It was a classic case of “if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes” as Storm Darragh whipped through the pitch today. Strong winds, patchy rain, and a biting chill — it wasn’t the ideal day for a game of hockey. But we did what we do best this season: we got on with it and got the job done, even with the weather trying to ruin our fun.

We had the wind at our backs in the first half, and we made it count. The ball moved around really well, and we controlled the tempo right from the off. Upton put us ahead early with a calm finish in the 3rd minute, followed by a penalty corner scramble finished by Debs in the 13th. Things were looking good, and we seemed to be settling in nicely.

Warwick didn’t have much of an answer in the first half, but they switched things up after the break, coming at us with the wind on their side. To be honest, though, they couldn’t really break us down. Despite having the advantage, they didn’t manage to trouble our defence too much, and we remained composed. Keeno added another PC goal in the 37th minute to make it 3-0, and then Zak got in on the action, scoring a well worked team goal in the 61st minute. Keeno wrapped things up with his second PC of the day in the 63rd, putting us 5-0 up.

Warwick did get a consolation goal, though. Dom had one of those moments where he danced around the ball in a way that would’ve made a professional ballet dancer proud — before Warwick snuck one past us. But no harm done, 5-1 was a solid scoreline.

On a day like this, where staying on your feet was a real challenge, Gary and Adam could probably do with a new pair of hockey shoes from Santa. They spent more time on the deck than they’d have liked, but it’s all part of the fun, right?

Now, the important stuff: we’re top of the league going into Christmas with 9 wins and only 1 loss. What a statement of progress from where we were at the start of the season. It’s a great feeling, and it sets us up perfectly to push for promotion in the second half of the season. We’re in a great spot.

Man of the Match: Zak. He was brilliant up front, linking the play and making some excellent runs into space. His goal was the icing on the cake, but it was his work throughout that stood out.

Dick of the Day: Charlie Mac. Not for his playing (he was fine there), but because he wore the same shirt number as Dom — because, apparently, he hasn’t bought a new one yet. And to top it off, he missed the post-match team talk because he was too busy watching TikTok in his car. Priorities, eh?

All in all, a good day’s work despite the elements. Here’s to more of the same in the new year!