Keswick only had one home game at the weekend, and it provided the men’s thirds with a handsome 14-0 win over Leyland and Chorley ends.
The men’s 1st team should also have played, however an outbreak of COVID in the Lytham St Annes team meant they were unable to travel.
It was one of those days when the fates were against the visitors, as before the game started the captain confided that his team were in fact last year’s third team.
They had become the 2nd team after some internal wranglings at the club meant most of last year’s 2nd team had left.
To make it harder for the visitors the Keswick team had some players from the 1s and 2s making returns from injury lay-offs and new baby duties.
The odds were stacked against the visitors and those odds soon shortened. After three minutes Matty Burridge started the rout, followed on seven minutes by another from Harry King.
The play was all taking place in the visitors’ half, and to add to their woes, their goal keeper Ravi Narayan hadn’t played in goal before – their regular keeper was out injured. He came to their rescue with a couple of good saves before Burridge made it 3-0 on 13 minutes.
When the ball did get into the Keswick half, young Clive Swanston played some well thought out hockey to defuse any threat.
Keswick’s fourth goal was scored by James Hobbs on 15 minutes as his confidence with the ball and good-running creating havoc in the visitors’ defence.
Burridge completed his hat trick on 17 minutes, and then added his fourth five minutes later while the first half scoring was rounded-off on 30 minutes by Ryan McCully.
The second half followed the pattern of the first with seven more goals for Keswick.
McCully added his second after only three minutes while Reuben Bone chipped-in to the goal-fest with the home side’s eighth after 12 minutes.
The pace of the game slowed a bit, but the goals kept coming, Chris Bateman scored after 17 minutes; King again after 25, followed a minute later by Hobbs adding his second.
Nick Hodgson added number 13 after 28 minutes and the scoring was rounded-off on 30 minutes as Hobbs completed his hat trick to end the scoring.
