Ross Hockey Club 1st XI were hoping for a good result against in their home match last weekend against Cheltenham C after their confident win the week before.
Cheltenham took the first push back and showed the home team that they wanted to claim the three points for themselves, Ross knew it wasn't going to be an easy game.
Both teams missed early opportunities. The midfielders were in deadlock, with both sides making it difficult for the attackers to get shots on goal. Cheltenham stepped up their game managing to slip past the Ross defence, Brian Clare, Luke Ward, Jack Wilkinson and Dave Skyrme. Andy Ridgway was left unprotected in goal and the opposition took the lead in the late stages of the first half. The goal was a massive wake up call which made Ross more determined and when the whistle blew at half time, Ross gathered in hoping for a change in the second half.
Returning to the pitch both teams were eager to fight it out for another 35 minutes. The home side took push back and were keen to keep possession and take back control. It didn't take long before the attackers Adrian Williams, Phil Evans and Geraint Morris were getting shots on goal, putting Cheltenham C under pressure. The cracks began to appear and Ross were awarded a short corner, the ball was passed out and knocked on to Franklin, who slotted it into the bottom corner scoring the equaliser for his team.
Ross knew they still had to pull it out the bag if they wanted victory, the midfielders Tom Walton, Sam Warner, Nick Clark and Kristian Franklin picked up their pace to create more opportunities, with a few shots getting close. But yet again the match became deadlocked, with the ball being knocked from end to end.
The game was coming to a close and neither team could get the break they needed. It was in the final seconds of the game that Evans received the ball, taking it through the Cheltenham defence, getting a final shot, he slammed it past the oppositions keeper to give Ross the lead as the final whistle was blown.
The team is grateful to the umpires, Pete Hughes and Richard Jennison.