2nd XI break their duck

The 2nd XI scored their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory at London Edwardians, while the 1st XI maintained their unbeaten record with a routine 5-1 defeat of bottom side Epsom. The Ladies cruised to one of their biggest wins in recent years as they overcame Cheam 6-0, while the 3rd battled to an entertaining 1-1 draw with Epsom. The only setback came at the bottom end where the 4th XI slumped to 1-5 loss at Old Reigatians. Epsom are saved by the crossbar
Click here for this week's match photos

1st XI 5-1 Epsom
After last week's average performance by our standards it was crucial that with Yateley next up we put in a solid performance against Epsom 2s who were propping up the table. Traditionally Epsom are a hard nut to crack and they would be the first to admit that they would relish the opportunity of putting one across our first XI.

As it was we had the perfect start with a good flowing move in the first minute ending with Gavin on hand to slot home and this should have been the platform for a routine and convincing win. However we did make hard work of the next 20 minutes, trying to force the pace and game instead of playing our own style with the pitch in perfect condition to do so. Once we played a short patient game with great off the ball movement we scored our second, a result of an interchange of 20 or more passes, a top run by Gavin that enabled Knapp to go through a huge hole in the middle of the Epsom defence and score our second. Hunter hit the bar with our second short that would have put us in cruise mode had it gone in with our corner team being asleep when failing to pop home the rebound.

Parts of the first half performance were disjointed due to our not boxing clever and to an extent the start of the second half repeated this failing allowing Epsom to score from their first corner, our not effectively clearing the first shot and giving Epsom the chance to score from the top of the D albeit aided by a deflection at the post. In previous seasons we may have at this juncture allowed the game to slip away but with Poulson and Hunter dominating in the midfield when they were not by passed Rory slapped home a far post pass to make it three and Gavin was on hand to nudge home his second of the game and sixth in five games to kill off the contest. With 2 minutes left on the clock our last short corner was converted, Nick Wood on hand to deflect home the ball going wide of the left post to give us a comfortable 5 - 1 win.

Our problems today were caused by having too much time and pressing too quickly and by passing the midfield. All our goals came from a patient build up and when slowing down the game. Massive game on the 7th November against Yateley who deservedly beat us in the play offs three years ago. David Knapp

London Edwardians 1-2 2nd XI
After a promising draw last week against the league leaders, there were many positives to be taken from a deserved 2-1 victory over London Edwardians this weekend; our first win following last year’s promotion, two fine goals, a wealth of attractive attacking hockey and a side bolstered by the inclusion of no fewer than 7 old school boys. And yet there were no major celebrations post-match and all 13 players involved knew that there is still a lot of room for improvement. In all honesty, we should have scored more goals and closed the game out early in the second half. As it was, we went into our shell and nearly conspired to throw away a two goal advantage.

The first half started brightly and it was clear from the off that the opposition lacked the pace and dynamism that we had seen a week earlier with Old Whits. When we passed the ball around, showed patience and switched the point of attack, we were in full control. Our frustration was largely aimed at ourselves as we were unable to make the final pass count. On one such occasion Chris Porter singled himself out as the guilty party calling himself a, “stupid *******, ****”. It’s unusual for Ports’ comments to be met with unanimous agreement from the side but on this occasion everyone agreed, particularly when the umpire brandished a green card! Cue a ‘conversation’ with the umpire which proved to be every bit as entertaining. The umpire pointed out that there were people watching and that the fruity language was inappropriate. Chris pointed out that it was, “hardly the ******* San Siro” with four people on the sidelines including two of our subs!

When the game resumed, Chris O’Neil Dunne was very solid at the back and marshalled the Old Eds attackers well alongside the ever-reliable Jon Heard. Rob Merry may not be the fastest forward in the league but his patience and control on the ball was influential throughout and we were able to make a number of bright attacks. It was half way through the period that one such attack led to a short corner and James Bents was on hand to cleanly sweep the ball into the net following a neat move. The remainder of the first half was largely uneventful and we were comfortable in attack and only really looked vulnerable when caught dozing once or twice on the break.

Going into half time in front is something of a novelty this season (!) but it was clear that to take the maximum points away, we would need to score first after the break. It was fantastic to have Cookie in the side and he showed that there is no substitute for pace on the right wing, showing up his opposite number time and again. Having started brightly, some tidy inter-play from Rob Merry resulted in an attack up the left side. Neil Grimes picked up the ball outside the circle and showed that the studio class of old is still there, beating at least three players before calmly slotting the ball home. It really was a fine piece of finishing and allowed us to get two clear early on. We continued to dominate the game for the remainder but in addition to some fine flowing attacking hockey, we conspired to play our worst hockey of the season in patches. Our press, which had been so dominant in the first half, was suddenly vulnerable and Old Eds scored an opportunist but well-worked goal on the break to take it to 2-1.

Having been on the wrong end of a clear infringement which was not blown up, Neil did a ‘Porter’ and made every effort to stop the opposition player from passing (stick in stomach, leg in crotch, hand in face!). Unsatisfied with simply impersonating Chris in the challenge, he also did a ‘Porter’ follow up, immediately self-passing and setting off claiming the free our way (the sign of a guilty man). The umpire wasn’t convinced at all and pulled his yellow card out.

We started to panic a little and the calm passing of the first 50 minutes was replaced by too many long balls and a reluctance to hold onto the ball. For some unknown reason, the umpire kept Neil off the pitch for 15 minutes which didn’t help the cause and the end result was some nervous final moments. We were able to hold on and a relieved skipper called the ‘three cheers’ at the end. Again our keeper, Ross, made some fantastic saves in goal and everyone showed some real guts to grind the result out. Looking back on the final 20 minutes, it’s clear that we can’t afford to throw the ball away as often as that again but if we can re-create the attacking guile shown in the coming weeks, there is no reason why we cannot make our way up the table. All in all, it was a great relief to get our first victory of the campaign. Thanks to all the boys for a tremendous effort on the day - let’s keep this momentum up! Tom Merry


3rd XI 1-1 Epsom
We turned out late on Saturday afternoon against an Epsom side who were currently residing a few places in front of us in the league. It started off and you could see that Epsom were an experienced well drilled side. Unfortunately we seemed to have a bit of a hangover from our grass experience of the previous week and were still playing as if we were on it.

The game was pretty much end to end but not a lot of chances were being experienced from either side. James debuting for us in goal was only kept busy vocally marshalling his defence of Jock, Stuey, Armo and Tim. We were looking pretty strong at the back and despite a couple of early mild scares didn’t look like we would be penetrated. With a couple of players back with us up front, Bruce and Andy, we seemed to take a while to get our flow with this only really occurring in the second half. The midfield of Chaz (whose comments about his level of touch are unprintable) Abs, Dunx and Tissy held strong and seemed to get better as the match went on. The fact that we went into halftime 1-0 down was only down to what seemed like a fluky goal. Whether the Epsom attacker intended to carry out a multi juggle with the ball in dinking it over James is debatable but is was enough to give them the lead.

The halftime talk consisted mainly of trying to ensuring that we improved our ball retention and stopped giving away cheap ball. This was duly performed and it did not take long for us to pull level with a finely executed goal by Andy which left the Epsom Goalie with little chance. We definitely had the better of the second half and were unfortunate not to have achieved a winner. With Ed coming off the bench in place of the injured Andy he was unlucky not to slot one past the Epsom keeper despite some good runs into the box. Furthermore we were unlucky not to get the winner when a well worked move ended with a 3 on 1 chance which could just not be converted. James had a relatively quiet 2nd half but was called into action for one good save. The match ended with the 1-1 result which leaves us still in 5th in the league but only 2 points off 2nd place. If we can emulate the performance of the 2nd half there is no reason that we can’t get somewhere in this league. Thanks go to Martin for umpiring us once again but I thought it was a bit early for the Haloween mask. Nigel Hawes

Ladies XI 6-0 Cheam
With an early start and mild conditions meant that we had to compose ourselves and get motivated as soon as the first whistle was blown.

Early into the game Vikki Mottram scored our first goal, a ball which almost apologised as it crept into the goal through a sea of gawping defenders, motivating us and setting the pace for the rest of the match. We continued positively, remained composed and kept our focus which lead to our second goal, which came off one of Cheam’s defenders. With a determined Cheam we had to push ourselves to keep possession. With excellent team work and some superb passing we scored our third and fourth before half time.

The second half Cheam pushed harder to break through, however with our high motivation to raise our goal difference we gave as good as we got, scoring twice more. We just had to win by as many goals as we could! It was the great work and excellent marking of the defence that left Cheam barely able to break for a goal opportunity, leaving Julia almost completely redundant throughout the seventy minutes. Cheam seemed to crack physically under the pressure - losing defender when struck by her own player and another soon after in a collision - as injury time became a regular occurrence.

It seemed to be really humid but with our determination we showed everyone what we are capable of and with Old Georgians next weekend we need to work together like we did on Saturday and come back to TD with another three points in the bag! Rewa Gonzalez-Granda

Old Reigatians 5-1 4th XI
Report to follow.

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 - November 29, 2008

The 1st XI returned to winning ways – and the top of the table - with a 4-2 victory over Surrey Old Boys, and the 2nd XI maintained their title ambitions with a 3-0 win at Barnes. But there was less to smile about for the 3rd XI who went down 3-2 to Camberley, while the good starts by the 4th XI and Ladies now seem some time ago. The 4th XI have now lost four in five after losing 1-2 at OMWs, while the Ladies, who lost 1-3 at Tulse Hill, have now taken only one point out of the last 15.

Click here for this week's match photos

1st XI 4-2 Surrey Old Boys
After the disappointment of last week it was imperative to bounce back not only with a win but a convincing performance. We welcomed back Duffy from his travels but with Bruce at Twickenham we were thin on the ground - nearly as this as Will's hair. Talking of which Will lasted a total of 46 seconds before doing something to his back and that was the end of his Saturday afternoon exercise. Accordingly Eds was thrust into an alien role and then proceeded to take no chances and perform his duties well.

Cato and Duffy worked well in the middle together and this enabled Ed B to play further up the field with his working well with Rippers b oth having a greater presence than in most games this season higher up the pitch. We kept the ball short and sharp and although Trickster had to mop up a number of bits and pieces we dominated the first period and scored three goals with incisive play down the right, hitting the back line enabling Ed B to score one and Gavin two - all three either tap-ins or deflections. SOBS had some good individual players but perhaps lacked the team work that with their enthusiasm could cause others in the league problems.

The second half saw us a little more ragged but Knapp shot home to make it 4-0 at which point the opposition came back at us and nicked two goals. We created chances but became too strung out and lacked the earlier cohesion and this has to be down to a lack of fitness. There was also the case of an incorrect choice of options at various points but nevertheless this was an impressive performance ahead of the two big ones left before the break.

Last week we lost to HAC, allowing Wanderers to leapfrog us at the top of the table. This week HAC did the same to Wanderers, allowing us to return to the top, two points clear of Wanderers and OMWs. We play both these sides in the next fortnight. David Knapp



Barnes 0-3 2nd XI
After taking on the league leaders the previous weekend it was onto third-placed Barnes, third only by virtue of a weaker goal difference than ours. We arrived at a miserable and cold Chiswick expecting a tough assignment, in truth it was nothing more than a routine victory for a team growing in confidence and desire. Barnes were not helped by the fact that their best player (by a mile) pulled his hamstring after five minutes and had to play up front in the "hobbling around role", but to be honest there was only ever one team in this contest (so ill keep it brief this week!).

We made a couple of changes to the side that drew with Whitgift: Andy Selby filling in at right back for Mez and myself and Duncan swapping roles - I moved to left midfield and Duncan moved to defensive midfield. On the whole the changes worked as I was given more licence to get forward and consequently scored a couple of goals whilst Duncan set about their midfield breaking down attacks and harrying Barnes into errors.

To say we dominated the first half would be an understatement. I can’t remember them ever really being in our half longer than a few seconds, it was one-way traffic. We made multiple forays into Barnes' D and if their umpire had gone to Specsavers we could have had about 10 short corners. We went one up after 15 minutes after the ball was squared to me to sweep into the roof of the net from close range. Minutes later after a short corner (which should have been a flick and a card after their sweeper made a heroic goal line clearance with his foot) and some pinball action the ball broke to Rory who connected sweetly with a reverse-stick strike which whistled past the keeper. I take full credit for this as it was me who during the warm up told everyone not to try anything to flashy in the D and to put the ball on a foot etc - reverse psychology.

2-0 up at the break and it could have been three or four. We never really kicked on after half time which was a bit disappointing, we managed to get a third (I got on the end of a deflection and tucked it away again from close range) fairly early on which effectively killed the game and both sides knew it. Barnes hit a post but that was about as close as they came. Neil Grimes also went close late on but was unfortunate not to score. In truth with the game won our intensity dipped and our passing and movement also faltered - I think we all had one eye on the warmth of the dressing room. If we had maintained our first half form and improved our awareness and distribution when on the break we could have doubled our advantage such was the paucity of resistance coming from Barnes whose league position looks fairly flattering based on that performance.

So we remain hot on Whitgift's heels with two games to go before Xmas. We must win them both so we can mount a serious title challenge in the New Year. Special mention to the defence - nine goals conceded in eight games is by far the best record in the league, keep up the good work! Chris Porter


Tulse Hill 2-1 Ladies
Saturday saw as trek halfway round the south circular to play TH&D away on a cold morning. We had a good warm-up and were revved up and ready to go from the start. The first half was pretty evenly matched with some good attacking plays from us and them. We scored first with some good quick passing up and into the TH circle for Vikki to slot past their keeper to take us 1-0 up. However, it wasn’t long before we conceded our first penalty corner which TH converted with a merciless straight strike. The pay was end to end with TH pressurising us well on 16 and us likewise. We conceded another penalty corner but successfully defended it second time around. At half time the score was 1-1.

The second half saw both teams battling hard but we seemed to be tiring as we struggled to keep up with our TH counterparts. Another short corner conceded by us and converted by them saw TH go 2-1 ahead. It also seemed to be a half of injuries as Rewa in goal was forced to run out and make a save and went down falling on her shoulder. She didn’t get back up and he suffered a suspected dislocated shoulder. We had no subs were one down and I was starting to think about donning the keepers pads and helmet. Fortunately after some time testing the wounded limb she tentatively got to her feet and bravely continued the game. Five minutes later Gayle received a stick in the face, there was no blood and again she bravely continued on. Mez then got a ball in the hand but after a bit of hopping around carried on! We battled on trying to keep the pace high taking quick balls to get ourselves back in the game, but unfortunately we just didn’t mark our players enough and for the second week in a row couldn’t seem to score. After a break by TH they scored a third goal to secure the match for themselves. It wasn’t a good game by the girls and we will have plenty to work on in training this week if we want to end our streak of draws and losses. Jackie Waite



3rd XI 2-3 Camberley
Bollocks ... bollocks ... and more bollocks. Nigel Hawes

OMWs 1-2 4th XI
Report to follow.

Match reports - March 1, 2008

The 1st XI’s promotion hopes were all but ended as we were held to a 2-2 draw at TD by Bank of England, a wondergoal three minutes from time robbing us of all three points; the Ladies came from behind to beat Wimbledon 3-1 and go within four points of top; the 2nd XI came from two down to draw with Merton and lift us out of the bottom three; the 3rd XI look set for relegation after a 0-5 drubbing by NPL, a result which leaves us needing two wins and then other results going our way; the 4th XI also suffered a big loss, 1-5 at Teddington, and now have relegation issues of their own. The Vets beat Cheam 3-2 thanks to a remarkable Tommy Trinder goal a minute from time.
1st XI 2-2 Bank of England (Click here for match photos)
After the feast of last week’s cracking game this week was not so much as after the Lord Mayor’s Ball but more like the hangover after the mother of all booze ups. Quite simply we were awful and although the fat lady is not yet singing she is certainly well into her rehearsals. Last week there was a sense of foreboding before we started but today we were off the pace in the warm up and looked jaded as we started the game against a competitive but very weakened Bank of England side. Indeed, they were short of arguably their three best players but we did little to capitalise. A lethargic first period saws us going in at half time one down, Bank being allowed to come into our circle unchallenged and roll the ball across the face of goal for their left attacker to tap home. We had bags of possession but created very little having only a couple of telling shots.

We knew the second half was going to be the defining 35 minutes of the season and somehow we scored two goals with Rippers sweeping home a Smudger cross and Knapp snapping up a loose ball from an Ed Copleston short corner strike that came off the keeper. At that point we should have closed out the game but it was not to be and B of B scored a wonder reverse stick goal that flew just inside the post through a crowd of players. We again faced a final two minutes to claw a win from the game and although the final move saw us with a four-on-two advantage the ball into Knapp from Smudger was on the final whistle and the goal bound shot was half way to the goal when the whistle went. Four seconds longer on the clock and we would have won the game.

Nevertheless a win would have masked our weaknesses and it really is a mystery how we can play the type of hockey that we played last week only to plumb the depths this week. Half the side – including myself – were not at the races today and mainly the players from whom we needed big games and so now a long spring and summer to lick our wounds before convening again for next season and the hope that any new season brings. David Knapp

Ladies 3-1 Wimbledon
This week saw us play against Wimbledon, who’s recent form of decent results was in stark contrast to when we met them at the beginning of the season and so this was a game where we couldn’t sit back and relax … if only we would listen to Jax’s words then things would haven’t been so nervous during the first ten minutes!

As the match started we seemed to lack any energy and this wasn’t helped by the pitch with its new layer of sand (which gets in everything!) and no rain which meant the ball was going at a snails pace and made for some sloppy mistakes. Having won the toss a second minute stumble (by myself) didn’t help things and let Wimbledon get a great counter-attack in play and a shot on goal … and all of a sudden we were on the back foot. However as we cleared our lines, through some stronger(!) defensive work and Katy’s quick keeping we slowly started to get our composer back together … that was until Wimbledon got a free hit outside the D that was pushed onto the stick of one of their defenders who was running through only for her to get a strike!
0-1 was not part of the plan and certainly Viks had obviously had enough of us prating around and within a few minutes of the restart had decided to take on a shaky Wimbledon defence in such a manor that earnt her the nickname Houdini… after dribbling the ball from the half way line she went round one player, then round another, round a third and may-be a forth (I lost count at that point as I was in ore) then through the keepers legs 1-1 (that’s better!). Right now to get a second … as we piled on the pressure with a renewed sense of purpose one of their defenders politely decided to give away a flick unfortunately Viks had momentarily lost her super powers and flicked it wide to leave the score 1-1 as we went into half time.
With the second half under way we set about getting goal number two and it wasn’t long in coming. From a 16 yard free hit we steadily built up a string of passes from the back through middle and eventually onto May’s stick. Her speed meant she had the power to get past her player with some ease and a strong from the right, just yards from the back line, skimmed past the Wimbledon deference and onto Anna’s stick who smacked it in for our second – phew. Even though we were ahead Wimbledon weren’t going to give up easily and had a number of opportunities on goal. However a Wimbledon short corner allowed us to get our third goal as they missed the push out which was picked Caz, through to Nikki, onto Vikks and then Nina smashed home our third.

If was at this point you thought Wimbledon couldn’t come back but a goal mouth scrabble meant that as the ball was cleared off Katy’s pads it hit a Wimbledon stick and then straight onto an OC players foot right on the line (yes it was mine!) … P flick. Cookie who hadn’t even intended to umpire was actually secretly enjoying the game as he awarded his second p-flick. However converting p-flicks was obviously a problem and Katy’s eyeballing of the Wimbledon player paid off as she softly push the ball which neatly caught under Katy’s pads … NO goal! With that we battled hard to final whistle and brought home the three points. Well played girls a great three points and if cut off and there is still a incy wincey chance we could get promoted but at least get a respectable place so lets keep at it! Big thanks to Cookie and Armo for umpiring much appreciated as ever! Helen Hawes

Merton 2-2 2nd XI
Except for the rather chilly breeze, I felt back home on Saturday. Having watched the 1st XI play Bank of Boks in the morning before turning up to play an all South African - bar one token Kiwi - Merton side riding high in the league whereas we languished third bottom in a potential relegation spot. We resolved to give it our best and enjoy it as any point would be a bonus, especially with poor Austin having to play as a high striker despite a pulled hamstring meaning he was outpaced by their keeper on a good few occasions.

Sadly we started sluggishly and sloppily, gifting them two goals on the break within 15 minutes. Perhaps earlier in the season we would have buckled, but some added niggle in the game - resulting in their centre-forward seeing yellow for raising his stick to the ever innocent Chris Porter - appeared to rally us as a team. Heartened by two wins on the spin, we improved vastly and actually looked the better side going into the break with Bruce, Mike and Paul all creating, but squandering decent chances.

The half-time team talk was brief but positive and soon had the desired effect with Paul drilling a reverse stick shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to make it 2-1. We pushed on and Chris made a rare foray into the opposition D where Mike slipped a deft pass back to him and the finish was calm and precise - the celebration the exact opposite with repeated gestures and whoops directed at any opposition player within 30 yards. 2-2 and again we looked the stronger side forcing a few short corners and Paul hitting the post from a tight angle, but it was Merton who earned a short corner on the final whistle after a scything player-and-all tackle from Chris. It had to be taken three times but the defence held firm. A loss would have been cruel, and somehow despite the pre-game expectation, a draw felt less than we deserved.

A superb performance considering we basically played with 10 (thanks to Austin though for playing wounded) with tireless running from Bruce and great performances from all which included games of the season from Mike, Tiss and Doug all playing in not their usual spots. The result means we jump up one place out of the relegation zone, but the other teams below us both won with a game in hand, and this result will count for nothing if we do not push on... Paul Acutt


3rd XI 0-5 NPL
In a game we had to win against the one team we could realistically catch, we were in reality never at the party against an NPL side who passed the ball well and always looked a threat on the break. We lost the battle in the middle and looked less than threatening up front. One down at the break, we went two down from a well-taken opportunists’ poach six minutes after the break and from then on there was only one winner. As has happened in several games, we shipped late goals to give the scoreline a rather flattering look, but there could be no complaints. We now face two bottom-end sides, but even if we win them both, we have to hope that NPL fail to get a point, and on the evidence here it’s not going to happen.
XX

Match reports - January 26, 2008

The 3rd XI enjoyed a rare winning outing with a 3-2 win at Camberley to lift themselves out of the relegation slots for the first time this season; the Ladies also battled to a gutsy 1-1 draw with second-placed Spencer; the 1st XI just about did enough to beat lowly Surrey OBs 2-1, the Veterans dragged themselves off the bottom with a 31- win over leaders St Albans; but there were defeats for the 2nd XI and the 4th XI.

Surrey OBs 1-2 1st XI
Well, we were poor and very lucky to come away with three points against a spirited but limited SOBS side and had the rub of all the umpiring decisions – a half season’s fortune in one go. As it is we are still very much in top with February our decisive month. A state of flux existed at 8.20 on Friday evening with the sudden unavailability of Bruce due to injury but luckily Adam Davies was available and at 16 was playing his first game of men’s hockey being home for an exeat weekend and slotted strait into Bruce’s position. Adam then proceeded to be man of the match and is a player that we should see playing at least at the highest club level.

The first 20 minutes did not give any indication of what was to come and with us playing the ball around and wide a number of chances were created and squandered with our short corner drill being woeful. The final 15 minutes of the half heralded the rot with too many long balls shooting off the edge and end of the pitch. Nevertheless the half time team chat sorted things out and five minutes into the second period good build up play followed by a defence splitting pass from the streamlined Cook enabled Knapp to roll the ball home. The lead should have been doubled by Knapp who proceeded to dumfound Preston by winning the 69 shirt for the rest of the season with a crass effort at goal. Chances came and went with Robbo a spectator which continued as we all watched the SOBS best player run unchallenged into our D and push the ball speculatively towards the goal for Robbo to be outwitted by Ed B and the scores were even. Eds C restored the lead with a short corner strike and we held out for an important but less than decisive win.
UCL are next up and play like we did for most of the game today and it will be goodnight nurse. Thank you Adam for playing and showing us how easy hockey can be when playing the simple and commercial options. David Knapp

2nd XI 2-3 Barnes
A cracking game which we lost but again showed the fighting spirit which has seen us turn in some good performances of late. We went two down ten minutes into the second half and that seemed to be that against a physically big and good Barnes side, and although we pulled one back, Barnes restored their two-goal lead with 15 remaining. Then the fun started, Chris Tiss, who had got under the opposition’s skin with his skills and mouth all day, scrambled a second – earning a green card for his yell of “Eat that” into the defender’s face – and we pressed hard and had we had a short-corner routine which involved being able to stop the ball might have grabbed a draw. Neil Grimes was immense in midfield and again Dodie and Heardy controlled the back like the old pros they are. The cry-off of the week comes from Chris Porter in an apology given to Tiss who was waiting to collect him from the station. Porter, if he is to be believed, had been up all night "with a lady" and was in no position to leave his flat because of exhaustion.

Camberley 2-3 3rd XI
The 3rd XI delivered a rock star performance taking a full three points away at Camberly with a hard fought 3-2 win. An early 10am start, damned cold and Tim Cook, our designated umpire, had forgotten his cards … it did not bode well. Starting with the low sun behind us, we moved the ball effectively albeit, slowly on occasions. Movement up our preferred left attacking flank was effective and a returning Chopper made a nuisance of himself for the Camberley defence. Strong marking at break downs and a good control of the game led to a short corner which deftly taken by Bruce, beating the advancing defenders, shelled home an excellent goal. The game continued with a more confident team and Rich L attacking up the right flank provided Bruce in the centre a range of options with his control of the centre of the field. An attack followed through and a strike into the D led to Dave L perfectly angling the ball in a cramped D past their keeper. This was also the first time that we had gone two goals ahead all season. Camberley started to find their rhythm and on an attack, some poor tackling led to a lapse in attention and from a dead ball, they scored.

Half time came and a usual inspiration of a team talk followed. A slight line-up change of Rich L going up front as proving successful last week started the second half by pushing up higher. The tactical problem we had was that their attack was also pushing high creating a gulf in the centre of the field. Both sides attacked and counter attacked. Tim had to have a chat with the captains although slightly more directed at the opposition as we are all good chaps! The short resulted from one attack and a slip from Bruce to Preston, flicking it past the keeper it still required Chopper to glance it into the goal to take it to 3-1.

Camberley came back with several attacks and from a short corner, we became overloaded and Camberley had an open attack and scored. With five minutes remaining, Camberley loaded the pressure however what many have described as the heroic moment of the season and others as the moment they were standing amongst giants, a fighting defence became exposed and with the keeper caught in no mans land, a ball slipped past without question on its way to the back board, Armo slid past the Camberley striker and cleared the ball off the line to keep the team in with a shout (Guess who write this report …). In what remained of the two minutes, Camberley narrowly missed an equalising opportunity but the force was with us for arguably the first time in two years. Man of the match, Armo (not bad that, nominating yourself!) but a team effort, three points and a safety out of recession. James “Modesty” Armitage

Ladies 1-1 Spencer II
An early start after a week off saw us playing second-placed Spencer II at home. We had been one of the only teams to take points off them this season, holding them to a draw before Christmas, and inevitably both teams wanted to take the full points this time around, us to move up the table and them to sustain their position at the top. It was always going to be an eventful match.

Both sides started well, us against the sun after having lost the toss. The first 15 minutes saw good attempts coming from both ends a couple of penalty corners each and on 20 minutes Spencer manager to lift one into the net over keeper Katy who had just made a terrific save on the floor. We continued to pile the pressure onto the Spencer defence our forwards of Caz, and May doing an excellent job of closing down their defenders and driving the ball up and into the Spencer area but to no avail and we went into half time 1-0 down.

The second half was far more eventful. Our oranges at half time especially prepared by coach Mott obviously gave us the extra boost we needed. Going out hard, the midfield of Vikki, Nina, Jax and Sarah H were working harder than ever with some good movement, one touches and passing around and up to the forwards. We had several close calls, a ball chipped over the cross bar, Jax and Caz managing to get on the end of excellent crosses into the Spencer circle by May (Carl Lewis) Evans and Nina (Mike Tyson) Sutton, but just cleared wide of the goal by the Spencer keeper. Eventually our hard work, determination and perseverance paid off as an intercepted ball was passed into Vikki (silky skills) Mottram who moved the ball around her Spencer defender and 'melted' the ball into the goal. 1-1. We kept the pressure on and just shortly after our levelling goal, Caz (Wayne Rooney) Hall found herself racing the Spencer keeper towards a loose ball on the edge of the circle. The two collided and ended up in a skirmish before the keeper booted the ball away - but from outside of the D. She was yellow carded and sent off while the match was put on hold as another Spencer player kitted up. We were determined to capitalise on Spencer having one less player on the pitch and a sub keeper in goal but in true OC fashion we probably played better when they had 11 players on the pitch! We tried not to let the break in play interrupt our flow but inevitably it did. We conceded several short corners which our rock solid defence of Rossie P, Mez, Tux and Muriel as ever defended well and Katy in goal was called upon to make a couple of saves. Tempers had been rising through out the match and eventually a Spencer player snapped and Nina found herself on the end of the girl’s fist! Neither umpire saw the punch and play continued until it was time for the Spencer keeper to come back on again so with six minutes left to go, play stopped again while she kitted up. The game finished 1-1 all a great game by our ladies and we were unfortunate not to get another goal. Jax Joyce

Porter falls foul of the law

Spare a thought for Chris Porter, until last season the scourge of umpires but now a born-again good boy. Travelling to a match courtesy of Ken Livingstone�s favourite underground network, Porter was accosted at Earls Court by two of British Transport Police�s finest and ask where he was going clutching his hockey stick and kit bag. Clearly trained to sniff out Al Qaeda�s best-disguised henchmen, the two officers were not swayed by his unbelievable claim that he was �off to play hockey� and detained Porter for a good few minutes while they checked up on him (fortunately not with the Surrey Hockey Umpires Association who may have revealed that in some circumstances a stick in Porter�s hands could be deemed a dangerous weapon). Eventually, after satisfying themselves he was not out to overthrow democracy, they let him on his way with a caution and a lovely pink slip warning him about such subversive behaviour. Now, being serious, it makes you wonder not only what does constitute a weapon (a week later a man carrying a cricket ball to practice was cautioned as it constituted a threat �if he dropped it on a grandmother�s head�) and also what the entry level IQ for the British Transport Police. Several calls to ask for clarification remained unanswered, presumably because the BTP were busy arresting shoppers for carrying large bags on the underground during the Christmas period.