Ops 2s bulldozed Burnt Ash in a fiery, full-blooded clash to climb to 8th for Christmas.

Ops arrived at Burnt Ash hunting three points against the league’s bottom side and they wasted no time getting stuck in. The opening spell was a midfield dogfight, both teams clogging the centre and throwing bodies into challenges. Half chances came and went, but nothing broke cleanly.

After 300 days Neil Bristow returned to the team but was playing like he’d never missed a second. Alongside MOM Vincent with Stone and Crookstone supporting, Ops’s back line read the game superbly and shut Burnt Ash down at every turn.

Ash did win a penalty corner 15 minutes in, and a smart Brenchley save ricocheted onto a defender—stroke given. No problem. Brenchley stayed ice-cool, went the right way, and Ash clattered the post. Massive let-off; huge momentum shift.

With that escape, Ops exploded into life. In midfield, Cheaps’ engine room—Rumsey, Llewellyn, Kanny G, and Coombs covered every blade of astro. Ops started breaking lines, hitting counters, and making Burnt Ash panic. Space opened up the tempo increased and pressure was building for Ops.

Just before half time, having had a sustained period of Llewellyn’s pace and trickery, plus Kanny G’s impossible-to-steal-from wizardry, had Ash scrambling . A late penalty corner routine saw a slick slip-left to Bristow, a driven ball across goal, and Coombs arriving at the far post to bury it.
The perfect time to score 1–0 Ops at the break

Ops came out for the second half absolutely flying. Burnt Ash, meanwhile, unravelled. Tempers flared, tackles sharpened, greens were flashed, and Ash tried everything—including some laughable gamesmanship when a player claimed he’d been hit in the face. The umpires weren’t buying it. Ash were rattled and unravelling.

Perfect for Ops.

Minutes later, a delicious ball into the D found Hopkin, whose deft touch across goal left Cheesman to finish calmly.
2-0 and cruising!

Ops were playing champagne hockey now. Goal three was the pick of the bunch: a sharp double transfer across the back , Crookstone fizzing a pass inside, Llewellyn slinging a rocket into the D, and Rumsey, on his farewell appearance before heading to Australia, ghosting in to deflect home at pace.
3–0. Seven minutes left. The game was done.

Burnt Ash threw bodies forward, but Ops were rock solid and dangerous on every counter. Their keeper pulled off multiple saves, and Hopkin even rounded him cleanly… before somehow scooping the ball off the pitch with an open goal waiting.

Final score 3-0
A statement win, a physical battle won, and a deserved leap from 10th to 8th for Christmas.