Hockey: Goal-fest as lads win in style

Dec 18 2008 by George Topp, Lanark & Carluke

AFTER their last two fixtures were called off due to a frozen pitch, Clydeside hockey club were finally back in action on Saturday against visitors Clydesdale in a game that turned out to be a goal-fest.

The home side wasted no time in getting their season up and running again, and found themselves two goals up with less than 10 minutes of the game gone.

The first came when Jackson Sim's ball into a crowded Clydesdale area found an unmarked Paul Brand, who managed to deflect the ball into the goal.

Less than a minute later, Mark Amos scored a carbon copy goal, the initial ball this time coming from Ian Minto.

Clydeside continued to dominate the game and their lead was soon extended when Sim again found Brand in the area, who in turn rounded the goalkeeper to score.

Provider Sim soon turned goal scorer with a trademark shot that was fired high into the visitors' net from the edge of their area.

Perhaps sensing an easy victory, Clydeside appeared to take their foot of the pedal and allowed Clydesdale to have more time and possession of the ball.

This proved costly as a quick break down the right hand side and a good ball in to the area allowed the visitors to reduce the deficit to three.

This stunned the home side back into life and the three-goal cushion was restored shortly after. A Colin Jackson shot past the advancing Clydesdale keeper was deflected by Brand beyond the last defender for Clydeside's fifth of the game.

The home side went into the break with a sixth goal after a penalty flick was awarded shortly before half time. Captain Steven Slaven stepped up and coolly slotted the ball to the left of a motionless keeper.

The second half of the match couldn't have had a more contrasting start from that of the first.

Having looked so comfortable for the first 35 minutes, an inability to clear the ball from their goal area combined with a couple of questionable umpiring decisions, meant that Clydeside had conceded two more goals in the early stages of the second period.

However, any hopes that the visitors had of mounting a comeback were short lived. Jackson Sim and Graham Martin really started to take control of the game in the middle of the park, and the majority of play was once again in Clydesdale's own half.

The home side were soon back to scoring ways when a through-ball from Martin was picked up by Brand, who found the target from the edge of the area.

When they were then awarded a penalty corner, Brand got his fifth of the game and Clydeside's eighth.

Clydeside's dominance remained constant and the lead was extended further when Sim played another inch-perfect pass into the area where young Colin Jackson showed good composure to score his second goal of the season.

Allan Gray also scored his second of the campaign with a close range shot after Martin had again set up a goal-scoring opportunity.

The full-time whistle couldn't come soon enough for the away side, and their misery was compounded further when Sim scored from another penalty corner to make the final score-line 11-3.