Reading Men’s 1s lost out in phase two of the Premier League season at home to Surbiton.
Reading acquitted themselves beyond realistic expectations in every game during which time the performances improved exponentially and were far better than the scorelines suggest, and the match against second-placed Surbiton, coached by former Reading star and Olympian Mark Pearn, was no exception.
The contest in midfield was fiercely fought with neither team gaining dominance, with Reading’s Fred Newbold particularly combative and strong, and chances were hard to come by at either end of the pitch.
As so often seems to be the way however, more loose balls landed favourably for Surbiton, which could be put down to them sometimes being half a yard faster than the Reading players with so many of them full International GB players with the time and facilities to spend more effort on this aspect of the sport.
Reading’s defence stood firm throughout the game, and often found the time and space not only to clear their lines but to initiate dangerous attacks by feeding the midfield and forwards to make quick inroads into Surbiton’s defensive third of the pitch – Brad Marais was particularly outstanding.
Despite Reading’s monumental efforts, Surbiton scored two goals in each half, but every goal was punctuated by a scoring opportunity for Reading, Tom Minall enjoying no luck with his shots on goal against GB’s number two goalkeeper who thwarted him at every turn.
Monty Neave is another increasingly influential player for Reading, but final passes to and by him flashed across the circle agonisingly out of reach.
As in every team sport, the difference between winning and losing is the finest of margins, and Surbiton simply had slightly more quality all over the pitch on the day.
The league now moves on to phase three, with a mid-season tweak to the regulations seeing Reading playing today’s opponents yet again in two weeks’ time, when they had been expecting to finish the season against lower ranked opponents and experiencing the benefit of their difficult phase two games by spending more time on the front foot than fighting a rearguard action.
Olly Deasy, the team’s captain, deserves a special mention at this juncture. He has led the team in defence by example, and his overall enthusiasm and man-management skills have kept everybody in a wholly positive frame of mind even when goals have inevitable been conceded and hard to find at the other end of the pitch. His overall contribution to the team’s performances all season cannot be overestimated.
The ultimate good news is that newly-promoted Reading have been safe from relegation since the conclusion of phase one, so planning for another year at the highest level of domestic hockey has been ongoing for some time.
Nonetheless, the club is always open to new members who aspire to test themselves at the very top of the sport.
By Ronan Daffey
