . The old guard also contributed with Hamish Walker, Dick Donaldson and Willie Hunt to the fore. On 28 minutes from another Kelburne short corner Sam Hunt turned provider, setting up Dick Donaldson to score Kelburne's second. For the rest of the first half this team, a blend of young and old, dominated and should have scored more. Giffnock almost got one back just before half time, but Fionn Wilson made a great save just as the half time whistle sounded.

The crowd thoroughly enjoyed the hockey on show in the first half, and were looking forward to more Kelburne goals in the second. Things didn't quite go as planned however and Giffnock began to have more possession, applying concerted pressure on the Kelburne team. 10 minutes into the second half the Giffnock players got a goal back, a neat finish, just evading Fionn in goal. The rest of the second half was a scrappy affair with Kelburne managing to get several short corners but ultimately Kelburne were reliant on a magnificent rearguard action from Andrew Stewart, Gordon Robbie, Tommy Austin and most notably Willie Hunt who made numerous blocking tackles and managed a diving deflection to sweep the ball off the Kelburne goal line. For the last five minutes the young Kelburne players up front pressed their opponents high up the pitch, keeping the ball away from their own half. Dylan Bradley was tenacious in his tackling, with Sam Hunt closing down without fear, and taking a painful one to his knee for his troubles.

All the Kelburne supporters and players were relieved to hear the final whistle. What started as a dominant performance became a battle in the second half, but on balance the scoreline was probably a fair reflection of the game.