Heartbreak- continued losses for the men! (23/10)

On a stormy Wednesday evening, the Southampton Water Polo team battled against Imperial in a tense and exciting game. We gathered in the Jubilee Sports Centre where Captain Howard gave us an inspirational talk before heading into the pool with our heads held high. As the match started, we won the first swim-off and immediately pushed into our first attack, forming an arc in the deep end to put our abrasive training into use. With Dani being unleashed on the wing, Finn on the post, and Alex in the pit we managed to take some fouls, move the ball around, and put us in the lead by the end of the first quarter at 3-2.

Filled with motivation we quickly moved into the second quarter, discovering their tactics which mostly consisted of passing into their pit A, but unfortunately for them, his lack of fitness and the recklessness of the defenders in Imperial led us to many men up when we attacked. However, we were having trouble trying the find the net and this eventually led us to be one goal down (6-7) with a last-second penalty awarded to us at the end of the quarter. This meant the most daunting half was yet to ensue as a recurring theme of our play was to concede majorly in the third quarter.

It was a positive start with Finn winning the swim-off once more. We were able to get back in a rhythm fuelled by some critical advice from Howard and Alex. Dani completed his hat trick to start the quarter equalising the game, but was quickly followed by a goal from the opposition. At the end of the quarter, Alex gained us a penalty, which gave us a chance to equalize, but unfortunately, the keeper made a brilliant save leaving us at 7-8 with one last quarter to seize the victory.

As quarter 4 began our defence stayed solid with many blocked shots and interceptions, but as the quarter and thus the game drew to a close the seven in the pool started to get tired and with a hefty amount of substitutions we tried to keep composure. With Dani getting an exclusion and time out from Imperial that followed, we let a goal slip which left us at a 7-9 finish. All-in-all an amazing effort from all the boys on the squad and a huge improvement from our previous games, ready for the next opponents we must face.

Written by Fernando Alvarez.

MVP: Polo Fresher Dani scoring his first of many hat tricks.

Dick of the Day: Captain Howard for missing his 1^st penalty of the season.

Goals/Majors:

Sam Ellis: 0/0

Fernando Alvarez: 0/1

Ethan Underwood: 0/0

Finn Thomas: 1/1

Samuel Cross: 0/0

Daniel Bourne: 3/1

Edward Wilkes: 1/0

Jack James: 0/0