Hockey 1st XI Mount Kelly 2-3 Plymouth College

Plymouth College travelled to local rivals Mount Kelly looking to bounce back from defeat at Wellington School earlier in the term. With the return of 3 Year 11 students who had missed that game due to mock exams, the side was much stronger than it had been on that occasion. The home side started strongly and put pressure on James Heale's goal, but a series of routine saves kept the score at 0-0. The deadlock was finally broken when an error in the visiting side's back four allowed Mount Kelly to take the lead. Going behind spurred the Ford Park side into life however and they began to look more fluent in their build up play. Opportunities were created and squandered, however Plymouth College did manage to find an equaliser 15 minutes into the game when Ollie Dinnis converted a penalty corner with an excellent drag-flick. This goal led to a period of assendancy for the visitors and they soon took the lead when a weaving run from the impressive Will Warnock ended with an incisive pass to Peter Loxdale who applied a sublime finish on the reverse stick. With both sides growing into the game, more chances in front of goal were squandered, and the score remained 2-1 to Plymouth College at the break.

The second period saw much of the same, with two evenly matched teams trading blows. Both sides could have scored numerous times, but it was the Ford Park outfit who extended their advantage. Good build up play saw a penalty corner awarded, and despite a charge down from the first defender, the ball fell to Ollie Dinnis on the rebound. Dinnis' goal-bound shot was stopped by the foot of a Mount Kelly defender on the line and a penalty stroke was awarded. The same player stepped up to beat the keeper and extend Plymouth College's advantage. Mount Kelly deserve a lot of credit for the way they responded, and they were soon back in the game when a goal mouth scramble resulted in a close range finish to halve the advantage. The visitors were in no mood to give the game away however and they hung on for a creditable 3-2 victory. Well done to all staff and student involved, and many thanks to Mount Kelly for the excellent spirit in which the game was played.