Mens 1s vs Uni of Birmingham M2

Harleston Magpies Men, sponsored by Seven, returned to league action after a blank weekend with a home game against University of Birmingham 2. Magpies started slowly and were soon a goal down after conceding a penalty corner that was scored with a drag flick to the roof of the net. Magpies quickly won a corner of their own but despite the drag flick hitting a defender on the line, advantage was played and Magpies missed the shot from close range. The University team looked sharper and passed the ball better than Magpies for the remainder of the first quarter but could not find another goal. 

The second quarter was more of the same with the students looking by far the better side, aided by Magpies regularly surrendering possession with misplaced passes. Chris Leek in Magpies goal was the busier of the goalkeepers but the score remained 1-0 at half time.

The third quarter started much as the first with University of Birmingham increasing their lead with a well worked open play goal deftly deflected into the net after only 3 minutes of the second half. As Magpies sought a foothold in the match, they were temporarily reduced to 10 players as Myles King received a yellow card for an over enthusiastic tackle. As he returned to the pitch a University of Birmingham player also received a yellow card and during his temporary suspension, Magpies pressed high up the pitch and won a penalty corner that was scored through a drag flick from Myles King.

Magpies eventually started playing with more conviction and quality in the fourth quarter. Good passages of passing play through Ben Gowing, Ben Emms and Tom Ridley created a couple of good open play scoring opportunities, both of which were well saved by the University goalkeeper. As Magpies pushed for the equaliser, University of Birmingham launched a fast-paced counter-attack resulting in a well taken third goal scored from close range with just two minutes to go. Magpies immediately scored at the other end through Myles King, but this was the last action of the match with the final whistle leaving Magpies defeated 3-2.

Next week, Magpies travel to bottom side Peterborough Town knowing that they must produce a much better performance both individually and collectively to record their third win of the season.