 The Guildford Hockey Club Men’s 1st XI were victorious again this weekend, extending their unbeaten run to nine games. Saturday was a tough test against a Blackheath and Elthamians side who are lower on the league table than performance suggests.
Filled with experienced players, Blackheath and Elthamians have a strong team, and I can only imagine that they are one win away from a swing in fortune. The opposition dominated large phases of the first half, and if anything, had the lion’s share of possession and chances.
It was an absolute pleasure to see four U18’s (products of the GHC junior program) represent the Men’s 1st XI once again. Two of these players, Harry Relph and Freddy Esplen, started this weekend, and Freddy Esplen opened the scoring by putting away an excellent reverse stick shot that will certainly be in the running for ‘goal of the season’.
Having gone 1-0 up, unfortunately the rest of the half belonged to Blackheath and we went into the break 2-3 down.
An inspiring half time team talk seemed to make the difference as the Guildford Men came away as victors, with a well-earned 4-3 final score line.
Ross Ferguson scored another brace but has lost his top spot in the league’s goal scoring list to West Hampstead’s Chris Todd.
There were a few candidates for Man of the Match, with some good goals and hard work from a number of key players. The prize was awarded to one of the international stars in the squad, Tylo Remke, who’s Spartan like performance inspired another win for the Men’s 1s.
As we go into this weekend’s away fixture at Tulse Hill and Dulwich, with all of the top five teams having won their last matches, it is crucial the Men arrive switched on and ready to go!
Man of the Match: Tylo Remke
Craig Mullon | 
