Men's 1st XI vs Slough

A third win in fifteen days saw Winchester climb away from danger in South Central Prem Division 1. 

From the off, Winchester continued their fast flowing, powerful attacking hockey with George Allmark setting Ben Hibberd up for a shot that was well saved. Kieran Molloy then put the home team ahead with a lightning strike into the top right hand corner. Winchester continued their dominance in the opening quarter with Will Leyland, combining well down the right with the other under 18 players Ed Bulstrode and Matt Richman, forcing another good save. But the second quarter saw Slough start to exert influence and Winchester began to be more wasteful with possession. This brought keeper Seb Eaton into play for the first time, saving well from a Slough penalty corner but the original pattern of the game was re-established as the opposition keeper kept out strikes from Hibberd and Leyland.

A surging run from his own half saw Rory Kilpatrick drive into the "D" as the third quarter got under way but Eaton made a blinding save at the other end from the breakdown of a Slough penalty corner. A fantastically crafted goal then put Winchester 2-0 up as Nick Clark launched a long aerial from deep right back into the Slough half which was picked up by Molloy who beat his player, ran forty metres, slipping the ball to Ben Anthony who drew the keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net. Slough responded immediately with a penalty corner that found the corner of an unguarded net. An equaliser seemed certain as an extended melee occurred close to the Winchester goal line but somehow Eaton kept the ball out. 

The two goal advantage was regained when Hibberd slipped a penalty corner left to Molloy who expertly found the corner of the net. The final quarter had both keepers busy and more pressure on the Winchester defenders Matt Kenyon, James Pawley and Nick Clark, but their level of assurance has increased immeasurably since the opening games of the season and the lead was maintained.