Highly competitive season opener in men’s Byrne’s XI versus Eagles

Following the quality performance from the President’s XI match, Gibraltar hockey enthusiasts were treated to another spectacle of hockey, this time with the men’s season opener — the Byrne’s XI against men’s league champions, Eagles.
It was a match that was to bring a few surprises even before the start. Two veterans of the sport were making their return to the field after a year’s absence — Eagles fielding Gareth Henwood, whilst Byrne’s XI saw Shane Rammage join up with his brother Karl.
A mix of experience and youth across the field, this was to be a tense encounter which brought about a competitiveness on the field that had the umpires busy.
It was also a match in which the umpires were to be a focal point of much backlash from the touchline, which once again raised concerns over some of the attitudes and behaviours seen in previous seasons transgressing into the new season.
A hunger for competitive hockey was soon seen to bite in, with Eagles launching a quickfire offensive, forcing two saves within a matter of minutes.
Byrne’s keeper soon showed what was to be an excellent performance with his many fine saves.
From early on in the match, the complaints towards some umpiring decisions were already evident. Calls for an infringement for “feet” were ignored as Eagles found their way to goal. Eagles regained possession, combined well, and found themselves inside the D to turn the ball around the keeper for the first goal.
There was an immediate response from Byrne’s XI, who found a ball deflected for a corner.
End-to-end action saw Dobinson make a great counter-attacking run and force a short corner. The first led to a second, then a third, and finally a fourth, which saw Byrne’s keeper make what was his seventh good stop of the day.
The first quarter finished with just a solitary goal for Eagles.
Byrne’s came out in the second quarter starting to control possession and halt the quick-paced Eagles breaks. The deliberate possession play paid dividends as they forced a save by the near post as they edged slowly forward.
Tensions rose in the match, as did the harsh challenges, with Ethan Balban lucky to have walked away without serious injury when dumped to the ground as the final whistle for half-time blew.
It was another strong start for Eagles in the third quarter. However, it was Byrne’s XI who produced the opportunities, with the Eagles keeper this time in action and making a series of good stops.
End-to-end action once again, although Eagles could not find the net. Byrne’s, on the other hand, found the equaliser from the stick of veteran Shane Rammage. The Grammarian’s hockey player, who has also been looking to make headway in boxing, punched through to level the score.
Some great saves on both sides could have seen the match go either way.
However, with both sides battling for the win, the match was to remain level at 1-1.
A season opener which provided a glimpse of what to expect from the men’s league this season.