Match Reports 2004/05

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

Thurs 18-Nov-04

Issue 06

Another week, another game, another point, but is ennui setting in for the Men's 3s or at least for their captain? His team may be unbeaten in six and top of the club table, but THD's cuddly compère wasn't satisfied last weekend. Performance, you see, is not all about results, as the Women's 4s are only too aware after being robbed of another chance of a point by a last minute break away goal. It would have been difficult to take even if it wasn't nearing 6, icy cold and pitch black down that end of the astro. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and not just because the College will be fixing theirs soon. The first teams joined the Men's 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and Women's 5s in the upper halves of their leagues; Olly Morgan caused a flutter amongst the Women's 1 and then, when all else fails, there's always yesteryear to dream about, isn't there Clive.....

Match reports by: Clive Colloff, Aidan Brock, James Terrett, Mark Jones, EJ Barry, Kate Blumer, Joanna Reynolds, Lindsey McLaren and Katherine Dixon.

Men's 1s vs. Bournemouth: won 4-2

On a day that saw the South Circular even slower than normal, it seemed appropriate that the match followed suit. Clinical finishes from James Ireson and Andy Balchin, followed by a typical showboat reverse stick onion bag ripper from Olly Morgan were the only rays of light shining out of an otherwise dull game. With Big Cyril missing, the 'ageing defence' was made to look a lot younger with the inclusion of The Undertaker in the middle of defence. Sadly, as he struggled to come to terms with modern composite technology his major contribution to the game was notching his 53rd goal in club colours - into an empty home net. Some things were however as you'd expect - Radio Joel was broadcasting at full volume in the centre of midfield. Although the subject matter was unusual to say the least - '......with just 1 min 22 sec left to play in the semi-final, Sean Kerly scored to break a 2-2 deadlock against Australia. Now in the final, the national team face the might of West Germany, who defeated Britain 2-1 in the preliminary rounds. Conscious of that defeat, Britain are playing a defensive game. We go over to Barry Davies to pick up the action with Great Britain 2-1 ahead in a tightly fought encounter...."Batchelor controls a lifted ball wide on the right, hits a low hard cross into the German D. Sherwani must score. We've scored, what a great move, and where were the Germans? But quite frankly who cares?"........ GB win Olympic gold.'

Team: Paul Barber, Stephen Batchelor, Kulbir Bhaura, Robert Clift, Richard Dodds, David Faulkner, Russell Garcia, Martyn Grimley, Sean Kerly, James Kirkwood, Richard Leman, Stephen Martin, Veryan Pappin, Jonathan Potter, Imran Sherwani, Ian Taylor.

Man of the Match: Imran Sherwani

Next match: Saturday 20th November 13:00 vs. Fareham - away

Men's 2s vs. Spencer 5s: drew 1-1

An excellent result against top of the table unbeaten opposition. The self-proclaimed 'Beautiful Boys of Battersea' have been used to scoring 5 goals a game, but we took the fight to them from the off and after a goalless first half they were ruffled and in need of serious emergency hair gel and makeup repairs. Our work rate and commitment was excellent and we were rewarded with a Pully 'special' from a short corner ten minutes into the second half, after managing to breach their excellent and well organised defence. At the other end of the pitch we were equally resolute, with Banners tireless hassling and stormers from Ben and Pully ensuring that chances were kept to a minimum. A momentary defensive lapse allowed them to equalise but we kept our composure and high work rate and ended the game the stronger. Fantastic team performance, let's push on from here. Huge thanks to the Men's 4's and 1's for their vociferous support and to Riley for another consummate umpiring performance.

Team: Rab, Aido, Ben Wright, Pully, Ed Stevenson, Matt Groom, Banners, Ferg, Smudge, Bungle, Tim Davies, Snowy, Fez, Pete Howland.

Scorer: Pully.

Umpire: Si Riley.

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Chiswick - 12:00 away

Men's 3s vs. Beckenham 3s: Drew 3-3

It says a lot when a poor performance still earns you a draw, but nevertheless, I felt we didn't perform at all against a tough, physical Beckenham side. Lapses in concentration and just awful passing allowed Beckenham to score two in the first 10 minutes and put us on the rack. A small reorganisation and we were back in it. Will Atkinson scoring from the follow-up from Mike Killen's short corner and David Fogden combining with Nick Harris to bundle the ball over the line following a strike across the goal. At 2-2 momentum was with us but we still had forgotten how to pass. After we had given the ball away all across the pitch, Beckenham scored from a short corner and then put a penalty flick wide to give us a glimmer of hope. Nick Jacob's pace ensured a one on one only had one result and at 3-3 we had a couple of very good chances to take the points although it wouldn't have been deserved. Slightly despondent in the bar afterwards its good to see that we have become accustomed to winning and are looking forward to an improvement next week. As a big morale boost, Mr and Mrs Terrett will be amongst the supporters next week - my parents' record is watched 3 won 3.

Team: Jeremy Porter, Simon Wilshire, Thom Ruane, Neil Happs, Guy Hodgson, James Terrett, Mike Killen, Nick Jacob, Nick Harris, Will Atkinson, David Fogden, Paul Harvey, Simon Glasson, Mike Tyrell.

Scorers: Will Atkinson (MOTM), Nick Harris, Nick Jacob.

Umpire: Bill Dowie.

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Southgate 3s - 14:00 @ DC

Men's 4s (Tornados) vs. Beckenham: won 2-0

No need to call upon the Tornados infamous bouncebackability this week. It was a stroll in a somewhat aggro and unpleasant park. Beckenham turned up with a load of stroppy kids and even stroppier elders. School was in session... the kid's were taught a lesson and sent packing. Both sides learnt from today - Beckenham learnt how to get beaten and we learnt how to swear excessively at a young age. There could have been a lot more goals (for us) and a lot more yellow cards (for them). Like a misplaced piece of cheese - the Tornados are on a role. Three games until Xmas and there should be a stocking full of another 9 points for us to unwrap.

Team: Lee Tearle(GK), Mark Jones, Nick Thomson, Tom Alexander, Neil Smith, Dougal Davis, Neil Gallagher, Rich Fenton, Loz Mockery, Warren Holme, Nick Jones, Adrian Meredith & Simon Riley.

Scorers: Nick Jones & Simon Riley.

Umpire: Si Newell

Men's 6s vs. Beckenham Weasels: lost 2-3

Women's 1s vs. Newquay (HA Trophy): won 4-0

No league match for the Ladies 1s this week, so we occupied ourselves on Saturday with a rather useful training session and lending our support to the Mens 1s. And let me say that Olly Morgan's reverse stick goal was sublime and we will all be practicing reverse stick shooting for the rest of our lives in the hope that one day we may repeat it. Sunday saw us in action against Newquay in the 2nd round of the trophy and to be honest we were much stronger than they were and should have scored more goals than we did. Rachel and EJ scored in the first half and Bettina and Lou added one each in the second half. However the real talking point was the goals that were missed and special mention must go to Lou's "Miss of the season". Good team play had set EJ free on the right but instead of shooting when she reached the D she caused consternation amongst her teammates, supporters and umpires alike by committing the keeper and slipping the ball to Lou on the p spot. Whether it was the shock of receiving the pass we don't know, but Lou somehow pushed it wide even though there was not a defender for miles. No reverse stick shooting practice for you. All in all it was a good team performance with some great defending and excellent attacking play, the only real pressure coming from our own mistakes. Many thanks to Gordon and Marilyn for umpiring, and to all those who came to support.

Team: George Sykes, Emma Wards, Clare Bryne, Kate Blumer, Nicky Prior, Gemma Baker, Rachael Lander, Charley Williams, EJ Barry, Lou Morgan, Bettina Wolf, Emma Kitley.

Scorers: Rachael, EJ, Bettina, Lou.

Umpires: Gordon Nurse and Marilyn Walker.

Next Match: Saturday 20th November vs. Windsor - 14.30 away

Women's 2s vs. London Edwardians 1s: lost 2-4

It felt like bedtime but was hockey time. On a cold and crispy evening 12 players turned out to take on The Edwardians, a team riding high in the league. We were meant to start with 12, but Alex found herself stuck on the M25 getting wound up in the confined space of her car, a scary thought! So in steps Kato who is gradually weaning herself off the beautiful game to prepare for motherhood, more slowly than she would of hoped I am sure. The first goal against us went in off a cleanly struck short corner and the second again from a set piece. We did not panic too much. Defensively we struggled for the first quarter, until we settled down and thought about what we were doing. The opposition dominated for the first 15minutes until we decided we would like to do some attacking, so we did. Bettina ran tirelessly up front, hassling the opposition into submission. Ferret gained us a short corner, Kato stopped, slipped to B who hit the backboard with a ringing peel, lovely. So back in it at half time 2-1 down. They came out with renewed vigour and snuck in a goal from open play. It came off my stick and jumped very unfairly over George's floored body. I take the blame entirely. Not to be deterred, B made a fantastic break from our 25 and weaved her way through multiple defenders, finally culminating in a penalty flick, ably tucked away by Alex. 3-2, we were back in it. Or so we thought. Edwardians struck again from a short, game over. The lights went out and we all went home, but I smell victory next week.

Team: George Sykes, Claudy Sellers, Lucy Muldoon, Alex Crawford, Serra Tezisler, Liz Young, Kate Blumer, Longbeard, Bettina Wolff, Kate Selway, Emma Kitley, Ferrett.

Scorers: Bettina Wolff, Alex Crawford (pf).

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Thames Valley - 14.15 @ Alleyn's

Women's 3s vs. Old Cranleighans: lost 1-2

It was very cold and we were very short at push back time - although they only had 6 so who were we to complain - but a beautiful day and as we neared 2.45 all became clear. OC's went to 11 and we gained Jo Malkin so time to start, Karen being stuck on the M25. In the first half - somewhat surprisingly - we could have scored lots but managed to get to half time 1-0 up from a lovely goal by Sonya who waited and waited then calmly lifted it over their keeper. We had many scrambles on the line and short corners galore but no more goals. Following my inspirational half time team talk we instantly let in a goal to bring the score level! As i also failed to make the tackle, I think we can say this was my fault. But then the game continued to be very evenly balanced - first one side and then the other having pressure on goal. Vicky made a magnificent save and their keeper always managed to be in the right place at the wrong time (from our perspective). In the last 5 minutes, they scored to make it 2-1 which was frustrating but not awful cos we had played well and enjoyed it. Player of the match is a difficult one. Jo Malkin was outstanding as CB, Beth had an excellent game putting one cross in which deserved to be put in the net, Vicky continues to shine and Lou was solid at RB - and of course Sonya scored a lovely goal. But our player of the day was Jo de Silva. She worked hard, made great tackles and ran her socks off. And a huge thank you to the umps for being there in the freezing cold and staying good humoured throughout!

Team: Vicky Adkin, Joanna Reynolds, Catherine Garvey, Jo Malkin, Lou Curry, Beth Little, Jo de Silva, Sonya Kwok, Sophie Carter, Rona Francis, Erica Goldsmith.

Scorer: Sonya Kwok.

Umpires: Aidan Brock and Mark Pulford

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Epsom (I think) - 11.15 @ Alleyn's

Women's 4s vs. Wanderers: lost 0-1

Well, sick of losing and the victims of rubbish luck doesn't even come close to how the ladies 4's are feeling at the moment. We changed our formation entirely and we played our socks off only for them to bag one from a break minutes from the end. We so nearly had a score on the board but it obviously just wasn't to be. But the aggression was there & we looked better than we have all season so at least we have something to build on. Well played to everyone, especially some demon saves from Vix in goal, some great work from Anna at centre back and, oh just everyone did really well.

Team: Vix Streatfield, Anna Stuttard, Yorkie Soquar, Lindsey McLaren, Rosie La Voir, Emma Billsdon (MotM), Marie Smith, Emily Tearle, Natasha Riordan-Eva(MotM2), Claire Whitehead, Adele Harrison, Lynsey Bilsland, Helen Clarke.

Umpires: JT and Mark Jones

Next Match: Saturday 20th November vs. Woking 11:30am Away

Women's 5s vs. Wayfarers 4: drew 0-0

The crisp sunshine was the perfect weather for a jolly game of hockey, though our usual fantastic warm-up was hindered by the junior footballers. Nevertheless, we came out hard with accurate passing - though, with the sun in our eyes, this was not always to our own team. Support from the midfield was excellent for the forwards who put pressure on the goal. Yet despite our numerous short corners we may have failed to capitalise on our chances. To add further insult to injury, entertainment was thin, as for the first game all season Ash and Penny managed to stay on their feet for the entire game, though Nicole was to earn a lovely blue eye. It was disappointing not to convert our many opportunities but it was a not due to a lack of effort (from Rachael). With our frenzy of frees and symposium of shorts, we were robbed our 5-0 win.

Team: Alice Smith, Sarah Smith, Katherine Dixon, Kathryn Farthing, Nicole Yost, Jean Sutton, Andrea Beattie, Penny Gasner, Ashley McDonald, Rachel Fallows, Faith Gerachty, Bridget Morley

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Mitcham - 15.30 @ home

Women's 6s: no game

Next match: Saturday 20th November vs. Croydon - 15.00 away

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