Hockey: West Derby 2 v 2 Rochdale Men’s Seconds

Another tough test for Rochdale saw them take on a slightly off-form West Derby.

The game opened fairly evenly, with both sides trying to establish a quick passing game.

There were a few good chances at both ends, with a couple of goal line clearances from the Rochdale defence and some near misses from the attack.

The balance was tipped in Rochdale’s favour when Dean Close cleverly mopped up a rebound.

This angered West Derby, who responded with some very aggressive tackles.

Fortunately, level four umpire Steve Woolley was quick to respond, sin binning a West Derby player. Unfortunately, a further sin bin was required for the West Derby captain for persistent verbal abuse.

A continued sin bin into the second half brought the game into a reasonable level of safety.

After several threatening attacks, West Derby were rewarded with some good fortune in front of goal and got themselves 2-1 up with ten minutes to go.

Rochdale dug deep and after a few penetrations won a penalty corner.

A well-executed switch routine saw Close add an excellent equaliser with a cool finish.

All was not over, and it required some resolute defending from the Rochdale defence to keep the scoreline even, especially with a time stopped penalty corner to defend.

The Flying Horse Man of the Match was difficult as it was a good all-round team effort to get a well-earned point.

After much deliberation it went to Sam Wilkinson for another solid performance.

With a special mention for the umpires for keeping the game safe as hockey can be, despite poor lighting due to a lack of floodlights.

All in all a well-earned point that keeps Rochdale third in the table.