A bright autumnal afternoon at Maidstone Hockey Club welcomed Folkestone Men’s 2s for an away fixture that began with a respectful minute’s silence at the centre circle. After last year’s disappointing outing at “the fortress” the Ops arrived with a strong squad and a clear aim to put things right.

First Half

From the first whistle both sides played positive hockey. The Ops defended well and built play through the middle: Gurubatham and Coombs controlled possession and fed the wings and centre forwards. Despite sustained pressure, chances were limited until Bono produced a defence-splitting pass to season debutant Gooding, who finished neatly under the Maidstone keeper to open the scoring.

Maidstone’s frustration grew while Folkestone remained composed and continued to play their game. Gurubatham then produced a trademark majestic run around the outside of the D and clipped the ball across for Hopkin to finish and extend the lead to 2-0. Maidstone rallied before half time and forced a series of attacks that were reliably dealt with by the OPs defensive unit of Cheap, Shaw, Wishart, Stone and Brenchley. The first half ended on a controversial short corner that the umpire called dangerous, prompting a strong reaction from Maidstone players and disrupted thier half time team Talk.

Second Half

The Ops started the second half unchanged after a confident opening 35 minutes. Maidstone, however, came out with renewed intensity and gradually balanced the game. A slipped footing at a short corner gave Maidstone a route back into the contest with a well-worked flick into the goal.

That strike ignited Maidstone and shifted momentum. Folkestone struggled to regain composure and the structure that served them well in the first half began to unravel. Quick, successive Maidstone breaks forced errors and produced two further goals in the closing stages, turning a promising 2-0 lead into a 4-2 defeat and another disappointing runout for the Ops following a positive lead, but we are determined to channel this feeling and convert it into a win against Gore Court next weekend.