MINEHEAD Hockey Club men’s second team, second in the table, faced tabletoppers Bridgwater 3s in a showdown clash as this half of the season came to a close. As usual, against such opposition, this was going to be a challenging game - both mentally and physically.

To somewhat break their ‘curse’ - Minehead dominated the first ten minutes; they kept their structure, possession and kept play in their opponents’ half.

Minehead eventually scored a goal through John Clegg eight minutes in. Leading 1-0 within 10 minutes was a boost to morale and what they didn’t need was to ‘park the bus’. Bridgwater had a few players that were very good on the ball and Minehead could not be complacent as they would create chances.

Shortly before half time, Minehead conceded a goal to make it 1-1 -a frustrating end to the first half.

Minehead needed to step up the pressure to secure a win which was in our reach. The team needed to regain their composure and discipline.

The second half started well and Minehead were clearly hungry for another goal and a good move ended with Sam Cobb putting them back in front.

Though much of the play was in Bridgwater’s half, Minehead’s goalkeeper, Steve Clapp, made some cracking saves - running out and committing to the challenges keeping his side in the game. He would get MoM for his performance.

As the game drew to a close, Simon Strong moved out of defence and snapped up a goal in the last few minutes to make it 3-1.

Minehead 2s had delivered another excellent performance, bringing together the set pieces from training, a stable team working together and outplaying the opposition. The last few games have really come together for the team and they hope to continue this in the new year.