Solent University Men’s Hockey fell foul of a rampant University of Exeter performance losing 4-1 in the fourth meeting between the sides this year.
Solent Hockey who are winless against their opponents who boast eight BUCs hockey sides were unable to build on the momentum from their BUCs Cup victory last week.
Solent Captain, Fraser Craigen, believed their strength in depth was an asset to them “Exeter have two sides in the league meaning against challenging opposition they will always be able to field their strongest side”.
The fixture list produced for the Hampshire-based side’s season means they will only face two sides that aren’t part of the Exeter programme in the first half of the season .
“We need to see more rotation in the fixtures from now on” urged the captain who argued some institutions may be rewarded for their depth.
In the fourth rendition of the contest, the hosts started well, advancing the ball with regularity and earning the first short corner of the game.
A driven drag flick from Josh Coetzee was saved by the goalkeeper with midfielder, Daniel Hart, inches away from meeting the rebound.
Exeter responded quickly with sharp, first-time passing and a lacklustre Solent press allowing them regular entries into the striking circle and a consequent abundance of short corners.
The visitor’s press was relentless and led to the home side’s defenders having few outlet options resulting in two defensive mistakes that gifted the South West side a 2-0 lead.
Solent seldom troubled the opposition’s territory and went into the halftime break trailing and devoid of ideas on how to break the press.
After a passionate team talk, Craigen encouraged his side to go back to basics, move the ball with urgency and play “Our hockey”.
However, the home side continued to struggle to react to the constant swarm of Exeter’s green shirts and conceded an early second-period goal to take the game out of reach to 3-0.
Testament to the tenacity of Josh Taylor in the midfield and James Cordery at full-back, Solent managed to string together an isolated offensive move that resulted in a short corner against the run of play.
Up stepped the in-form striker Coetzee who drilled the ball into the bottom left corner to spoil the clean sheet of the otherwise unscathed Exeter goalkeeper.
The visitors buried the final nail in the coffin with a close-range effort to beat the Solent defence with the last play of the game and seal a 4-1 victory.
With two games remaining before the Winter break, Craigen emphasised the importance of the BUCs Western 3A league stating “getting off the mark in the league and earning some points is essential to give us some stability”.
