Harrow Mens 1st XI vs. Witney, Sat 21st February

We arrived at the match knowing what changes had to be made to secure the three points that we had fumbled the week prior.
With the league win in Harrow sights they knew every shot and pass had to be quick and accurate, every 50/50 ball had to be theirs and every tackle had to not only be strong but successful.
The match started and Harrow were focused, dominating possession and leaving little for Keeper Pete Walkling to do.
Harrow moved the ball around quickly and utilised the defence switching the ball out of the crowded areas and back around to attack on the other wing.
Before long Harrow's immense pressure had broken down the opposition one too many times and Harrow had won the ball clear at the top of the D, where Govind Grewal was able to get back into scoring form after his month long drought with a tidy finish as the Witney keeper was left standing lost on his line.
More pressure mounted for Witney seeing them concede a free hit on the edge of the D. Quick thinking by Colin Jones caught the defence on the back foot and resulted in him powering the ball into the left side of the goal.
From the restart Harrow were still closing down quickly and putting pressure on. Witney attacked and Harrow responded with big tackles at the back from Tim Marshall and Chris Soares stopping everything coming through.
The ball was moved out to the left by Harrow and the quick passing and sensible decisions, not to hold onto the ball, saw a speedy counter attack that Callum Redpath finished driving at the back post with a well timed run.
The opposition restarted and set, but they were unable to find second gear before they were shut down not too far into the Harrow half.
Before long Harrow had penetrated again with Subra Nachiappan sending the ball out wide and receiving it back to go around the last player and dink the ball past the keeper. 3-0 half time.
The second half started and Harrow proceeded with a plethora of chances with balls into the box narrowly missing or hitting the post on two occasions.
It was only a matter of time before Harrow had another short corner... It was another opportunity to increase the goal difference gap and keep a number of players in the league top scorer table.
Colin the drag flick machine from last season flicked high and over the keepers head into the roof of the net.
Deflated Witney attempted time after time to break into harrows 25, but with no avail only making it easier for Harrow to play into the space and move the ball up the pitch quickly, before Sartajeet Singh sidestepped two of the Witney defenders and thumped the ball in to the bottom right of the goal.
Harrow continued to keep the wall up and worked hard to see the game out to the end without conceding leaving the final result an embracing 6-0.
With four games left in the league Harrow are secure at the top of the table and playing the best hockey in the league.
Team:
Peter Walkling (GK)
Tim Marshall (C)
Nathaniel Marshall
Chris Soares
Mike Harman
Joe Castle Giffin
Callum Redpath (1)
Subra Nachiappan (1)
Sartajeet Singh (1)
Colin Jones (2)
Nick Lendon
Govind Grewal (1)
Joel Harle
Glenn Webster
James Mansell