HC Knole Park Men’s 1st XI hosted Old Williamsonian’s 3rd on Saturday at the club’s new home venue at Radnor House School. In a very tough match, Knole Park bounced back from going a goal down to win 5-1. A first Men’s 1st team goal from Louis van den Rijse and four from Duncan Parnis sealed the victory and moved the team up to second in the table.
A very tight first half, chances came and went for both sides, however the match remained scoreless.
A good half-time team talk meant Knole Park came out with more accuracy and a more clinical second half was a joy to watch! Old Williamsonian’s took an early lead in the first few minutes of the second half. Some nice interplay saw their centre forward finish from close range. However with a change of gear coming out of half time, the team responded immediately. Some fantastic midfield play from youngsters Charlie Harrison and Lars Hansen, put in Maarten de Widt who passed to Dave Smith. His delightful reverse pass to Louis van den Rijse meant all Louis had to do was roll it into the empty goal! The goal of the match!
Moments later, Duncan Parnis then put Knole Park into a 2-1 lead after a mazy dribble through the OWs defence. The third and fourth goals both came from set-pieces: a well worked penalty corner and a penalty stroke from Duncan to complete his hat-trick, before a trademark open play strike from Duncan late on sealed the win and the three points!
Next week the team travels to Herne Bay 3rd. Both teams currently have 100% records so it should be a cracking match!
