On Sunday afternoon Sevenoaks Men’s 1st Team travelled to Bath for their last league game before the Christmas break. After a win against Old Cranleighans last weekend, Sevenoaks were keen to continue this form and produce a good performance against a well organised Bath team.

The first quarter saw both teams settling into the game well, with some aggressive challenges flying in early. There wasn't much between the two sides and it was clear this wasn’t going to be an easy game for either outfit. Sevenoaks’ defence remained solid throughout the opening quarter and were never really troubled by the Bath offence.

The second quarter saw much of the same with both teams producing solid defensive performances. Sevenoaks began to show their attacking threat with a few good runs from midfield and some intricate midfield to forward link up play, but as they committed players forward in search of the breakthrough, Oaks also looked vulnerable to a Bath counter attack. Some clever runs from Max Denniff and James Thomas started to open the game up a bit more, with player coach Ian Haley starting to move forward with the ball more as well. Sevenoaks managed to get a few shots from the top of the D but were not able to find the target. Both teams produced a number of small chances during the first half but neither could capitalise and it ended 0-0 at the break.

It was all to play for in the second half after both teams producing a quality display of hockey in the first half. An unfortunate flurry of cards for Sevenoaks meant Bath played most of the third quarter with a man up and Bath started to press the Sevenoaks backline more aggressively. Bath continued to add pressure on the Sevenoaks outlet as they dominated possession. The defensive pair of Craig Morton and Chris Barker remained solid at the back, however, and with some excellent saves from Richard Potton, Bath remained goalless going into the final quarter.

With one last quarter to play and 11 men back on the pitch, Sevenoaks began to push for a winning goal and started to look more threatening. Sevenoaks had recovered well and seemed the likely team to take home the 3 points. With some clever positioning, Nick Barker found himself in acres of space on the right hand side and delivered a great ball across goal. After a scramble in the D, Sevenoaks were unable to find the back of the net and the ball was cleared out. Sevenoaks continued to attack with a number of clever moves down the right and left hand sides of the D, but couldn’t quite find that final shot on goal.

With just minutes to go, Bath won the ball in midfield and counterattacked. As Sevenoaks scrambled back Bath managed to win a corner in the dying stages of the game. The final whistle went, which meant Bath had one last chance to find a goal as they moved their whole team around the D making it a nervous end for the Sevenoaks support team. However, the Sevenoaks defence proved themselves once again with an excellent block from Chris Barker and the game finished 0-0.

A frustrating but solid performance from Sevenoaks saw them leave Bath with a point. They now have a break until February, where their returning league game is against Havant away.