Huddersfield turned up at the York pitch determined to put a stop to the recent string of losses (5 in a row), in fact they were so determined that they turned up 25 minutes before the opposition, courtesy of Gurveer Birdi’s brilliant time management skills, but it gave Chris Bailley a chance to be “inspirational” (loud and shouty!). Some new thinking was needed against a team who were 5 places above them in the league at the start of the day and el capitano, the tactical genius that he is, decided that if the team were to survive, it would be done by scoring more than the opposition (or by hitting them really really hard). With this in mind (and the fact that we only had one central midfielder) the team set up in a 4-3-3 formation with 5 players in the starting line up who can all play as forwards.

Huddersfields first task was to stop the opposition getting an early goal, a big factor in the recent run of losses, and after Chris Bailleys team talk before the game no-one dared mess it up! Huddersfield managed to limit the opposition to long efforts, and pressured them into making mistakes (like talking to Mathew Gardener). The home team only looked like scoring in situations when the “interesting” decisions given by the umpires (both from York) gave them license to do so. It was the away team that made the early running however, making York look like the bunch of Jessies that they were on more than one occasion. In the end all the pressure exerted by the 5 man attack led to Mathew Gardener putting Paul Golds through on goal, and he slotted the ball in with confidence to put Huddersfield ahead. No you are not seeing things, Paul ‘no passes’ Goldilocks scored a goal!

At half time, the away team were warned about their use of “naughty words”, the umpire looking specifically at Jacob Barker, aka Jacob ‘Keown’ Barker. Enough said. He swore some more!

Another interesting record that the 4Xi hold this season is that they have not lost a game where they have been in front at half time, and as the second half started, the away team picked up where they had left off by terrorising the York defence with the attacking line up (and George Pritchard’s tackling). The home teams best chance in the second half came when Gurveer Birdi played a dead ball directly to the York centre forward, but goalkeeper Chris Bailley managed to thwart the attackers effort, saving his captains blushes. In fact, the look that Chris Bailley made at Gurveer after the mistake made certain that no more mistakes would be made (it was a look of love and tenderness never seen before on a hockey pitch!).

The only smear on the day was Ed Shimell getting too cosy with an opposition player and seeing yellow - a decision that made him even angrier than usual… A cry of “You are so unfaaaair!” however went unpunished by the umpires, who had decisions disputed by pretty much everyone on the pitch. After the game, the umpire did confess to Shim that he sent him off because it was evident he needed a rest!

Paul Golds managed to slot in another to put the result beyond any doubt, and Huddersfield finally managed to get a win after playing superbly well for the third week on the trot. A shout out for Gary Clarke who made a good start to his Huddersfield career with some great runs and passes, and to Aidan and George who kept it superbly tight in the midfield (when Jacob decided that he no longer wanted to be in defence because it left him too close to Patrick Flavin).

Man of the Match - Patrick Flavin - as Paul Golds said “for a good performance, and not a bad game either”.
Dick of the Day - Gurveer Birdi - For his shocking pass, and follow up comment of “where the **** did he come from????”

Team: C Bailley (GK), G Birdi (SW), P Flavin (CB), D Hales (LB), J Barker (RB), G Pritchard (CM), E Shimell (LM), A Blackburn (RM), P Golds (CF), C Parkes (LF), Matthew Gardener (RF)
Subs: G Clarke (LF)