Saturday marked the first pre-season fixture for NHC. Premier League teams often play pre-season friendlies in far flung corners of the globe to help build an international fan base. Our equivalent was a trip to the lakes, presumably with the hope of maximising the fees when we sell the YNE TV rights into the lucrative Cumbrian market. Just to confuse matters, although the opposition were Keswick, the game was actually to be played in Cockermouth. The squad had already thinned out as illness (Tom Mc) and a refusal to play amid rumours of a multi-million dollar move to the Saudi super league (Dom) reduced the travelling party to 13. Having completed 95% of the coast-to-coast on the journey west, we assembled and began a leisurely warm up. It quickly became apparent why our Cumbrian contingent had felt so at home at JPA when they first joined – the pitch was half astro, half sand and extremely slow - some of the youngsters on the sidelines should probably have brought a bucket and spade.

A strong looking Keswick lineup started brightly, moving the ball well and showing movement up front. However, NHC were equal to the task, keeping organised and disciplined to frustrate the opposition. The breakthrough came only courtesy of a hotly contested long corner award, from which Keswick reacted quickest and scrambled the ball into the net. Although dominating possession, Keswick did not have things all their own way and we looked lively on the break. On a humid afternoon, the heat and fatigue started to take its toll and Keswick bagged a couple more, including a superb strike off a rebounded short corner that led captain David into evasive action. Half time 4-0 to the hosts, but there was no negativity in the Newcastle camp. A tactical switch saw us switch back to the 4-3-3 favoured by most of our teams, having experimented with a diamond 4-4-2 in the first half.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Keswick having most of the possession, but struggling to break down the stubborn NHC lines. We got on the scoreboard thanks to some excellent work on the break releasing Neil 1 on 1 with the keeper. He rounded and slotted home, resisting the temptation to tap the keeper’s helmet in true Olympic style, to cheers from the travelling faithful. Keswick hit back swiftly, but we held firm for the rest of the half. A 5-1 defeat, but against a quality opposition was no disgrace, and an encouraging performance from a mixed side that made the trip well worth it.
MoM: Oscar – a superb performance at full back, intercepting well and turning defence into attack, often against an overload.
DoD: Robbo – largely for an incident late on in the second half, when tired and caught in eleven minds, rather than make a pass to anyone I just missed the ball completely.