1s win 11 goal thriller!

After a disappointing and controversial loss in the first game of the season the Mens 1s were keen to set the record straight with their second game, a home clash against Sunderland Broom. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon the teams took the pitch for what would be a thrilling and pulsating match.
There was an edgy start to the game with neither team wanting to give away an advantage, and for the first 20 minutes the teams were locked at 0-0. Then came the turning point of the match. David Todd made an incredible reaction stop on the line. Sadly he forgot to use his stick and instead stuck his foot in the way. Sunderland scored from the resulting penalty flick and JPC were reduced to 10 men. Most teams would wilt under these circumstances, but not JPC. By the time Toddy re-joined the game 5 minutes later the score was 3-1 to JPC with an attacking blitz rarely seen on the fabled Heaton Manor pitch.
First, an excellent team move was finished off after Dan Clarke received a pass from Michael Davison inside the D and skilfully rounded the last defender and slotted it home. Two minutes later JPC struck again and Dan attacked down the right, crashing the ball into the danger zone for Steve Allen to flick majestically into the top corner. Sunderland were shell shocked and found themselves in an even worse situation, as 2 minutes after that new captain Nick Heyward made an excellent run down the line, finally beating the left back and delivering a beautiful ball into the D for Michael to sweep home.
But JPC were not done yet. Now back up to the normal 11 players, they continued the onslaught as Andy Mathers found Stephen Robertson on another ball into the box who finished with a mid-air slap into the goal. 4-1. To round out the half JPC scored a 5th goal, the ball fell to Dan in the D who dribbled past a couple of defenders before being fouled and losing the ball under the keeper, only for Michael to nip in and finish it off. 5-1 at half time with Sunderland defence at one point being heard to say that “they may as well just go home now with the effort they were putting in”
The second half was a much tenser affair with both team having a good amount of chances. Si Baker was immense in defence, stepping it to intercept the ball whenever possible and showing how centre backs should be distributing the ball! George Darling saved scoring opportunities with his speed and composure and Rob Wise pulled the strings from DM, never looking out of place, even when replacing Toddy at CB!
Sunderland started to close the gap, taking advantage of a few short corners. 5-2, nobody was worried, 5-3, some worry, 5-4 and some panic set in. At one point Stephan had an open goal from 3 yards only to hit a defender on the foot, as Andy got ready to take the penalty flick the umpires inexplicably awarded a penalty corner, JPC were made to wait even longer! Jonny Greenshields in goal made numerous diving saves, keeping Sunderland at bay as much as he could and maintaining the lead. With 10 minutes to go and tension mounting, Andy found Michael with a long ball up the middle. He was able to beat the centre back before rounding the last defender and goalkeeper and slotting it into the bottom corner. The finish was good, the celebration was extravagant. 6-4 and Sunderland hearts and souls were broken.
JPC kept up the pressure and in the final few minutes added a 7th. A short corner expertly placed by Andy into the bottom right corner. A thoroughly deserved victory and a great way to get 3 points on the board!