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.

A mixed bag

The 1st XI got their new league campaign off to a winning start with a fairly routine 3-0 victory over City of Portsmouth, but the 2nd XI went down 1-5 at Bank of England. The 3rd XI already have as many wins this season as they managed throughout last with a heartening 3-1 defeat of Merton, while the 4th XI put last week's heavy loss behind them with a 2-2 draw against Barnes Beavers. This week's match photos



1st XI 3-0 City of Portsmouth
Our first league game in the new league against a City of Portsmouth team who a few seasons ago were four leagues above us ended with far more positives than negatives including three important points. Not dissimilar to ourselves C of P had slipped down the leagues in recent years and so we expected a tough match against a club who are no doubt intent on arresting their descent.

The first 45 minutes saw us play our best hockey of the season, take a three-goal lead and kill off the game. Rory had his best game as well, being rewarded with the first two goals of our league campaign in a stirring first half. The early exchanges were slightly in our favour but C of P did have 2 very good chances on the break and would have been disappointed not to threaten our goal. As it was our first goal came when a strong Gavin Adair run in from the left set up Rory who had the simplest of tasks to poke the ball home, just... The second goal came on the stroke of half time when Rory finished off an excellent move, again down our left, cracking the ball home. In between times we had not made the most of three or four good chances but the second goal on the stroke of half time gave us some breathing space.

Jonny Hunter clipped home our this early in the second half having been set up by Matt Cook and the game was over. Arguably better teams would have profited from our lack lustre last 25 minutes with fitness proving to be the key issue and we have to recognise that we will be under pressure if we do not increase our fitness levels. We do have to play a slightly different type of hockey in a better league as some our basics were poor and we were found out in places.

Wanderers next week which will doubtless be a stern test. David Knapp

Bank of England 5-1 2nd XI
Bank of England 1s away as our first game was always going to be a difficult task, as demonstrated by our 1st XI struggling away to them over the previous seasons. Our job was made harder by a depleted squad, due to injury and holidays. As it was we ended up with just 11 to their 14.

Never the less, we started brightly – running an effective half press and playing simple hockey. Their newly laid pitch was bumping but very true and it was this that assisted a BoE ball through the middle that caused us our real first difficulty. After a good save by Ross, who despite the scoreline actually had an excellent game, the subsequent shot deflected off Alfie’s stick and unfortunately on to his leg in front of goal. The umpire showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. BoE made no mistake with the flick and therefore they went 1-0 up.


To our credit we bounced back straight away, forcing our way round the flank and creating a short corner. A good save from the keeper to an excellent flick from Jade saw the ball land at Preston’s feet. He had no hesitation in hammering it home. 1-1. Unfortunately BoE then took the lead too via a clinical strike but we held on to the break at 2-1 down.


The second half saw BoE press their advantage and when Jade was rightly given a yellow for a poor challenge our lack of substitutes was really highlighted. BoE were able to score a further 3 goals. It could have been more were it not for the post and cross bar saving us at least five times and some first rate keeping from Ross on debut.


There were plenty of positive signs, not least that we never gave up despite being up against it at times. When we played simple hockey we looked very good and we showed that we have adapted well to the new rules. Unfortunately things don’t get any easier for us as we take on 1st placed Wanderers 2s but with 14 at fortress TD where we were unbeaten last season we stand a good chance. Rob Merry

Barnes Beavers 2-2 4th XI
Both sides took to the duck pond wondering about what could have been. An apple and blackberry cake with no less than 2kg of butter was left agonisingly close to Dom’s front door, but not close enough. Seemingly the final straw, Grant Archer (fat cake eater) snapped "I don’t like wet, I don’t like sand, and I don’t like wind", brilliant; the conditions were wet, windy and sandy. Meanwhile, the Beavers frontline arrived (5th year running) having once again missed out on the X-Factor bootcamp (For an idea of what Rob Crumby and Steve Harmer faced today watch this).

Brad Surf-Dude-Crocodile-Hunter-Ah-Yeah-Throw-Another-Shrimp-On-The-Barbie-Davis-Oxbrough (nee Oxo) had a great game at left half, and was matched by Nick Jocelyn at right half. Both were at the heart of our attacking midfield play, linking well with Louis, and building the pressure which led to Jamal firing high into the net mid-way through the first half (0-1).

On any other day we would have added to this with three short corners going agonisingly wide of the post. Beavers kept to their direct game plan, which often turned the game into a tough end-to-end encounter in which fitness was going to be key. Matt “seriously, I’m absolutely terrible in goal” Olley made some sharp saves to betray his pre-match modesty but was helpless to prevent a well struck shot from just inside the area. (1-1). Only one handbag came out all match, with offending beaver being quickly told-off by the brilliantly named Umpire Justice. Half Time.

In the second half, beavers scored an early goal to take the lead (2-1) but the tiring 4s battled on to score an invaluable late equaliser. A good, tough game of hockey that should show its’ benefits in the coming weeks. Dom Tucker

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 - October 18, 2008

Another generally good week with a comprehensive win for the 1st XI over Walton & Weybridge Hawks (who have as much affinity to Walton or Weybridge as MK Dons do to Wimbledon) to go top; the 2nd XI beat a feisty/moaning UCL Academicals 2-1, while the 4th XI saw off a feisty/physical Barnes Beavers 5-3. The Ladies came back from Battersea with a 1-0 win over Wanderers, while the only blot was the 3rd XI’s 1-5 thumping by a classy Leatherhead side.


1st XI 4-0 Walton & Weybridge
Click here for match photos
After their previous results we expected a tough game against Walton and Weybridge, our nemesis two years ago. Ultimately our fears were unfounded after a clinical performance with a very effective second half in which we stifled the opponents.

We welcome Trickster Smith in goal after his outstanding performance last week at TD for the seconds and for the second week running he kept a clean sheet albeit with little to do other than in the last couple of minutes.

Walton had difficulties in picking our system early on but it was when David Cresswell changed the formation by putting Ed B in front of the back three that we began to create most of our chances. As so often the case we did not make our short corners count until Gavin Adair picked up a rebound from one and finished with aplomb to score what he described as the all important goal. 1 - 0 at half time became 2 - 0 after half time when Gavin's run opened up the Walton defence allowing Paul Acutt time and space to finish well with a dipping shot. We now began to dominate completely with the back four soaking up whatever was thrown at them, Ed B bringing the ball out of the back with good effect and Cato buzzing around in is usual way. As the game wore on we created a great deal more and could have scored on a number of occasions before Cookiey clipped home our third. We rode out our bad spell without allowing Walton any clear openings on goal with Trickster's one touch coming from a sharp free hit and deflection that came through a crowd of players but was dealt with in an effective and efficient way.

One minute remained on the clock as Nick Lewis finished off a well-worked move starting in the right corner of our half when Ed B beat two and slipped the ball up the line to CB, who fed Gavin, whose cross field pass found Nick in the clear, whose shot from the top of the D rattled the side board.

An efficient performance with Duffy the Man of the Match and a game that saw us missing Rippers, Bruce and Pies. Next week we are light of Pies, Lewis, Duffy, Trickster and Cato but such is our depth that we will be able to fill the gaps with selection becoming interesting when everyone is available. David Knapp




Wanderers 0-1 Ladies XI
Saturday saw us playing away against Wanderer’s 3’s. They had come down from the premier league and were joint top of our league, not having lost a match yet, so we were ready for a tough match! Our bench was loaded with subs so we went out hard knowing we had fresh legs available, and for the first 15 minutes the match looked pretty even with neither team really having any real chances on goal. We were playing well keeping possession, stepping up to the ball with some good attacking play which eventually won us a penalty corner. We failed to do much with it but only five minutes later a lightning quick run from May down the right side had Wanderers on the back foot. She passed it to Jax in the circle. The keeper went down and Jax pushed it passed her towards the bottom right-hand corner with May following it up and making sure it went in. We were 1-0 up after 15 minutes. We knew Wanderers were a good side so were by no means complacent. We continued to play hard with lots of subs to allow us to keep the pace high and rest when we needed. The midfield of Gayle, Vikki, Steph and Caz were doing a great job of supporting each other and passing the ball around with Tux having a stormer as centre back/centre forward, mopping up any loose balls and driving forwards, playing high and pressurising the Wanderers forwards. We held onto our lead at half time.

The second half again was evenly matched with both teams having some good attacking moments with Gayle, Sarah H and Nikki all seeing near misses and forcing the oppo to defend hard. At the same time Wanderers were fast on the break which saw our defence of Rosie, Lucy and Tux having to work hard to get back and cover and Muriel as sweeper having to step in and make some brilliant interceptions. The umpires both of whom supplied by Wanderers were firm but fair and I have to say many decisions seemed to go our way – which makes a change!!!! About half way through the second half we conceded our first and only penalty corner (again which makes a change from the previous matches!). Rosie running No. 1 and fearless (many may say kamikaze) as ever intercepted the strike and and Tux cleared the ball and the danger, for the time being was over. We were aware how close the game was and were keen to get another goal to secure the win. Our forwards of Nina, Liza and Snoops were working hard with lots of movement and supporting play when attacking but then also pegging it back to defend the Wanderers defence now playing high. With 10 minutes to go we nearly lost our lead, another break from Wanderer’s and saw us defending hard in our circle, Steph in goal having to pull off a save and the defence clearing an onslaught of shots from the oppo. We managed to scrabble the ball to safety and for the last five minutes the play was pretty much end to end with those on the side line barely able to watch as we hung on to our lead and secure a good 1-0 win which sees us climb to 4th in the league, and also makes us the only unbeaten team ……..not that I want to jinx us………..Well done ladies a well deserved three points! Jackie Waite


2nd XI 2-1 UCL Academicals 2
It is perhaps positive that despite beating one of the top sides in our league, who the previous week had put six goals past Merton, there was a collective disappointment at the end of the game.

The opposition started strongly and it was a good five minutes before we managed to string some passages of play together and give ourselves some breathing space. UCL generally played three men high which kept the back four busy throughout. When they weren't quite as high they also looked dangerous on the break. Whilst we defended well, aided by some good saves by Mike Norrington, we struggled to get the ball away at 16s - as UCL pressed right up the pitch. Andy Selby replaced Dodie in the middle at the back and grew into the role throughout, making some good tackles and growing more comfortable on the ball.

When we strung together passages of short passes we looked dangerous - Neil Grimes and Chris Porter picking up where they had left off the previous week - linking up well. Chris Tiss and in particular Chris Valentine began to cause their defence some trouble and a good run through by the latter created the first goal, a converted deflection of the post by the former. The pressure form UCL did not relent and eventually Mike was drawn out from goal to make a save. Rob Merry had sagged in to cover and was unable to prevent a shot from coming off his foot. The result was an undisputed penalty flick and slightly more controversial yellow card. As the skipper departed UCL slotted their penalty flick. 1-1 with a tricky 10 minutes before half-time...

We regathered whilst we had 10 men but were still under constant pressure. At half time we talked about getting strong on the ball, keeping our structure and keeping the passes short. Unfortunately the opposite was true for most of the second half. Ironically it was a crisply struck long ball from Tom Merry and an equally crisply hit strike from the top of the D by Bruce McNeil that broke the deadlock.

Some of the structure was lost by the changes necessitated by our two rolling subs. Unfortunately we then descended into some of the indiscipline that we saw in the friendly. Constantly questioning umpiring decisions and berating team-mates rather than concentrating playing hockey. However, there was no lack of effort and we eventually managed to see out the game, despite a very tense last minute with UCL in our D.

They say that the sign of a good team is to win even when not playing well - we have a stronger squad than last year, bolstered by some new comers, and we should be confident in improving our performances, whilst maintaining the winning habit. Out thanks go to Martin for umpiring and Dave Cresswell for turning up to the game and coaching. Rob Merry




3rd XI 1-5 Leatherhead
Firstly I would like a apologise if my memory is a little hazey (I blame Nige for letting me know after the game that I was writing the match report) . When we arrived I think we were all shocked to hear that we had 16 players, some who I won’t name (Ollie) looked a even more relieved than the others as he was suffering from a serious hangover. This week we had a tough fixture playing Leatherhead who had not lost point so far in the season.

The game started with Leatherhead moving the ball very nicely. Our defence - Tim, Stu and Stefano - all putting their fair share of tackles in. We were not passing the ball as well as them and only had a few breaks. With mounting pressure we conceded. Leatherhead came straight back at us and soon slotted a second. After this a change in midfield we started to move the ball, with Preston holding the ball up well and Rich Dave making some good runs.

Unfortunately we let in another couple before half time, with two goals that left Nige helpless, and Nige unfortunately injured his ankle on the stroke of half-time. I remember a shout coming from the sidelines “Stu, Nige is down can you give him a hand you can’t miss him, he is that big orange thing lying on the ground”.

With obviously another good team talk, we looked like a different team. The midfield held strong by Rory distributing the ball to CD, Armo and Chaz. This led to opportunities. We eventually got a short corner. Rory finished is well with a good strike pass the keeper right hand side, but Leatherhead continued to move the ball round well and slotted a fifth past the crocked Nige near the end.

“We would be doing much better in the league if it was only the second half that counted towards the result,” observed the captain at the end. Chris Bents

Barnes Beavers 3-5 4th XI
Dear reader, hot footing it back from its fitness training camp in the UAE, Harmer’s column has returned to bring you the highlights of the Mighty 4th team’s frightening and bruising encounter from the Surrey Open League this week. Frightening and bruising, why is that? You may ask. Well let me tell you dear reader, there is nothing as frightening as a bleach blonde or muscular shaved beaver going straight through you at pace and knocking you backwards on your arse. Just ask Robin Crumby or Grant Archer.

Most of you will know that I am talking about our second least favourite team in the
league, that’s right the pink clad Barnes Beavers. For those that have not played them before their players fit into two categories either they are muscular, aggressive, heavy set, bald bruisers. Alternatively and this only really applies to their centre forwards, they are bleach blonde midgets with an alarming orange aura (poorly applied San Tropez tans) and seem to be closely related, if you get my drift. We nicknamed this pair of prats ‘The X Factor rejects’ but that’s probably being too kind!

Our previous encounter with the Beavers at Dukes Meadow in Chiswick back in 2006 was christened ‘The Battle of the Duck Poo Pitch’ which was due to some genius pumping Thames river water onto the water based pitch, it had become a rancid, algae infested surface from which Captain Dom’s white shorts have never quite recovered. As you can imagine the Mighty 4ths were looking forward to playing on this pitch as much Guy Richie used to look forward to his macrobiotic dinners and kabala sessions with Madonna. Thankfully a new pitch has been laid we all looked forward to another dazzling encounter at Dukes Meadow.

As per normal the OC pre-match preparation was fraught as a number of players struggled to find the pitch in time but thanks to Helen Hawes AtoZ, Nick Aston and our new recruits Seb and Richard found the pitch. Special mention has to be made to Robin Crumby who was admitted to hospital last Sunday with a serious kidney infection, spent most of the week in bed but not only turned up to play this week but cycled from Wimbledon to Chiswick to do so. What commitment to the cause you will cry out loud and we all cried on the pitch ‘Robin Crumby….what a guy!’. Alas there is always one cock-up and no one cocks-up more that Bertie ‘Don’t blame the credit crunch on me’ Bance with his cryptic e-mail to our beloved captain regarding his match availability. However that, as they say, ‘Is a story for another time’.

As you can imagine with the Barnes Beavers lining up, OC players arriving late, a poor warm-up and a very bouncy pitch to boot, we were all a little nervous. We needed a secret weapon, we needed someone we could get behind, and we needed a hero to show us the way. Come’ith the moment, come’ith the man. Now some say, that he keeps his aging body supple by sleeping at night like Madonna in a plastic airtight body bag and covering himself in an anti aging cream worth £500 a pot. Others suggest that his lighting reflexes come from intensive training with Bruce Lee and when he lifts his stick to strike the ball, it is energized by the ‘Power of Grayskull’ itself. Frankly, we don’t believe in any of that crap but all that we do know is that his name is Louis Strover and he is a GOAL SCORING MACHINE! Blessed with the presence, muscle, ball retention and lay offs of Emile Heskey but thankfully with a nose for goal like Wayne Rooney, we knew we would have the upper hand. It was time to bash some beaver!

Now dear reader enough of the foreplay and lets strip off these well crafted pros and get into the action. For the first 10 minutes after the pushback the OC’s struggled to find a rhythm as the new water base proved to be a bouncy as Jodie Kidd’s chest in Strictly Come Dancing. With limited ball retention we struggled to control the quick moving beavers from trying to get round the back of us and pounding our box with crosses. It could have been suggested that Grant Archer (our left back) was struggling somewhat, as the birth of his first child ‘Bethan’ has caused him to drop his four hour a day Madonna-styled fitness sessions. Grant would argue that he has never been fit, so two weeks of sleep deprivation has made no impact on his at all.
Just as the OC’s started to find rhythm and ball control a breaking beaver streaked down the right flank and unleashed a cross that our defence was just unable to repel. One of the X factor rejects, let’s call him Gareth, nipped in at the back post to push one past Nige. At one down we did not panic and got back to the job in hand, in fact it almost acted as a spur for our team. As the midfield four started to find their feet the passes began to flow like wine and soon we were running like a well oiled engine. Smooth interplay down the right and left wings started to ask questions of the Beaver’s back line which frankly they did not want to answer. Before long, the beavers cracked and gave away a penalty; the resulting short corner saw slick interplay between Strover and Oxo, which ended up with Louis firmly striking the ball at the goal which pounded the back board. At 1-1, we started to take the Beavers apart and it was not long till Louis got his second after some sweet passing between Seb and Richard gave him space at the top of the D. Before half time we got our third with a cross that skimmed the goal line from the left which found Captain Dom unmarked who swept it into the goal.

So at half time, the Mighty 4th’s were on the front foot and the Beaver’s were fuming and frustrated at being placed firmly on the back one. At the start of the second half it was clear that the beaver half time talk concluded that they needed to take the battle to us by fair means or foul. They obviously chose foul as they attempted to intimidate us physically but dear reader the fourth team are not Sunday School teachers and we taught the beavers as lesson in focused aggression. While the OC back line of Nick Aston, Crumby, Archer and Harmer were dumped frequently on there bottoms by Beavers trying to bash there way through us. All that happened was that the defence released the ball to the midfield who powered up the pitch. On one such occasion the ball was released by Archer, to Oxo, who slipped it into the middle to Seb, who in turned released it to Strover who found Richard with a short pass on the left wing. As Richard showed a clean pair of heals to the Beaver right back, Strover made way into the D. An inch perfect pass from Richard gave Louis the time to turn and strike the ball past the petrified keeper.

Our fifth and final goal came from a similar break down the left with Oxo and Harmer displaying some great interplay that ended with a ball being caressed into the D to find the ever present Strover lurching behind a bald beaver. You know what happened next and it just ended up with the Beavers becoming more frustrated. The ball obliterated the back board and we did not only have daylight but frankly a whole lunar cycle between the Beavers and us.

In the final 10 minutes the Beavers resorted to pounding our D with long range passes for their forwards to run onto which our defence of Nick, Robin and Grant dealt with showing grace and aplomb. Even though both Archer and Cumby were upended by both the of X-Factor duo after they realised they could not win the ball so tried to go through our defensive line. It started to get nasty and the Beavers brought out their handbags to take out their frustration out through limp wristed aggression. Although they pulled two goals back in the second half we knew that we were home dry even with Robin Crumby attempting to do a decent impression of an Ashley Cole back pass by playing in beautifully one of the tango tanned twosome. Thankfully the hockey gods were smiling on Old Apple Crumble as Grant dived to save the Beaver’s shot and managed to step on the ball, which stopped play for a short corner. Crumby although relieved held his head low and wished the pitch opened up and pulled him beneath to escape his team mates demanding ‘Why did you do that?’

At the final whistle we had dispatched and bashed the Beavers 5-3 in a match that we all felt proud to have played in. More importantly we had learnt that if you want to bash a beaver use a Strover and Madonna is one weird lady! Led by Captain Dom this victory lifts us into second place in the league with a game in hand. The ginger revolution marches on! Next week Staines. Steve Harmer

Match reports - October 4, 2008

The 1st XI left it late to secure a 3-2 win over Old Kingstonians, a Pies goal two minutes from time earning us all three points. The 3rd XI drew 1-1 with Purley Walcountians, the 4th XI routed Walton 4-0 while the Ladies came from behind three times to draw 4-4 at Raynes Park. The Vets were the one loser, hammered 6-0 by Surbiton



1st XI 3-2 Old Kingstonians
Match photos
A last-gasp win against the recently relegated OK side in what turned out to be a scrappy encounter containing very little good hockey from either side.

The new season always starts with high hopes and perhaps it is too much to expect us to play well in the first league outing with three points being more important than the style played to achieve the win.

Our Achilles heel is our short-corner defence, and so it proved again today, both goals being conceded from shorts. OKs took the lead from their first corner after David Knapp missed the easiest of chances following excellent work from Cato along the base line. Ed B was unluckily penalised for a fine goal-line stop but the umpire felt there was an infringement, awarded a stroke and we were one down. Within 10 minutes we were 2 -1 up, Knapp converting after a well worked move from defence saw Gav Adair on this occasion running along the back line with Knapp on this occasion slotting home. Two minutes later another move along the goaline set up the chance and Adair's shot was stropped on the line by a foot and Knapp put away the ensuing penalty stroke. Instead of continuing to play the short ball game that was causing the opposition problems, we went back to the long ball through the middle and were unpicked when we gave away a short, did not clear the pads and it was 2 - 2.

The first period had been spoilt by an early yellow for a clumsy stick tackle by an OK player which was followed by one for Bruce for a not very malicious tackle, but one that gave Clive no option but to follow his colleague's lead and issue a yellow - only one way for the cards to go after such an early yellow.

The second period was an excellent advert for watching league football as both teams descended into hockey ping-pong with the resultant 60-yard shuttles. Neither side had the nouse to slow the game down and be patient, and it became very stretched. The two attacks both had great chances to take the lead but squandered hosts of opportunity. Robbo made a number of good saves but it was Pies from our last short corner who cracked the ball home with a pin point shot with two minutes remaining that enabled us to run out winners. The main positive from the second half was a much safer looking defensive play and some good runs from Cookiey who looked dangerous when running at the OK defence.

Neither side on today's showing will feature in the top two on this performance but another day, another game and at least we took the points.
A last-gasp win against the recently relegated OK side in what turned out to be a scrappy encounter containing very little good hockey from either side.

The new season always starts with high hopes and perhaps it is too much to expect us to play well in the first league outing with three points being more important than the style played to achieve the win.

Our Achilles heel is our short-corner defence, and so it proved again today, both goals being conceded from shorts. OKs took the lead from their first corner after David Knapp missed the easiest of chances following excellent work from Cato along the base line. Ed B was unluckily penalised for a fine goal-line stop but the umpire felt there was an infringement, awarded a stroke and we were one down. Within 10 minutes we were 2 -1 up, Knapp converting after a well worked move from defence saw Gav Adair on this occasion running along the back line with Knapp on this occasion slotting home. Two minutes later another move along the goaline set up the chance and Adair's shot was stropped on the line by a foot and Knapp put away the ensuing penalty stroke. Instead of continuing to play the short ball game that was causing the opposition problems, we went back to the long ball through the middle and were unpicked when we gave away a short, did not clear the pads and it was 2 - 2.

The first period had been spoilt by an early yellow for a clumsy stick tackle by an OK player which was followed by one for Bruce for a not very malicious tackle, but one that gave Clive no option but to follow his colleague's lead and issue a yellow - only one way for the cards to go after such an early yellow.

The second period was an excellent advert for watching league football as both teams descended into hockey ping-pong with the resultant 60-yard shuttles. Neither side had the nouse to slow the game down and be patient, and it became very stretched. The two attacks both had great chances to take the lead but squandered hosts of opportunity. Robbo made a number of good saves but it was Pies from our last short corner who cracked the ball home with a pin point shot with two minutes remaining that enabled us to run out winners. The main positive from the second half was a much safer looking defensive play and some good runs from Cookiey who looked dangerous when running at the OK defence.

Neither side on today's showing will feature in the top two on this performance but another day, another game and at least we took the points.


Raynes Park 4-4 Ladies XI
For our second league match of the season we were playing Raynes Park Ladies 1's and hoping to secure our first win against the newly-promoted team. We had learned from last season though not to count on promoted teams being an easier match and this was certainly with RP. The whole match ended up being a game of catch up.

With a squad of 15 we knew we could try and keep the match pace high but it didn't seem to happen and for the majority of the first half we didn't settle. We had a couple of good attacksbut it was RP that seemed to have the upper hand with Steph our GK having to pull off a couple of good saves. We conceded several short corners and after defending a couple well, RP eventually managed to convert and took the lead. It was only one goal and we new we were more than capable of winning the match. We seemed to relax more and began playing our game with some good one touch hockey between the midfielders of Manny, Gayle, Steph and Jax, and our forwards of Dora, Snoopy, Liza and May making her usual lightning quick runs. Our equaliser came from a free hit outside the circle taken by Manny passed to an Jax running in unmarked who swept it into the back of the goal. So we went into half time 1-1.

We were determined to keep our momentum up after the break, but it didn't happen. RP piled on the pressure and again we conceded short corners. Our defence of Ros, George, Rosie, Lucy and Daisy did a sterling job of defending them but the inevitable happened. Unfortunately Georgie took a knock to the knee having to go off and RP took advantage of the momentary disarray in the defence to convert their second, well-practised short corner to go 2-1 up. We still didn’t let our heads drop but RP piled on the pressure and scored another off open play within the next 10 minutes to give them a two-goal lead. At 3-1 down though we showed our true OC spirit. RP were begining to tire and we pushed up the pitch, the girls new fitness regimes shining through. After a mêlée in the RP circle, and a few attempts on the goal, Jax eventually managed to score our second. Keeping RP on the back foot we kept the momentum going and within the next 10 minutes had scored an equaliser thought some excellent play coming right from the back with Ros and Rosie distributing the ball wide to and round the back to midfield and eventually into the circle where Dora and Snoops had shots deflected and eventually 'wing back' Helen Hawes found herself in the unusual position of being on the oppo's post to put the finishing touch on our equalising goal (and only her second I believe for OCLHC?!).

We had come back to 3-3. With five minutes to go we still believed we could win the match but did not want to lose the draw. However again we gave away a penalty corner two minutes from time. The first shot was blocked but took an unfortunate deflection into the roof of our goal.

We like to give ourselves a challenge and make life hard for ourselves! And once again, even with so little time left, we were determined not to lose. Some quick play up the pitch passed from Gayle on the left back to Daisy in defence and then to Dora who leveled with less than a minute remaining.

We had hoped for a win but it was a true, determined, gritty team performance, with everyone giving 110% that got us a well earned draw, and saw a team with several new players bonding and growing stronger. Plenty to work on in training, but many positives taken from the match! We look forward to next week, still looking for our first win of the season. Jackie Joyce


4th XI 1-1 Purley Walcountians
When we arrived and looked over at the opposition we were all shocked to find out their average age was only about 14. It made even Chris feel old in comparison. The match got underway, and we started well which makes a change. We exerted some pressure on the opposition with some great distribution from Stu and Rob J linking up well with CD on the left. Some slick passing lead to chances. Then the pressure paid of with Rob J slipping the ball to Chaz. Chaz struck the ball past the keeper into the bottom left of the goal. We were 1-0 up in the first 10 minutes, which is almost unheard of in recent 3rd XI history.

The opposition came straight back at us with the youngsters in their team showing some good skills. Stu held it strong in the centre making some sharp tackles. Tim at the back also holding us strong, although the defence left him the tricky job of marking their quickest player. They started to get a few chances winning a few short corners. With Ollie not seeing eye to eye with Martin. Ollie it’s not a good idea getting on the wrong side of your own umpire. Martin will always win!(isn’t that right Nige)

Unfortunately we could not hold out until half time despite Nige making some fantastic saves! The score was now 1-1. Finally the half-time whistle went we looked like we needed the break rather than them. With a good half time team talk with Stu making some good points we were ready for the second half.

The second half started well With CD making some impact on the left. On the right Tom and Rob J decided it was not worth trying to run round them, as they were a hell of a lot quicker and fitter than us. So they made the ball do the work and played some great hockey.

Andy, Rich and Preston also playing well up front Preston holding the ball up well and distributing it to CD and Tom. Rich had a chance as he took it around the keeper but then in a tussle ended up on the ground. I was sat on the bench and had no idea what went on, but Rich did not look a happy bunny. They also had their fair share of chances but Nige made some fantastic saves and kept them out. In fact at one point the best way to keep them away from our goal was to flatten them. He did ask if the player was OK afterwards (very sporting Nige!). The defence also played well with Ollie, Ewan Stefano making some great challenges and distributing the ball well. Stu worked hard in the centre, in fact so hard he had to sub himself (coming off the pitch he looked absolutely shattered).

In the end we settled for a 1-1 draw a fair result. Well played to all some great teamwork. Thanks go to Martin as well for a very well and fairly umpired game. Chris Bents

Match reports - March 8, 2008

NPL 0-5 1st XI
Another far from convincing performance but perhaps it is churlish to be critical of a 5 – 0 victory but it is a sign of the high standards we have set ourselves this year. NPL came to us as bottom of the pile and if we were expecting a push over it was not to be as NPL took the game to us in the first 15 minutes. Our break came when our striker was impeded illegally by a stick tackle when about to score and Breton popped away the stroke. Two more quick goals from debutant Andy Craven and a beautifully executed free hit by Rippers and the game was over even though Robbo had to make two important saves.

Any chance of a come back from NPL went when their left back earned himself a ridiculous yellow that he decided should be turned into an “advance to home card” with him jumping into his car and leaving his remaining 10 team mates to fight on without him. Adair and Knipp added to the NPL woes finishing off 2 moves with tap ins, Adair being particularly unselfish in setting up Knopp. Adair was in high spirits having just become a dad of twin girls, allegedly born the size of Ed Breton.
Two games left and two wins required for some self esteem.Rex Bermon

Croydon 2-2 Ladies
After an eventful journey to Croydon with a few sore heads and managing to get there more by luck than judgement, we were determined to come away with a better result than the 0-2 loss at home to them earlier in the season. Croydon were leading the league table, but we knew we were more than capable of beating them.

We were glad to have our usual defenders back of Ros, Tux, Muriel and Mez - who had her work cut out form her from the start, marking Croydon's nifty winger and captain. We started well passing the ball around well with some excellent distribution coming form the back. Before long Caroline 'The Havoc' Hall had made an excellent run up the wing passed it across to Vikki who passed to Dora 'Tjhe Scorer' on the edge of the circle who melted the ball in with her usual class putting us 1-0 up! Croydon as expected pushed back hard won several short corners of which Katy had to make a couple of excellent sales before unfortunately one of them crept into the back of the goal levelling the score. Another Croydon shot five minutes later ricocheted off the post before a much welcome half time.

After our usual half time and much appreciated oranges sent by coach Mott (who was unfortunately not able to attend this week or next as he is living it up snowboarding - priorities!) we knew we had to up the anti as Croydon would be out to do the same. The midfielders of Sarah H, Jax and Nina (the latter who didn't appreciate the extra running around required of playing midfield this week rather than forward, after a night out on the tiles in Chelsea - she even did the walk of shame as she turned up in her previous nights outfit - that's right Nina, I can make things up too!), were running their legs off doing an excellent job of supporting the defence and moving the ball up the pitch and creating the attack. Even so Croydon won yet more short corners and a rebound off a Croydon forward between her own legs and into the goal which we didn't have a chance of saving put us behind for the first time in the match 2-1. Our heads were by no means down though! Although May had got slightly lost on her way to the pitch (about 1/2 hour late lost!) she had turned up at half time so we had some fresh turbo speed legs now warmed up and ready to come on! Mez was also glad of having Mrs Sangster to sub with too and between them they did on excellent job on their difficult player! Less than 10 minutes later the ball was crossed into the circle went from Sarah H to Vikki who slotted it past the keeper for a silky finish 2-2. We were not done by a long way though but neither we Croydon! Both teams battled hard with a relatively even distribution of possession and some end to end hockey. We had a shot go just wide of the post, they caught us on the break, we conceded penalty corners and they managed to concede none the whole match, Nina received and elbow in the jaw (I don't know what it is about her she seems to wind her opposite players up - keep doing it Nina!) and so the score ended 2-2 all. A fair result and an enjoyable match where we played some great hockey, although three points instead of one obviously would have made it more rewarding! We are now still just 4 points off a promotion spot with two matches to go. There is still a small hope of promotion but relying on some results going our way and us keeping our momentum going. Come on ladies we're nearly there! Let's keep the good work and training up for a couple more weeks and it will pay off gaining us a league position we deserve, even if not promotion! Jackie Joyce

Old Kingstonians 2-4 2nd XI
There's a lot to be said for momentum and confidence, with 10 points now taken out of a possible 12. Playing against an OKs side that had humbled us 6-1 at home the week before Christmas, this was a different encounter with us starting strongly on a flat, fast but dangerously slippery pitch. The effort and marking from back to front was superb and laid the foundation for a succession of short corners, the second of which was stopped by a pair of size 9s on the line. The ensuing stroke was calmly tucked away by Bruce. We continued to control the game and two swift counterattacks resulted in 2 more goals, the second of which was finished by the again excellent Doug marauding forward from right back. Unfortunately we did take our foot off the pedal and conceded a sloppy short corner and even softer goal.

Half time was tinged with an air of nervousness, but again we pushed on in the second half and a short corner soon followed with the strike from Paul hitting the top of the backboard. We had a number of other chances either denied by poor finishing or a decent OK's keeper and in fact OK's had the last say with a well taken deflected goal, but the edge had been taken out of the game and we comfortably held on for a well deserved 4-2 win.

As yet we are not guaranteed of our league place and need to target at least one win from our last two games to ensure safety, but if we continue to play like this that should be achieved. Proud to be part of this side today! Paul Acutt

3rd XI 2-1 Woking
As our illustrious leader donned his tightest Speedos (oh God, that’s disgusting) and sunned himself on the holding deck of the Guantanamo Bay Hilton, we embarked on the penultimate game of the season. Woking are at the bottom of the table, being kept company by our fine selves, which is a product of a sporadic season in terms of performance levels. The first half certainly served to remind us of the type of play that we have been trying to avoid, where we looked disjointed moved the ball rather sluggishly, to the extent that we conceded a relatively early goal. Woking had a couple of quick breaks on the back of their success in our D. However, towards the end of the first half we began to put together some good play with Grant, Tim and Preston working well together on the right. We won a couple of shorties of which the second yielded a goal with Preston taking a shot on goal saved by the keeper with Richie Lawrence stealing in to nutmeg the unsuspecting goalie.

With the formation critiqued and overhauled during the half time break we moved into the second half looking better, more structured and with a higher tempo. Great play notably from the player of the season Stuey Steele linking with Grant and Tim meant that we were in a far more commanding position and were able to build some good possession and moves into the oppo’s half, 25 and D and eventually converted one of these via a well taken goal from Armitage (G!). Silky skills were on display from here on in with Preston text book 270 degree spin to put the ball through to Richard L, however the Woking defence prevented the moved yielding the result that perhaps it deserved. We held the game and looked very much in control to take it to the final whistle and win 2-1.

Man of the Match was Grant who had a very strong game indeed. Many thanks also to Andy Eve, Tommy Trinder and Cookie who step in to ensure that we had the full complement and umpire, for this pride-preserving game. Other results meant that we are now relegated but at least we won with pride on the day that was confirmed. Chaz Martin

Match reports - February 23, 2008

Wanderers 2-2 1st XI By gum this was a good game of hockey and a fitting tribute to Roger Loveland. Thank you to the league, the umpires and Wanderers for agreeing to and taking part in the minute silence. At the start of the game a draw was not going to be good enough for us but with eight minutes to go it certainly was, and still gives us a chance to sneak into the play offs but in reality Wanderers are too good to slip up now having regard to their remaining fixtures and we still have a couple of tricky ones to play.

David and Rob whistled to a standard way above that we are used to and both teams repaid the compliment by playing an expansive attacking game with chances being created at either end. Either side could have gone in a couple of goals up at the break but whilst Mike was not called upon to do much – Wanderers missing a couple of gilt edged chances as the ball flashed across our circle – Murray in the Wanderers goal made three or four top-class saves and was a real nuisance with his domination of the circle. Perhaps with a little more poise he could have been by passed but his speed to close the ball down caused us problem. Wanderers soaked up the pressure well and had a release ball into our right hand defensive area by way of a chip or aerial which proved to be very effective.

Although scoreless at half time it was fairly evident that goals had to come. The game became a little stretched as both sides went for the win and again Murray dealt with all that came his way effectively. Wanderers took the lead with a powerful drag-flick that was kept low but we had to wonder why there was a gap on the post. Not daunted we pushed up and a quick interchange of incisive passes resulted in Smudger being illegally impeded and our being given an immediate lifeline with a stroke. Murray was again on hand to deny and from the ensuing break Wanderers won another short and Rippers took a break with a yellow. The ball was struck into Mike who made a fine save but one of three Wanderers players could have nudged the ball home but only one was required – 2-0. We were in trouble. Another short corner given away and now it was Mike’s turn to make a superb save from a really powerful drag-flick that would have buried us.

Our heads did not go down and just like last week we upped our pace of passing, made a couple of positional changes and began to press. Rippers came back on and their left midfielder went off for a bad tackle – more due to the pace of the attack rather than a malicious challenge. We pulled one back, Gavin deflecting a Smudger cross home – a breach in the Wanderers last line of defence at last. We were now making all the running and as we broke out of defence the Wanderer’s mainstay in defence earned himself a yellow for an unnecessary stick block right under David’s nose. Four minutes to go and this time Bruce crashed the ball into the D with a pin point hit onto Cato’s stick who deflected the ball high into the net – 2-2.

Three minutes to go and there was only going to be one winner as we pressed and pressed. Two top-drawer chances went begging with the Man of the Match making a save with his face mask from Smudger and our failing to follow through the corner routine that we had decide to use in our huddle. The final whistle went and that was that. In past seasons we would have capitulated and lost by three or four, but when everyone is available we have a super squad and can play in a number of different ways as today showed.

Our games against Merton have been wonderful games but this was a real credit to both sides with Wanderers in both games showing that they are by far and away the best side in the league. Although both side wanted the win to snuff out the other’s chances of making the play off Wanderers will be happier with the draw albeit pretty well handing the league to UCL. David Knapp

Ladies XI 3-1 Tulse Hill (Click here for match photos) Captain Jax steered her troops to yet another victory this weekend against a usually very strong Tulse Hill & Dulwich (THD). Following a rousing, but shorter than usual, team talk from Coach Motty, who was struggling to talk at all after receiving a ball in the face in the previous game, we set about taking on the three-point challenge against a team above us in the league.

It didn’t take us long to settle and fortunately last week’s break wasn’t showing in our play. We soon took control, working the ball well through the midfield of Jax, Manny and Nikki up to the forward line of Nina, Dora and Viks. The teamwork held good to see us go ahead within the first 10 minutes through a brilliant goal from Dora.

The strength across the squad showed as Motty’s rotation system worked wonders and we were able to dominate the first half. Unforced errors and lapses in THDs concentration allowed us to split the defence through May’s pace down the wing for goal No. 2 as Dora neatly slipped the ball past the keeper.

Going into the second half leading only presented us with one issue … don’t concede a goal! We started strongly but THD had woken up and wanted to started to push the defence of Tux, Mezzer, Hels and Ros hard as they broke from their back line as we were pushing up high for our 3rd. After some poor short-corner attempts, a strike from another botched corner saw the ball squeeze into the goal and with angle being so tight even Katy couldn’t reach it.

Undeterred and with sideline support encouragement, we set about lifting our game and piling the pressure back on THD. Eventually the third goal came though a free hit just outside the D with Viks neatly placing the ball onto Dora’s stick … the shot came off the keepers pads and ‘poacher’ Caz nailed the ball home. Rumours are circulating that Dora could have got a third goal but ‘jug avoidance’ deterred her … where’s the commitment!

The final minutes of the game saw THD have a number of short-corner opportunities but Katy and Ros worked to keep THD’s strikers out as they cleared the ball away from the goal line. The final score ended 3-1 and 3 points secured.

Celebrations went on late into the evening as the girls took on the bars of Surbiton which oddly ended with two players at Kingston Police station following an altercation with a dumb taxi driver and another stranded in Hersham … I’ll let them explain! Helen Hawes


2nd XI 2-0 Surbiton For the second week in succession we played one of the two sides underneath us. Last week we beat Epsom 3-1, but a Surbiton side that boasted Pies, woefully underused in the event, in their front line were always going to be a tough proposition, and so it proved. We fielded about as good a side as we have all season and played some lovely hockey, but much of the game was played in the midfield with neither goalkeeper overworked – the match’s only short corner came in stoppage time at the end of the second half. We took the lead on 22 minutes with a scrappy goal after a slick move left the defence at full stretch, but Surbiton also had chances, hitting the post from an acute angle and forcing Kelson into a good save. We all but sealed the game when Neil Grimes’s shot from a rebound squeezed over the line eight minutes from time, and that it was out day was underlined two minutes later when Surbiton’s striker rounded Kelson and then blasted wide with the goal at his mercy. There was still time for us to make life difficult for ourselves as yellow cards reduced us to nine men for the final minutes, but we held on for a deserved win.


Sanderstead 3-2 3rd XI We went to some godforsaken place beyond Croydon to play Sanderstead and were unfortunate not to take a point with a 2-3 loss. Sanderstead had the lion's share of the start of the game and with strong runs up our left flank, an early cross within a couple of minutes from the left of the D took a cruel defection off the inside of the keeper’s foot and deflected into the goal. An event that no one likes to see was when a ball deflected high and with a stomach churning 'clonk', hit Adam in the head in open play. With a great deal of help and patience from Sanderstead, Adam made his way to the A&E department.

Able to stay with 11 men, the game restarted but a tactical change from Stu Steele (are we sure about that?) allowed us to step the game up. Some lovely passes up the flanks through Chaz and Tim started to show promise. A through ball from Armo to Preston let loose an excellent shot that was unlucky not to even the scores. As we started to press the advantage, Dave was creating problems up front and from that, a short corner game. With a clean injection, clean stop, Chaz struck cleanly to even the scores. The game started to find a steady pattern and the defence was stretched and Stu became a pivotal figure in the centre of the field tackling and distributing effectively and dangerously.

Short corners against us came, however Sanderstead couldn't breach the defence although a clearance off the line kept us even. A clean passage of play and strong movements started to wane in the last five minutes as Sanderstead started to find their feet, but it was even at half time. The second half started with Sanderstead pressuring the right and left backs of Robin Crumby and Nick Aston and moving the ball tightly and switching play started to draw our play. Our defence was holding well however a loose left winger found a lot of space and slotted home to take Sanderstead back into the lead.

The game continued but we began to find our feet again. Stu continued to control the centre of the park but strong runs through the left wing of Chaz and strong control in the centre of midfield by Preston started to create Sanderstead problems. A running ball which was going off was kept on by Armo and put onto the defender's foot to win a short corner. The resulting play was textbook, injected, stopped, slipped to Preston, drew the defensive runners, slipped the ball across the top of the D to Armo, who with far too much space drew the game level with a clean strike, textbook, kinda!

We held our own well and some excellent attacks up both flanks and through route one was escalated with Preston's distribution. The key however was Stu and Tim's defensive duties that kept Sanderstead's exceptionally gobby and generally unpleasant attacker (No. 34 and an individual we have been unfortunate enough to meet before) in check although his language was more appropriate to the football stands of Millwall than a hockey field. We wouldn't use the adjective Chav but pikey would be appropriate.

The game continued with some moments of flair and Sanderstead were switching the ball well. They broke up the right although an excellent tackle by Stu put the ball onto the attackers foot, it was missed by the umpires and across the D, the keeper was drawn and a well-flicked ball gave Sanderstead into the lead again. Some excellent attacks followed from us and Dave twice found himself with space, and time at the top of the D however defensive duties of the keeper kept the ball out. The final play came with a slipped ball up the right wing to Armo, passed across to the top of the D to Preston who was desperately unlucky not to bring the game level with an excellent piece of keeping which about summed up our season.

A hard-fought game from a physical Sanderstead and a draw would have been fair. Man of the Match was without question, Stu Steele. James Armitage

Match reports - February 16, 2008

The 1st XI came from two goals down to thrash London University 9-2, and with other results going our way we can move into second place if we beat Wanderers next week. The 2nd XI leapfrogged Epsom with a 3-1 win in a relegation six-pointer, but the 3rd XIs woes increased as they went down 1-3 to Addiscombe. The 4th XI secured a 2-2 draw with Old Reigatians thanks to a scrambled equaliser three minutes from time.

1st XI 9-2 London University (Click here for match photos)
A game in which the score line does not tell the story in a game where our opposition were the team that started the pre Christmas rot. Against a side of 10 we started by playing some pretty hockey but were far from incisive, squandering a great deal of possession and two short corners. A double wake-up call put us two down five minutes before half time - the first from poor marking and the second from a crisp short-corner strike. A rapid change of formation however saw Smudger – the unquestionable man of the match – set up Rippers with the easiest of tap-ins and the Knapp latched on to a loose ball in the D to level on the stroke of half time.

London Uni could have scored in the first minute of the second period but Bruce cleared off the line and after that we upped the ball speed, used Smudger to emphatic purpose and he set up three goals from Gavin and one for Eds C and was instrumental in the play leading to ECs second and the short corner converted by Rippers. Arguably we could have scored more but the LU keeper made a number of fine saves and towards the end we made the wrong choice in front of goal. Good to have Gavin back scoring his goals and matching his pre Christmas strike rate of a 25% goal to chances ratio – sorry, 20%.

An added bonus came our way late on Saturday afternoon with the news that Bank and Wanderers drew which means that for the first time since November getting promotion is once again back in our hands. Next week’s game now takes on monumental importance. David Knapp



3rd XI 1-3 Addiscombe
We went down 3-1 in a hard fought game that could easily have gone the other way. Electing to play into the sun in the first half, Addiscombe pushed back to start the game off. Some early good passing led to some build up play, it took 10 minutes for either team to settle. It was Addiscombe that looked more threatening in the first ten with a deflection off Kelson's pads glancing the ball left of the goal keeping the scores level. We started to move the ball fluidly and as the game unravelled, Neil and Preston started to pick apart the Addiscombe defence with some clever skills. We started to pin the game in their half and it looked only a matter of time before we were to score. Preston actually got the ball into the goal … well, half of it, as it split in half as he hit it leaving the keeper bewildered, but it was disallowed. The keeper then pulled off two very good saves.

However, against the run of play, Addiscombe broke free and in a muddled clearance that was not effectively dealt with an Addiscombe player picked the ball of a deflection from the keeper with a lot of time and space, took the lead. The game continued with us pressing home against a technically weaker team however even with the ball going across the face of the goal on no less than four occasions and some good keeping, we couldn't take advantage. Short corners occurred however we just couldn't capitalise on our pressing advantage.

Half time came and a focus on a hard 10 minutes was nulled by a defensive communication break down and Addiscombe capitalising and putting a second in within a minute of the restart. With great credit, the team kept fighting for the game and a tireless effort by Chris and Andy in the centre and Chaz up the left kept attacks flowing. Although we once again were pressing the Addiscombe half, there were more breaks against us occurring with CD and Adam cleaning up as effectively as possible. Chaz's attacks combined with Preston and Neil leading the attack finally came to fruition and Neil scored to bring the game back into reach.

The game became tighter as Addiscombe defended in numbers and breaching this was becoming more challenging. A moment of 'surging' attack came from skipper Armitage who was unceremoniously taken out putting him on the floor but the nail in the coffin came where Addiscombe sent the ball into the D and a deft deflection past the keeper and two defenders took the game out of reach.

Although we fought on, with five minutes left and a tight Addiscombe defence to breach, the game concluded with a loss that could easily have gone another way. Four games remain, three teams are fighting to avoid relegation with two of those still to play, all to play for, nothing to lose! Man of the match, Chaz and some serious thinking to be had over the week. James Armitage

4th XI 2-2 Old Reigatians
A draw left us without a win since Christmas, but it could have been much worse but for a scrambled equaliser – deserved after ten minutes of incessant pressure – three minutes from time. We will play far worse and win, but although we controlled a good-spirited game and dominated the midfield, we were behind after 64 seconds when our defence was caught cold, equalised, only to go behind against 12 minutes from the end with a well-placed flick off a short corner.

Match reports - October 20, 2007

1st XI 1 UCL Academicals 0 Click here for photos An ugly win but a very important one. The game was extremely scrappy with neither side creating any really clear cut open play chances in the second half with in the final analysis the number of yellow cards we received being the talking point.

UCL complained they were 5 short including 2 New Zealand internationals so more fool them for missing such an important game. We too were 5 men short taking into account Smudger, Rippers twice, Duffers and Knappy so all in all an even encounter.

We took the lead somewhat against the run of play when a slick move down the right enabled us to attack the back line and set up Gavin Adair who tucked the ball away with a difficult finish. Again, excellent use of the advantage by the umpire allowed the move to continue when a number of umpires would have called the play back. The ensuing 15 minutes saw us play our best hockey and some incisive passing and running into space enabled us to create a number of chances that were not taken. Meanwhile at the other end Robbo dealt very effectively with all that was thrown at him. Our deficiency was the way we kept giving the ball away with UCL putting us under pressure which made us hurry and force the ball too much – a distinct lack of using our experience.

This was always going to be a tough match and our cause was not helped by a flurry of yellow cards – 4 in all for us – and yet none for UCL whose goalkeeper told the umpire for 34 minutes of the second half what he thought of him. Fair to say that the UCL vociferous crowd were very good at calling the decisions which the umpire followed to a T. The game should have been wrapped up in the 50th minute when we were very fortuitously awarded a stroke for a stick tackle when a short corner would have been a better decision but Knappy gave the keeper an east save with a very poor stroke. Surprisingly the UCL player stayed on the pitch unlike 2 of our players who received yellows for less innocuous tackles.

Nevertheless our dogged determination and Duffy’s ability to crack the ball off the end of the pitch when needed – something we have lacked for many years – saw us run out winners, the defence dealing capably with the eight or so short corners we needed to defend.

After four games we now find ourselves three points clear at the top Merton losing to Bank of Boks who have at last emerged from their slumbers. In fact, that match must have been like playing in Cape Town with their doubtless enjoying their country’s deserved win in the world cup final. As the league stands at the moment after this coming weekend we will have played the top four so a win would put us in a very strong position.

Merton next week at home which is another must win game.

2nd XI 3 UCL Academicals 0 The first win of the season came at the fourth attempt and it was a well-deserved victory, even if the margin rather flattered. UCL had much of the early possession but failed to do anything with it, producing only one on-target shot all match. Jon Heard and Dodie Khurshid, down from the 1st XI, marshaled the defence with veterans’ skill and broke down attack after attack, and we were dangerous on the break. We went one up on 17 minutes, very much against the run of play, but after the goal the same was more even. A defensive mix-up and some hockey bagatelle produced goal No. 2 seconds before the break. UCL huffed and puffed with little to show for their efforts, and a third goal, well taken from a route one ball, sealed the points.

4th XI 5 Staines 1 The IV team put the double shock of Bertie Bance’s arrest in South East Asia (yes, Interpol finally caught up with him) and John Mulholland’s turquoise Peugeot cabriolet behind us to notch our first league win of the season with a strong away performance against Staines V, deservedly winning the game 5-1.
Louis Strover struck a fine early goal high into the net, setting the tone of a half which saw us pile on the pressure against a Staines team doggedly packing their area. Chris Bents and Rob Jonker linked well and at pace down the right flank whilst John Mulholland set the pace of the game from midfield, ably supported by Steve Harmer’s incisive tackling. Continued pressure culminated in a goal from Steve Harmer [note to editor - insert Steve’s six-page thesis on his goal here]. Staines pulled a goal back shortly afterwards, giving us a 2-1 lead at half time.
Staines opened up after the break, allowing Louis Strover to do what Louis Strover does, slotting home two more goals to complete his hat-trick, either side of a well taken debut goal from Smeer. Thanks to Peter Shanks for stepping in for us at short notice! Dom Tucker

Ladies 0 Old Georgians 0 Stalemate at TD but a cracking game nevertheless, with excellent skills on display from both sides even though there were not many clear-cut scoring chances. Georgians enjoyed the lion’s share of the first-half, failing to get more than a couple of shots on target despite 16 short-corners, including nine in succession. The second half was more even as holes began to appear as legs tired, but even thought we finished stronger a draw was a fair result. What the game did show was that without Dora we lacked enough firepower up front.

Match reports - October 13, 2007

1st XI 6 Surrey Old Boys 2 Click here for match photos - Once again the availability – or more to the point the lack of availability – gave the skipper serious headaches until the last minute. As it turned out Knapp became available late on and so there was some flexibility in team selection. We welcomed back Robbo in goal for his first game for some 18 months and it was inspired performance from him that kept us in the hunt throughout the first half. Surrey Old Boys, with some familiar faces from last season’s Surrey University team – including the car park caber tosser from last year - came to us on the back of a good win against our 2006-07 nemesis Bank of Boks. Any thoughts that we were in for an easy afternoon were dispelled in a tight first half that saw us fortuitously winning 2 – 0 at the break. Two early goals from Knapp – set up wonderfully by Adair – and a vintage Copleston short corner strike enabled us to take the lead from two rare forays into the SOC’s half. Robbo in the meantime was dealing very effectively with everything thrown at him including a first-class save from a penalty stroke that in the final analysis turned the game. Indeed, but for a slightly way ward Knapp pass to Adair we would have gone it at the break 3 – 0. Our first half performance was very poor with bad decision making and no imagination when in tight situations going down the right. One of the highlights of the first half was Tony Rowe’s play of the advantage to the attacking side – a rare feature by most umpires at this level.

Within 10 minutes of the restart SOB were level with what appeared to be two lifted balls into the D – a similar one had been blown against us in the first half – not that we could complain after the luck went our way in the first 35-minute period. This seemed to sting us into action and the next 20 minutes saw us play our best hockey of the match with the midfield linking up with defence and attack that enabled us to play some great patterns and score three well-worked tap ins form Adair, Tissy and Knapp. Our sixth goal was the best of the lot with CB playing the ball out of defence quickly when an SOB short broke down, the midfield cracking the ball to Adair who took the ball on the reverse in stride and roofed the ball past the hapless keeper.

As the game wore on we played much better but must be aware of the sluggish start and some key players being off the pace. Bruce, come down next week please and take the warm up. In the final analysis the performance of the keepers decided this match although the defence did mop up most that was thrown at them. Even at this stage the next month promises to be pivotal for the season ahead of us and the hope has to be that the injuries to Smudger and Bruce are on the mend so they will be available together with the returning Cato and Lewis. David Knapp
Barnes 4 2nd XI 1

3rd XI 2 Guildford Shadows 3 After the failing of the opening game of the season, we went down to the A3 to face Guildford Shadows on the notoriously bouncy water base. Starting with the most welcome Preston Rutt back up front, it became very evident in the early stages that Guildford knew their pitch significantly better than we did. They launched some quick balls down our flanks which Adam and Jock handled well and Stu was, as ever, the rock in the centre picking up the runners (its easier than chasing them). Although conceding several short corners, runners CD and Adam neutralised these with excellent panache.

After 15 minutes, we found our feet and started to play its own hockey instead of letting Guildford dominate the game. CD and Adam made an excellent run up the left flank that tear their defence apart, Dave L had a lucky reactionary save followed by a hit that soared over the bar that would have made Jonny Wilkinson proud. The final two minutes came and a short corner was excellently taken by Guildford which flew over the keeper hitting the top inch of the backboard, 1-0 and half time!

The second half started with greater composure and as it progressed, we started to press higher. An occasional break was handled by Stu and Rich L in the central defence. The breakthrough came with a pass to returning captain (last week being useless in Spain) with a textbook dummy. Shot from the top of the D taking a heavy deflection from a guildford defender to open his season's account. Guildford returned the favour only moments later with a well hit shot for the top D after some sloppy defending, 2-1.

Although some excellent runs and attacks from Dave L and Preston as well as a strong right midfield in drafted Rob Jonker, our equaliser came from a short corner with Jock receiving the ball, passing (yes you read that right) to Armo who fired home his second of the day. The game significantly opened up and for five minutes could have swung either way however a short corner in the last two minutes threw the runners and keeper and took away a well fought point.

A good game to come back from last week on a very hard pitch. Both umpires were excellent and although Tim Cook was asked to card Jock, he was more than sporting in not doing so. Man of the Match went to Adam Mcilroy who also announced that he will be a father come April, congratulations Adam. James ‘here one week in three’ Armitage

Ladies 2 Spencer 2nd XI 2 After fighting the Saturday afternoon traffic we eventually made it to Spencer in time for our 3pm push back. We had a strong start and in the first 15 minutes probably held the majority of the possession but could not seem to convert the chances. Spencer piled on the pressure winning several penalty corners in which our defence of Katy, Ros, Muriel, Tux and Rosie held strong. At half time the score was dead locked at 0-0. We went out hard in the second half and before long in open play a cracking cross from Laura set up a goal slammed in the back of the goal from Dora. We were one up with a long way to go and Spencer kept pushing us backwards. We conceded more penalty corners but still held strong. The forwards, Dora, Caz, Nina and Laura were having to track back to cover the Spencer backs pushing forward and then working hard to get forward again when we regained possession. At some point a shout was heard by Ros at the back to the spectators on the side 'Does anyone know the football score?!' Hearing our boys were winning in the Euro 2008 qualifier spurred us on and eventually we won another penalty corner and this time a rebound off the Spencer goalie gave Laura her debut goal for the OC ladies! 2-0 up but still 15 minutes to go.

A reoccurring injury of vice captain Muriel meant our midfield of Sarah Hardiman, Ana and Jax had to reshuffle for a while before Muriel gallantly returned to the pitch and battled on! Spencer pressed us hard and we gave their captain too much space for what has to be said was a great reverse-stick strike to make the score 2-1. We pushed back, winning several more penalty corners but so did they, several of which we only just managed to clear off the line. However, with five minutes to go they managed to converted one of their penalty corners to make it 2-2. The score line finished here a fair reflection of a hard fought evenly matched game. We look forward to the return match! Jackie Joyce