The men’s Blues quest for promotion into the national leagues stepped up a gear this weekend with their first league win of the season away against Chelmsford.

On paper a 4-0 win looks comfortable, but this was by no means an easy match, for the Chelmsford side started strongly and showed great desire in the latter stages, which made closing out the game a difficult task for the men in blue.

Taking inspiration from the rain which greeted their arrival, the Blues’ plan of attack was to dowse opposition resistance in a torrent of high-paced possession hockey beginning immediately from the starting whistle.

Unfortunately unbeknownst to the Cambridge men, the opposition were in a similar frame of mind and immediately gained the upper hand, lightning-attacking play winning them the chance to score from a penalty corner in the first play of the game.

Barely having touched the ball thus far, the Cambridge defensive unit was called upon to hold the line until the team could rally from the blitzkrieg which had comprised the opening stages.

Keeper Greame Morrison set the tone for the rest of his match by pulling off a magnificent diving stick-save to his right to deny a well-placed drag flick shot. Chelmsford, exploiting the temporarily dazed Cambridge team, continued to play with pace and put a great deal of pressure on the Cambridge defence.

Despite having three or four more early chances to open the scoring the Chelmsford attackers remained frustrated, mainly thanks to Morrison who continued his virtuoso performance in the Cambridge net.

Now settled, the Blues began to dominate possession and were rewarded for the fortitude they showed earlier with a chance to take the lead from a penalty corner.

David Madden converted after some composed skill at the top of the D. With things now rolling the Blues continued to penetrate the Chelmsford territory, but the match was not one-sided.

Both teams had chances to score, but it was Cambridge who struck again through an Ollie Salvesen deflection. With the confidence of a 2-0 cushion behind them the Blues midfielders began to gain the upper hand over their Chelmsford counterparts. Will Cairns orchestrated play from centre half and just before half time the chance to go into the break 3-0 up materialized in the form of another short corner. This one was not converted though.
The second half began differently from the first, now awoken and relieved to be in front after some tense moments, Cambridge were not to be caught off guard.

From the off both teams attacked and both had chances to score. With Chelmsford still unable to find the back of the net Cambridge extended their lead through Gus Kennedy who showed true striker’s instinct in tagging a final touch onto the end of a Nick Parkes shot.

The remainder of the match saw attacking forays from both teams and some strong Cambridge defensive play to retain the clean sheet. The match was sealed late in the day by Felix Styles who scored from a penalty corner with a whizzing drag flick.

The final score of 4-0 was perhaps a little flattering to the Cambridge men, but nonetheless they showed great perseverance to weather the storm at the beginning of the match and pull through with four unanswered goals.

The Blues’ next game is at home to Northampton 1st XV on Wednesday 19th October at 2.30pm.