Trojans lost all five games on their Maxifuel Super Sixes Indoor Hockey debut at Fleming Park – but their record was no where near as bad as it appears.

“We could have won every game, but lost every game. Only a small few errors was the difference between victory and defeat,” said Trojans midfielder Ian Bassett.

“The quality of opposition was high, but to reach the last 30 indoor sides in the country was a feat in itself and it will be an experience we can only gain from.”

Trojans’ entry into the Super Sixes was a real baptism of fire – Team Bath Buccaneers, who won four of their five matches to top the group, scoring six times in the opening seven minutes against a shell-shocked Stoneham outfit.

“We looked set for a real roasting, but we came back strongly, scoring twice before half-time and then getting two more to make it 6-4 by the final whistle,” Bassett added.

Arguably the highspot of the game was a stunning penalty flick save by goalkeeper Steve Cole, who defied his advancing years by flinging himself to his right to tip the shot away.

“Coley did it again in a subsequent match and, of the six goalkeepers on view, was by far the best,” Bassett added.

Trojans contrived to turn a 2-1 lead into an eventual 4-3 defeat against Oxted and went on to suffer odd-goal defeats by Havering (5-4) and Chelmsford (4-3) before losing 7-4 to West Herts in their final tournament appearance.

“It’s fair to say, we just went for it in that final game. Defence was secondary, we just tried to score as many goals as we could,” Bassett admitted.