Wind and snow and sleet.....and only 10 men

An unusually early start for the men's seconds team saw them away at Cranleigh 1sts today with a 10am push back. Cranleigh, well clear at the top of the league in their club's first season, managed to muster 16 players, while Horley only managed 10, following in jury and a perfect storm of unavailability. Despite offers to lend the Cranleigh subs a white shirt, Horley took to the field with their 10 to face the storm.

On cue the weather worsened and in came the snow and wind, freezing the players to their core. The mood was jovial and the game played in good humour, however there was only ever going to be one outcome, and Cranleigh dominated, scoring four by half time. There were a few moments of excellence from Horley, mainly from their under-pressure goalkeeper, Goldman, who pulled off some amazing saves against and onslaught of shots from all angles.

Cranleigh, obviously full of confidence, decided to start the second half without a goalkeeper OR a kicking back, and the extra outfield player really drove home their advantage. Adding a further 5 goals to their total before Horley pulled back their single consolation goal through Humza Mirza, breaking free from a double deflection off Jon Thompson and the Cranleigh full back to score well.

Cranleigh scored one more to get them into double figures, before the final whistle blew and players left the pitch tired and cold. Horley were happy with their performance given the conditions and the high standard of the Cranleigh hockey that will, for sure, see them promoted into the higher league next year.