Leeds Hockey Club Men's 3rd XI 0 - 3 Chesterfield Hockey Club Men's 1st XI

Chesterfield travelled to Leeds for their latest Yorkshire North-East division 1 league match, and were in high spirits due to a recent good run of results.

The match started and both teams went into it playing hard and pushing for a breakthrough, with Chesterfield looking the more likely of the two teams to score early on, creating a couple of chances. Leeds were trying to break the Chesterfield press but were struggling, and Chesterfield’s well set structure helped them get good control of the ball and play with a good tempo. Despite this good platform, with most Chesterfield players still struggling to get used to a bouncy pitch, a few stray passes and mis-controlled passes resulted in very few clear scoring opportunities.

Leeds then got some momentum and built a few attacks, but with Chesterfield’s well organised defence, Leeds were struggling to get any shots on goal, although they won a penalty corner which was quashed with a good defensive effort from Chesterfield.

The first half continued at a good level of intensity with both teams working very hard and looking to attack which produced an open match. A typical quick counter-attack saw Chesterfield racing up the pitch and pacy midfielder Ollie Addy attacked the baseline which produced a desperate challenge from a Leeds defender, with Leeds perhaps slightly fortunate to only concede a penalty corner. On this occasion, the in-form Alex Mycroft saw his effort well charged down by the Leeds No1 runner.

With solid defensive efforts from both teams, the first half ended 0-0.

An inspiring half-time team talk from head coach Christian Battye saw Chesterfield control their emotions, reset, and they were ready to begin the second half, preparing to hit the ground running, and ready to “never miss a beat again”, which incidentally was a hit single by Leeds rock band The Kaiser Chiefs. Back to the hockey…

The start of the second half shocked Chesterfield as Leeds came at them on full throttle, but a cohesive defensive effort from Chesterfield led by the ever reliable Sam McPherson, thwarted any Leeds chances.

With Chesterfield setting up well and happier to just keep possession of the ball and build more slowly than they did in the first half, they got some rewards with some chances testing the Leeds goalkeeper. With a penalty corner won, Alex Mycroft stepped up again, and produced a fantastic shot heading for the top corner, but an unbelievable diving save from the Leeds goalkeeper denied Chesterfield their opening goal.
Continued pressure from Chesterfield around the Leeds circle, produced a nervy few minutes for the hosts. With a few wide passes down the flanks, and the Chesterfield half backs pushing up the pitch towards the baseline, some bouncy balls were put into the Leeds circle, but these chances never finished.

Leeds continued to look to attack when they could and had a few half chances, however Chesterfield continued to stand firm in defence to keep Leeds out with Sam Gower (pictured) playing well and intercepting a few Leeds passes, and visitors Chesterfield continued to look dangerous on the break with one such counter-attack resulting in Chesterfield going 1 on 1 with the Leeds goalkeeper, but after busting a gut to get up the pitch they had nothing left to finish off the chance.

Chesterfield continued to push relentlessly, and won another penalty corner. This time Alex Mycroft made the breakthrough with a low, hard flick sliding under the goalkeeper. With the opening goal coming well into the match, mid-way through the second half, it felt like that set-piece effort could possibly be enough to decide the match.

Leeds continued to ask questions creating a few attacks, but Chesterfield remained resolute in defence, although Leeds did win a penalty corner that produced a fine save from Chesterfield goalkeeper Matt Drohan.

Moving into the last 10 minutes of the match, Chesterfield continued to build some momentum and steadily move up the pitch, beating the Leeds press with some slick passing in and out of the spaces. Some leading runs down the line and some bursts of pace found midfielder Ben Truby deep in the Leeds circle, and he calmly and accurately passed to captain Jack Hartley, who kept his composure well and flicked the ball past the goalkeeper into the corner of the goal to make it 2-0.

Some well contested midfield battles saw a late flurry of green cards with Chesterfield awarded 2, and Leeds 1, meaning Chesterfield were a man down for a couple of minutes. When Chesterfield were back to 11 players, they immediately created a clever attack down the left flank through midfielder Ryan Speed, who penetrated the Leeds circle drawing a defender towards him, before cooly slipping the ball to Hartley who needed no second invitation to double his tally for the day, and finished nicely by finding the corner again to give visitors Chesterfield a 3-0 lead with just 3 minutes left to play.

As the full time whistle went Chesterfield were elated with a strong performance and win and even happier with their third clean sheet this season, after struggling to achieve this feat for the previous three seasons. As the sun set on a great game, Sam Gower was awarded man of the match for a composed defensive performance and executing the basics really well.
Final score, Leeds 0 – 3 Chesterfield

Match report by Sam Gower