THD Men’s 1st XI vs Purley 1st XI 

Match Report: A Sam Close Special

(The image provided nearly lost the M1 the team of the week vote). 

Following the early season break, the Men’s first team arrived in the middle of nowhere, looking to add to their decent start of the season against a team they had not earned a point against away in over seven years. 

From the outset, the THD team contained the Purley threat with their well-versed press, forcing turnovers throughout the pitch. The resulting counterattacks, however, amounted to little in the early stages, with the forwards linking up play slightly wayward in the D. The THD forwards managed to work the Purley keeper with some unorthodox shots and slightly rusty short corner routines but without breaking through. 

As the home team grew into the game, the battle for midfield dominance commenced, turning the game into a scrappy affair, with neither side really controlling the game. Some slightly physical tackles and a few late tackles resulted in the umpires’ whistles being heard repeatedly throughout the game.  

The highlight of the first half came late on with the THD team defending a short corner. Piggy, the team’s captain, pulled off a remarkable reflex save to tip the Purley drag flick over the bar. The game would remain scoreless up to the half with both defences remaining on top.

Looking for inspiration, the team huddled round at halftime to observe George’s incredibly well-drawn and detailed change of tactic for the second half, the phallic resemblance of which provided hearty enjoyment for a large contingent of the team. Buoyed by this the team took to the pitch looking to capitalize on their chances and come away with the three points. 

The scrappiness of the game continued into the second half with tackles flying in all over the pitch. A particularly late one from the Purley defence left Kim crumpled on the floor much to the anger of his teammates. As the game went on chances became fewer and far between, but the THD belief remained. 

The deadlock was finally broken by Ben Wald on his return to the team finding himself in acres of space following a short corner routine called from the sideline and rifling the ball into the far corner. The Purley players could barely hold in their dismay with some taking their frustrations out on the turf, much to the enjoyment of the travelling THD support. You can watch the short corner here. 

The defence continued their resolute performance against waves of Purley attacks as the time ran down. Some questionable encouragement from the THD bench urging the forwards to try and kill time in the corner led to the game becoming ever more stretched. Resulting counterattacks were snuffed through varying levels of legality by the THD defence, including a last minute tackle which would not have looked out of place at Twickenham, with Alex taking advantage of the fact that in the last minute, a yellow is no different to a green. 

Ultimately the Purley attacks would prove fruitless with the umpires blowing the final whistle to the relief of and exhausted THD team. The professional performance breaking a 7 year away duck versus Purley and continuing the squads strong start to the season.

THD 1 - Purley 0.