Cardiff Harlequins v Bath – Cotswolds Div 1 – 12th January 2019

Bath start the new year with a tie on the road

Cardiff Harlequins v Bath

12 January 2019

Cotswolds Div. 1

Final Score: Cardiff 6:6 Bath

 

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Bown clears the crease

January fixtures are always difficult for teams that rely heavily on students, as its exam time and a lot of the players are just not available. So Bath had to drop the second team match and put a first team out that could compete with ex premiership outfit Cardiff.

In the end Bath put out a decent squad, three solid poles in Paul Bown, Laurence Dawson- Smith and Same White, more than capable of protecting Will Tilson in goal, Tilson had an outstanding game, saving one shot with the back of his head.

In Midfield there was a mixture of experience and raw speed, sometimes supplemented with attackers dropping in to give a break to the runners.

At ace Mark Jeffrey and Doug Mackay enjoyed plenty of success, and on the wings Akito Jacques, Asher Brindley, Alex George and Mark Lane all put in a shift, very physical in defence and willing to break into attack.

Up in Attack the regular first teamers of Lloyd Butler, Mike Carey and Craig Morey were joined by veterans Nik Roberts and Tom Jacques, adding an interesting dimension to the attack.

Both keepers gave a good account of themselves and the game was evenly balanced throughout, with both attacks struggling to break the defences down with any regularity.

 

Brindley prepares to shoot

Cardiff opened the scoring from a drive and dump from the top, but Bath came back immediately with a nice fake shot from Mark Lane. After several weak attempts by both teams Bath took the lead through a shot by Lloyd Butler to the bottom right corner after the home defence just seemed to open up in front of him. Bath were pleased with a slender 2:1 advantage at the quarter.

The second quarte saw Cardiff equalise after a flicked ground ball sailed through the air straight to the Cardiff midfield who raced up the field to take full advantage of the man up situation. The home side then enjoyed a period of possession resulting in a well worked goal, although Tilson was unlucky not to make better contact with the ball. Against the run of play Bath pulled the game to 3 a piece with a goal by Asher Brindley also hitting the bottom right corner, the ball slowed down considerably when it hit the mud in the crease, causing the Cardiff Keeper to over compensate.

All tied at half time, and all to play for as they say

The third quarter was much more end to end lacrosse, Bath dropped Butler into midfield and Mark Lane moved into attack. Akito Jacques made some lung busting breaks up the field causing plenty of trouble for the Cardiff back line, but it was Cardiff that broke the deadlock with a textbook fast break. Jacques however wasn’t to be denied and scored on the next attack, roll dodging and spinning through the defence before shooting into the goal.

Bath then took the lead with a well finished goal by Butler and should have moved further into the lead but for a couple of poor finishes which made the home keeper look good. At the other end Cardiff converted their half chances to go into the third quarter and seemed to have the momentum

Tired legs dictated the final quarter and both teams made efforts to control the ball, but Bath were chasing, and looked a little more desperate, which in turn caused some bickering, the storm was calmed by another outside shot from Brindley to draw lever with a full ten minutes of the game to go.

From then on, neither side took advantage of the few clear chances created, both keepers made comfortable saves and the game finished 6 all, a fair result and a good performance by the boys in red

MVP – Asher Brindley, two crucial goals, some great midfield defence and strong clearing runs up field

 

Back Row: White, Jeffrey, T Jacques, Roberts, Dawson-Smith, Mackay, Bown, Lane. Front Row: Carey, A Jacques, Tilson, Morey, Brindley, George, Butler

 

Quarter Scores

1st quarter Cardiff 1:2 Bath

Lane, Butler

2nd quarter Cardiff 2:1 Bath

Brindley

3rd quarter Cardiff 3:2 Bath

A Jacques, Butler

4th quarter Cardiff 0:1 Bath

Brindley

Final Score Cardiff 6:6 Bath

Scorers

Mark Lane 1

Lloyd Butler 2

Asher Brindley 2

Akito Jacques 1

 

Referee

Corky (Cardiff)