KP Men’s 1st team edge a close contest with Clapham Common
HC Knole Park’s men’s 1st team travelled to Clapham Common for their second match of the season. Before the game, the team spoke about how they might convert their second half performances into the first halves of matches. It worked! The team started very well with the midfield of Duncan Parnis, Will Gough-Cooper and Charlie Cooper moving through ball through the lines connecting the defence with the attack. After some sustained attacks, Parnis scored his first goal of the game through a penalty corner move. The second soon followed after as Parnis pounced on a rebound and his backhand strike hit a player on the line. Parnis scores the penalty stroke to make it 2-0 to KP. Just before half time a lapse in concentration resulted in a penalty corner conceded, with Clapham Common scored.
The second half started the same as the first. Early in the half Parnis completed his hat trick with a thunderbolt backhand into the roof of the net, before laying on an assist for Giacomo Sebastiani, who was making his senior debut, to make it 4-1 to KP. Giacomo first picked up a stick at primary school through The Hockey Academy and is now playing 1st team hockey! A remarkable hockey journey!
As the second half progressed Clapham Common became more dominant and scored two well taken goals. The defensive unit of Billy Hughes, Rob Harrison, Jago Ongley-Dellar-Dellar, Mark Webster and player of the match Stuart Medlen were outstanding to keep Clapham Common to just 3 goals throughout the 70 minutes.
The closely played match finished 4-3 to Knole Park. Next week HC Knole Park are back at home against Chiswick PHC.
David Gough-Cooper who was injured on the first two minutes later discovered he’d played the whole match with a fractured foot! What a hero!
Comments