Men's team look for silverware as they reach cup final with a five-star team performance
A hat-trick by captain Dimitri Chambers was just a small section of what was a terrific display of team-work by Staffordshire's men team against Lincoln. The visitors secured a place in next Wednesday's cup final at Nottingham Trent with a comfortable 9-2 victory.
Two goals from vice-captain David Drysdale was another highlight. Also goals from Shane Hall, Marcus Howe, Nathan Villiers and Sam Page completed what was a great confidence booster before their cup final against Trent and the season finale at Varsity.
"I would agree it was the team’s best performance of the season. It was just our day and the team was showing myself and Drysdale why they have been picked for Varsity. With the stakes of being in the final to try and regain some respect against Trent in the final, we was considered to be the team to step up to the plate and performance a worthy game against the league champions."
The first two quarters probably saw the visitors at their very best. They created a lot possession around goal and as soon as Lincoln got possession, Staffordshire's back line intercepted seconds later for another attack at the hosts goal. Captain Chambers commented "If we can perform like we did today against Lincoln I see it being more of a closer game against Nottingham Trent and with the players back bring our midfield stronger than what it currently is it will only make us perform that much better."
The third quarter saw captain Chambers decide to experiment by starting with all freshers.But unfortunately, it soon back-fired as Lincoln broke their duct with the opening goal of the second half. "The team that was out in the 3rd quarter is the team that would be starting the new season in September and they need to learn what it is like to take control of the game and try and identify the key players to control the game like myself, marcus and drysdale do so well" said Chambers.
But that set-back did not stop the visitors from increasing their lead. Chambers managed to complete his hat-trick to finish what was a near-perfect performance.
It is now onto the cup final where Nottingham Trent wait in the wings. "I will take this game as a cup final as it is a chance to get the team fired up before Varsity, yes I don’t want any injuries before the big day a week after this game and already with a few players already suffering from a long and hard working season there will be a few areas which will produce a bit of a safety net for the team."