This week the Optimists stormed up to Sittingbourne with a blazing winning mindset. The moment we rolled into Gore Court, you could feel the energy buzzing. From the first whistle, the Ops exploded into action. The forward line hammered their trembling defence, cleaning up loose balls, carving out perfect triangular plays through the midfield, and launching humongous aerials from the defensive line like missiles.

Even after our electric start, Gore Court somehow managed to bundle a deflection into the backboard, making it 1-0. But the Folkestone Ops don’t crumble. Not a chance. Heads stayed high, and the fight only grew fiercer. Crunching tackles, inch-perfect through balls, and booming line balls to Rowe and Doyle kept Gore Court pinned back. By the time the first half ended, the Ops walked off with fire in their eyes and full confidence that the game was far from over.

As the second half kicked off, Ben Shaw settled into fifth gear, tearing through space with runs that had to be hitting 100+ mph. Bono, calm as ever, marshalled the defensive line like a general, organising the pitch with his unreal vision and constantly feeding balls to Coombs, Ball and Cheapy. Up front, Coombs and G-Kanny linked up like they had telepathy, dancing through defenders on their way to the D. The pressure finally paid off when the Ops earned a penalty corner. Wishy stepped up, unleashed his drag flick with pure class, and smashed the equaliser home. Moments later, after some wonderful hockey from Folkestone, we earned a PS. Doyle stepped up, ice-cold, ready for redemption — and slotted it beautifully into the Gore Court goal. 2-1 up. Ops flying. And every bit deserved.

But as the Ops youngsters kept embarrassing Gore Court players — sending them to the shop, stuffing pockets full of their defenders — the frustration grew. After a scrappy moment in the 57th minute, Gore managed to squeeze a lucky one past us. Still, the Ops refused to break. Ben Stone shut down their left forward like a brick wall, Alfie Ball cut out dangerous attacks (before kindly giving it straight back moments later with his feet), and the team kept pushing.

Then, in the 60th minute, Gore Court broke into the D and their forward gambled on a bobbling ball, smashing it up and over, shaving matts hair on the way into the roof of the net. 3-2. A cruel blow. But the Ops spirit didn’t fade for a second — we pushed, fought, and hunted for the equaliser we absolutely deserved.

The final whistle sounded, and although the Ops fell 3-2 to a side sitting 3rd in the table, we walked off with heads high, proud of the battle we put in. Every single Ops player should hold their head high. Outstanding effort. Super proud of you all. Well done guys.