The Ops youngsters returned to home soil this week, facing a very useful Burnt Ash side who were sat one place above them in the league. Ash were on the front foot from the start, and took the lead within minutes with a penalty stroke following the ball hitting an Ops defender on the line. They continued to pile on the pressure, with the Ops defence of Daniel Andrews, Simon Jones and Dave Brazier called into action time and again. Charlie Milligan in goal made several important saves, but was unlucky to see another shot go past him to make it 2-0 within the first 15 minutes. At this point, Ops heads could have dropped but with their now characteristic resilience, they forced their way into the game. Dave Whitehead and Paul Andrews began to impose themselves in the middle of the park, with Arthur Ireland, Joseph Allon and Finn Letley starting to really harry their opponents on the flanks. Up front, Oscar Daley and the Davidson brothers chased and pressured the Ash defence, whilst Norval Scott, on his return to hockey, made intelligent little darts into space. Deryl Gilham-Jones brought his experience to bear, winning free hits in useful positions. Eventually, the Ops press began to tell, with Ash regularly surrendering possession well within their own half. In one such instance, Letley intercepted the ball, before laying it off to Andrews sr. He drove into the d, bypassing defenders, drawing the keeper and firing into the far corner. 2-1 at half time. Another rousing half time talk from injured skipper Steve Letley saw the young guns come out firing in the second half, producing hockey of both breath-taking quality, and high intensity. It was the old guard of Andrews sr and Scott that combined for the equaliser though, with some quick thinking on a free hit seeing Andrews pick out the veteran centre forward for a cute finish just in front of the keeper. The Ops continued with their high intensity pressing and attacking, but were grateful to Milligan for a couple of fine saves, and some very cool, calm and collected defending by Jones, Brazier, Andrews jr and Whitehead. The third goal came from perhaps the finest move of the match for the Ops, with the ball transferring from one side of the pitch to the other at high speed. Gilham-Jones was found on the baseline and his skilful run into the d gave him the time to pick out Jake Davidson hurtling in on the back post to force the ball home. From 2 down to 3-2 up with 10 minutes to go! Ash pushed hard for the equaliser, and were rewarded when a fine short corner strike found the backboard, to set up a rousing final 7 minutes. Both teams went for the win, but the Ops came closest with a penalty corner awarded right at the death. Andrews sr's strike was heading for the very corner of the goal before the Ash keeper somehow managed to extend his left leg just enough to get sufficient kicker on the ball to send it narrowly wide. An excellent game all round, and an important milestone for the youngsters in showing the development in their collective game