On Sat 28th June, Guildford HC were invited to the Army Hockey Centre in Aldershot for a friendly game against an Aldershot based Army team. Jack Hillier, Captain of the Aldershot team organised the event as part of the Armed Forces Day celebrations. I set about the task of gathering a team of ‘Guildford All-stars’ for this epic showdown. After the usual shenanigans and the, “I’m in / I’m out” of players from both teams the day finally arrived.
Due to players pulling out of both teams, (and a back injury during the warm up) Will Evans suggested we divide the players as evenly as possible giving everyone maximum pitch time. With Guildford having the advantage of the extra player for the first half and the father/son combo of Andrew & Jonny Payne the game was underway. Both teams put in a valiant effort especially as Aldershot had already played in an earlier fixture. A slower pace in the second half but the player advantage now with Aldershot they were able to pull a goal back. Tired legs and a questionably high stick inside the Aldershot ‘D’ that went un-penalised allowed Jonny Payne to put the game beyond any doubt. Final score Guildford 4 Aldershot 2.
A massive thank you to everyone involved, things like this cannot happen without you. Thanks also to those who represented Guildford HC and to Aldershot for hosting us. Looking forward to some more preseason fixtures like this and perhaps a few new faces at Guildford HC.
Rob Williams | 
