Marshall and Carter Keall send Vets to defeat

The 2008-09 season finally crawled to a finish as the Veterans completed their one remaining fixture, going down 1-4 to Spencer. To be fair, Spencer fielded more than a few familiar faces after struggling themselves to raise an XI, and we welcomed back former stalwarts such as Simon Marshall and Chris Carter Keall.

Spencer enjoyed more of the possession in the first half, although they failed to make that count in the final third, and it was against the run of play that Ed Breton gave us the lead. It didn’t last long, Spencer equalising soon after and then going ahead in bizarre circumstances five minutes before the break. A typically powder-puff shot from Marshall dribbled apologetically towards the goal, watched with interest by attackers and defenders who wondered if it would give up of its own accord before someone stopped it. As Pete Shanks prepared to end the farce by kicking it into kingdom come, Carter Keall, behind him in the goalmouth and nominally on the same side, called for him to leave. He did. So did Carter Keall. The ball puffed and panted its way about an inch over the line before expiring. Marshall had scored from a record distance of ten yards. Spectators headed to the bar.

In the second half we created no end of opportunities, most originating with Breton, but gilt-edged chances were spurned by Stuart Sleeman (whose chuntering against the umpire’s decisions included the justification "I’m a judge … I’m paid to be impartial") and Jon Gray.

For Spencer, Marshall showed superb pace, judgment, stick skill and awareness. Dan Marshall that is. His father, panting and clearly suffering, substituted himself shortly after half time and refused pleas to come back, preferring to lean on the fence and chat up the umpire's wife.

Marshall younger scored a third when Shanks, determined not to make the same mistake twice, made a different one instead, diving to keep on a ball heading off and allowing young Dan to slot home. A fourth was just salt in the wound.

2nd XI secure Open League title

2nd XI 2-0 Surbiton
Match photos
In almost summer-like sunshine, the season finally ended with a 2-0 win over Surbiton for the 2nd XI, a result which gave us the Surrey Open League Premier Division title as well as promotion into what is now Surrey Division (although what it will be once the post-season-reshuffle dust settles nobody knows).

We started knowing we had to win to sneak past Old Whitgiftians for the first time all season, and with only Will Stephens missing from the usual line-up and a Surbiton side who were bottom, we were confident. Perhaps too much so. For the first 15 minutes we were dreadful, off the pace, not pressurising the opposition and looking as if we would struggle.

James Robson was called on to make a couple of saves as well as a timely interception, while at the other end we started producing shots but not on target. We gained a few shorts without threatening off any of them, while with Pies, making a welcome return for Surbiton, was always a danger as he sucked in defenders. Fortunately, he was left with little support, although he managed to earn a frustrated/bewildered Andy Duff a green card early on from a novice umpire.

Ten minutes before the break we got the breakthrough, Rob Merry rifling in an absolute bullet across the keeper from the right-side of the D. Rarely can he have hit the ball harder.

That settled us, and for the second half we controlled the game, with Robson’s only significant role being to earn a green card for abusing the distant umpire for a decision at the other end of the pitch.

Duff and Jon Heard dominated the defence, Duff even making a very rare surging run the length of the pitch, while the Merrys showed the good form they have been in all year. Chris Porter played as only he can – brilliant at times, combatitive at others, and happy to argue with players from either side. He was for once the innocent party when he accidentally clipped a defender in the face with his stick only be hauled off by Surbiton’s diminutive No. 10, who was clearly spoiling for a fight, as he bent over the prone player to apologise.

We could have had half a dozen, and Duncan Mottram deserved a goal for all his hard work but with only the keeper to beat, he undercut straight into his helmet for the least intentional save of the day. Minutes later the defence was finally stretched too far and Paul Acutt slammed the ball home after finding himself in acres of space in a move which started with a double foul from Duff on Pies which left him spreadeagled on the ground.

The rest was fairly unthreatening. Ed Breton, after a quiet first half, ended the season in the hustling, bustling, battling way he approaches every game (as well as the post-match BBQ), Neil Grimes carved holes in the right side of the Surbiton defence, and Dodie Khurshid briefly looked as if he might be on for his second goal in 19 seasons until David Knapp, taking a commanding/dictatorial touchline role, removed him from the fray. Preston Rutt looked in form until he received the most bewildering order of the day from Knapp who barked at him to “keep up” with Cookie.

The promotion secured, we enjoyed some champagne in the clubhouse and the celebrations went on late into the afternoon. It is quite possible Duff is still there.

The side deserved its success. We had only lost once all year - a miserable away day at Wanderers – and had taken eight points against the sides in second and third, with the two wins against them coming away from home. We undoubtedly benefited from the release of several stalwarts from the 1st XI but all blended in well and, crucially, it was an enjoyable season and a happy side. For that, Rob Merry deserves huge credit.

Match reports - April 4, 2009

The 1st XI booked their promotion with a 7-2 win over Addiscombe in a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests. The Ladies beat Woking but other results went against us and so we are relegated, but there were two wins for the 2nd XI at Epsom (yes, two) meaning that a win in the final game will win them the title. The 3rd Xi lost an ill-tempered game against Goan 2-4.

1st XI 7-2 Addiscombe
Match photos
Possibly the best day in the club's history started at 10am and ended at approximately 2.30pm with wins for the 1st XI, two for the 2nds, one for the ladies, two promotions and a real chance to avoid relegation. The ladies gritty and impressive performance takes pride of place coming as it did against an experienced and well drilled Woking side and of the four wins the one against the highest odds. A couple of other results going in their favour could see the relegation battle won.

Promotion for both the first and second XIs is a first for the club with the 2nds having the chance to win the league if they win on the 18th April at TD, a remarkable achievement having regard to their sweating on the last few weeks last year to avoid the drop themselves by winning 4 of the last 5 games they played.

So, why the change? At last we are playing as a club. 6 of today's starting line up were not even club members at the beginning of the season but working through the teams have ended up being key players in the 1st XI but more importantly the guys displaced are all playing for the 2nd XI. Being only one league apart there will be fierce competition for places next season and with both teams playing a similar standard the transfer of players between sides will be far easier and have much less an effect on the balance of the teams than would have been the case in previous years.

The biggest disappointment of the season has been the loss of Nick Lewis to his horrific injury and it is this that has been the main dampener on the success on the pitch. Fortunately it coincided with the arrival of Wobble who has been outstanding at the back with his arrival completing the transformation of the side following the introduction of Nick and James Wood, Jonny Hunter, Trickster and Rory. All have played key roles once settling down and into our style of play.

Today's result was a great deal closer than the scoreline suggests. Dave Cresswell's influence was evident in the first 5 minutes as we settled down and played the ball around the team without allowing Addiscombe a touch. Addiscombe were themselves in need of points to avoid the drop and had run us close in November when we squeaked home 3 - 2, scroing late on. As it was we took the lead when Rory at full length steered home a cross but we were unable to add to the lead allowing Addiscombe to level mid way through the first half. A Jonny Hunter short corner drag restored the lead but we did not look convincing as we allowed the oppo far too much space in the middle of the pitch. We did have chances but a couple of good saves from their keeper kept us at bay with Trickster making one fine save with his stick - before he broke it - from a short corner.

2-1 at half time became 2-2 in somewhat chaotic circumstances and there was a tension in our play that was beggining to cost us our domination. We have to stop criticising each other on the pitch and instead support those going through bad patches and pull through. Lack of fitness is a key element in our attitude preferring as we do to grumble as an excuse to make the 10 yard cover run to break down the play.

As it was Eds smacked home a corner closely followed by Gavin deflecting home a James Wood cross having in turn been set up by a superb cross field aerial by Wobble and Rippers scoring a rare goal to make it 5-2 and game over in the space of five minutes. Rory then slapped home a Rippers cross ( his 10th or 11th 1st team goal) and Knapp tucked away the last goal two minutes from time.

A successful conclusion to a good season and one in which we regenerated the side thanks in the main to Cookiey who introduced James, Nick and Jonny. We now have a side that should be able to stay together for a few seasons and work its way up the leagues.

However we have to recognise that to become a more efficient unit we have to work at our fitness and have as full a turn out at training as possible. An increase of 15% in our fitness will increase our ability on the pitch by 30% and this will be needed if we are intent on challenging at the top of the new league next season. David Knapp

Ladies XI 2-1 Woking
Report to follow.

Epsom 0-1 2nd XI
A game which should have been played last weekend had Epsom internal politics not meant they failed to raise a side and were docked points as well. That left them embroiled in a relegation fight and so we expected a tough game and got just that. In the heat, the pace was slow and that enabled us to dominate possession, although both sides created chances. The one goal came on six minutes through Ed Breton, but James Robson had to pull out two excellent saves, one in each half, to keep us ahead. Chris Valentine created no end of problems for the Epsom defence, and in the end we were good for the points.

2nd XI 2-0 Epsom
A result which meant the season and the title hangs on our final game against Surbiton in a fortnight. The win meant we gained promotion at the least, and given Surbiton pulled off a remarkable win at Reigate today to lift themselves off the bottom, they appear to be hitting form at the right time.

This game was decided by two goals from Ed Breton, the first a brilliant solo effort which started on the halfway line and ended with an easy slip past the keeper. The second, shortly after half time, knocked the stuffing out of an Epsom side who looked better than relegation candidates. Andy Duff and Jon Heard were outstanding at the back, Will Stephens tormented the Epsom backs, and Chris Porter did the same to the umpires.

3rd XI 2-5 Goan
Report to follow.

Match reports - March 28, 2009

As the season slowly winds down, the 1st XI kept up the pressure on Wanderers with a 3-2 win at OMWs, but the 2nd XI, unchanged for the first time this season, missed out after Epsom failed to raise a side. The Ladies went down 0-3 to Wimbledon.

OMWs 2-3 1st XI
Well, we came needing three points and came away with three points - just. Our team talk concluded with the very prophetic words of "we don't want to be playing the last five minutes only one goal ahead - we must kill the game off early on. We, er ended up 3-2 up with five minutes to go, having been one up inside five minutes and then Knapp having a stroke saved two minutes later. Two-nil at that stage would have killed off the game. As it was we were indebted to Trickster who had his best game of the season making three fine saves in the last quarter with the pick being the one on one at the top of the D with ball and then man being cleared out of the circle. How different it could and should have been.

We started very well, forcing three corners in the first five minutes with Knapp fortuitously rolling home, rolling being the operative word, the third of them. We continued to press and forced a stroke with Jonny Hunter being impeded when about to shoot but the resulting stroke was poor and easily saved by the keeper. Nevertheless we continued to press and created a series of good chances that we were unable to convert partly due to some excellent goal keeping and our profligacy in front of goal. In between times OMWs looked dangerous on the break, forced some corners and a one-goal lead was never going to be enough.

In the second half we had shots taken off the line, mistrapped when under pressure and began to leave ourselves exposed at the back. OMWs belied their post Christmas poor run of results putting us under pressure and quite clearly saw an opportunity to upset our promotion aspirations. Not to be denied though, Eds dribbled home a topped short corner strike and two fortunate goals had given us the breathing space we required. OMWs are nothing if not fighters and pulled one back when Wobble was deemed to have impeded the oppo's striker and gave away a stroke and earned a yellow. OMWs showed us how to take a stroke. 2 minutes later and whilst down to 10 A sweet move down the right saw Eds crash home our third and with OMWs losing their left half for five minutes for a clumsy stick tackle with 10 minutes to go the game should have been closed out. 2 perfectly weighted passes by Gavin into the D went begging and we were to pay the penalty when OMWs deflected home a crash free hit - five minutes to go. Up stepped Trickster to make those two of those three saves including a left-leg stretch popping the ball round the post.

Hold out we did and so a win next week against Addiscombe - who also need the points for different reasons - will give us the promotion spot we have been yearning for four years.

Last word goes to Rob Parry who umpired his last game (a bit like me retiring four years ago perhaps) as well as he always has done, providing class in the most difficult of roles on the hockey field. Never confrontational Rob has earned the respect of players at all levels and his sanguine and level headed approach has always pervaded through the tensest of situations. Rob, many thanks for your involvement over the many years you have umpired and best wishes for your retirement - as long as that may be ... David Knapp


Wimbledon 3-0 Ladies XI
Keeping it brief it was not our finest hour. We seemed to be a bit lethargic from the start and Wimbledon seemed to be that much quicker and fitter than us, passing the ball around easily and being the team to make the 50/50's. We were not outclassed and are were more than capable of beating the Wimbledon side, we just weren't really with it on the day. There were moments of good hockey and Steph in goal having to pull off a couple of great saves including an awesome double save. There were a couple of short corners each end with Wimbledon being the side to convert.. At half time it was 1-0. In the second half Wimbledon managed to secure the win with two more goals. The final score finished 3-0. Thanks to Goalie for umping. It is not all over yet though we are relying on the two teams above us to lose next week, but if they lose and we win our two final matches, we would actually stay up!! So lets put this match behind us girls and pull out a better performance next week to give a hope of staying up for our penultimate match! Jackie Waite

Match reports - March 21, 2009

Although a Rory Alexander goal five minutes from time secured the 1st XI a draw with leaders Wanderers, it was not enough to put the league in our hands, and we now have to win our remaining games and hope they slip up. The 2nd XI thumped Reigate Priory 5-0, and the Ladies recorded their second win in six days with a 2-0 victory over Tulse Hill. The 3rd XI went down 1-5 to Reigate, confirming their relegation, but the goals rained in at Aldershot where the 3rd XI lost 6-10 and at Surbiton where the Vets lost 2-8.

Click here for this week's photos

1st XI 2-2 Wanderers
A great day, great umpiring and a great game of hockey which was by far and away the best game we have played in all season and doubtless the best since we played against Wanderers 12 months ago and drew 2-2 on that occasion too. Both sides wanted a win, Wanderers to seal the league with two games to go and us to keep alive our faint hopes of winning the league. The first game of the season against Wanderers was one which we felt we had let slip having been 2-0 up and losing to the last hit of the game but there is no question that Wanderers will be going back up the A3 wondering how they failed to win the three points today

We knew the first 10 minutes would be crucial as Wanderers would not want to allow us a head start like last time and so it proved to be. Wanderers tore us apart in the first 10 and could easily have been two, maybe three up. However their shooting boots had been left at home with only two goals from their shot count of 27. We made a series of big tackles and for all their pressure and shots Trickster had very little to do with the shots either being blocked or being shoved wide. As the game wore on we came back into it and in the final analysis made our corners count with two from 10 whilst the oppo converted none from 15.

David Knapp had a good chance after 15, picking the ball up in front of the keeper, taking it wide but hitting the post when he should have done better and Rory, who scored both, failing to convert Adair's cross following his best run of the season down the left. That would have made it 2 - 0 at half time Rory having put us one up deflecting home Eds’ sweetly-struck shot. Our corners looked dangerous their keeper dealing with two Hunter powerflicks with ease but Wanderers threw huge aerials that continually released the pressure and gave us plenty to think about.

1 - 0 at half time should have been made two by Eds from the top of the D, Cookiey who hurried and snatched at a spanking through pass from Gavin and then again by Cookiey two minutes later who tried a reverse stick strike from the bye line when we had two at the top of the D waiting for a pull back with the goalie and last defender out of position.

A couple of minutes later Wanderers deservedly equalised with a quick free hit that was rolled home by the striker as we stopped, argued and then looked at the umpire as an excuse - unprofessional for what was a perfectly legitimate goal. Five minutes later an uncharacteristic error by our man of the season thus far, Cato, gave Wanderers a 2 on 1 against Trickster and we were up against it. Shades of December 6.

Not to be outdone we forced a short corner and an intricate move that was not quite off the training pitch enabled Rory to tap in from a foot and it remained at 2 - 2 for the last five minutes. Wanderers were without a doubt the happier at the end with a point but to have won the league we would have had to thump Wanderers and then have two weeks of strange results.

We wish Wanderers all the best next season and they have definitely been the best side in the league for arguably two years. My biggest complaint is to question why they lost the play off last season thus resulting in our having to play them this season !!

All to play for in the last two games with two wins securing us second spot. David Knapp

Reigate Priory 0-5 2nd XI
A routine win over a side who started the day nibbling at our heels in which our defence remained unflappable against the huff-and-puff approach of Reigate. The first quarter was evenly fought, Reigate creating several half-chances, but a superb Ed Breton flick from a short corner gave us the lead midway through the half, and then Chris Valentine swept in a second on the stroke of half-time. The second half was scrappy with some indifferent tackling, and as we took our chances Reigate’s composure fell away, culminating in the their captain being yellowed for dissent. We continued the break down attacks while taking our chances, and could have had a sixth but for some generous umpiring when the keeper took out Paul Acutt.

3rd XI 1-5 Reigate Priory
Despite the scoreline, we were not overwhelmingly outplayed, but we gave away the ball too much, shipped some fairly tame goals, and failed to use our width. Three goals in seven minutes midway through the first half killed the game, and from then on it was fairly low-key stuff. The Reigate keeper’s clean sheet disappeared with the last hit of the game. The result confirmed the relegation we all knew was inevitable from before Christmas.

Aldershot 10-6 3rd XI
Report to follow.

Ladies 2-0 Tulse Hill
Report to follow.

Match reports - March 14, 2009

The 1st XI did the business with a 3-0 win at Surrey Old Boys, while the 2nd XI left it late, Tom Merry scoring the winner two minutes from time in a 3-2 win over Barnes. The 3rd XI snatched their sixth point of the season with a 0-0 draw at Camberley, while four first-half goals, including a Louis Strover hat-trick, helped the 4th XI to a 4-2 win over Old Midwhits. The Ladies went down 0-1 at Guildford.


Surrey OBs 0-31st XI
On a pitch that traditionally is one on which we struggle this weekend's game against SOBS was no exception but an important win with another clean sheet.

One up in two minutes when Rory converted following a fluent move down the right, we perhaps thought the game would be too easy. We did convert a series of chances but SOBS looked dangerous on the break with our providing far too much space between our forwards and midfield and midfield and defence. The game turned on Tricksters save of a penalty stroke midway through the second half - no flick saves are easy although SOBS stroke taker made a hash of his stroke - the swig of water perhaps unsettling the taker.

Two minutes later the game was killed off, Rory again on hand to slot home a well-worked corner and Knapp had the easiest of chances at 2-0 to make it three and end the scoring. In between times we missed a stack of chances, yours truly deciding football a better past time than hockey on a couple of occasions, but win we did to go into next week's game with all to play for. Another solid defensive performance but slightly lacking at the sharp end. David Knapp

2nd XI 3-2 Barnes
After the high of the victory against the current league leaders last weekend there was always the danger that some complacency would creep in this weekend against mid-table Barnes. Despite unfortunately having only ten men for much of the game, it was a fantastic effort to come away 3-2 winners in a hard fought and bloody encounter!

We started brightly and immediately signalled our intent to move the ball around quickly. The control was rewarded early on with Ed Breton smartly finishing from close range after a unselfish and important pass from Preston Rutt. Unfortunately, it was to be Preston's final contribution as he was summoned to A&E after his little boy, Archie, had been taken ill. We
wish Archie all the best and hope he makes a swift recovery.

Having lost Chris Valentine to the 1st XI late on Friday, this left us reeling with only ten. Unsurprisingly the balance of the match shifted and a fine finish late in the first half from an almost impossible angle meant we were level at 1-1 at the interval.

We continued to struggle at the start of the second half and failed to pressure their goal. That was until Ed produced an almost carbon copy of his first goal. Drawing the keeper out before calmly slotting from close range, it was a crucial turn as we again prised a vital lead.
Barnes then managed to equalize, drawing level following another fine finish.

A couple of nasty head injuries left Barnes without the advantage of fresh legs but still with 11 men to our 10. We hope that the injuries are not serious and wish them both a quick recovery. It was only the arrival of Andy Eve, summoned from his sofa, that allowed us to return to 11 men, plug the gaping holes and maintain some sustained pressure. After a couple of mediocre short corner routines, we finally got the third, which proved to be the vital winning goal, two minutes from time. Again a fine Wobble by Ed and a well-timed pass alllowed Tom Merry to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle. Two goals from two games but fortunately this week the ball ended in the opposition net!

Barnes had chances to draw level again, notably when a shot ricocheted of James Robson's shoulder just over the bar. But a resilient performance ended in an important win that leaves us well placed to challenge for the league. More of the same next week! Rob Merry

Camberley 0-0 3rd XI
Report to follow

4th XI 4-2 Old Midwhitgiftians
This match produced a truly bizarre first-half in which Old Midwhits dominated the midfield, produced some slick passing moves, and found themselves 4-0 down at the break. They paid for failing to put enough pressure on the goal and also for giving the evergreen Louis Strover far too much room. Armed with a new stick after breaking two in as many weeks, he was back to his best and rifled in three goals from four strikes (we only had five in the whole half) in a crazy 12-minute end to the half. Good finishing and poor goalkeeping.

The second half was more low-key, Old Whits using their possession more effectively but floundering against a solid midfield and defence. Nige Smith was called on to make some good saves, Old Whits scored twice from short corners, but they never looked like clawing back the deficit.

Guildford 1-0 Ladies XI
We started the first match of a double-header weekend knowing we were in desperate need of a win to have any chance of staying up this season as well as for team spirit and moral. We started well and settled well, possession being fairly equal between the teams. We conceded a few shorties but also won a few. although neither team being able to capitalise on them. At half time the score was 0-0.

The match was pretty uneventful and Guildford eventually broke the deadlock with a conversion from a penalty corner (which we are not convinced was actually stopped outside the circle but c’est la vie). We piled the pressure on Guildford for the rest of the match and really took the game to them playing some great hockey but once again just being unable to put the ball in the back of the net. The score finshed 1-0 to Guildford. Thanks to Martin for travelling to Guildford to umpire for us. A disappointing result for us but not the end of our weekend…. Jackie Waite

Ladies XI 1-0 Wanderers

Our second match of the weekend saw us playing top of the league Wanderers who began turning up on mass early Sunday morning whilst the OC ladies were clearly fatigued from the late PB the day before (and possibly a few drinks the night before) and turned up in dribs and drabs. To make things worse our favourite umpire (usual umps for Merton) turned up to ump for Wanderers and our hearts sank (see match report from 14th Feb), it looked like it would be an uphill battle! Still we tried to stay positive as our pride couldn’t take a second loss of the weekend. The first 15 minutes were a bit scappy but we eventually settled and began passing the ball about well and pressing the Wanderers defense. We conceded a couple of shorts but defended them well. We had some good attacking breaks and eventually the deadlock was broken. We won a short with the Wanderers goalie deflecting a straight strike from Dor into the path of Manny with another strike deflected in by Ana. We were 1-0 up! We managed to comfortably maintain our lead into half time.

The second half was a bit more eventful. Wanderers came out hard and pressurised us well. We conceded a fair few shortees but defended them all successfully, Steph having to make some excellent saves both from the shorts and in open play. 10 minutes or so in saw one of our players yellow carded, which should have been a red although the Wanderers ump was very compassionate and allowed just a yellow with the consent of the Wanderers captain. We were down to 10 for a good 15-20 minutes and were in slight disarray, with several players out of position and already tired legs having to make up extra ground. But we were not going to lose this match it was ours and OC ladies never like to do things the easy way! We were definitely on the back foot and Wanderers had several shots saved by Steph in goal having a tremendous match and the whole of the OC ladies running our little legs off completely knackered but pushing on defending hard and getting the occasional break which saw a couple of near misses too! Eventually back to 11 we held on to finish the match 1-0. A well-deserved win at last to finish off the weekend on a high! Thanks to Heardy for umpiring and also to our supporters on the sideline!Jackie Waite

Match reports - March 7, 2009

A rousing season-best 14-1 win for the 1st XI improved our goal difference but its was against an eight-man HAC side (who went down to seven when one was carted to hospital before half time). The result of the day was the 2nd XI's 4-2 win at leaders Old Whits, a result that puts the title within our grasp with games in hand. The Ladies relegation worries deepened with a 2-3 loss at Old Georgians, a result which leaves us five points adrift. The 3rd XI now need to win all their remaining four matches to have even a remote chance of avoiding the drop after a 1-2 reverse at home to Addiscombe, but the 4th XI climbed to fifth with a 2-1 win at NPL

Click here for this week's photos



1st XI 14-1 HAC
Not quite the game we anticipated as a very depleted HAC team pitched up at TD with only eight and then losing Tim to a facial injury after 15 minutes with the score 2-0. We all hope the injury is not serious.

Our plan was to play incisive one-touch and expansive hockey which we did for 60 minutes but inexplicably failed to do so for the last 10 with the score at 14-1. We started to assist HAC by taking goal-bound shots off the line and failing to provide the simple tap in for team mates by trying to go it alone. How important could those extra two or three goals be on the 5th April?

The goals we scored were in the main tap-ins, save three short corners and two from the top of the D. We welcomed back Ed Breton until he was scythed down and James Wood back from his cricket tour. The hugely important Jonny Hunter chose to spurn a family wedding to play what turned out to be a significant role in the middle of the pitch.

Our goals were scored by Knappy (5), Rex Bermon (4), Nick Wood (2) and one each from Eds, James Wood and Wobble. At 3-0 we inexplicably allowed HAC to score with their only open play chance and late on some sloppy defending saw us concede a short corner.

Meanwhile down the M3 Wanderers were putting 11 past Camberley with their also conceding one so although we did not dent Wanderers goal difference by as many as we thought we may, we did reel in three.

Our best wishes go to Tim and let us hope that HAC do not roll over as easily next week against Wanderers as they did against us today. David Knapp



Old Whitgiftians v 2nd XI
Old Whits away was always going to be an interesting game. Would our stingy defence (comfortably the best in the league with just 14 goals conceded before this game, against their 32 conceded) trump their more poignant attack (they had scored 70 vs our 29)?

The start for us was less than ideal - a mix up by the skipper meant that everyone turned up at the wrong venue and this was further compounded when he ( and his brother) got caught up in the tailback of an accident on the way. This could have resulted in a slow start (much like when we had conceded 3 goals in 15 minutes in the home leg) but we started strongly and the game saw a fairly even start played at a high tempo.

Will Stevens had been moved up into centre halves and this was crucial in the early exchanges - he gave us a release through the middle from 16s which we had lacked in previous games. We looked very composed in defence and dangerous on the break and we took the lead from a good finish just 15 minutes in.

Unfortunately we then conceded the first of many short corners just seconds later and the strike went through Robbo - a carbon copy of last week's goal. Instead of panicking we grew stronger, aided by some fairly poor tackling by them. We regained the lead before half time with a powerful, low flick into the bottom corner of a short. Just before half time we had to defend a short which then struck a defenders foot. Not spotted by the umpire the skipper immediately corrected the umpire as the half time whistle went. Thankfully a good save by Robbo left us ahead.

2-1 at half time and all to play for in the second half. We came under some heavy pressure at the beginning of the first half, with them forcing a lot of short corners aided by, at times, some indifferent umpiring. Robbo made amends for his earlier mistake with some outstanding saves of the corners and in open play and it was stopped by the post men half a dozen times too!

Despite this we still looked dangerous in attack and we scored again mid way through the second half. This only galvanised them into attacking us relentlessly and we were under real strain when Duncan was yellow carded for a series of poor tackles. His first offence but a reflection of some poor tackling by both sides earlier in the game. We weathered that period well, but then just after conceded from a short when Tom Merry, in an act of self preservation, dragged a shot just missing the left post into his own goal - a cracking finish!

The game had got more and more feisty but for a change it was them loosing their cool more than us - and this certainly helped us. A sweet strike by Will of a well constructed short gave us the two goal breathing space to see out the game.

An excellent effort by the whole team, played with superb determination throughout and no little skill. If we play like that for the rest of the season there is a good chance we will win our remaining 5 games, and in so doing claim the league.

Finally a big thank you to Nick Lewis for umpiring, after a plate glass window has robbed him of playing - he did a great job. Rob Merry

3rd XI v Addiscombe
Report to follow

NPL 1-2 4th XI
It wasn’t pretty, but a brilliant defensive performance and some incisive attacking play gave us a 2-1 away victory against NPL 3s.

NPL started the game brightly, gained a lot of possession and penned us into our own half for much of the first 15 minutes. Despite all their possession though, NPL never really looked dangerous and simply could not get near the goal with Rob Crumby, Grant, James Bishop and Steve Harmer denying every attempt to get in a dangerous position.

With the game appearing dead-locked in a strange stalemate that was playing out between the half way line and our sixteen, NPL ran out of steam and we came alive as an attacking side. Adam Justice threatened on several occasions before a fast break down the left wing led to him finding space in the area to drill home the opener (0-1). Half time.

We had the better of the opening exchanges of the second half and continued to break quickly as we had towards the end of the first half. Oxo, Rob Jonker and James Bishop did well to move the ball wide and feed Adam, who scored his second of the game after a goal-mouth scramble (0-2).

NPL scored a controversial goal late in the game, scraping the ball home while their forward pinned Nige Smith helplessly to the floor (1-2). Nige let most of Teddington know what he thought about the goal, and he was rightfully aggrieved after a flawless performance which deserved another clean sheet.

There were chances to extend our lead and, but for some nervous moments late on, we looked worthy winners in the end. This was a hugely important result against a team who sit one position below us in the league. Dom Tucker

Old Georgians v Ladies
Report to follow

Match reports - February 28, 2009

A good day all round with wins for all but the 3rd XI, with the highlight being the Ladies’ 3-1 victory over Teddington, our first win in more than four months. The 1st XI eased past Cheam 5-0, the 2nd XI beat Walton & Weybridge 2-1 and the 4th XI edged out Teddington 1-0. The 3rd XI’s miserable campaign continued with a 0-5 loss at NPL

Click here for this week's photos


Cheam 0-5 1st XI
We set out to obtain three points with a healthy win, win short corners and keep a clean sheet all of which were achieved. Cheam had surprised us all last week with a 0-0 draw against our nemesis, Bank of England so were not to be taken lightly.

With a settled side, save the unfortunate Nick Lewis who has a long time on the side lines following his brush with a plate glass door, we took the game to Cheam with Jonny Hunter impressive - again - in the deeper of the central-midfield roles and the instigator of most of our early openings. The pitch was a little skiddy and although we scored after about 10 minutes when one of Cookiey's famous reverse stick shots somehow looped over the keeper and ran over the line. The goal at that stage was a deserved return for constant pressure. For the remainder of the half we spent most of the time in the Cheam half without creating any clear chances but instead flailed at bouncil balls with any goal bound efforts handled capably by the keeper. Our 6 short corners came to nought but there was one of the Alexander exocets that the Cheam defence knew little about even though they kept it out. Cheam did look competent on the break so a 1-0 half time scoreline was never going to be enough.

Ten minutes into the second half we notched our second following more pressure play, forcing a short that Nick Woods tucked away after a somewhat unorthodox routine. We had learnt from our first half performance and were spreading the ball wide and up the lines. The third came soon after as another short was converted by Knapp followed by one of the moves of the season and one that has been 14 years coming ! Cheam's only short of the match ( they were unlucky not to be awarded at least two others ) was capably dealt with by our solid defence, played out left, picked up by Knapp, swept up the line, a sumptuous dummy by Wobble to Gavin who laid it on a plate for Rory to slot home. 10 seconds from one end to the other.

Our final goal was from our final short and a wicked flick from Jonny Hunter capping another good performance save the harsh yellow for his first and only foul in the three games he has played for us.

This was a good second half performance on the back of a scratchy first period and one that adds to our goal difference that could be crucial at the end of the season.

Unfortunately no Hunter or Valentine next week but James Wood returns and there will be a recall for Ed Breton having served his time. David Knapp


2nd XI 2-1 Walton & Weybridge Hawks
Given the records of the two sides, this was never likely to be a goal-fest and so it proved, but at least we did enough to banish memories of last week’s loss at Wanderers. Walton may be bottom but they are far from pushovers and they gave us a tough workout. We played far more controlled hockey, Heard, Stephens, Khurshid, Breton and Grimes combining well in some slick moves but chances were not plentiful. Despite dominating the first half we went behind three minutes from the break when a short corner squeezed under the keeper from what was Walton’s first real shot of the game. We started the second half with more purpose, Breton causing problems and stretching the Walton defence, although winning short corners was hardly advantageous, so poor was our routine. We drew level when a neat ball from Breton was well converted by Preston Rutt, and seven minutes from time he scored the winner from close range after some sloppy defending. Our best hockey followed as we stretched Walton’s defence as they pressed for the equaliser, and Breton contrived to fire wide from five yards to tarnish an otherwise good performance.

NPL 5-0 3rd XI
Report to follow.

4th XI 1-0 Teddington
Teddington might be bottom but they gave us an entertaining and enjoyable match. On another day we could have won by a hatful of goals, on this one we could have even been held to a draw. With more subs than the Russian navy, the comings and goings, especially in the second half, undermined our continuity and for the last quarter of the game we were on the backfoot. The one goal came from Steve Harmer who rifled in a strike from ten yards eight minutes into the second half, and Harmer soon after cleared Teddington’s best chance with a overhead tennis smash from a goalbound shot.

Ladies 3-1 Richmond
With new aerodynamic shirts the ladies were feeling confident of a win on saturday. Looking exceedingly smart we took to the pitch to play Richmond, the only team we hadn't played yet this season.

We started well and were in control of the match from the start,passing the ball around and distributing well from the backs of Ros, Rosie, Tux and Rewa. Within 10 minutes however we saw our first casualty of the match as Caz on the right Wing tweaked her medial knee ligament, an injury she has been battling with since November. Reinforcements were at hand in the form of May who had made her usual late appearance having gotten lost on the way to the pitch.........(we were playing at home....) May subbed on for Caz and within minutes was using her pace to aggrevate the Richmond defence and along with Dora putting pressure on the Richmond GK who we suspected was a stand in and not their regular keeps. We had plenty of shots on target and the GK did a great job of keeping them out but before long we broke the deadlock and from some quick passing Dora managed to put the ball away. We were 1-0 up and the first time we had taken the lead in a match since I can remember this season!!!! Still only 1 goal up and still a long way to go we new it was far from over and kept pressing hard. Richmond defended well and caught us several times on the break. At one point Ros being last in line to take a loose player on a break was passed by the player leaving a one on one with Steph in goal, but somehow Ros managed to get back and get a crucial touch on the ball to clear it and prevent a likely equaliser. Before long we thought we had another injury as Dora received an elbow in the face from her opposing player, but managed to regroup and play on. We conceeded a couple of shorts but so did they.We we were the first to capitalise on this as a shot from Nina as right slip was deflected by the keeps into a circle of OC players all waiting like vultures to finsh off. After several more deflections it was eventually Viks that managed to secure our 2nd goal to take us 2-0 up. It looked like we would go into half time in the driving seat until a short blown right on the half time whistle was converted by Richmond to keep them well in touch in the game and we went into half time 2-1 up.

We were not going to let this win get away from us and took to the field in the second half, the midfield of Manny, Viks, Nina, Jax and Liz as usual were working their socks off with Liza and Mez subbing up front and in the defence to provide fresh legs to run around a Richmond side with no subs.Steph I recall made a crucial save 15 minuites in but apart from that was not really challenged. Eventually a match securing goal came for us in the form of a super strike from Manny taking us 3-1 up which Richmond were never going to come back from. A couple more shorts each end but no more goals. The match finished 3-1 a very long time coming, much deserved win for the OC ladies! The new shirts did their job and hopefully if we keep up our hard work our luck will finally have changed. Although we are still bottom we are by no means down and out and a winning streak that we are more than capable of could see us to safety. Come on the ladies!!!!! Thanks to Martin and the Richmond Umps who did a great job. Thanks to the pregnant possy on the side and Snoops and the boys for their support! Jackie Waite

Nick Lewis falls out of a window

Nick Lewis will miss the rest of the season after falling out of a window. As you do. He might have sustained more serious injuries had he not been drunk as well.

"Following an alleged 12-pint drinking binge, Nick was unfortunate enough to lose balance and fall through a window in his Esher mansion," explained the ever-helpful Eds Copleston. "He has suffered severe cuts to his arm and after 20 hours in A&E on Saturday he goes in for an operation to place a cast on his arm and begin rehabilitation.

"This is not the first incident of injury under the influence this season and it is hoped club members will drink more sensibly from now on. As a club we wish him a speedy recovery.”

Match reports - February 21, 2009

A mixed day with a well-taken 6-0 win for the 1st XI over Camberley to keep us in second place (Bank of England slipping up with a draw at the bottom side) but the three other matches all ended in defeat. The 2nd XI lost 1-3 at the joyless hole that is Wanderers’ Kennington pitch, the 3rd XI self-destructed against Kenley, squandering a two-goal lead to lose 3-5, while the 4th XI went down 3-4 in a cracker at Horley

Click here for this week's photos


1st XI 6-0 Camberley
At last an even performance with three goals in the first half and three in the second, with four open-play goals and two short corners.

Although it took us a little while to settle down the re appearance of Cato at the back gave us the solidity missing from last week and with Jonny Hunter showing that last week's excellent performance in the middle was not a flash in the pan we started to boss the midfield. Only when we began to be more patient in the build up did the chances come our way. Our first corner enabled Eds to open the scoring with a strike reminiscent of his golden run three years ago and from then on the game was ours. Gavin kept up his good post Christmas scoring run finishing off an excellent and incisive move started by Chris Valentine.

Five minutes later we won our second corner and Jonny Hunter stepped up to drag flick our third - just reward to his efforts in midfield. In between times Camberley did not make the most of the chances they did create squandering some good opportunities, a couple of last ditch tackles by Cato saving the day. CB was his usual efficient and calm self at right back.

The beginning of the second half saw us go through a stodgy patch but breaking with speed and width Gavin claimed his second and Andy Bennett slotted the ball home from the top of the D - his first for the club. Knapp rounded off the scoring when Nick Lewis laid the ball on a plate. Camberley refused to give up and continued to come at us but again did not look confident in the last quarter and made some good chances into difficult half chances when choosing the wrong option.

Our target of four post-Christmas clean sheets is now very much achievable and with six games to go we need to continue to play with the commitment shown for the bulk of today. Selection will be interesting when everyone is available with some tough decisions likely to upset those who lose out - should we ever have everyone available ... David Knapp


Wanderers 3-1 2nd XI
Report to follow.

3rd XI 3-5 Kenley
A match that summed up the season. Burst of excellent play, two stunning goals, some tight defending … but some abysmal distribution, two soft goals conceded, appalling self-discipline and in the end nothing from a game we should have come away from with at least a point.

Armitage’s two first-half goals were as good as you will see all season, lobbed over the keeper and defenders from an outrageous angle, and we went into the break 3-1 up with a good Kenley side visibly rattled. But with half our side praying that they would not be breathalysed on the way home – amazingly one of them was not Christian Davies who, sober, was tetchy and energetic - and a defence waging war against each other and the umpires, the wheels slowly came off. Kenley drew level with 15 minutes to go and from then on there only looked as if there would be one winner. The last five minutes saw two of our players yellow carded for unnecessary yak seconds after a Kenley attacker had gone for exactly the same (at least Jock got one card on his 32nd birthday) and Nigel Hawes capped the day by saving the ball and then, prostrate, cracking it into his own goal.

Relegation is certain, but there is still pride and no end of fun to be had. But some self-discipline would be good.


Horley 4-3 4th XI
Report to follow.

Match reports - February 14, 2009

The Bank of England have helped destroy the economy, and they pretty much did the same for our hopes of winning Surrey Division One with a 4-1 win over the 1st XI. The Ladies slipped to their fifth straight loss, going down 1-2 at Surrey’s other South African side, Merton, and the 3rd and 4th XIs both lost to Old Reigatians. The only glimmer of light came with the 2nd XI’s 2-0 win over Spencer, but they “won” the game 5-0 after the opposition failed to arrive with a keeper or anyone willing to take on the role.

Bank of England 4-1 1st XI
Another disappointing result at Bank of England against an efficient Bank side who fully deserved the three points. Once again however our ever present self destruct button was in evidence and firmly pressed.

We missed Cato, James Wood and Rippers big time but it could and should have been so very different. The second goal was always going to be the key, we fluffed our lines but Bank did not.

Bank had the better of the early exchanges as we took our time to find our feet but when we did come into the game we played some very good and enterprising hockey creating a number of chances that the Bank keeper dealt with comfortably. Our first short corner was followed by our second and Nick Lewis's shot was stopped on the line by a Bank foot and Knapp put home the resultant stroke. We could have scored again before the break but one goal difference was probably a fair reflection of the first period. At half-time we knew the second goal was crucial.

We began the second half as we finished the first and should have gone two up within five minutes but Knapp missed a golden chance when set up by Cookiey following our best move of the match. Two minutes later Bank were level. A Bank foot was missed on the half way line by an apologetic Sean but full credit to the Bank scorer whose sublime dummy took Trickster out of the game and made a difficult finish look easy. At this point the button was pressed with Ed Breton starting his unjustified tirade against Sean earning yet another yellow card. Down to 10 men and with defensive resources at a minimum we were forced to put the excellent Jonny Hunter to sweeper taking him out of the role he had played so very well at the bottom of the diamond. Five minutes later a sloppy pass gave Bank their second - and again we were penalised by the loss of Breton.

From this point onwards we were chasing the game. A number of shuffles in the pack produced some good moments but we were unable to unpick the 10-man defence of the home side. Bank scored their third on the break with another good finish, we wasted three shorts and even when having the extra player ourselves did not look dangerous. The denouement came with Bank's fourth, a super strike from the top of the D.

Our rejuvenated and youngest side for many years - if not ever - was unable to cope with the need to win a crucial game but fair play to Bank who made the most of their few chances to score four very good goals.

Seriously disappointing but still a huge amount to play for albeit a difficult mountain to climb. Bank must now be favourites to win the league as they are on a hot streak of form and have in the past three weeks disposed of the points above them with consummate ease. David Knapp

2nd XI 2-0 Spencer Saints
Spencer arrived "looking like a bunch of students" according to one onlooker and, true to student form, failed to provide a keeper or even anyone willing to go into goal. As a result, we were handed a 5-0 walkover, hardly a satisfactory state of affairs for the people who had turned up. A decent friendly followed which we won 2-0, squandering a hatful of chances.


Old Reigatians 4-1 3rd XI
We faced a tough challenge against the league leaders Old Regiations, arriving at the ground with four players with the opposition already warming up. At push back we did eventually did manage to get 11 out on the pitch.

We started well with good ball pace moving through the midfield well. Defensively we also looked stronger. Unfortunately we could not hold on to 11 players for long with Jock getting a yellow card. This lead to continued pressure at the back and we conceded. Unfortunately we then went onto concede a second within quick succession.

With 11 back on the pitch we started moving the ball nicely again the midfield with Chris Scott making some great runs down the left then linking well with Andy and Ross up front. This lead to some good chances at this point I will apologise to Armo as he did set Chris B up with a chance that was easier to score than miss (I blame it on the bad knee!).

Unfortunately we could not reach half time without conceding a third. We went into half time 3-0 down. As the team talk reflected we had played some good hockey in the first half and we unlucky to be 3-0 down.

As our captain said go into the second half and pretend its all square. At the back we held strong with Tim, Jock, CD and Ewan all putting in their fair share on tackles. When I oppo did get through Nige was making some great saves. Doug and Chris S we giving as the width and we were starting to exert some pressure on the oppositions goal winning some short corners and getting some shots on goal. And yes Armo, Chris B did also miss another sitter(I blame this on not having my own stick).

We did concede again with Reigate getting through on a counter attack. However we all dug in and never gave up. A few minutes before the end. We got a short corner. The ball came out to Jock who struck the ball sweetly to the left hand post where Doug was waiting to slot the ball past the keeper.

The game finished 4-1. The score line did not reflect how much better we have played compared to previous weeks. If we can perform every week there is hope for the rest of season . Well done to everyone that played it was good team effort all round. Nigel Hawes

4th XI 0-4 Old Reigatians
a thoroughly entertaining match against a side who are our most welcome visitors, playing in the right spirit on and off the field. The scoreline didn't do us justice but the result was fair. Louis Strover could have scored five but all his bullet-like shots went inches wide.

Merton 2-1 Ladies XI
We were in dire need of a win and some much-deserved points to add to our tally. Merton were mid-table and we knew we were more than capable of beating any team in our league on our day – it just hasn’t been our day recently.
However, the match started and it was always going to be an uphill battle against Merton’s 12 - 11 on the field and their umpire. The game was fairly even to start with, some scrappy play from both sides, neither playing to their full potential. But after 15 mins or so we settled and began to play better hockey with good touches, quick passing and some good attacking play. Merton had some good attacking play too which we defended well although eventually conceded a penalty corner. This was where the match became controversial. A shot on goal hit the post and rebounded out onto Sarah’s foot – not toward the goal line though therefore not preventing a probable goal. We expected another shorty and started to get ourselves back into position to defend it, however the Merton umps had other plans. Not being sure which had been hit first – the post as could clearly be heard or the players foot in front of the goal line. Play was stopped to discuss with our umps, and after the discussion, as the Merton umpire wasn’t certain which it had hit, our umps saying it was the post first, he was over ruled and a flick was awarded which Merton took advantage of going 1-0 up. Although we felt this incredibly unfair we relished the challenge and kept our heads up.

After half time the match got even more ‘interesting’. Several calls that should have been shorts in our favour somehow went Merton’s way, our umps blowing in our favour and being told off by the 12th Merton player for blowing in ‘her D’. We did not allow ourselves to get rattled however (well maybe only me on the sidelines) and we kept pushing Merton’s defense with some fast breaks from May and some very quick passing between Niks, Nina and Liz in the midfield eventually saw Liza fire home an equalising goal for her first OC goal, which couldn’t have come at a better time. At 1-1 we were ready for more goals and yet more breaks from May with Snoopy, Dora and Liza pressurising the Merton keeps who made some great saves. We did manage to gain ourselves some short corners though not before time, however failed to capitalise on these. Merton kept the pressure on us too with Tux, Mez, Lucy and Rosie doing their usual sterling job in the defense and Sarah playing as Sweeper having to make some crunching – but fair tackles. After 1 particular tackle in our umps end which the Merton player on the receiving end didn’t like (however was a good tackle from the clear view of our umps), it was time for the Merton umps to step in again (surely not in our umpires half?). The whistle was blown and the cards were being reached for … however, our ump was having none of it as the tackle was clearly good. No card, but a firm talking to from the Merton umps over a clean tackle …

Eventually, and this is where memory fails me in the adrenalin of the match, Merton scored another goal to take them again into the lead which although we continued to fight hard until the very end in true OCLHC style, we didn’t recover from. Maybe this match report is slightly biased and sees things from the OC perspective. And to be fair, the umps was consistent in the fact that the decisions were consistently bad - for both teams, however the worst decision of all was what eventually lost us the match. Well done to the OC ladies, we did have a good game and played some of the best hockey we have seen all season, and most of all for keeping our calm and composure. Thanks to our umps for what must have been a frustrating match to umpire. Jackie Waite

Up? Down? Who knows in league restructuring

It’s a fairly thankless task organising and running leagues, so it’s understandable that every once in a while those in charge need to tinker a little to keep their interest alive. They must be very bored indeed because at the end of this season there is some major tinkering.

Nobody seems quite sure what is going on. The main side affected will be the 1st XI who could be promoted to the regionals with a nifty top-two finish or even end up a league below the 2nd XI if they finish lower then seventh. Lower than tenth and they will play in the same league as the ladies.

Eds Copleston, not always Mr Reliable, reckons as follows for the 1st and 2nd XIs:-

The top club will go into Hants/Surrey Regional League Division 1

The club finishing 2nd will go into Hants/Surrey Regional League
Division 2

The clubs finishing 3rd - 8th will remain in Surrey Division 1

The clubs finishing 9th - 12th will go into Surrey Division 2

This also shows our 2nd XI go into Surrey 1 should they stay 2nd in
Surrey Open

The far more intelligent Dodie Khurshid says:

"Insofar as I can work it out, it looks as if the top two go into Surrey Division 1, then next four go into Surrey Division 2 and the remainder into Surrey Division 3. With Old Whits looking good for first place, it means that we must finish second to get into Surrey Division 1 rather than finishing third (or seventh) and ending up in Surrey Division 2. With Reigate Priory playing well at the moment, winning 9-3 at the weekend, it means we must, must, must keep our league form going."

We will keep you updated as soon as anyone anywhere can work out what is happening.

Match reports - January 31, 2009

The 1st XI continued their promotion bid with a 7-0 drubbing of Walton & Weybridge Hawks, while the 2nd XI battled to a 0-0 draw with UCL Academicals and the 4th XI drew with Barnes Beavers 2-2. The Ladies remained bottom of the league after another 0-1 loss, this time at Old Kingstonians, the 3rd XI crashed to a 1-8 rout at Leatherhead while the Veterans were well beaten 0-4 by Southgate

Walton & Weybridge 0-7 1st XI
One thing may cost us this season, lack of personal discipline. I do not only mean the bad tackles leading to a short corner and an equalising goal a few minutes from the end but the whole concept of our approach to the task in hand. This starts on a Wednesday night and turning up to training, to being sensible on a Friday night, respecting those in the team who are sensible and on match days to ensure we all meet on time as requested by the skipper. As soon as these things go wrong or are lacking the 70 minute game goes wrong.

Not only does it affect the rest of the team who are then affected by an unnecessary distraction but it winds up those who put in so much effort to pull together the team. There is then discord on the bench, wrong substitutions are made and the structure falls down with disharmony the product.

Fortunately this weekend's game was against a poor Walton and Weybridge side who put up little resistance with us scoring three in the first 15 minutes and four in the last 20. In between there was a sterile 35-minute patch with us taking the wrong decisions in crucial areas. The defence held firm as a unit with the back five including Trickster and the bulk of the midfield barely allowing the host side a sight on goal. The two Woods were especially effective and Cookiey could not be faulted for the amount of leg work he put in.

Gavin scored our first hat-trick of the season finishing his goals extremely well, Ed B scored two corners, Eds swept home a loose ball in the D and Chris Brewer notched his first for many years when picking up the pieces from our final corner. Up front we have to perhaps be a bit more selfish on occasions in the sense of having an early shot on occasions rather than teeing up a tap in.

This season will go down to the wire and ultimately the most disciplined side who gives no margin of error will win the league. There is no room for sloppy preparation "just because it is a side at the bottom" as we have to approach every game as if it is a cup final. Each team in our league has something to play for with the next season's change in the league structure and we will be kidding ourselves if we think we can just identify three or four games as key games that we have to win. Remember London University two seasons ago ... David Knapp

2nd XI 0-0 UCL Academicals
Given that we have have by far the best defence in the league but only two teams have scored fewer goals than us, you do not expect goalfests when we play. Allied to a defence that a couple of years ago would have been gracing the 1st XI - Robson, Heard, Stephens, Duff and Khurshid - then getting Stephens to buy a drink would be an easy steal. As it was, a draw was just about a fair result. We created only one half-chance and what some might claim was a shot in the entire game, while UCL managed a few shots but surprisingly decided on four three-on-ones that dribbling through Duff was the easy option. He made sweetly timed tackles on each occasion. UCL did have the ball in the goal only for the short-corner strike to be harshly disallowed. The decision did not justify the "f***ing cheat" comment aimed at the umpire by one of the UCL players and the refusal of most to shake hands. UCL, who share our ground, are a club we feel close to and who we spent the evening eating curry with.

Leatherhead 8-1 3rd XI
Not much to say. The consensus of the survivors drinking in the bar and downing some utterly vile Austrian Butterscotch paintstripper provided by Jock was that we deserved to lose but not by four goals. Preston netted our one goal although we gave up in the second half, Jock insisting that one of the Leatherhead goals was via a foot. That only left seven to account for ...

4th XI 2-2 Barnes Beavers
A great game all round with some well worked passing and strong team work - 2-2 probably being a fair result in the end. The highlights were Bertie Bance's two wonder dribble goals ... two slower-paced shots have never before crossed the line in one match - nice one Bertie.

Old Kingstonians 1-0 Ladies XI
We played Old Kingstonian’s this week and with OK’s also being towards the bottom end of the league we had hoped to take some points off them.

With a slightly depleted squad, as many people were away for the weekend, we started strong even though a number were playing out of position and Rossy P was still trying to navigate her way through traffic mayhem! However we were caught on the break in the first couple of minutes and a goal mouth scrabble led to OK’s taking an early lead – bugger, bugger and bugger! Sorry for the swearing but we didn’t deserve it!

With this we didn’t get downhearted but took the game to them. Our attacking play and determination to make the fifty-fifties meant we were controlling the game and getting opportunities on goal. Whilst this sometimes left us open to OK’s catching us on the break again, as most of us were up in their half, the defence of Tux, Lucy, Ros, Mez and Jax were able to cope and if not then Steph cleared any loose balls hard out to the sidelines. As we came into half time an OK’s forward decided tackling with a shoulder barge was the way forward (we were beginning to get under their skin) and promptly got a green card from their umps … only to be followed 2 minutes later by a yellow as Goalie (“I have never given a yellow before”) simply had no choice! Okay so now we had the advantage … but then someone blew the damn half time whistle, not helpful!

The player advantage didn’t last for long in the second half as she was back on in four minutes – I ask you! That said we continued our attacking play with good drives up the midfield by Viks, May, Anna and Niks which meant we had opportunities on goal but just couldn’t find the final touch. Snoops, Ems and Lucy continued to hassle the OKs forward line but as the ball glided across the goal mouth attempts to drive it home were dashed as the OKs keeper put in a last ditch save. Injuries meant that for a while Snoops had to play in defence but ‘Psycho’ and the rest of the defence were able to clear the shots on goal with Steph covering behind.

As the last two minutes came we kept pushing but it just wasn’t happening and the score line remained 1-0 to the end. A good game and certainly our determination to get ourselves out of the relegation battle is coming through – we just need to get some goals!!! Well played guys. Next game 10am @ home this Saturday – club support would be good if anyone has a spare morning! And lastly thanks to Goalster who has helped us out a lot this season – cheers. Helen Hawes

Veterans 0-5 Southgate
Report to follow.

Match reports - January 24, 2009

The 1st XI ground out a 1-0 win over Merton, but the Ladies' relegation worries deepened with a 2-5 home loss to Raynes Park. The 3rd XI's one-match winning run came to an end against Bank of England, but the 4th XI came away from Battersea with an excellent 2-1 win over Wanderers

Click here for this week's photos

1st XI 1-0 Merton
Against a vastly different and far more competitive Merton side we were made to fight hard for these three points.

The game was predominantly played in the midfield with neither side really creating many clear cut chances. On the short corner count we won 6-1 but our corners that had recently been so effective were poor with no on target shots.

Our goal was the product of a lengthy period of sustained pressure with James Wood on hand to nudge the ball home having been set up by Gavin Adair and Chris Valentine. CV had his best game of the season so far proving to be very effective on the right hand side. The defence too held firm and only allowed Merton three shots, two in the same move 10 minutes from the end and a speculative shot that hit the post and bounced to safety.

We could and should have scored more than the one goal but squandered a number of good positions and the Merton keeper made a handful of good saves to keep the away side in the game.

Fair to say had we shown the same commitment to the cause last week as we did today we would not have dropped points.

Back to winning ways and the great satisfaction of a clean sheet.

Thank you also to Aaron and Keith for umpiring the game in such an excellent manner. This is the third or fourth time we have Aaron and he has umpired better each time - and from an initially high starting point. The certainty of the decisions of both umpires was akin to a national league match - yes, I can still remember those days ... David Knapp

Merton v 2nd XI
Report to follow.

3rd XI 3-6 Bank of England
Report to follow.

Wanderers 1-2 4th XI
We put the disappointment of last week’s final minute defeat behind us to record a well deserved away victory against Wanderers. With several players absent due to holidays and wedding planning the side was juggled slightly. Neil Robertson-Ravo, Atsushi and Bish joined the team, whilst Dom made his first appearance as goalkeeper.

We looked bright and determined from the start of the match with Rob Jonker, Adam and Bish battling well in midfield and distributing the ball cleverly to the skillful front line of Smeer, Neil and Louis. Wanderers did well to deflect several jinking runs towards goal by Neil, and Louis was denied on a couple of occasions by last-ditch tackling before finding the net with a fine strike from a short corner. (0-1)

Wanderers were left to rely on counter attacks and looked dangerous at times. All too often though their play resulted in a ball into touch, or was met by an excellent interception by our back line (Grant, Rob Crumby, Nick Aston, and Atsushi). Atsushi played brilliantly at pivot in the absence of Steve Harmer, calmly intercepting passes and using the ball simply and intelligently. Grant, Rob and Nick were equally solid and composed, ensuring that Dom didn’t touch the ball for more than 20 minutes of the first half.

The only thing we did wrong in the first half was stepping on the ball too often. One such kick resulted in a strike across goal and a goal mouth scrap which ended with the ball being struck high into our net. (1-1). Half time.

The second half was played in much the same vein as the first. We won a lot of possession and moved the ball around well. Rob Jonker commanded play from the middle of the pitch, using Atsushi’s simple passes out of defence to great effect. Adam found a lot of space on the right and Bish kept Neil well fed on the left wing. The winning goal was scored mid way through the half, once again by Louis who found space to finish from close range. (1-2).

All in all, a great team performance, a deserved three points, and a good competitive game of hockey which everyone enjoyed. Thanks to Wanderers for providing the umpires and playing the game in the best possible spirit. Dom Tucker

Ladies XI 2-5 Raynes Park
Report to follow.

Match reports - January 17, 2009

Old Kingstonians 3-3 1st XI
Two great mid season games, but boy did we slip up today, pressing the self destruct button on a couple of occasions.

The best time to concede is in the first minute and so having gone one down after 55 seconds we had plenty of time to respond. Matters were back on an even keel by the 5th minute when Ed Breton popped home our first corner and for the next 15 minutes OKs could hardly get a touch and it seemed only a matter of time before we scored and so it proved to be with Gavin sweeping the home expertly to make it 2 -1. This followed great work down the right flank. Perhaps we became over confident because our game deteriorated dramatically and we became sloppy, giving away possession time and time again and putting ourselves under pressure. We again failed to clear the ball leading to the oppo's first short corner that was beautifully converted. Knapp had the chance to restore the lead just before the break but somehow contrived to put the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

At half time we seemed to have nailed the problem and although Ed B received a yellow that had been coming we regained the lead with Ed C cracking home a short. Another goal was key and would have put the game beyond OKs but as they showed in September they were going to fight all the way. Disappointingly we failed to convert two or three good chances at 3-2 and then conceded an unnecessary corner leading to Ed B's second yellow and a shot which bobbled home to level things up. We still had time to score from two more chances but it was not to be.

Territorially and chances wise we deserved to win but attitude wise we did not and OKs won this side of the battle hands down and fully deserved their point.

Quite simply we have to be cleverer. At the end of both halves we had the ball in the circle with a minute to go and instead of rolling it on a foot tried to create a chance. Our corner routine looks dangerous so we need to win corners in such situations. However having squeaked past OKs in game one with a last-minute strike the chances of doing so again were minimal.

A fair result with a bag full of work to do in the next 10 games if we are to win the league. Well played Nick and James Wood on their debuts with some plus points coming from the game. David Knapp

OKs v 2nd XI
Report to follow.

Purley Walcountians 2-4 3rd XI
New year, new start probably the Saturday that the whole 3rd XI has been desperate to arrive finally we have our first win of the season. Turning up to Purley at 4pm on a cold dark Saturday afternoon was not what anyone would have chosen but as you can see it was all worth it because of the result.

The match started off fantastically when only a few minutes after a great cross from the right Preston slotted an absolute corker in to take us 1-0 up. The whole team was buoyed by this and some the best hockey this season was to follow. Andy and Tom were making some great runs up each wing and Ross and Armo were controlling the midfield. Although the next 10 minutes was a bit end to end, eventually a short corner was won from another good attacking move. Using a route one tactic with the straight strike this was too good for the Purley Keeper and we went 2-0 up. The first half continued in pretty much the same vane with defence holding strong. We welcomed Jock back after a long absence and it was a really strong performance from him at right back with a number of good runs from defence and solid hit outs it did make a difference (Please do not tell Jock that we praised him). The rest of the defence was also holding strong with Ewan having a strong tackling performance at Left Back (before Rich admirably covered for him – when he wore himself out) Tim also seemed to relish his man marking role whilst Andy stood solid as a rock at sweeper. Despite all of this strong play unfortunately it was not enough to prevent Purley pulling one back with a scrappy goal. This unlike other times was not enough to force the heads down. Preston was again in the right place at the right time and managed to stick his second away to give us a half-time lead of 3-1.

After possibly our best half of the season there was not much other than encouragement required at the break. The second half got going and continued in the same way as the first we continued to make some good chances and were unfortunate not to go further ahead. Just as everyone had started to look at their watches to see how much longer we would need to hold out for our first win, Purley got their second this could have meant a dodgy nail biting last 10 minutes. Our heads momentarily dropped and Purley seemed to have got the idea of a draw into theirs. Thankfully for us though Ross had different ideas and was not in the mood for any nail chewing. After a great run and looking at a one on one with the keeper it looked like he had pushed the ball far too wide. Nevertheless with the deftest of touches he managed to cut the ball back and into the goal. Even though Ross was not even aware of it we were 4-2 up. This is the way it was to stay and as I have previously mentioned we finally had our first win of the season. All I need to say to finish this is, Please can we ensure that we don’t have to wait so long for the next one. Thank you to all who turned out for what was probably not the most inviting match in history. Nigel Hawes


4th XI 2-3 Walton & Weybridge
A breezy game to start the second half of the season, with plenty of good play from both sides, no end of goalmouth action and a late and cruel twist. Walton put together some slick passing moves without converting them into clear-cut chances, while we tended to rely on the indefatigable Louis Strover ( a word that he has never been called in his entire life before today) who created problems for the Walton defence throughout. We took the lead on 25 minutes, and conceded 45 second later from a poorly-defended short corner. We restored the advantage with what one of the Walton defenders described as “complete ***ing powder puff defending” ten minutes into the second half and looked good for that lead until we shipped an oh-so-soft equaliser ten minutes from time. Both sides continued to attack, but we gave away a short corner a minute from time, failed to take one of the three chances we had to clear the ball and paid a heavy price as one of several unmarked forwards rifled the ball home. A good performance even if the outcome wasn’t. Also, full marks for astute reading of the game to Steve Harmer. Standing next to the umpire when two minutes were signalled and shouted before the interval, he turned to one of our subs and told him to “warm up … you’re on in two minutes”.

Cheam 1-0 Ladies
Our first match back after Christmas, we were raring to go and had a strong side. Rewa had kindly stepped into goal for us and Ros was back out of retirement (her recent engagement to Baz clearly giving her a new lease of life!), sweeping for us again! We had scraped a draw against Cheam in our first match of the season and were determined to go one better second time around.

We started well with good distribution from the back through the midfield and pretty much dominated the first half, pressurising the Cheam defence well and giving them very few chances. We had several shots fly past the goal, free hits just out side the area and a short corner cracking first strike saved by the Cheam keeper. Cheam had a couple of near misses but it was safe to say we were the dominant side and by half time we clearly had Cheam rattled – it feels good when you see your opposing team bickering at each other!

Our work rate had been good in the first half and our defence pretty tight and we knew more of the same hard work and eventually a goal would come. Unfortunately it was the story of out season so far in the second half. Cheam had restructured slightly at half time and this appeared to have made quite a difference. For the first 15 minutes they had us on the back foot and we never quite regained our momentum of the first half. Cheam were moving the ball around much better and putting our defence under far more pressure. They won their first short corner of the match which we defended well and cleared but minutes later all our hard work so far was undone as we saw Cheam scramble a weak ball over our back line to take them into the lead.

Keeping our heads up we knew we were more than capable of getting ourselves back in the game. From this point on we began to take control again bar giving away another short which we cleared before Cheam could get a shot in. We managed to get the ball back into Cheam’s half and once again began putting the Cheam defence under pressure. Unfortunately despite our efforts we just couldn’t seem to get the ball in the back of the goal. Although we started the second half of the season with a loss, probably a harsh result, we did put in one of our strongest performance of the season so far, which bodes well if we can maintain this standard and hopefully score a few more goals in matches to come. Thanks to Helen and her bump for umpiring for us! Jackie Waite


Veterans 1-1 St Albans
Report to follow.

1st XI continue New Year blitz

1st XI 5-1 Mid Sussex
Our second friendly and a second good and comfortable win against a side in an equivalent position to us in the Sussex/Kent league alongside ours. Another chance to look at the new players pushing and wanting first XI status with some absentees.

Mid Sussex had a miserly goals against record conceding less than a goal a game which suggested a tight defence organised by our past goalkeeper James Myers. Two top-class saves in the first 20 minutes showed why but this was after we had notched two in the first 15 through Chris Valentine and Cookiey both tap ins after some really incisive and sharp hockey. Nigel had not been called into action due to our dominance but as the half progressed we lost opur way and Mid Sussex came back into the game. They fully deserved their goal just before the break. Our problem seemed to stem from the reluctance to play the short one stop hockey that we had played with the ball being transferred across the pitch stretching the opposition. We also lost our shape as we became a little cavalier.

3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half wrapped up the game, two from Rippers and a second from Cookiey, the latter another tap in having robbed the defence of the ball and having a three-on-one against the keeper - who had been changed at half time. Once again we lost our shape and the pattern of play just as we had last week so we do need to recognise this and ensure it is not repeated in the forthcoming league encounters. The solution is a simple one which will be invoked against OKs.

Cato and CB were their usual dominating selves with Nick Lewis having his best game at the back making sure he heeded the advice of avoiding the use of the long ball. Nick Wood also had a far more solid game than last week at centre back making a series of uncompromising tackles.

We lacked a bit of fitness in the midfield which was the cause of our less effective second periods in each half and we were guilty of allowing the game to become stretched with us being saved by Nigel making three excellent saves to keep the the scoreline as it was. CV ran off the ball well and Cookiey read the game extremely well to fill in the hole created by CVs surging runs.

Two good performances with the side beginning to take a settled look about it and we now need to take the 40 minutes of top hockey into the league, play it for 55 minutes and avoid the nailbiting odd-goal victories. David Knapp

School win inaugural Loveland Bowl

A huge day for the club on the 3rd January with the 1st XI playing against Reigate Priory - high up in the league above - being a forerunner for the long awaited school v the young OCs match that followed.

The school came along early and were in the stand to watch our performance which turned out to the best of the season by a long chalk. The performance was especially pleasing with our blooding the Wood brothers and there being a perceptible increase in the levels of fitness in some key areas. Indeed, the conclusion is that there are now going to be some tough but welcome selection decisions for the next three months.

1st XI 5-1 Reigate Priory
Reigate Priory are sitting third in the league above ( and could go into second should they win their game in hand on those above ) and although they themselves were four or five players short nothing should be taken away from us as we outplayed RP for the first 25 minutes and were three goals to the good, courtesy of two superb finishes from a rejuvenated and fitter Gavin and a classy finish from Nick. Rippers in the middle had his best game of the season and although we did fail to find him during a 20-minute spell when we lost the initiative his influence was key. Our three goals came from swift incisive moves down the right flank and hitting the back line. Similar moves down the left also created problems for RP and Rory was unlucky not to score his first goal for the first team when his deflection hit the bar in the dying minutes of the half. RP pressed for the last 10 of the first period with our being a little naive when tired and continuing to press rather than looking at the phase of the game and playing a more conservative game. During this time Trickster stood firm with Cato - as always - putting in a huge amount of work and capably dealing with the scraps. Nick and James Wood gave us the solidity at centre back and left midfield that frustrated the opposition.

The second half saw us on top again and a glorious sweeping move from the left across the pitch to the right byline resulted in Rory popping home the final pass to in essence wrap up the game. At this point RP woke up and stepped up their game and slotted home a good goal after a period of concerted pressure but it had to be a good strike to beat Trickster who earned his corn with his best performance of the year.

The final 10 minutes were ours and there was time for Chris Valentine to score our final goal at his second attempt to wrap an excellent victory.

The game taught us a great deal. Our fitness is still lacking in certain areas so we need to take 13 to every game and utilise the subs properly and effectively. There is also a need to recognise that at certain times of the game we need to rein in our enthusiasm. A 3 - 1 half time score would probably have put a completely different complexion on the game and to this end we did our best to throw away possession and give RP a lifeline back into the game but we stood firm.

All in all a great start to 2009 and hopefully we will have a game next week to consolidate what we learnt this week.

School 2-0 OCs 2007-8
After much gnashing of teeth and wailing the school fixture has reappeared in the calendar after a break of over a decade and on a cold but dry evening at TD the game played by both sides was worthy of the occasion to commemorate the late Roger Loveland. Fittingly Roger's widow Betty was present to make the presentation of the Loveland bowl to the school's skipper after a very exciting and entertaining game. A number of familiar faces were present in the crowd and with the parents and friends of a number of the players also in attendance the game was very well supported.

In essence the OC side will wonder how they did not run out winners due to the chances and number of short corners that came their way but they came up against Ross in the school goal who had a truly outstanding game making a series of top draw saves that kept us at bay. As the match wore on we became frustrated and the school's belief grew and 15 minutes from the end the school slotted home their second short of the game and took the lead. Although upping their game, our lack of team work counted against us with Ross again picking off anything thrown at him.

Three minutes from the end and against a stretched OC side the school nipped in to score their second and make the game safe.

The trophy was presented to the beaming school captain with the OCs pledging to win the trophy back in 2010.

I would like to thank the four umpires who helped out today in both games to save the teams taking part from having to provide unqualified umpiring and also to the school and Paddy Harman for organising the 2 teams. However the greatest thanks go to Betty Loveland and Roger's brother Tony and his wife for coming along and continuing the great Loveland service to Cranleigh and OC hockey for braving the cold and in Betty's case in presenting the trophy.

We all look forward to the 2010 fixture. David Knapp