Hockey: Rochdale Men's 2nds 3 - 1 Bowden Men's 8ths

Mike Bohanna (left) was named man of the match

Rochdale Men’s 2nds were hoping to get back to winning ways at home to Bowden Men’s 8ths on Saturday 19 November.

Rochdale started with their half court press, which proved difficult for Bowden to break down and they were left a little vulnerable on the counter. Rochdale were unable to capitalise on their early chances, although they did come close to scoring and had the better of the opening exchanges.

The home team would have to wait untill the introduction of Bjorn Brauns before they got their opening goal. A quick counter saw him power through on the left, before cutting in and slotting it past the ex-England international goal keeper to give Rochdale the lead. A second goal would be added before half time, after James Trainor hit a strong cross to Adam Massey near the top of the circle, who slap hit it into the bottom corner of the backboard.

Halftime came with Rochdale 2-0 up. With last week still fresh in the mind, the team were determined to make sure there were no slip ups again. This time though, they had a full squad so were able to keep the line-up fresh.

It was a slower start to the second half and Rochdale struggled to get their passing game going, but were nevertheless looking comfortable for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Gradually though, Bowden used their experience to start winning fouls higher up the pitch. They were held back for large periods by some composed defending by joint man of the match Mike Bohanna.

However, one of the away side's attacks resulted in a penalty corner for a stick tackle. This was injected at pace with a strong hit to the top of the circle. It was controlled, quickly brought inside and struck fiercely and accurately into the bottom corner to pull one back for Bowden.

Their was a moments panic as Rochdale were worried that they were going to let it slip again, but discipline held and they were soon back in control. After a string of missed chances, captain Massey hit another great first time strike from a cross, again supplied by the ever improving Trainor, into the bottom corner to restore their two goal cushion

Final score Rochdale 3 - 1 Bowden.

It was a good performance from Rochdale but they could have increased the tempo at times and made better use of having more substitutes. Bowden were no mugs and put out a good team performance, and that made it harder than Rochdale would have liked. It was a good win though and a well deserved joint man of the match for Richard Saggerson for an excellent and tireless display in midfield. He shared it with Mike Bohanna, who played a composed and controlled game at left half, contributing well to both attack and defence.

Next week Rochdale Men's 2nds are away at Didsbury where hopefully they can improve their away form.