Middlesbrough v Invicta 9/10/10

Middlesbrough Roller Hockey Club started the season with an emphatic win against Kent based RHC Invicta. Newly promoted Invicta made the long trip up to Teesside for the game on Saturday night and with Boro narrowly losing out on league success last season they were determined to get their campaign off to a good start.
Boro went straight after their opponents from the starting whistle, hoping to catch them off guard and it was a tactic that worked brilliantly. With in two minutes Boro had taken the lead through new signing Maiol Giralt, firing in an unstoppable effort from close range. With Invicta struggling to settle and Boro maintaining the pressure it wasn’t long before Boro added a second. With a two goal cushion and barely five minutes on the clock Middlesbrough began to show some real signs of class, Owen Stewart grabbing the third and John Jones netting a brace. The game also marked a first team debut for returning England schoolboy star Will Smith. Maintaining his excellent form from the European schoolboy championships he proved to be a thorn in the side of Invicta, creating numerous chances for his team mates and defending superbly.
With a six goal cushion Boro rang in the changes, introducing Sam Kay and Peter Lonsdale. Both subs fitted straight in and continued to heap the pressure on Invicta. With Boro keeper Dan Palmer mainly a spectator, Boro added a further two goals from Kay. Wanting to keep the team fresh and with an abundance of talent on the bench captain Michael Ableson and Marc Rutland were introduced and it was these two players who scored the goal of the game; Ableson picking out Rutland with a precise pass that was finished with aplomb from close range. Invicta did begin to settle towards the end of the first half, grabbing two goals of their own before the break but by this point the damage was done and Boro came in at half time 10 – 2 in the lead.
Boro began the second half in buoyant fashion, once again looking to press Invicta back. Although the tactic continued to work Invicta had re-organised and began to cope with the pressure a lot better. With the game now more even both teams exchanged two goals a piece in what was a frantic 10 minutes, Boro and Invicta being guilty of carelessness in possession. Middlesbrough called a timeout and changed their goal keeper and attacking formation. Newly introduced England Junior hopeful Garry Todd made a string of fine saves, including two penalties, providing Boro with a solid foundation on which they began to retain possession for long periods. As the game drew to a close Invicta became increasingly frustrated at their lack of ball and Boro seized their opportunity to pick off a further five goals; ending any chance of a fight back from the visitors. The game finishing Boro 17 – 4 RHC Invicta.
Vice captain Dan Palmer commented after the game “Today was a great game for us. We were confident that the preparation we had put in pre-season would mean we were ready for our first game and that showed today. We looked sharp in front of goal and strong defensively. Although we scored a lot of goals, which is something we don’t do very often there is still areas to improve on which we will begin to look at in training.” Dan added “Invicta have just been promoted and we wish them all the best; in their first two league games they have played both the winners and runners-up from last years National league so it has been some what of a baptism of fire. They showed signs of what they are capable of in the second half though and I’m sure they will improve over the course of the season.”
John B Jones