Match Reports 2003/04

Since 2003/04 the club has produced a weekly newsletter, during the season, containing match reports from each of the games played that weekend.

Fri 24-Oct-03

Issue 04

Congratulations to the Women's 6s, your team of the week, for winning their first league game last Saturday. Not least because victories were hard to come by elsewhere - alright, so the 4bs won too but that match was a banker for THD either way. The rest of us reserved our efforts for the club dinner in the evening where last season was celebrated with just a touch of alcohol. Lou Morgan and Richard Taylor took the Player of the Year awards, James Goldsmith and Yorkie Soquar impressed all with their improvement and the Women's 2s ran away with the President's Trophy before he caught them up. Performances of the night though were shared by two of our elder statesmen. One on the dance floor, one in a flower-bed. Now, doesn't that make you want to come next year?

Reports by: Justin Collins, Will Morgan, Simon Riley, Graeme Evans, Richard Taylor, Bettina Wolff, Kate Blumer, Karen Dodds, Lindsey McLaren & Marie Smith, Ash McDonald and Gigi Ho.

Men's 1s vs. Fareham: drew 2-2

In hindsight one of us must have done something to upset the gods, as the only luck we had was of the hard variety. The team worked much harder, and were consequently better, than in last week's insipid performance. This was necessary against a well organised Fareham team, who were on top for the opening 10 minutes. After that we took control and created chances, with Andy Balchin scoring from a short corner. Unfortunately after this we relaxed allowing Fareham back into the game, and an equaliser came just before the break The 2nd half followed a similar pattern - we created chances, Andy scoring again, and hitting the post, with numerous other chances going wide. With 2 minutes to go we were in possession and should have killed the game, but allowed Fareham one last attacking opportunity. To be fair the flick decision they got was probably the right one, but with play allowed to continue until the ball went dead, and the umpire at the far end making the call, it was frustrating - especially so as the final whistle went immediately after the restart.

Team: Justin Collins, Clive Colloff, Chris Coleman, Ed Stevenson, James Goldsmith, Joel Burrows, Tom Cross, Richard Banwell, Tom Matthews, Andy Balchin, Bill Pellett, Felix Nurse, Mark Williams, Gareth Weir.

Scorer: Andy Balchin (2)

Next match: Saturday 25 October vs. Bournemouth - away

Men's 2s: week off

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. Beckenham - away

Men's 3s: week off

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. Hampstead & Westminster - 11.00 @ DC

Men's 4As vs. Tornados (4Bs): lost 1-3

Well, they've obviously been around so long together that our youthful and new look 4As team was incapable of showing them any new tricks... this time! We were out-manoeuvered during the first half and perhaps fortunate to go in only 2 goals down. Come the 2nd half we managed to show some shape and more composure in possession which led to some very good chances, all of them taken well but sadly Lee denied us. What was to follow one particular phase of possession might have led to a lynching of the defender in question had Lee not decided to turn Clifford's penalty flick (dribble) into the goal. Had this not been an interclub fixture, my suspicions are a suspension might have come into play? Speaking of controversy, JT kindly awarded them a goal in the 2nd half. Apparently he said 'play the advantage', but, with the ball on the D and 3 oppo around you, I'm not sure of our advantage! In all, this was a game that showed some promise and was typically fuelled by controversy (+ a yellow card). We look forward to giving them hell next time! Oh, and congrats to the 4Bs, I guess you deserved it...

Team: Aido Brock, Vishal Phakey, Tim Parker, Stuart Craig, Bradley Searle, Will Morgs, Adrian Meredith, Dave Eacott, Clifford Brown, Gareth Norris, Ben Lones, Harry Dunlop.

Scorer for us: Clifford

Scorers for them: JT (1) + 2 others...

Next match: Saturday 25 October vs. Hampstead & Westminster - away

Tornados (Men's 4Bs) vs. THD 4As: won 3-1

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war! The dogs being the 4Bs - terrier like in their play, tenacious in their tackling and triumphant at the final whistle. 2 consecutive defeats meant someone would suffer the backlash - a pity it had to be the 4As but what a game. Our forward line constantly harassed their defence and the first 15 minutes saw us embark on wave after wave of attacks - King Canute had a better chance of turning the tide than the 4As. Eventually we were rewarded with only our second goal of the season courtesy of the well-oiled machine that is our short corner routine with a slip left by Tom slotted home by midfield general, Will Atkinson (and we were even more well-oiled later that night). Our second came near the end of the half when another pass from the midfield found the northern monkey on the right of the D who finally hit the ball cleanly and into the far corner. I was aiming for the roof of the net but hey, a goal's a goal in my book. It wasn't all one-way traffic though. As the 4as got their passing game going, Lee made 2 great saves and our rock-like back line of Tom, Nick and Gus kept firm to see us 2-0 up at half time. Within 5 minutes of the restart, the predatory instincts of Mark Beaney came to the fore, meeting a cross from the right and chipping the ball over the keeper. Have it! It could have been more, but we tired and the 4As fought back, earning a stroke thanks to some footwork in the D from Si Wilshire (later repeated in goal for the women's 1s), the only blot on an otherwise perfect defensive performance. So revenge for last season's defeat and bragging rights for us until the return fixture in January...bring on the Wombles next week! Men of the match, the forward line of Paul, Geoff and Mark, a constant thorn in the side of the oppo

Team: The cat - Lee Tearle; Solid as a rock - Nick Thomson, Tom Alexander, Si Wilshire, Angus Barnard; Midfield dynamos - Neil Gallagher, Simon Riley, Will Atkinson, Dougal Davis; Deadly in attack - Paul Burrows, Geoff Pritchard, Mark Beaney.

Umpires: Mike Clyne, JT

Scorers: Will Atkinson, Simon Riley, Mark Beaney

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. Wimbledon - 12.30 @ DC

Men's 5s vs. Spencer 5s: lost 2-3

If only THD 5s could start games in the way they finish them. Opponents have enjoyed two-goal head starts in every game this season before being rocked back on their heels by a string of stirring THD fight backs. This self-imposed handicapping system clearly offers great excitement - 19 goals in the last three games - but while THD sneaked a 4-3 win the previous week, their luck ran out this time. Lawrence and Rich Fenton put THD back in the hunt at 2-2 but Spencer grabbed a late and controversial winner when the ball appeared to have crossed the byline before being centred for the crucial strike.

Team: Paul Reid, Rich Batty, Will Pendrill, Andy Bond, Graeme Evans, Stephen Ireton, Mark Smith, Lee Snowden, Lawrence Mockery, Ian Cooper, Rupert Grass, Rich Fenton

Scorers: Rich Fenton, Lawrence Mockery

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. Old Loughtonians Foresters - 14.00 @ DC

Men's 6s vs. Hounslow & Ealing 5s: lost 0-7

Brilliant first half. We worked hard around the park and gave them no time on the ball. The marking was excellent and they had few chances on goal. Our attacking play was good when we entered their half, though that didn't happen that often, and lacking a natural forward we weren't able to put any real pressure on their goal keeper or the goal. That said it was a very good effort against a side that were clearly better and fitter. They also had substitutes, 4 to be precise, which meant that they constantly had fresh legs on the pitch which showed in the second half. The game was one to forget, so we shall take the positives out of the first half and move on to this Saturday's match against Blackheath. Thanks to Matt and Mike for umpiring

Team: Peter Adams, Derek Rogers, Thom Ruane Stax, Richard Mead, Al Fraser, Mike Wright, Richard Taylor, Nick Phipps, Colin Leeman, Rob Thomas, Matt Crane, Mike McKinnon

Next match: Saturday 25 October vs. Blackheath - 15.30 @ DC (be there 15.00 at latest)

Women's 1s vs. Harrow (friendly): lost 0-2

Oh dear. Once again, the less said about this one the better... Fielding a team of 10 plus injured captain Rachel and no goalie was never going to ensure a class performance. Somehow we never really got our act together, not taking our chances up front and being rather flaky all over. Maybe we should reintroduce some passing into our game? Trying to single-handedly beat 4 players was never really our strength, so passing the ball between is definitely the way ahead. Player of the match? Definitely Si Wilshire in goal, who kindly offered to be part of the fiasco and save the day on a number of occasions - despite, or maybe due to, several pints of purple consumed while watching the rugby. Thanks also to Kate Selway and Liz Young who kindly came back from the 2s game to help out if they were needed and to Aido for racing back provide adequate "manly" goalie kit. Suffice it to say we cut a much better figure on the dance floor that night! Go, girls!

Team: Lucy Partington, Clare Spencer, Charley Williams, Emma Ward, Lou Morgan, Ali Rendu, Rachel Lander, Martha Harvey-Jones, Jacqs Broers, Amy Gardiner, Bettina Wolff, and the lovely Simone Wilshire

Scorers: none - but it could have been otherwise at the party....

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. West Witney - 14.30 @ Alleyn's

Women's 2s vs. Spencer 1s: lost 0-1

Bit too upsetting to write a long winded 'we should have won' report, but we should have! Contentious umpiring after 20 minutes had the defence on the back foot following which Spencer immediately scored from a hit just outside their D. We were unlucky all round. How many short corners and one on ones with the keeper (poor Zoey's knees tell the tale) can one create without scoring? I think we broke the record whatever it was! The positive is, we know we can win, and have two weeks to come up with a solution, which is not a problem. No slacking, there is hard opposition to contend with in the next few weeks.

Team: George, Holty, Emma, Alex C, Holty, Jo De Silva, Charley, Kate B, Alex H, Sarah, Zoey, Kate S, Josie; Liz

Next match: Saturday 25 October vs. Wayfarers 1 - away

Women's 3s vs. Surbiton 3s: lost 0-3

After last week's plucky performance, I wasn't expecting this. We started slowly (to put it mildly) and allowed Surbiton, who were not particularly strong or confident, to dominate. We failed to keep our shape and only Roz showed real energy and enthusiasm. Janine, who had volunteered to play in goal, yelled and bullied and coaxed to get some protection and finally we got going and held our shape, but by then we were two goals down. I got a green card for throwing my stick in a despairing way at a stray pass - somehow my stick connected and turned the ball into one of our players. I thought it was excellent skill and goes to show that at least my stick knows what to do. I've played hockey for over 30 years and never had a card before, I was outraged! We started the second half well and looked threatening at times and should have kept them out. Instead they got another goal. Harriet got a green card, she probably hasn't had a card before either being too young for that sort of thing. We have to do better.

Team: Janine Nicholls; Anna Barrett; Chantel Kleingild; Charlotte Rayner; Erica Goldsmith; Harriet Gallagher Powell; Joanna Reynolds; Karen Dodds; Lou Curry; Roz Hornsby; Ruth Pratt; Susie Dyrbus

Next match: No game for the youngsters on 25th. It's the Vets vs. Reigate 2s - 11.30 @ Alleyn's

Women's 4s vs. Wanderers 2s: lost 1-2

It was a hard game - but we should have had it - the story of the 4s. LPS (Left Post Stuttard) struck early this week, not quite as spectacularly as normal but still as effective, as she saw in Claire Ws strike on goal from a shorty. We continued to defend and attack fairly evenly throughout the half - Man of the Match Moose, who played sweeper, was having a blinder, clearing up anything in the D and we went into half time 1-0 up. Having put our all into surviving orange digestion minute, we began to run out of steam. Wanderers and their 4 subs took advantage of this and managed to even the score with a scrappy goal. Mel, feeling a little delicate after her 3am G and T binge, played very well in goal - the best bit was a rugbyesque ruck in front of the goal - where about 4 of our players were on the floor, most of which Mel had knocked over due to her enthusiasm to get the ball - but we still managed to win a free hit! Then, with about 5 minutes to go - they won a short corner - and scored with a very good strike that whittled past us all into the goal. Annoying. Our next league game is against Bank of England in November and we have special feelings for them (see last year's match report for details) - we're looking forward to it already.

Team: Marie Smith, Claire Whitehead, Andrea Vicari, Emma Billsdon, Lindsey McLaren, Kate Fuller, Catherine Garvey, Anna 'LPS' Stuttard, Yorkie Soquar, Isabel Barbara 'Moose' Drewe (MoftheM) and Mel Rees in goal.

Scorer: LPS Next match: Saturday 1 November vs. Bank of England - 15.00 CPB

Women's 5s vs. Addiscombe: drew 1-1

A well fought match saw the 5s draw against rather nasty opposition. Lack of concentration saw us go down 1-0 early in the first half, but after a bit of a tussle in the circle Andrea managed to get the ball over the line to bring us level. The second half saw chances for both sides with some excellent defending from Jean keeping the ball out of our circle. Man of the match goes to Steph who coped admirably with their defenders and was unlucky not to score.

Team: Mel Bastin, Jean Sutton, Katherine Dixon, Nicole Yost, Kathryn Farthing, Sarah Smith, Ash McDonald, Rachel Fallows, Steph Kee, Tash Riordan-Eva, Andrea Beattie

Scorer: Andrea Beattie

Next match: Saturday 1 November vs. Croydon - 11.00 @ DC

Women's 6s vs. Old Kingstonians: won 3-2

Great weather, great game and an excellent result! We dominated the game in the first half with a record 8 shorts in and didn't deserve to only be drawing 1-1 at half time. Everyone played well and gave their all - Kate came close to scoring several times, taking the ball straight through the middle of their defence, and Nat scored off a cross within 5 minutes of coming on. The defence played well too, especially Jo at sweeper and Jocelyn on her debut as CB. In the second half we had 5 more shorts, and came close to scoring, before Michelle put us ahead with a well deserved goal. But a lapse of concentration encouraged OKs to attack and win a few short corners and they got an equaliser soon after. This woke us up and though I can't really remember the details, there was great passing, fast running, and real determination and pressure from everyone. Spurred on by enthusiastic screaming from the sidelines, we were finally rewarded with our first win in the league with a goal from Jackie . Thanks to all who supported, to Marilyn and Ferrett for umpiring and to all for taking part. Look forward to more of the same but we need to make those shorts count!!!

Team: Danni (GK), Jo H, Laura, Karen, Jocelyn Maximé, Sarah Nunn, Kate, Michelle Morgan, Emma Gilchrist, Gigi Ho, Karen Abbott, Natalie, Jackie Murray, Samra Soquar.

Scorers: Natalie, Jackie Murray, Michelle Morgan

Next match: Saturday 25th October vs. Mid Surrey - away?

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