Hockey: Not in the same league

A brisk but cloudless March day brought frustration to the Edinburgh hockey side. Team captain Will Butler, starting on the bench, wore glove and jersey again after a few months bellowing from the side in a suit, but he was mute after five minutes of the game. A long aerial pass deceived the entire Edinburgh defence and the away side’s own captain, Will Lobo, had gallons of time to compose himself and shoot across David Forrester, who would be right to blame his confused back line.

As Nottingham’s well-drilled players showcased their elastic dribbling skills and aerial lobs forward, Edinburgh’s defence were their own worst enemy. Neil Fulton was guilty of not finding a fellow green-shirted colleague too often, and dependable defender Duncan Birse and keeper Forrester were called into action one too many times for comfort, which unsettled the team’s confidence. While Edinburgh’s balls forward found no luck, Nottingham’s found the man again and again, pleasing a sizable klaxon-wielding away support.

Edinburgh did manage to break the Nottingham pressure, with Fulton’s cross-cum-shot lacking a feather touch, and their two quick short corners had to be well dealt with. At the back, though, Edinburgh were slipping physically and mentally, and Nottingham should have done better with the chances they were presented with. Having gained a short corner from Birse’s attempted clearance, three more followed, and right on half time Forrester was finally beaten again, after three super saves, by Bruno Studt’s tap-in.

Edinburgh’s players, insult added to a potential loss, were drenched by the sprinklers during half-time, either an omen or a wake-up call. It proved, mercifully, to be the latter. A rare lapse in concentration down the Nottingham left gave Paddy Thompson space to use the ball brilliantly, centre it and allow Andy Campbell, after a teammate had struck the post, to score a carbon copy of Studt’s finish.

The tight scoreline led to fraught tempers cooled by the officials, Fulton’s red mist audible among the clashing sticks and bodies. Edinburgh’s defence continued to be threaded by the needlepoint passing of the away side and, despite Forrester’s best efforts, Richard Lawrence’s confident sweep from another short corner put the result beyond Edinburgh’s endeavours.

Their remaining two efforts were brilliantly saved low to his right by Nottingham’s own keeper Chris Davies, stretching out his stick to leave desperate heads in the Edinburgh team’s imperilled hands. The away side, taller, sharper and fitter, deserved the win.