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News > Newsletter 2007/08
Newsletter 2007/08
Since 2003/04 the club has produced weekly match reports. From the start of the 2005/06 season this became a weekly newsletter, distributed during the season, containing match reports from each of the games played that weekend as well as other key information and a selection of adverts and offers.
Fri 25-Jan-08Issue 14
Some resounding successes this week - men’s 1s rollocking home with a 8 – 0 victory and women’s 2s continuing their pre-Christmas form with a useful victory and the women’s 6s delighting in beating some nippy youngsters. But the cheeriest accolades are reserved this week for the Royals who secured their second victory of the season. They make up for their occasional lack of wordage in the Tribune with a dramatic report of epic proportions detailing what may prove to be a turning point in their season. Final games of gloomy January this weekend and much to play for.
Apologies from team tribune – although sent out to you all by Mark last Thursday it mysteriously seems to have disappeared into email ether. Please report any reported sightings of said publication to Jonesy. [It was sent on Saturday and then resent yesterday! Apologies if you didn't get it... I blame the internet goat. He tends to eat things from time to time. In case you don't receive it... The Tribune is always available on the website in the news section under 'Newsletters' - MJ] In the meantime, I hope this one reaches you safely and many thanks to the writers and captains for their forbearance. Sarah Longair - Editor
Reports by: Gemma Baker, Rachel Trafford, Mo O’Brien, Lynne Ruddick, Kate Leckie, Gigi Ho, Rob Heath, Chris Coleman, Billy Dowie, Mark Annear and Ben Slater .Women’s 1s v Oxford University: 2-2
This was certainly a game of two halves…..well, about 41 mins THD and 29 mins Oxford Uni. We started REALLY well, the tempo of the game was high, the passing was accurate and confident and to be honest, the students didn’t get much of a look-in in the first half. We had a couple of chances early on, before Lou converted an absolutely sweet move that started at the back and went right, left, right again, before ending up in the net. We continued to push for a second, but took this slender advantage into half time. 4 minutes into the second half and Alex made it two, with a great penalty corner conversion. We thought we were on for a good win here, but then some gaps began to appear and Oxford Uni took full advantage. 4 minutes later they had reduced the deficit and they really upped their game, looking for the equaliser. This isn’t to say we didn’t have chances to extend our lead, but unfortunately we weren’t able to get the ball in the goal. But still we hung on…. everyone worked hard both in defence and attack, but a special mention must go to Rachel Wheeler (making her league debut for the 1s), who had an absolutely blinding game in the second half. Then, with 9 mins remaining, the oppo finally converted one of the many short corners they had been awarded with a very good strike into the bottom corner. 2-2 it became and 2-2 it remained until the final whistle. (GB)
Team: Pipes, Alex Crawford, Clare Byrne, Rachel Lander, Jenny Thomas, Rachel Wheeler, Gemma Baker, Faye Billing, EJ Barry, Lou Morgan, Sharon Smith, Martha H-J & Jo Walker. Scorers: Lou Morgan & Alex Crawford MotM: Rachel Wheeler
Next Match(es): League: 2 nd Feb v Buckingham: 1.30pm at DC Trophy: 3 rd Feb v Henley: 1.00pm at DC
Women’s 2s vs. Guildford: Won 2-0
Having lost 1-0 to this team earlier in the season, the 2s were keen to get their revenge when they arrived at JAGS bright and early on Saturday morning. With the help of some tactical words from Will and a good warm up, we came out fresh and eager for the start of the match.
Taking advantage of the first push back, Guildford managed to put us under a bit of pressure in the first few minutes, but remembering Will’s instructions to defend tightly down the middle and attempt to capitalise on the opposition’s mistakes, the defence held strong. The pace of B and Jo Walford looked like it would pose a threat as usual, and a flowing passing move up the pitch found Biba at the edge of the D. She managed to thread a perfect ball from the edge of the D into Traffs at the penalty spot, who turned it into the corner of the goal. 1-0 up apparently within the first five minutes; although to us it probably felt like 15 minutes in!
We then relaxed into what was a highly competitive first half, with numerous stick tackles flying in by both sides and Guildford managing to hold the majority of possession. However, despite their attempts to exert sustained pressure, THD dealt well with the slow and slightly bouncy pitch, and the defence never looked like conceding, despite defending a few short corners.
We came out for the second half keen to maintain the clean sheet and add another goal; whichever side scored the next goal seemed likely to go on to win the match. The majority of the match was played at either end of the pitch, with few actual shots on goal and little play in the middle of the park. However, a fantastic ball from B in defence up to Jo Walford totally opened up Guildford’s defence for probably the first time in the match. Jo’s pace managed to create a 3 vs. 1 situation; she engaged the only defender and slipped the ball inside to Traffs, who had only the goalie to beat from the edge of the D. At 2-0 the match was still competitive and open, but once Guildford squandered a clearcut chance with a wide shot, it was not long before the final whistle. (RT)
Team: Dulcie, Muldoon, Sophie, Kato, Jo Walker, Sarah B, Biba, Sarah Jeavons, Jo Walford, Bettina, Rachel Trafford, Emma Kitley Umpire: Louise Scorers: Rachel Trafford (2) MOTM: Rachel Trafford
Next match: Saturday 26 th January vs. Barnes (away), 2pm
Women’s 3s vs. Spencer 3s: Drew 2-2
With Spencer directly above us with a 6 point margin we really couldn’t afford to let them pull away. Unfortunately this seemed like an uphill struggle when within the first minute they scored. With new found character we dusted our selves off and attacked Spencer with vigour. For the first time in a long while we found our players, our passing was superb and our movement around the pitch pretty damn good. I don’t think it was the fact that Spencer took a back seat, I think our endless pressure really had them rattled as their initial shouts of encouragement seemed to fade as we relentlessly attacked their goal. It was only a matter of time before, after a goal scramble, Jo managed to beat their player on the goal line to shove it past.
Into the second half and with about10 minutes gone we were caught napping and Spencer took full advantage for a very quick attack and converted easily enough. As gutting as it was we kept our heads up and really believed that we deserved to at least draw this game, and so we kept plugging away refusing to lie down. Time and time again we attacked but couldn’t get the finish in the D. As the clock ticked, we new we were pretty much out of time, but after yet another drive into the D Helen was fouled and we got the short that we wanted. With 1 minute to go this was our last ditch attempt. With a flawless delivery from Beth, a perfect stop and control from Lou and a superb strike from your truly we have never been happier to hear the smack of the ball against that backboard. Through sheer determination and a hell of a lot of running we refused to give up and we at least stopped a wider margin from preventing any hope of moving up the ranks. (MO’B) (Big thanks to Alex for helping us this weekend)
TEAM : Rachel Biggs, Jo Clarke, Lou Curry, Ellie Gardner, Erica Goldsmith, Georgie Hills, Rosie Le Voir, Beth Little, Filipa Miranda, Mo O'Brien, Helen Shackleton, Alex Hardy Scorers: jo, Mo MOTM: Rosie Le Voir UMPIRE: Mark Jones
Next game: Saturday 26 th January vs. Raynes Park 1s home
Women’s 4s vs. Shirley Phoenix: Drew 2-2
Despite the fact that we all arrived wondering why we were stood on the side of a hockey pitch rather than sat in a nice pub on a Saturday afternoon, the whole team made a sterling effort throughout the game.
The training is starting to really show with some fantastic switching of play between the backs and some lovely passing down the line to get through to the forwards. We are beginning to look like a seriously good team I feel! Only downside is despite many efforts the goals seemed to elude us, and regardless of some very good defensive work, the opposition were able to score on both occasions they entered the D.
So a draw is all we could manage this time but we are getting stronger and stronger so we are sure that a few more points will come our way – lets stay at the top! (LR)
Team: Emma, Julia, Claire, Kath, Mary, Michelle, Linds, Rona, Lucy, Anna & Spanna. MOM: Lindsey Mclaren Scorers: Linds & Claire
Next Game: Saturday 26 th January vs. Spencer 12.30 at Battersea Park.
Women's 5s vs. Wayfarers 4s: Lost 2-7
Crystal Palace was shrouded in an inauspicious gloom as T5 met for the much-awaited rematch against Wayfarers 4s. Having lost 5-0 before Christmas we were determined to come out fighting and show some aggression... Ballspeed wasn't an issue, as Force 9 gales whipped across the pitch, wreaking havoc with skirts and skorts as well as the ball. However, T5 struggled to maintain possession early in the game, and the opposition soon scored a couple of early goals. Things started to look more promising towards the end of the first half, with Alanna crossing the ball into the D for a stylish finish by Helen B. We came out strong in the second half, with some good passing up the pitch, and managed to score another goal off a PC. However, things went downhill from there, with the Wayfarers breaking through our defence to score a flurry of goals making the final score 2-7. Not the best match in T5 history, but it's made us even more determined to win the rest of our matches this year! (KL)
Team: Sally, Martina, Rachael, Charlie, Sioned, Andrea, Alanna, Hayley, Sarah, Kate, Helen B, Jacqui Umpires: Richard Mead and Mark Annear Scorers: Helen B, Kate
Next match: Saturday 26th January vs. Wanderers 5s - 12:30 home
Women’s 6s vs. UCL Academicals: Won 3–2
This week the 6s were out for revenge from our previous encounter with these youngsters and we dominated the first half easily. There was excellent interplay in midfield and a series of 1-2s between Lexi and Amy brought the ball up the pitch seamlessly. Our first goal came from a short corner (hurray! proving we can score from shorts) - a slip from Sinead to Gigi , then to Lexi who was waiting at left post... text book hockey.... ! Spurred on by an early goal, we continued our quest. Our sturdy defence ensured the ball stayed out of our circle with excellent clearances from Sinead and Clare who hit some fantastic balls from hit out to the wings. Our perseverance soon rewarded us with a second goal. A lovely ball from Andrea to Gigi down the right who scored with a sneaky squeeze behind the goalie from nearly the back line.
We went into half time 2-0 up but the Academicals came back hard in the second half. To be honest their first goal was fantastic and even Charlottes usual acrobatics couldn’t keep it out. However Lexi went into motor mode - in her own words ' they (opponents) get in the way and I dont have time for them' - some serious zig zagging past 3 defenders - score 3-1.
We managed to hold onto this lead and continued to play well, had several more chances with good runs from the wings and shots on goal . Everyone persevered but it was clear to see xmas indulgence was still having its weighty hold on us especially in the last 15 minutes. Taking advantage of this the Academicals managed to bag a scrappy goal and given another 5 minutes who knows what might have happened. End result :3 injured but 3 deserved points from 3 goals scored down the A3. (GH)
Many thanks to injured Capt Kate who came to support from sidelines.
Team : Charlotte (GK), Sinead, Shona, Clare, Mags, Jess, Andrea, Amy, Helen, Vicky, Gigi , Lexi (C), Claire. Scorers: Jug avoider Lexi 2 , Gigi 1 Umpire : Opponents provided
Next game : Sat 26th Jan 12pm v Leatherhead (away)
Men’s 1 vs. Trojans: Won 8-0
Coming off the highs of a great victory the week before, it was always going to be tough to produce a repeat performance. The hard running, solid tackling and accurate passing side that turned up at Epsom were unrecognizable from the crowd that turned up on the banks of the Mill Pond on Saturday. I was referring to our style of play and not Jimmy’s ‘Confused-father/Johnny Depp/Flavour-savour’ facial hair disguise.
Whilst we didn’t produce a team effort to match that of the victorious Indians or the underrated Scunthorpe FC, we had enough of the play to dispose of a young and inexperienced Trojans side. Our play was generally uninspiring and one dimensional. We did our best to get rid of the possession, but the ball kept on finding its way in to the oppo’s net. The first half began with a good reverse finish from our Skip, Andy – to be followed up by a couple from the Hypen and one from Will. A stern team talk at half time did little to alter our selfish and apathetic attitude, and we again went through the motions in the second period.
The half started with Gaz guiding in two from shortcorners and Hyphen adding his third of the day. Another variation went to Rob and he tried the ‘ Fez’ (passing the ball from a yard in front of the left post to a foot outside the right….), but disappointingly pulled it into the backboard and the score was eight nil. Trojans valiantly tried to get onto the scoresheet as time wound down, but some good work from the short corner defence kept them at bay.
While it was a poor display of teamwork throughout, there were two standout performances that won man of the match – both of them for their defensive work. Piggy for playing a solid game in goals and keeping a clean sheet, and Rob for saving 3 balls off the line and making a great tackle in the circle… unfortunately it was to prevent TH and D scoring, and the tackle was executed on Gary at the top of our defensive D…..
Team: Will P, Chris, Bubs, Gary, Gaz, Alex B, Will N, Alex S, Jimmy, Rob, Andy, The Hyphenator, Fez, Arthur Scorers: The Hyphenator (3), Gaz (2), Andy, Will, Rob, MOM (for TH and D) - Piggy MOM (for Trojans) – Rob
Next fixture: with Schengen Visa’s, passports and hopefully a lot less facial hair… vs. Gore Court; somewhere near Calais Saturday 26 th January
Mens 2s vs. Richmond 2s: Lost 4-2
With a crisp chill in the air our party of 13 took to the slopes on Saturday morning. With the wind in our hair we and jokes like "its all done hill from here" fun, of course, was had by all. Pitball sprained his ankle slightly in the morning on the way to la chappelle but a few shandy looseners over lunch aided the trip back nicely.
As for what happened on the hockey pitch well who knows. So I hear. nick jacob had a goal disallowed at 3-2 which could have change the game but nick always says that!!! Goals from mike and paul but unfortunately no points to show for it.
Anyway I miss skiing. (CC)
Team: Nath, Dan, Ferg, Robbie L, Tom M, Laurent, Mike K, Nick J, Banners, Paul, James V, Tim S, Bungle, JC Scorer: Mike, Paul Umpires: Jones and Riley
Next game: Saturday 26th January vs. Teddington (Home)
Men’s 3s vs. Richmond 2As: Lost 2-4
Next game: Saturday 2nd February vs. Maidenhead Mystics (Home)
Tornados: No game
Next game: Saturday 26th January vs. Hampstead and Westminster 6s (Away)
Diamonds vs. Indian Gymkhana 5ths: Lost 1-3
My memory is not good enough to remember the last time we beat these guys (on the field, that is, as opposed to collecting three points and 10+ goal difference because they couldn’t raise a side for an away game). In their spare time, they are usually the UK SuperVets champions (that’s 50+ years old, rather than 40+ for the simple Vets). Experienced players with excellent stick skills, but no longer as fit & mobile as they once were.
Knowing that, we resorted to playing our usual game – too much running with the ball, and trying to blast hard passes upfield through the oppo, instead of playing it round them. But not all the time – we did have a fair few moments of flowing, passing play, which gives hope for the future. In the end, however, IG were too clever for us. Their stick skills often created havoc for us at the back, and they were 3-0 up before Bob robbed one of their defenders and swiftly squared the ball for JD to bamboozle the keeper and slot it calmly home.
Our gratitude goes to the busiest “player” of the day, umpire Mark Evans, who had to break up some fisticuffs (well, more like handbags, really) in a game that saw five yellows & a red – the latter to one of their players who unwisely chose the English language to tell Mark what he thought of the yellow card he’d just been shown for taking a swing. (BD)
Team: Simon Bailey, Tom Cooper, Stuart Craig, Simon Dawson, Graeme Evans, Rob Thomas, Olly Walton, James Perrott, Adam Smith, Bob Morris, Tim Harris, Irfan Begg, JD Scorer: JD Umpire: Mark Evans
Next game: Saturday 26th January, home to Spencer 6ths, 11.00 at JAGS
Royals vs. St. Albans Citizens: Won 4-2
St. Albans’ Citizens started this match level on points with the leading team in the Division. The Citizens turned up at 1.30 for a 3pm push – their regime included warm-up, carb-up, short-corner practice and general shouting and huddling and getting to close to one another.
THD Royals started the match as the strongest team in London, propping up the entire London League. Matheu, the Royals’ goalie, and a repentant Slater arrived pitch-side at 3.20, kitted-up and joined the match with 30 seconds due before the push.
Under normal circumstances, you might think the result a foregone conclusion. Even more so, at 2-1 down with ten minutes to go, following a solid strike from a solid Riley and an equally stunning equalizer (for them) from Trem (back foot, bottom right-hand corner), you might have said the Royals were out of it again. But that’s the theory, and the Royals are nothing if not good at overturning the odds and putting upstart Citizens in their place.
You see this season, the Royals aren’t used to being 2-1 down with ten minutes to go, and the closeness of this score was testament to the attitude we took to this contest.
From the outset, the Citizens had been forced onto the back foot, and pressurised in goal. Fluid attacking, big hits all around the park, obdurate defending, and beautiful, flowing, bitty, stop-start, engaging, niggling hockey just like granny used to make were the order of the day. Against such a backdrop, 0-0 was not meant to be the half-time score. But it was, and it gave us heart and strength, and leant added steel to worthy sticks.
As for the Citizens, buoyed at first by their tight team huddles but laid low a little by the fuel it gave to the local chav-in-hoods at the Crystal Palace Bar, 0-0 appears not to have been the scoreline they would have favoured either. Exploiting the new-found rift that began to appear between their increasingly isolated forwards and their increasingly berated flame-haired defence, the Royals struck. Scything bullet across the top of the D from Alexander; Rocket in from Riley, 1-0. That goal had Tornado written all over it.
But then, boom, an appalling defensive lapse in the next five minutes from Annear (I hang my head in shame), and that glorious slotting in from Trem (that should really have been a short corner if we weren’t feeling so generous), and we entered familiar territory, at 1-2.
Fearing the worst, nerves could have hit, but the script writer was generous in the murky January half-light. The bad angst of the Royals was abandoned for the afternoon and we began to show that spirit and class we always knew we had. Da Souza, winning tackles he had no logical right to win; Smith, Allen and Slater keeping their forward isolation going; and Trem savouring the chance to make the right hand side his own, and they were never going to keep their distance.
And then there was Nash - hobbling after 37 minutes with a crippling blow to the foot that might have felled any man who wasn’t aware that his students could have been watching - carving runs that seemed to err to the left due to the right foot not working so well, won us a short corner.
You may remember last week’s report. A 100% record at shorts - as it had been for throughout December (2 from 2 since!) - had not been replicated in the first half, but those ten extra minutes of practice late on Tuesday evening had to bear fruit at some point.
Step up, the One And Only Keith Howick, striker extraordinaire. 2-2.
Two minutes later, an Alexander-Nash double act wins another. Forward strides the Howick War Machine, Citizens to the left of him, Citizens to the right of him, volley’d and thunder’d. 3-2. Three minutes to go. They thought it’d been all over. They thought it was all over. Another Riley/Nash combo finds the tireless Leverett at the far post. It was now. 4-2. Basically we out-ran, out-thought and sheer out-willed a potentially threatening team and everyone throughout should be damn proud!
A victory pint (or three - Keith, you are a bad influence!) has never tasted so sweet.
4 things we learnt this weekend:
With thanks to the Team: Matheu Chambers; The One and Only Keith Howick, Chris Da Souza, Trem Parvin, Mark Annear; Ed Allen, Tim Smith, Ben Slater, Iain Leverett, Simon Riley; Tom Alexander, Mark Nash Scorers: Riley, Howick 2, Leverett Umpires: Sarah (Buxton?), Simon Wilshire
Next game: Saturday 26 th January vs. Indian Gymkhana away
Dragons vs. London Edwardians
Team: Piggy (GK), MJ, Ratty, Will Nurse, Simon Riley, Harrow, Ed Marland, Shazza, Snellers, George Hills, Gemma, Pang, Nicole Yost & McLazza.
Social Events 2007/08
Regardless of what happens on the pitch this season we have a massive amount of social stuff already planned to help you celebrate/commiserate away from the pitch.
Race Night Saturday 23 Februrary End of Season Dinner April
see www.thehockeyclub.co.uk/social/events.shtml for more details... |
