Hockey: Kirkby Lonsdale Men's Firsts 1 - 1 Rochdale Firsts

Dave Gowers

Rochdale went into their match on Saturday 12 October missing six players and facing an uphill battle against a good Kirby side.

Rochdale started with a game plan which caught Kirby off guard. Rochdale started at a frightening pace and pegged Kirby back into their own half for the first 20 mins, but despite this they could not land the killer blow.

Dave Gowers came close to scoring at the back post and Aaron Hunter, Luke Rosebury and Richard Borritt were controlling the game from midfield. However, it was Kirby who scored first. Against the run of play they were awarded a penalty flick which Rochdale keeper Brian Robinson nearly managed to keep out.

Rochdale went into the break 1-0 down but not deterred. They once again flew out of the blocks for the second half, with the Rochdale defence looking unbeatable they were soon level when Gowers turned in a James Shepherd shot.

Rochdale pushed on and as well as having a goal disallowed, they were also guilty of missing some clear chances to take all 3 points.

Stand in Captain Mark Eden said "I am so proud of the team today, we were missing 6 players and had a bare 11. We played a full press for 70 mins  and really should have won. The whole team gave their all and it is impossible to pick a Man of the Match the whole team deserve this".