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redbrick.me/sport
14th - 27th February 2014
Sport
P 30 - David Morris and Ashley HIrschberger debate whether the ECB were right to drop Kevin Pietersen from the England setup.
Birmingham storm past Durham into the last eight
Will Siddons
Birmingham 2nds
5
Durham 2nds
0
Felix Keith
Sports Reporter
Birmingham men’s 2nds hockey team put five past Northern 1A leaders, Durham 2nds, to progress to the next round of the cup. After an even first half Brum went through the gears in the second half and ran out comfortable winners in terrible conditions at Bournbrook. It did not start promisingly for the home side as Durham forced an early double save from the keeper. But as the sun came out and the ice melted, Birmingham started to dominate possession and move the ball around better. This spell of pressure was rewarded 15 minutes in when a Birmingham attacker was unceremoniously dumped to the ground inside the D and the referee
pointed to the spot. Centre back Myles Rawlings stepped up and smashed the penalty flick into the bottom corner to give them the lead. The away team, who had only lost one game all season, were far from out of the game and after Sam Tombs saw yellow for a high stick they pushed for the equaliser. They failed to make the most of their pressure as they wasted three consecutive penalty corners through a mixture of poor routines and weak finishing. The whistle blew for half time with an even half ending in Birmingham’s favour, mainly due to the lack of cutting edge offered by the visitors. It was after the break that Birmingham really stepped up a notch and began to outclass their northern opposition. The crucial
"It was after the break that Birmingham really stepped up a notch and began to outclass their northern opposition."
second goal came ten minutes in when Matt Pacey got to the dead ball line with an excellent run and found Josh Kelly at the near post to divert the ball past the keeper. Birmingham were now full of confidence and Durham looked helpless as the hosts poured forward in search of another goal. Birmingham showed the away side how to be clinical from penalty corners minutes later, when a slap from the edge of the D by Tombs was deflected in by centre back partner Rawlings for his second and Brum’s third goal. Durham were unable to cope with relentless pressure and were blown away by quality attacking. Minutes after the third went in, Birmingham had a fourth – an incisive reverse pass from midfielder Tom Clarke-Knowles found Zac Sherwani, who coolly went round a defender before finding the bottom corner on the angle. By now the hosts were completely dominant. Durham were struggling to connect passes up the pitch as Birmingham’s pressing game shut down any opportunities from open play and Durham’s penalty corner rou-
"It was a fantastic performance from the hosts whose attack looked the exact opposite of their blunted opponents." tines misfired. With a four goal advantage Brum were happy to sit back and use the pace of their forwards on the counter. This strategy paid off nicely in the final minutes when Josh Hood sprayed a pass out to Pacey on the right wing. The forward cut inside the defender and after seeing his attempt saved was first to the rebound, smashing in from the tightest of angles to put the icing on the cake for Birmingham. It was a fantastic performance from the hosts whose attack looked the exact opposite of their blunted opponents. This cup performance against a side top of their respective division will give them confidence that they can catch Oxford Brookes 1sts, who sit two points above them in Midlands 1A.