Marquis Dalefield's premier division hockey game against Northern United at Clareville on Saturday turned out to be another "what might have been" experience for the home side.
Dalefield took a deserved 2-1 lead in to the break after conceding an early goal from a penalty corner.
The equaliser camewithin minutes when Mitch Blackwood netted with a drag flick, also from a penalty corner. Dalefield then added a second when Alex Sumenko-Bucknell netted in open play after a precision pass from Dion Field.
The turning point came during the second half with the scores locked at 2-2 when Dalefield lost centre half Liam Workman to a head injury, forcing a reshuffle within the ranks. Northern took full advantage of the re-arrangement and ran in six unanswered goals to take out the game 8-2.
"The floodgates just opened for a 10-minute period after we lost Liam and we just shipped goals," team manager Dave Blackwood said. "Up to that point we'd put together good moves and looked dangerous but in the end it became one of those games you learn lessons from and then put behind you."
Blackwood singled out keeper Orin Lockyear who was "outstanding" despite the scoreline but emphasised Dalefield was a team on the rise.
"We're a young team with an average age well under 20 but we're improving. We're still lacking consistency over the full 70 minutes but we're getting there" Blackwood said.
