South West two

Tavistock B 7

THERE was some talk before this hockey game that Tavistock B lacked a natural goal scorer! That notion was soon put to bed with Walker hitting the post in the first minute and Buckeridge-Hobbs in true predatory style scoring from the rebound.

Having the confidence to move away from their usual 4-4-2 formation to a more attacking 4-3-3 allowed Tavistock B to press hard and dominate the game for long periods. Again, with a large squad of 16 players, substitutions and their execution would play a vital part of the game and if not timed right could have a detrimental effect on their game. However, when they came they were seamless and made with responsibility.

With the entire team putting in a shift to support the common cause, further goals were only a matter of time in coming.

Hat-tricks for both ‘Old Nick’ (Andrews) and ‘Young Nick’ (Buckeridge-Hobbs) and a further goal added by Bott gave the side its highest score of the season to date.

The foundation upon which these were scored came from structure, understanding and control - all of which were in abundance. Fine work at the back from Tanner, Gott, Cull and Bicknell denied any goal scoring opportunities that the visitors had and as always any chances that slipped through were ably dealt with by goalkeeper Oxenham. Tavistock’s midfield trio played with flair and creativity and were able to control the midfield which was vital for the win and the three points.