Upminster 3s were full of confidence as they prepared to host on-fire Plashet.
A goal tally of 155 in the previous season meant that Plashet were always going to be a tricky team to contain, however Upminster started strongly and after the first 15 minutes Will Murphy scored a lovely across-goal sweep from Phil Hudson’s delightful assist to take Upminster into the lead.
Plashet continued to pressure, however Upminster had several midfield breaks from Phil Hudson, Tom Hilson and all-round hero & man of the match Martin Nutt to feed their strike force but failed to convert. Plashet took advantage with some impressive individual skills to send themselves into the break 2-1 up.
The second half started as the first half had ended with some fine defending from Michael Jones, Peter Ford, Rob Fordham and John Appleton keeping Plashet at bay. After a lengthy delay in play Upminster were caught sleeping, which led to another individual run and goal by the Plashet forward, who was starting to gain more confidence in his game.
With the score at 3-1 Upminster continued to dominate the game but with seven minutes to go, a tangle of sticks between the Plashet forward and the Upminster Goalkeeper resulted in a penalty flick being awarded to the away side. After another lengthy delay in play the flick was finally taken with replacement keeper Tom Hilson almost pulling out a fine save but was only able to get the edge of his stick to the ball.
The final seven minutes featured a few more attacks for both sides with Upminster going close once again, with the choice to field Hilson in goal proving an absolute brilliant decision as he proceeded to pull off a brilliant treble-save of Olympic proportions.
Ultimately a 4-1 loss, which the scoreline doesn’t do Upminsters performance justice. A very promising team performance that they will be looking to build on heading to Thurrock next week.
Man of the match: Martin Nutt
Defender of the match: Tom Hilson
