Match report March 6 2010

Rory Alexander scored all four goals in a below-par performance against strugglers Southampton University, but it was enough to secure us a 4-2 victory which keeps us at the top of the table. The Ladies turned in an excellent display to beat second-placed Wimbledon, keeping our outside chance of promotion alive. The 3rd XI won 2-0 at Surrey Old Boys, while the 4th XI put their early-year goal famine behind them by trouncing Addiscombe 7-1, but the 2nd XI were on the receiving end of an 8-2 stuffing by Merton.

Southampton Uni 2-4 1st XI
As well as we performed last week this performance was poor and but for Rory's sharp shooting which bagged him all four and Paul's excellent debut in goal we would have been in trouble.

Southampton Uni may well be wondering how we are top and undefeated, but top and undefeated we are needing four points out of the 12 remaining on offer to confirm promotion. Today was probably as much as expecting to win and being too casual - something we talked about ahead of the game. A number of us were off our game and we were too slow in bringing the ball out of areas. Although we had the lion's share of possession we squandered chances, choosing the wrong option, and only won one short corner.

The half time score was 1-1, Rory deflecting home a cross from Wobble where we had brought the ball out from the right hand side, two touched it to the left with Wobble putting the ball into the D. In the first few minutes Cookiey and Hunts hammered a ball goalwards and Gavin was in good positions on a handful of occasions when wrong options were chosen. Ever dangerous on the break the Uni created some good chances but Paul was on hand to keep the goal intact making three top-drawer saves. There was however nothing he could do to prevent an equaliser 20 seconds from half time when the ball was given away by our defence two yards out.

Early in the second half we made the most of what the Uni thought was a fortuitous decision for our only short with their keeper making a Horlicks of Rory's shot and we were two up. Although we scored two more to go 4-1 up, Rory whipping home two shots from the top of the D, we were never comfortable in our play and gave the Uni a sniff with 8 minutes to go conceding another sloppy goal.

Fair to say that our attendance at training over the last few weeks has been poor and this is reflected in performances like today. We are too one dimensional and lack legs in certain parts of the pitch, both of which can be sorted by a more committed training regime.

Southampton seconds next week so will be interesting to see what team they put out. Do they bolster the 2s at the expense of the 1s to try and turn us over or ensure a strong first XI who are playing Wanderers to keep their promotion rather than title designs alive? David Knapp

Ladies XI 2-1 Wimbledon


2nd XI 2-8 Merton


Surrey Old Boys II 0-2 3rd XI
The 3XI drove down the A3, beyond Thames Ditton to the last game at The Varsity Centre which is due to be knocked down at the end of the season. Playing against a team that we dished out a 11-0 spanking to earlier this season, we had a strong line-up (and Jock) anticipating a challenging game.

The game started with confident play and solid movement of the ball through the team. Surrey old Boys (SOBs) however started picking up the game after 10 minutes and pushed the defence to some innovative play. Stu and Tim held the centre well and although some attacks were more threatening, it was Mr Hawes that kept the team in with a shout. It was however another attack that Tim 'twinkle-toes' Judd felt that using his feet instead of the stick to keep the ball out that Nigel really stepped up. A penalty flick, Nigel, theatrical to the point, deflected the flick away with his stick keeping the OCs in the game. The 1st half evolved with some better play in the last 10 minutes with CD holding the right defence and distributed the ball through to Tissy and the centre midfields, Armo and Bruce. Preston dropped back a little to provide a point man and the OCs started to control the end of the first half. In one of the attacks, a ball crossed in and SOBs defence weren't able to clear and another foot on the line. Preston stepped up and calming put the ball away into the right side. Half time.

The second half started with better play and the midfield started to have better control of the game. Although SOBs weren't giving up, the distribution and team work in the second half was greatly improved. SOBs attack however came with occassional breaks that the defence handled well but it was Mr Hawes that held his own and made several excellent clearances. Ross and Chaz were linking up well upfront and starting to move the ball quickly but a moment that no one likes to see, Stu in a shot at goal, shot from the back of the D and a SOB defended put his head onto the end of Stu's stick and came off the worse. Paramedics arrived, Jock told the injured man to man-up and off to Surrey A&E on a saturday afternoon. We wish the player all the best.

The midfield started to take control of the game in the final 5 minutes and some strong breaks played out and although a goal almost seemed inevitable, some excellent skills from Preston drew the keeper out to the ball, passed to Chaz whos sweep was going slightly off course and it was Ross from 2 inches that closed out the game with a 2-0 win. Man of the match, Nigel Hawes, DOTD was however Tim who turned up without a stick and shin pads! Whatever he thought was going to happen with these minor resources remains a mystery. A good win and well played to the OC defence, another clean sheet. James Armitage


4th XI 7-1 Addiscombe


Wimbledon Vets 0-2 Vets XI
OC Vets arrived in dribs and drabs for the evening fixture against Wimbledon in Motspur Park, somewhere north of Siberia. The footballers on the adjoining pitches had long since packed up and gone home before our game had even started. The setting sun dazzled for one half but gave out no warmth. We were cold before we even started, frost-bitten by half time and by the end had all sensation in our extremities. But nevertheless we left New Malden in good spirits, with the glow of satisfaction of a fine win warming our hearts.
There were eleven of us and about fifteen of them. We were blessed with the presence of Ollie, rock solid at the back and full of class. Shanks had another stormer between the sticks, and the spine of the team was strong; Trinder, Howie and Rowlands running midfield, were, as they always are, very very good. But above all we had Andrew Eve and Andrew, as the song goes, ‘well, he was something else’.

A rather scruffy first half came alive when Rowlands slipped his man, got down the line and knocked a dangerous ball to the top of an empty D. Eve, with a defender in close attendance, raced each other to the ball but the winner of that contest was emphatically our balding super-skipper. Arriving half a yard before his opponent he unleashed a fierce first-time shot from fifteen yards out that bulleted into the top right hand corner. The Wimbledon keeper was good enough to get a hand on it but the shot was too strong and, courtesy of this wonder-strike, we got to half time one up.

Very few of us listen to Andrew’s half time talks any more, but anyone who had would have heard him suggest that we have a ‘big first ten minutes and get a second goal’. Well ten goalless minutes of the second half were nearly up when Andy took it upon himself to implement his own half-time advice. Another dangerous OC attack looked to have been stifled as the ball was shovelled away from goal by a defender. Luckily for us it fell to the mighty Eve who smashed a bouncing ball just inside the far post. Eve 2 Wimbledon nil and for a while it was party-time.

Then with 10 minutes remaining our luck seemed to run out as our hairless hero decided to intercept a fast moving Wimbledon clearance. He charged at the oncoming ball just as a Wimbledon stick lifted it head high. There was a sickening, bony thud as the ball hit Eve square on the forehead opening up a deep, nasty and bloody wound. There then followed a period of intense medical activity (i.e. chaos) as various Vets demonstrated their caring skills. Trinder took charge but was tender, you might say almost maternal. Rowlands was enthusiastic but, with respect, largely incompetent, crowning his eccentric surgical efforts with an attempt to apply a large plaster without first removing it from the packet. The author of this report demonstrated a medieval ignorance of micro-biology and germs by producing and applying a grubby bandage that had been languishing in the bottom of his kit bag since 1997.

Thus was our beloved leader repaired and, bless him, was he was determined to play on Terry Butcher style, bloodied but unbowed. Common sense prevailed however and Wimbledon kindly lent us a player and we battled the last ten minutes, with Eve consigned to helpful remarks from the touchline.

Within seconds however Wimbledon won a flick and we all had that nasty feeling that the game might yet slip through our fingers. But we reckoned without Shanksy who leaped cat-like to his right post to beat out the well-placed stroke. It was a great save from our in-form keeper and much-needed. Our self-belief was thus restored and Wimbledon’s soon faded and we were able to keep them out until the final whistle.

This was a great win between two very evenly matched teams separated only by two moments of brilliance by the ever-young Andrew Eve. David Burles

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

Teddington complete Summer League double

The OC Summer Leagues finished this week with Teddington securing a double, beating OCs 4-2 to win the men’s title a week after their ladies side had won their competition (click here for the Ladies Summer League final table).

Nick Lewis reports on the final: “A frustrating game, where we failed to repeat some of the good hockey that has been played in the last couple of matches leading up to the final. In fairness the better team won on the night 4-2 but some encouraging signs to be taken into next season. The younger guys of Paddy and the two Ropers came in and stood firm combining well with the skills of Wiseman and JJ and a “perfectly” executed short-corner routine allowed Pies to bury in the bottom left-hand corner half way through the first half. Unfortunately this only enabled us to draw level before Teddington scored a quick fire brace which allowed them to take a half time lead of 3-1. Second half we came out stronger and dominated for the first 20 mins but only managed to claw one goal back from a hatful of chances before Teddington finished the evening off by grabbing their fourth.

“All in all a very enjoyable Summer league again, giving an opportunity to put the new rules into practice. Good luck to everyone in their respective leagues next season and a big thank you to the many players, captains, organisers and umpires – who without them we would not have a game. Cheesy I know but I nicked that from Rugby League!”

Earlier, in the third-place play off our A team came from 2-0 down to beat Walton & Weybridge 3-2. Eds Copleston writes: “We started poorly, handing W&W two goals when players got caught on the ball. Rory Alexander scored a brace as we dominated the second half and began to move the ball at pace down the flanks, 3-2 a fair reflection and good luck to W&W next season. Thanks must go to the organisers of the summer league- David Knapp and all those who ran the teams for their respective clubs. A very enjoyable summer’s hockey played in good spirits all round.”

Match reports - March 21, 2009

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

Click here for this week's photos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aldershot 10-6 3rd XI
Report to follow.

Ladies 2-0 Tulse Hill
Report to follow.