Bicester Mens 1s riding the top of the table after 3 wins from 3 games had an afternoon game on the road to Aylesbury also having a fairly strong start of the season as they were also undefeated going into the game.

From the first whistle Bicester were on the front foot, setting the tempo and high press to the game. It took only 2 minutes for the breakthrough to happen, an aerial ball played forward was picked by Callum and drove into the D and shot across the face of goal, where Ollie was waiting at the back post for a tap in finish. A minute later Ollie looked set to make it 2 after beating the last defender, unfortunately dragged the shot wide.

In the 7th Minute, there was a short stoppage as Callum was spoken to by the umpire. However this was soon forgotten as the next attacking play again via the aerial threat saw Ollie pick the ball and place it straight on an Aylesbury foot to win a short corner. The resulting short was some class hockey, as Callum faked the drag-flick to throw the defenders and slipped the ball to Sean, who slammed the ball into the backboard to give Bicester the 2 goal lead.

At the other end of pitch, Nathan was really quiet with his first touch of the ball coming in the 14th minute, as Aylesbury, having nowhere to go from the high press, threw an aerial ball forward that went all the way through for Nathan to push out to Pete, who continued the attacking play forward with Bicester winning another short corner. This time Callum dragged the shot straight into the goal netting, Bicester well in control at 3-0 inside 15 minutes.

The next 5 minutes or so were relatively uneventful as the game started to settle, Aylesbury starting to get more of the ball outside their own half and both teams getting opportunities inside the opposition 23. When Aylesbury was able to develop a play the final ball into the D was deemed dangerous. While another short corner was won by Bicester it was dragged over the bar.

As the 28th Minute passed, Ollie received a green card for arguing with the umpire. However Bicester didn't let this affect their playstyle and continued the forward play. In the final minute of the half, Callum skillfully worked into the D and the keeper saved to give a long corner. Alex took the initiative and took it quickly and a heavy foul from the defender was rewarded with the short. The initial reverse shot from the short was saved, however Keegan was able to get on the rebound first to give Bicester a 4-0 lead going into the break.

Aylesbury looked to have tried to change shape going into the second half, however Bicester took less than a minute to win a short corner for a little hook on the ankle with a stick. With the re-award of the short, saw the ball saved and bobbled into the penalty spot area, while a little messy, Scott was able to find the gap to extend the lead further.

With instant response Aylesbury got on the front foot and won their first short corner, while it was taken well it was a great low save to Nathan’s left to keep the clean sheet. Peter was able to turn over the ball and feed Callum a pass to give Bicester a 3 on1, however the final pass was poor and led to nothing further.

As the early second half progressed, both teams continued to win short corners. Aylesbury had a swing & miss on a good scoring opportunity, while at the other end Bicester kept it simple as Ollie took a side step around the defender and drove the ball home into the backboard for his second and Bicester’s 6th goal.

Frustration from Aylesbury looked to be setting in as tackles and challenges on the ball started to become more physical, the 20th minute of the half saw a very heavy challenge go in on Callum as he was charging forward with the ball, a loud and heated exchange with the umpire saw the player given a 10 minute Yellow. Despite the man advantage Bicester allowed the game to get a bit more stretched as some wayward passes gave Aylesbury more of the ball and saw 5 minutes of some sloppy mistakes from both teams.

With the full-time whistle looming, Callum thought he made it 7 heaven, unfortunately this was disallowed for dangerous play. Keegan took the final limelight in the last few minutes,first taking a hit to the arm that needed a moment to get checked, then to return to the field and within seconds fouled an Aylesbury midfielder to receive a green card himself.

Final score of 6-0 showed the dominant performance against an established side in this league and could have easily been a larger scoreline. Result sees them topping the table after 4 games with a 2 point cushion.

Man of the Match - Ollie Hartley