Bavaria Hawks narrowly defeated by Wales 045

Bavaria Hawks 0-1 Wales 045

Bavaria Hawks faced Wales 045 in the second of the international visitors matches on Saturday. Bavaria had their opportunities; however, a break by Wales 045 led to a short corner, giving them a chance to strike at the goal. This was one of the few occasions the visitors had, with good blocking keeping them out and sending Bavaria on a quick offensive. However, this ended with the blowing of the first horn for the first break. Both sides had started to settle, with the visitors content on sporadic high pressure and quick breaks.

Whilst Bavaria had the first surge forward in the second quarter, breaking their move, Wales launched into an offensive which ended with the keeper penalized with a short corner. Wales, after initially being blocked, found a way through the feet of defenders and the keeper to score.

A second short corner given by the young umpire, coincidentally the son of the head coach of Bavaria and their captain, forced a great save from the Bavaria keeper, with the umpire ignoring the criticisms of his parents.

Bavaria later earned themselves a short corner as they piled the pressure on Wales’ defense. This was followed by a consecutive second short corner which was well blocked by the defense. However, Bavaria regained possession and forced a long corner. Wales momentarily came away from defending after a mistake in the delivery of passes. This did not last long as Bavaria regained control and started to move the ball around.

Wales threatened on quick breaks, at one time forcing a late challenge close to the goal, with the Bavaria defender doing well to come away with the ball without fouling.

Wales 045 turned around possession in their favor as they upped gears and used their experience to swarm Bavaria out of possession. A well-taken ball saw Wales break again, rounding defenders and unfortunately not grabbing a second goal as the ball went tantalizingly close across the goal.

Just on the halftime horn, a shot from a tight angle forced the Bavaria keeper to block with her foot as Wales came close once again. Wales 045 led 1-0 at halftime.

The third quarter did not start well for Bavaria, who conceded an early short corner. The Bavaria keeper was in action as she protected her goal. Although Bavaria had the legs for most of the running, the visitors showcased their experience. Good distribution, along with players spread wide enough to force Bavaria to stretch, saw them able to launch quick breaks. Defensively, a tough, solid physical presence, not afraid to put their heads down and sticks down head-on to challenge, made it difficult for Bavaria, who tried to search for a way back into the game.

Some confusion in Wales’ defense after their keeper called to get the ball resulted in a foul for a short corner. Wales’ keeper saved with the foot. Bavaria came back to try again but was forced wide in their attempt.

Bavaria persisted and forced another short corner minutes later. Cleared again, Bavaria still continued with their momentum, penning Wales back. Wales’ keeper was forced to come out and kick clear a pass across his area as Bavaria looked to get closer to the equalizer.

Wales’ experience showed once again. Intercepting deep, they went on a fluid one-touch pass break, which saw the ball out in the goal but disallowed after a previous whistle for a short corner seconds earlier. No advantage was given by the second umpire, to the disappointment of the Welsh bench, who questioned their decision.

The short corner came to nothing. Bavaria’s momentum was momentarily deflated with Wales stretching the lines and forcing Bavaria to keep more of a defensive posture.

Bavaria searched for the equalizer in the final quarter but found the match going end to end as Wales regained possession. With the match starting to stretch across wider areas, more gaps were seen through which Wales found their way towards Bavaria’s goal. A ball across the goal saw a diving lunge to try and deflect it in, praised by the Welsh crowd although missed by mere inches.

Bavaria found themselves impeded from progressing too far into Wales’ half. Their first chance came from a breaking run by Demi, whose final pass was well intercepted. With large gaps between defense and the front line and slow chasing back into position, Bavaria found themselves more often than not having to prevent Wales from creating another scoring chance, while creating very few of their own.

Wales’ pressure and high tactics forced Bavaria to play in their own half, forcing mistakes which gave Wales possession and kept Bavaria’s back line busy. Wales could have had a second in one of these pressure tactics which stalled Bavaria. The latter lost the chance of conceding through a mis-hit which saw the Wales player punished for a swipe of the stick while having just the keeper to beat.

It was not until the very few seconds that Bavaria found their way deep into Wales’ half but too late to make a dent. Wales 045 came away with a 1-0 victory.