Fri 29-Feb-08
Issue 19
A week of remarkable occurrences – the nation wobbles in the biggest earthquake for 24 years, England beat France in Paris for the first time in 8 years and, the most exceptional of all, a double victory for both the Tornados and the Diamonds for the first time in, well, ages. There was much jubilation all round, especially as both games were nailbiting encounters with THD showing true grit by clawing back victories in both cases from 2-0 down. Some other draws elsewhere, the Men’s 1s won yet again, and the Women’s 6s shone with a good victory. Spirits were therefore high for Race Night – thanks to the social team for their tireless energies in organising this evening which was much enjoyed by the attendees. The next one is the big one – Saturday 3 April where the club descends on the South Bank in black tie to round off the season and celebrate the highs and chuckle at the lows.
There was an impressive devotion to the cause this weekend as many players barely had a moment to regroup between Saturday’s game, the clubhouse, Race Night, dodgy nightclub and up again for another game with the club fielding three teams on Sunday for two Dragon’s games and the Women’s 1s quarter final cup tie. In spite of the previous evening’s antics, there were two victories out of three and the women’s 1s secured a semi-final place to defend their title. Exciting times indeed.
Sarah Longair - Editor
Reports by:
Lucy Snell, Gemma Baker, Biba Tunnicliffe, Mo O’Brien, Lucy Snell, Helen Blackie, Len Price, Laurent Ferron, Simon Riley, Billy Dowie, Mark Annear, Mark Jones
RACE NIGHT
Firstly I would like to thank all those who attended to support the club, as well as the Temple Bowling Club, all our sponsors and those who provided raffle prizes, not to mention the fantastic assistance of Gem, Emma and all the social secretaries. Following a delayed start, the night gathered pace between the roars from the rugby watchers to the bellows urging the various horses on. Luck certainly seemed to favour a few and the Cricket lot won the Auction Race for the second year in a row! The Raffle Prizes were won by a range of the people there, including one of the Bowling Club members opting to take the Hockey Stick provided by Ceelect Sport! After the races drew to a close, several of the usual suspects were to be found in Escape which resulted in a sore head or two and one confirmed casualty the next day!
We are very grateful to the following individuals and companies who sponsored races and prizes for the Race Night. At the moment it looks like we will have raised over £500 for the club which is a fantastic effort - many thanks to all involved. (LS)
Race Sponsors
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Push Studios
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The Rosendale
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Up and Running
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The Hob
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Faith Geraghty
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www.ScubaShotz.com
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The Womens 2s
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Dulwich College
Raffle Prize Sponsors
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Therapy, East Dulwich
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Changes, West Dulwich
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Ceelect Sport
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Push Studios
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Dulwich College
Men’s 1s vs. BBHC: Won 2-0
Both Coach and Captain had warned us before the game: “… expect a tough game, BBHC are undefeated in their last 3 games and are still battling to avoid relegation …We have to give BBHC the respect they deserve…” We had to play our game and keep things simple.
But soon after the beginning of the game it was obvious that nothing was going according to the plan. We probably had 70% of possession during the first half but did not achieve much as we clearly forgot the basics and our initial patience ultimately led to frustration. Well, half time came with no goal.
During the break all pre-game comments were repeated, and a couple of changes were made. But, the second half started nearly as well as the first half… At least we had a good short corner practice session. We had to “wait” until the 55th min to see Dave Casement scoring the first goal with a deflection and eventually Andrew Balchin secured the win (68 min) with a rocket flick from a tight angle. (LF)
Conclusion: Mission completed, but be aware that such a game presents nearly all the characteristics of a “Banana Skin”.
Team : Will Pigden, Gary Boucher, Gareth Weir, Chris Smith, Laurent Ferron, Rob Heath, James Ireson, Will Nurse, Alex Speculand, Alex Brown, James Huntley, Dave Casement, Andrew Balchin.
Scorers: Dave Casement & Andrew Balchin.
MOM: Will Pigden
TFC: Laurent Ferron (wrong trousers)
Next match: Saturday 1st March: Winchester (home)
Men’s 2s vs. Wayfarers: Lost 1-2
As Roy Acuff quite rightly put it; “Any game you play, you got to lose sometime”. And so it was when after two THD wins on the bounce, Wayfarers came, saw and conquered at Dulwich College . Morris K Udall once said “I've been a winner, and I've been a loser, and believe me, winning is best” - particularly relevant when you’re deep in relegation territory. We really needed those points. We might try to maintain that “we didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time” (Vince Lombardi), but either way – we came away with nothing, and now we’re in trouble.
We all knew the password, but even a rousing pre-game reminder from Banners didn’t seem to sink in. Apparently, “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm” (Winston Churchill); but even the great Churchill failed to sum it up as well as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who pointed out "Money lost, something lost. Honour lost, much lost. Courage lost, everything lost. Better you were never born". We lacked courage out there, and our basics suffered as a result; and as we all know, basics are the foundation of a solid game. "For want of a nail, the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe the horse is lost; and for want of a horse the rider is lost." (George Herbert)
In what I imagine was a rather patronising tone, Jose Ortega Y Gasset once commented that “There may be as much nobility in being last as in being first, because the two positions are equally necessary in the world, the one to complement the other.” - but I prefer Vince Lombardi’s rather more concise opinion: “Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser”. Depressing but true.
I’ll leave you on a more optimistic note, with a quote for all of you to take to your games on Saturday. From Richard Bach:
“It’s not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games.” (TS)
Team: Nath, Tom M, Paul H, Mike K, Bill P, Arthur, Banners, Bungle, Ferg, Sam H, Tom G, Tim S
Scorer: Ferg
Umpires: Wes and Tobie, cheers guys
Next match: Saturday 1st March, away to Wimbledon
Men’s 3s - No game
Next match: vs. Wimbledon 4s @ JAGS
Tornados vs. Teddington: Won 3-4
So, 3 games left and the boys decide to become men, step up to the plate, take one for the team, run themselves into the ground etc etc etc please fill in your own sporting-comeback clichés here. Relegation is still gurning its pug-ugly face at us, but at least we've given it a Glasgow kiss and a kick in the happy sack for good measure.
Didn't look that way after 30 minutes.... 2 goals down away from home against Teddington who've always been a chocolate-and-pink thorn in our sides. Maybe it was the thought of playing the 5s next year. Maybe it was the thought of getting stuck in gridlock on the way back... who knows, but we finally played as a team and got seriously stuck in. 1 goal back from Graham (debut goal for the mighty TH&D) just before half time and then constant, unwavering pressure. For the next 35 minutes.
Unheard of this season. STOP THE PRESS, miracles do happen. The Tornados can play as a team!
3 further goals followed, it could've been more - an impenetrable wall of red and green (I'd say muscle-bound, but there's stretching a point and then there's just plain fiction) and it was wave upon wave of attacks. Finally, this is how all those teams who've played us have been feeling this season!!!
Ok, those not so mathematically challenged amongst you will know they scored another. Short corner, last play of the game, no way we could lose. Small consolation. The rest gets hazy. Post-match pizza, fines, beer, race night, beer, SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT!!!! Beer, Escape, Beer. Taxi. Kebab. Top end to a splendid day. (SR)
Squad: Alex (GK), MJ, Wilsh, Ram, Nozzer, Riley, Aido, Pully, Tom A, Will, AxelFish, Graham, The Judge, The Vicar
Scorers: Graham, Pully, AxelFish, The Judge
DOTD: Ram (excessively chippy during fines = £1 extra towards the end of season tour)
MOTM: Ram (excessively good during game = £1 extra towards the end of season tour)
Next match: Home vs The Essex boys of Old Loughtonians
Diamonds vs. Southgate 5s: Won 4-3
We haven’t scored more than two goals in a League game all season, so this victory over Southgate saw us step up to the mark at the right time. With a heap of injuries and availability a real problem, we needed to beg, borrow and steal to make a full side; Wes & Tobie had to umpire the M2 game beforehand, meaning the first half was 20 minutes old when they arrived with us – by which time, with only 10 men, we were 2-0 down to a Southgate side desperate for a win to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation.
We steadied the ship & Tobie pulled one back just before the interval to calm the nerves, with Bob bringing us level after the break, only for Southgate to go 3-2 ahead from a hotly disputed short corner. But, rather than sit on their lead, they opted to push forward to increase it, leaving gaps at the back which Stephen punished twice in the last 10 minutes. That hotly disputed short corner later took on a different perspective, appearing tame in comparison to the Southgate captain's reaction when the same umpire (theirs) disallowed an equalising 'goal' with ten seconds to go.
With only two games left, we’re in fifth place of ten. This result makes us 100% safe, and, with Indian Gym (4th) losing at home to Spaniards, we still have a slim chance of making the play-offs, but only if we can get six points from our last two games and IG keep slipping up. (BD)
Team: Simon Bailey, Tom Cooper, Stuart Craig, Rob Thomas, Graeme Evans, Olly Walton, Stephen Ireton, JD, Bob Morris, Tim Harris, Wes & Tobie.
Umpire: Billy Dowie
Next match: Saturday 1st March, Away to Old Loughtonians 5ths, 13.00
Royals vs. Maidenhead Magicians: Lost 8-0
We went with hope, our
Winter redemption crusade
Rocked a little.
Last week had felt so
Unrewarded. Maidenhead
This time our hosts.
Alas, the spirit there,
The know-how not. A season's
Work can cut both ways. (MA)
Team: Matheu Chambers; Charlie Krasun, Jothann Durnell, Rob Fleck, Chris da Souza; Ben Slater, Colin Wilkie-Jones, Adam Bond, Ed Taylor Jones; Ben Protheroe, Ben Hopkins
Scorers: All theirs (at minutes 1, 27, 41, 59, 61, 66, 67 and 69)
Umpire: Mark Annear
Next match: vs PHC Chiswick 5s ( Crystal Palace), Sat 1 March, 1030am
Women’s 1s vs. Richmond: Lost 2-1
It’s never easy facing opposition who are fighting their way out of a relegation battle, but the job is made slightly more difficult when you only have 10 players a few days before the match. Fortunately, we managed to get a team out, albeit with a few people playing out of position and set about gaining another 3 points. It took us a while to settle, but we had much of the early pressure although Richmond were dangerous on the break. And it was Richmond who took the lead, against the run of play and right on the stroke of half time. Will gave us his pearls of wisdom before shooting off to play for the men and we were left to right this wrong on our own. Our hockey basics improved (i.e. we passed to each other, not the oppo) and our wingers started getting the better of Richmond’s defence. Ej settled into her new role at RB, and Rachel and kiwi Jen started linking well down the left. Alex levelled the score through a short corner but unfortunately Richmond regained the lead through a short corner of their own. However, the last 20 mins of the game saw THD pepper the oppo’s goal with shots and we maintained much of the pressure. We won numerous short corners (although we weren’t actually awarded all of them) and did actually score an equaliser, which was disallowed as the whistle had been blown a nanosecond earlier for a short. So…we dropped a couple of points, although not through the lack of trying…
Team: Pipes, EJ, Kath, Alex, Jen T, Rachel, Gem, Faye, Shazza, Lou & Jen M
Scorer: Alex
Motm: Ej
Women’s 1s vs. St. Ives (trophy QF): Won 3-1
Was it playing a match on Saturday with 11? Was it the effects of having Race Night the night before? Whatever it was, the first half of this match was pretty dire and can (or will) be pushed to the back of our minds forever. Again, we were missing a few players, but welcomed Biba and Sophie into the fold. But the passing of the ball to the oppo, lack of any form of first touch, missed tackles etc etc (plus my general inability to link my brain to my feet) will be mentioned no more and the only thing to say about the first half was that St Ives found themselves in control of the game and 1-0 up at half time.
So… a few more pearls of wisdom from Will at half time and we set about righting another wrong. But we played about 300% better, started taking our chances and put our oppo on the back foot. The forwards worked tirelessly to win some shorts and and soon the equaliser came from this weekend’s goal-scoring machine Alex, once again firing home from one such short corner. (Not that she really wants the coveted ‘top scorer’ accolade or anything, but she almost scored an open play goal too. Almost unheard of). Anyway, we continued to press for the winner. Big bully Shazza temporarily reduced the oppo to 10 with a ball on the foot – in the ensuing advantage yours truly actually managed to run with the ball (without kicking it for once) take a shot and win a short corner. Their player went off and Alex converted the short corner. Again.
From my point of view the third goal was comical… after topping the ball and giving it to the oppo, I dropped to my knees in despair and pounded the ground a few times. On getting up, I realised my valiant team mates had regained possession and were approaching the D. St Ives had obviously realised that I wasn’t worth marking, so left me alone, only for Rachel to slip me the ball… completely unmarked, even I couldn’t screw this up… surely! And for once I didn’t… straight thru the keeper’s legs and 3-1!!! (huge thanks to my team for keeping faith in me!).
At the final whistle, we win a short corner. We wait for everyone to come up and guess what. I kick it. Fitting end to my game, but well played to everyone else in the second half and thanks for Eeej, for sticking up for me with Will… Plus… big thanks for all our supporters… you are very much appreciated!
Semi final draw has already been done and we’re away to Buckingham on March 30th. Anyone who has seen our league knows what a HUGE game that will be! (GB)
Team: Pipes, Alex, Kath, Sophie, Jen T, Rachel W, Gem, Biba, Sarah B, Ej, Lou & Shazza
Scorers: Alex (2) & Gem
Motm: Alex
Next matches: Woohoo, another double header
Saturday 1st March v Woking 1A (away)
Sunday 2nd March v Surbiton (away)
Women’s 2s vs. Old Cranleighians: Lost 1-3
Bit of a disappointing game for the Ladies 2s. Despite a less from ideal start - late arrivals, no practice balls etc - we started off reasonably well. They were a physical team but we managed to string together some excellent passes and looked pretty dangerous attacking down both the left and the right. The problems came when we lost our shape, as OCs continued to put us under considerable pressure down their right wing and through the middle, our attempts to slow them down became less controlled. As we lost our structure, holes were found which they exploited to damaging effect. It was not all doom and gloom though, in the second half the team really stepped up to the challenge and at one point trailed only by a goal. There was some lovely attacking play as the backs picked out our hard working forwards who were creating real opportunities up front. Sarah Beddoes, back from injury had a great game, as did Sarah ‘Keith Cheggers’ Buxton. Our only goal of the game was a beautifully executed strike by Jeavs from the top of the D, which lifted the team’s morale and made the OCs have to work really hard not to let us score again. Also, as Dulcie said, the ‘goalie was sick’, if you don’t know what this means, apparently you are as sad as I am. The 2s should not be downhearted, there were positive aspects of the game to take away and we know we can win all the games left in the league…so bring it on!
Oh and by the way, just wanted to let you know that Lucy Muldoon had a lovely time in LA…sun, sea and sambuca….if you want to see her photos, just shout. (BT)
Team: Dulcie, Kate, Sophie, Walks, Sarah B, Jeavs, Biba, Sarah, Traffs, RR and Emma
Scorer : Sarah Jeavons
MOM: Jeavs and Sarah B
Next match: Saturday 1st March vs. Purley - 14.00 away
Women’s 3s vs. Thames Valley 1s: Drew 2-2
This week saw us back down to Guildford which neighbours Woking, who lie bottom of the league, and to whom we had a humiliating defeat 2 weeks ago. So we really wanted to go out and put that well behind us. We started strong and full of confidence and were attacking their goal almost immediately. But pretty much throughout the whole match, no matter how many shots were fired or how much scrambling we did, we couldn’t put the finishing touch on the ball. Sure enough disaster struck after 10 minutes when we were caught on the break and they went one up. We kept plugging away at their goal and even after 4 successive shorts the ball still wouldn’t go in!! Eventually the equaliser came from Beth with a beautiful flick from an impossible angle to sail over the goalie’s head. Magic.
Into the second half, and for the first half of it our initial zest was somewhat lacklustre. This presented them with an opportunity to catch us napping and secure the lead for the second time. As a result we picked ourselves up again and battled away and with time running out we gained another short. With your truly striking, I managed to top the ball and it fortunately came off a defenders stick with enough spin to beat the goalie. (I’m still claiming it!). That levelled the game and that’s how it finished. We had so many opportunities to take this game well beyond their reach as we played so much better than 2 weeks ago, and we should have done so emphatically but yet again it wasn’t to be. Well, thankfully we didn’t lose.
We would also like to make a mention of just how sporting a club Thames Valley are. For the second time this year Phil Boast from their men’s side helped us out by umpiring for us and also a special mention to the ladies captain Helen Bearman who went out of our her way to rustle up white shirts from her team as we neglected to bring ours. So a massive thanks to them. (MO’B)
Team: Rachael Biggs, Jo Clarke, Erica Goldsmith, Georgie Hills, Jena Kitley, Rosie Le Voir, Beth Little, Filipa Miranda, Mo O'Brien, Emma Parker, Julie Rhodes, Helen Shackleton
Scorers: Beth, Mo
Umpire: Phil Boast ( Thames Valley)
Next match: Saturday March 1st Epsom Ladies 3’s @2pm Dulwich College
Women's 4s vs. Wayfarers 3s: Drew 2–2
As the team gathered to face a strong opposition, a slightly harried looking Ms Renshaw rocked up announcing that she'd locked herself out of her flat… Once she got hold of her cleaner, off she trotted to collect a spare set of keys! So with a bare 11 and a slightly altered team formation, the Women’s 4s took the game to the opposition. Within 15 minutes we had achieved a short corner which resulted in a slick Left Post Stuttard between Mrs P and Ms Stuttard... the battle continued with some lovely controlled, calm passing and a lot of hard work by the team as a whole. In less than 10 minutes there was a lovely move down the centre of the pitch, resulting in Ash passing to Mrs P at the top of the D who selflessly passed the ball for someone to run on to and inadvertently score - probably the most nonchalant goal we have ever seen! Two nil up and barely able to believe it. Just before half time the opposition managed an extremely flukey/skillful goal with a reverse stick hit that bounced up and another member of the opposition managed to reflexively loop it up through the gap made by George's impossibly bent arm and in to the goal!!! So we went in to half time 2-1 up...
After a cheerful chat and a decision to maintain positions against an anticipated onslaught from the oppo, we started the second half with a bit of nervous anticipation and although there were plenty of chances through out the half we were unable to convert any of them. Part way through the half, the oppo tried to reduce our numbers with a stick colliding with Ms Renshaw's head… Following a quick stop to move a bleeding Lou off the pitch and get Katie back on, we made the oppo work hard before they managed a pinball type of goal. So the game drew to a close with our opposition asking us to win all our remaining games, as we are the friendliest team in the league! Check us out! Given that that was only the second game that they haven't won this season (they've only drawn twice now), and we lost to them 4-1 earlier in the season, we have every right to be proud of our performance and shows how well we can play. (LS)
Team: George Sykes, Anna Stuttard, Rona Francis, Anna Cietak, Lou Renshaw, Lindsey McLaren, Lucy Snell, Ash McDonald, Mary Cook, Julia Butler, Katie Gifford and Claire Perrott.
Scorers: Claire Perrott and Anna Stuttard
MOM: Anna Cietak (for unflagging running about the pitch and fantastic defending)
Next match: Saturday 8 March vs. London Edwardians 2s CPB
Women's 5s vs. Shirley: Won 4–1
Great first half for THD - we kept our opponents under constant attack and earned a hundred short corners for our efforts, it was like groundhog day! With great communication and wide play we were able to put 4 away before half time and only concede 1. Shirley came back with a vengeance and we just couldn't bagz another (DV).
Team : Sally, Rachel, Sarah, Charlie, Furlong, Alanna, Andrea, Jax, Hayley, Leckie, Del and Blackie.
Umps: Richard Mead
Scorers : Del Vaneden (3) & Helen Blackie (1)
Next match: Saturday 1 March vs. Barnes @ Crystal Palace 16h30
Women’s 6s vs. Camberley & Farnborough Ladies 3s: Won 2-0
"The powerful, fast-paced action match with a spectacular mind-bending assortment of players. Called in to recover position in the table in the aftermath of an alcoholic start to the year at Tulse Hill and Dulwich Hockey Club. Members have been pulled away with injury and skiing responsibilities, not so top secret training sessions on Thursdays use a ball shifting surveillance device to help prevent losses. But can it help THD 6s change the effects of the past few matches? Hold on to your seat for an explosive and intriguing thrill ride you'll want to experience again and again."
Words 'borrowed' from the reverse of Denzel Washington's 'DejaVu' DVD cover..... kind of....
There was excellent play on Saturday, good passing, good marking, great goals and a lot more thinking. I'm hoping for more of the same! (LP)
Team: Charlotte, Jess, Shona, Sinead, Clare, Len, Helen, Sioned, Amy, Gigi, Lexi, Bridget.
Scorers: Amy and Bridget.
Next match: vs. Bank of England Ladies 2 Dulwich College 3pm.
Dragons vs. Wanderers Daquiris: Won 6-5
On a day when there were two other teams put out by the Club for Trophy matches, it is pretty damn impressive that we managed to put together another 11 to carry on with our mixed league campaign. So we turned up with a basic 11, we started by Ellie volunteering to play for the Daquiris to even things out, Mark Annear player/umpiring and Ben turning up slightly late who then took over the umpiring for a while until Will Lucas' shin splints played up and he umpired out the rest of the game. I can honestly say that it was end to end stuff and hence truly knackering at points as the oppo had 4 or 5 very strong players who we battled with and thankfully held them at bay often enough to maintain for most of the match a minimum of a goal lead. At half time, we agreed to let the oppo take Jeremy so it was then a 10 v 10 game and with some of us feeling rather jaded our team battled on, ran some more and eventually descended in almost ambling through the game to a well fought victory.
Team: Nick Harris, Mark Annear, Ben Slater, Charlie Krasun, Jeremy, Mark Nash, Ellie Gardener, Katie Stone, Jo Clarke, Lucy Snell, Alanna MacIntosh and Will Lucas
Scorers: Ummm . . i've got a feeling that Ellie (2), Will, Mark Mash (2) and Nick scored but it's all a bit of a haze to be honest, so sorry if it is wrong!
Next match: Sunday 02 March vs. London Stroller GRRRR
HA Trophy R2: Dragons vs. Stevenage: Lost 0-5
For some reason this is in the style of the opening and closing credits from the original Battlestar Gallactica...
"There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe near Stevenage, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Pikeys, or the Chavs, or the Gypsies. That they may have been the architects of the Galleria, or the lack civilizations in Hafield or Luton. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond Watford...
Fleeing from the England Hockey tyranny, the last mixed team, Dragons, made up of rag-tag fugitive players are on a lonely quest for a shining trophy once known as Timpsons."
They didn't find it... (MJ)
Team: Piggy (GK), MJ, Ed, Fat Camel, Timbo, Wesbian, Frodo, LMcL, Stutts, Sarah B, Liz, Ce-Celia, Pang Snr & another Jo W.
Scorers: Them
Umpire: Northern Monkey
Next matche: HA Trophy next year which will probably be scheduled in Dubai in the middle of the night just in case we could get a team to it...
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.
End of Season Dinner
Saturday 5th April
see www.thehockeyclub.co.uk/social/events.shtml
for more details... |
General News
