LTHC 3s V Stevenage 3s: 7th January 2023

New year, but not new problems, losing a player an hour before PB is not the best preparation for any match but Robin worked his magic and managed to pull a player out of thin air (thanks DP for stepping in).

Stevenage were not in a charitable mood and showed no signs of any post-Christmas rustiness unlike Luton who were uncharacteristically at sixes and sevens shortly after the first whistle and the Luton defence had to be on their mettle to stop a barrage of Stevenage forays into their D.

In the eight minute sadly, Rory sustained a whack to his thumb in the line of duty and bravely battled on with the injury acutely aware that we were already down to the bare 11 so sending on a sub wasn’t an option, although as the game progressed this hampered his ability to play his role effectively more and more.

Kyle pulled off a string of fantastic saves to keep the score at 0-0 however even he but could do nothing about a ‘worldy’ that found top bins from the top of our D to give Stevenage the lead.

Luton did have their own chances, not many granted; Alfie had two attempts from close range with a rare penetration into their D, but Stevenage’s goalie was equal to it.

Luton went into half time at 2-0 down but without Kyle being on imperious form it could have been a lot worse.

A reshuffle for Luton at half time was designed to bolster our midfield and Luke did his very best to stem the flow of Stevenage attacks with some mazy runs but these were snuffed out in the final third as Luton's forward line starting to run out of energy and by now their attacks were few and far between. The closest Luton came was Faz screwing the ball wide after a one on one with their goalie. This miss spurned Stevenage on even more and they started to turn up the heat, especially via several of their key players who will undoubtedly play at a much higher level in the very near future.

Deep into the second half Kyle made ‘the save of the day’ when a Stevenage short corner drag flick rocket was destined for the top corner was plucked out of the air and athletically tuned over the crossbar much to Stevenage’s amazement and disappointment. Outstanding!

Another enforced reshuffle at the back mid-way through the second half compounded Luton’s problems and a further 3 goals by Stevenage followed. On 60 minutes despite hardly being able to hold his stick with two hands Rory pulled off a miraculous save off Luton’s goal line when number 6 beckoned for Stevenage; the full-time whistle was a blessed relief for Luton but none more than for him.

Luton did their best to make a game of it today however injuries and resource issues aside the simple principles of hockey regarding retaining possession, pass & move and game intelligence deserted them far too often. Hopefully with key personnel returning Luton must and will do better in the next game(s).

In terms of positives Luton didn’t let their heads drop and played to the final whistle even if for most of the second half fifty percent of their team were playing on fumes...

MOTM: Kyle Bierne