Fri 15-Feb-08
Issue 17
And so another week Marches - or should that be Februaries? - past. Well what is new? The Mens 1s won again... well that isn't new... although the change from relegation favourites to promotion favourites in one season with pretty much the same squad says a lot for training and application! The Tornados lost... but they played with some heart and skill... that IS new... the Womens 2s slipped up, so promotion now needs some work... What else is new? Well this week... and about time you cry... the Men's reports are first! That'll teach Sarah to go on hols...
One moan though... we are a club that is bucking the trend in hockey. We are both growing and performing better (on the whole) each year and I just wanted to highlight one of the reasons hockey is a minority sport in this country... we have the Womens 1s succesfully defending their HA Trophy win (so far) from last season, contesting the quarter finals on 24-Feb at Dulwich College. We also have the Dragons now in the 2nd round of the HA Trophy playing on the 24-Feb away at Stevenage. England Hockey, in their infinite wisdom - or lack of it, have scheduled the ties on the same date over 35 miles apart at the same time. Obviously, there are many players involved in both games which will cause a slight problem... England Hockey's response?
"Unfortunate..."
It seems as a club we are too successful for our own good and the governing body is less interested in grass roots hockey than it should be... or they are just crap at organising things! That said, despite this farce in scheduling, take heart in the fact that this problem only arises because we win!
So when you are sitting at your desk, workstation, building site, court room, dole office or whatever one day next week... however crap your day may be there two things to remember...
1) You are part of one properly special hockey club...
2) There is always someone who is crapper at organising something than you are!
Let's kick some ass this weekend and show the oppo that they don't even deserve to be on the same pitch as us...
...and in case you wondered... yes, Sarah is back next week!
One final point... the clubhouse has been double booked for the race night so something has to change. Perhaps the date or perhaps the venue. Stay tuned we will tell you as soon as anyone knows what the hell is going on...
Mark Jones - Stand-in Editor
|
 |
Saturday 23-Feb-08
Race Night
All the fun and excitement of a day at the races on a giant screen. Even if you have never seen a horse race before you can't fail to understand what's going on!
All that you need to do is to pick a number between 1-8 and buy the corresponding ticket from the tote. The tote is then closed and a sealed race is chosen at random and shown. Plus you can become the 'owner' of a horse for a night, 'Sponsor' a race and take part in the final 'auction' race!
Quality fun for everyone as everyone is welcome - including friends, family and any other non-clubmembers, first race at 7pm - Admission £2 |
Reports by: Conor Bond, Si Riley, Mark Jones, Alanna MacIntosh, Claire Montagu, Mo O'Brien, Lynne Ruddick, James Ireson & Bill Dowie.
Men’s 1s vs. West Hampstead: Won 3-2
TH&D came into the winner-takes-all, top-of-the-table "6 pointer" with West Hampstead with an almanac of impressive statistics to support their claim to the top spot but careful observers of the team in recent weeks would have noted a possible loss
of composure. A flurry of yellow cards in previous matches, a lucky escape against Henley, a growing injury list and two players on "international" duty had neutral observers questioning the team's ability to last the distance in the promotion race.
And so it seemed for 45 minutes of a hard-but-fair match against well-organised opposition. In the first half, TH&D were second to the tackle in the midfield and reliant on mistakes to make headway up front. That they went in only 1-0 down was testament to good fortune and Will Pigden's organised goal-keeping.
Unfortunately, West Hampstead scored their second within minutes of the re-start. But then, somewhere, something stirred in the collective heart of the red shirts; perhaps it was the opposition supporters urging their team to finish the game off, the accusations from the sidelines that "the heads were down", maybe it was a realisation that the game really mattered,...
Recovery wasn't immediate and it wasn't even that obvious, even to the players. Minute by minute, tackle by tackle, pass by pass TH&D started to play again. A short corner from Nurse gave them hope, an equaliser from Ireson gave them parity and, reduced to ten men after a harsh yellow, a quality finish from Huntley gave them victory.
For once, results elsewhere in the league went TH&D's way and for the first time in 7 years, the Men's 1st XI sit at the top of the table, with a 3 point lead. However, new pressures await as the team embarks on a fixture run that sees them take on sides
fighting for survival. From their own experience from 6 years at the wrong end of the table, every player knows that fear of relegation can be a powerful motivator, particularly against teams chasing promotion. The hardest games are still to come....
Team: W. Pigden, L. Ferron, G. Boucher, C. Smith, R. Banwell, A. Brown, J. Ireson, W. Nurse, R. Heath, A. Speculand, A. Balchin, J. Huntley.
Goals: W. Nurse, J. Ireson, J. Huntley
MOM: L. Ferron
Next match: City of Portsmouth, 16-Feb @ DC
Men’s 2s - No game
Next match: East Grinstead, 16-Feb (Away)
Men’s 3s vs. Richmond Griffins: Lost 1-7
Although the score line was Derby County-esque, 7-1 was a little
flattering to them. The 3s showed glimpses of what they could do and
caused the league leaders a few problems in the first half. They scored
a bizarre first goal when everyone decided to let their centre midfielder run from the halfway line and into the D, just to see how he did. He slotted the ball in the bottom right-hand corner making it 1-0.
The 3s fought back and had a few chances but couldn't capitalise on them
and Richmond hit us on the break and scored again just before half-time.
The second half started much better, with George winning a penalty
flick, which Timmy converted. However, they scored quickly again and the
floodgates opened.
Three points against Oxford next week in front of a capacity crowd at DC
is now a must....
Team: Jez, Tim, Laurie, Alex, Joe, Conor, Tom, Tobie, George, Timmy, Ed
Umpire: Wes Cole
Scorer: Timmy
Next match: Saturday 16th February vs Oxford Uni 3s - Home 14.30
Tornados vs. Hampstead & Westminster Hammers L3-1
Ah, it was back to the good old days of TH and Dulwich (pre-merger), occasionally playing away games at DC and then back to the clubhouse to watch the rugby. And to top it all, we turned up an hour(ish) early to warm up on the junior's pitch - pretty sure this is the first time this season we've done that.
And what a difference it makes. It was either that or the Churchillian pre-match speech from stand-in skipper Tom, but the side finally played with pride, got stuck in and strung together a respectable team performance.
But for a costly gift of a goal at the start it could've been a different outcome - that said the oppo were top of the league and deservedly so. Even with the most excellent Messrs Layton, Coleman and Harris bolstering our defence and midfield, we shipped 3 goals. We did score though. Tom A and Robby didn't get sent off for horror tackles and City did the double over United on Sunday for the first time in over 30 years.... things are looking up!
Squad: MJ (GK), Pully, Robby, Ram, Coleman, Harrow, AxelFish, Northern Monkey, Tom A, Tom C, Nozzer, Will, The Judge
Scorer: Pully
Umpires: the most excellent Wilsh and Sarah B
Next game: 16/2, home vs Richmond - huge bottom of the table clash, 11:00 @ JAGS, all support most welcome
Diamonds vs. Hampstead & Westminster Spaniards. Won 1-0
It had been six matches since our last victory, so these three points were a great relief. We were comfortable and did just about what we had to do to get the win, without being entirely convincing, against a mid-table Spaniards side whose recent form has been about as miserable as ours. Graeme did a great job standing in for Stuart at centre back; Simon D & Hamza, also midfielders playing out of position, put in a strong display as full backs, and Simon B in goal dealt firmly with any incursions that got through the defence. End result was, we kept our first clean sheet since beating the same team at their place in October.
The new Olly & Adam combination in midfield worked well, and Rob enjoyed not having to play in defence for a change. JD is getting stronger with every game in the Rooney role, and Stephen showed us the usefulness of a forward who runs wide to take a long pass, holding play up to give time for support to arrive in attack. Tim & Bob worked tirelessly up front, and our goal in the second half was the result of one of the few occasions when we got round the back of them quickly, Bob cracking the ball across goal for Laurie to contort himself into just the right shape to deflect it in. Happy days, so everyone gets a mention! (BD)
Team: Simon Bailey, Simon Dawson, Graeme Evans, Hamza Begg, Olly Walton, Adam Smith, Rob Thomas, Laurie Shotton, Stephen Ireton, JD, Bob Morris, Tim Harris
Umpire: Billy Dowie
Next game: Saturday 16th February, Away to Old Loughts Gunners, 11.30
Royals vs. HAC Sutlers: Lost 0-6
After storming performances in the last couple of games, in which we scored more goals than for the rest of the season combined, we turned up with high hopes, only mild hangovers, and got soundly beaten 6-0 by much the better team for our trouble. There have clearly been too many of us turning up for training....
Team: Matheu, Keith, Tim, Trem, Chris da Souza, Colin, Ben, Xavier, Jaap, Doug, Adam, Iain Levrett,
Umpire: Huge thanks to Billy for agreeing to umpire with absolutely no notice
Next match: Saturday 16th February vs Richmond Redoubtables - Home 12.30
Women’s 1s vs. Maidenhead 1s: Lost 1-2
Next match: Saturday 16th February vs Wimbledon 1As - Home
Women’s 2s vs. Spencer 2s: Lost 2-3
Next match: Saturday 16th February vs Old Cranleighans 1s - Away
Women’s 3s vs. Woking Vets: Lost 1-0
Nothing to say except that it was an appalling display of hockey which saw us lose to the bottom of the league and gift them with their first win. Shocking effort.
On a lighter note, highlights of the day included:
1: Me and Parky flying down the A3 at 65mph on my 125 trying to overtake a…wait for it…horse and cart.
2: Driving through Woking and noticing a fluttering of white paper over my left shoulder I soon realised Parky was actually trying to read the map at 50mph.
3: Getting to London, almost running out of petrol and as result making a wrong turn and driving around Wandsworth, Vauxhall and Battersea for a bit…as you do.
Team: Rachael Biggs, Lou Curry, Fillipa Miranda, Erica Goldsmith, Georgie Hills, Jena Kitley, Rosie Le Voir, Beth Little, Mo O'Brien, Emma Parker, Helen Shackleton, Jo Clarke
Umpire: Si Riley
Next match: Thames Valley 1’s February 23rd @ 1:30 Away
Women's 4s - No game
Next match: Byfleet Ramblers, 16-Feb (Away)
Women's 5s vs. Reigate: Won 3-0
Some interesting facts about Dutch cheese:
A. Total cheese production in Holland is 30 million pounds per week.
B. All Gouda and Edam cheeses are made with animal rennet, except Gouda Light (reduced fat Gouda cheese) which is made with vegetable rennet (non-genetically engineered, naturally occurring microbes).
C. The difference between Edam and Gouda is the fat and moisture content. Gouda has 48% fat In the Dry Matter (I.D.M.) and Edam only has 40%.
D. Why are Gouda formed into round wheels? The aging process is better and more even with this shape. Why are Edam Balls in a ball shape? For ease of storage on the original sailing transport ships; the round shape took less space and minimized damage. They were even reported to have occasionally been used in the Caribbean as canon balls!
E. Why is the taste different in mild Gouda compared to aged Gouda? The enzymes that are added to the milk in the cheese making process cut the peptides (milk proteins) in half, which releases the flavour. The older the cheese, the more peptides are cut in half, therefore, more taste is released into the cheese.
In other news, THD W5s beat Reigate 3-0. Pretty shoddy start but THD had a few chances and some lightning fast balls into the oppo’s D from an eager midfielder (not naming names). Goals in quick succession from Del with a smart little flick, Kate with a textbook team goal and Helen with the third strike and out, quite early in the second half saw off any chance the oppo had; and it was relatively plain sailing from there; a few breaks from Reigate and some clearance problems in our right corner but we had it covered. Special thanks to Lucy for keeping the scores on the board for all our fans that travelled from far and wide to watch this week’s match, and to everyone who voted me MOTM! (AM)
Team: Sally, Furlong, Charlie, Fats, Sioned, Rachel, Faith, Moi, Andrea, Jacqs, Blackie, Delio, Leckie,
Umpire: Mark Jones & Richard
Scorers: Adele Van Eden, Kate Leckie, Helen Blackie.
Next match: Saturday 23rd Feb against Shirley, 11:45am away
Women’s 6s vs. Reigate Priory 4s: Lost 3-1
Glorious sunshine this Saturday meant Dulwich Village got to see me walking home in my shorts and T-shirt, apologies to anyone dazzled by the glare from my white pins. I don’t think any of the 6s would claim this was the best game of our season, we were all more in the mood for a beer garden than a hockey match, but did our best.
The match started fairly well with equal play among Reigate and Tulse Hill, but pretty soon we started looking a bit scrappy. We just weren’t getting in front of our players enough, meaning that, as CM put it ‘Sinead’s big ones just couldn’t get through’ and we started to get hemmed into our 16 with the oppo piling through.
We kept it strong at the back with lots of passing between Len, Jess and Sinead keeping us out of trouble for the first 30 minutes or so. Mags worked very hard on the left keeping two players at bay, and with help from Amy, Clare D, Helen and Lexi set up some excellent play. Persistence paid off and one of Lexis shots hit home putting us 1-0 up at half time.
We started back well, Vicky had an unlucky cross that just missed, but Reigate came out fighting. A short corner saw Reigate score the equaliser, which they quickly compounded to go 2-1 up.
Sally worked very hard in goal under the increased pressure, and with 5 minutes to go we put everything we had into pushing up the pitch again. Poor Len got whacked and play was stopped, (the caring umpire advised her to pop a top on..bet he’d never said that before)
Another short corner and it was all over, goodnight 6s. Thanks to Clare Montagu for organising us rabble. We live to fight another day. (SC)
Scorers: Lexi Price
The team were: Clare Montagu -Captain Kate stand in, Jess Beach -Peaches, Len Price -The Price is right?, Sinead Wheelan -Wheelan & Dealing, Sally ‘The Goalie’, Shona Chambers -Mrs C, Mags -Go on, go on, Ya will, Lexi Price -Blondie, Claire Dees -Still drunk?, Helen - blow me up I dare you..., Amy -legs eleven, Bridget Easton -Clint, Vicky Wright -Left wing commander.
Umpires: Chris Coleman and Mark Jones/Simon Wilshire on jobshare
Next match: Saturday 23 February, Away vs. Camberley
HA Trophy R1: Dragons vs. Addiscombe: Won 4-3 (Golden Goal)
In honour of Emma's awesome golden goal here is some more stuff about gold...
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum, meaning shining dawn) and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal which, for many centuries, has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, underground "veins" and in alluvial deposits. It is one of the coinage metals. Gold is dense, soft, shiny and the most malleable and ductile of the known metals. Pure gold has a bright yellow color traditionally considered attractive.
Gold formed the basis for the gold standard used before the fiat currency monetary system was employed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). It is specifically against IMF regulations to base any currency against gold for all IMF member states. The ISO currency code of gold bullion is XAU.
Team: Piggy (GK), MJ, Ed, Tim, Will, Ratty, Coleman, Emma, Gemma, Sarah, Lou & Kath.
Scorers: Ed, Sarah, Will & Emma
Umpire: Si Riley
Next match: Sunday 16th February vs. London Strollers Nomads - Battersea Park
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 23rd Februrary
End of Season Dinner
Saturday 5th April
see www.thehockeyclub.co.uk/social/events.shtml
for more details... |
General News
