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News > Newsletter 2006/07
Newsletter 2006/07
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 02-Feb-07Issue 17
Most of us, over the years, have mastered the weekly winter timetable of a training session during the week and a match on Saturday. Or so you would have thought… It seems that even the best of us momentarily lose track of this well-worn routine, to the extent that 1s captain Gemma was on the verge of calling Crimewatch to help locate their awol diminutive Northern Irish forward. As it was, the pressure of taking multi-tasking to new extremes had left EJ with a insurmountable mountain of things to do last week and it was only with minutes before the start time that she realised her oversight. Happy ending to the story is that the 1s went on to win to secure top of the table position and EJ turned 30 in impeccable style. Thanks for (not) coming Eej..!
As January closes the team of the week are by a mile the Diamonds, recording their first victory of the season, while the Men’s 1s continue their winning streak whilst racking up a sizeable goal tally. The women’s 2s secured a close victory, while the 5s and 6s fared less well against strong opposition. The Dragons proceed convincingly in the HA trophy and have silverware in their sights.
This is the last weekend when the THD trainers put their thoroughbreds
through their paces and the cheerful whinnies suggest they are raring
to go. Yes, race night is fast approaching. Important to remember
is that tickets have to be bought in advance, but at the bargain price
of £2 per ticket, it’s a no-brainer - the team that sells
the most tickets wins a prize and tickets also double up as prize
draw entry for cash prizes. What greater incentive can you need? Team
members can get tickets from their captains or by emailing womens1@thehockeyclub.co.uk
and it’s open to all friends and family too.
Reports by: Graeme Evans, Andrew Eames, Wes Cole, Mark Jones, Gemma Baker, Kate Selway, Emma Parker, Helen Clark, Alanna Macintosh.
Team of the week
Diamonds vs. Surbiton 5s: Won 2-1
Back-to-back victories – one a freebie, this one for real – have propelled the Diamonds out of the relegation zone (but only just). Our first proper League victory since promotion last March was well deserved, even if our old demons in front of goal meant some incisive approach play almost went unrewarded. There's no use naming names, just about everyone had a go in the first half and messed up. Thankfully, Bob Morris blasted home after the break to spark what proved to be an eventful last half hour. Sulking at going behind, Surbiton's forwards traded insults with THD players at the push-back, a ploy which clearly worked as they levelled within seconds. Then came "save of the century" from keeper Paul Reid, as well as a goal claim from Surbiton for a deflected cross from outside the circle. Yep, we all heard something, but where was the third umpire?
Somewhere amongst all of this, Warren Holme weaved his way past players, twigs and assorted debris at the Surbiton end to cross for Adam to pop away a second – except that Bob stole in to nick it over the line. There were some nerve-wracking moments at the end, not least Reidy's language at the children's tea party in their clubhouse afterwards....(GE)
Team: Paul Reid, Tom Illingworth, Billy Dowie, Gus Barnard, Stuart Craig, Graeme Evans, Adam Smith, Simon Canter, Warren Holme, Oliver Walton, Bob Morris, Irfan Begg
Scorer: Bob (2)
Next game: Saturday 3rd February, Maidenhead 2As, JAGs at 12.30
Men's 1s vs. Winchester 1s: Won 7-2
Balchin: "It was harder to shoot past Heath than the Winchester goalie"
During the first half of the season we were savaged by the Winchester Sharks on their sandy beach. However, this meeting was going to be different. With "complacency", "belief" and "no substitute for hard work" ringing in our ears we were confident that we could turn the tide on Winchester. We were going to impose our game plan on the tourists and that is exactly what we did. Spectators on the sideline were heard saying that "it was the best 25 minutes they had seen TH&D play for years". We were composed, confident and single minded.
The first two goals were scored by Andy Balchin, see quote above. The first goal was a short corner and the second saw a composed Balchin draw the keeper and slotting the ball in the far corner. At half time the mighty TH&D were leading 2-1 which led to the infamous war cry from Cross "be true to yourself". With Crossy's inspiration Gareth Weir quickly scored the ever faithful "Sly Dog" followed by a fourth when Balchin's relaxed shot was deflected in by a goal hungry Heath. TH&D continued to dominate with a trademark low drag flick goal from Nurse. After the match Nurse said, "I came, I saw and I slotted in the bottom corner, I don’t think the keeper even moved and if he did it was the other way due to the quality of the disguise in the placement."
The sixth goal came after James intercepted a stray Winchester pass and quickly released the ball to Balchin who threaded the ball through to Heath for his second dive and tumble "tab in" of the day. With Heath and Balchin eager to bag a hatrick, it was Heath who took the initiative when the ball hopped over Balchin's stick and bounced in front of Heath who volley home the money shot...finally his youth spent in the cricket nets finally paying off. A truly great performance by all the players, especially Chris Smith who did not put a foot wrong all game. (AE)
Team: Duncan Ballintine, Gary Boucher, Andrew Eames, Gareth Weir, Sam Hiley, Andy Balchin, Chris Smith, Richard Banwell, James Ireson, Rob Heath, Simon Glasson, Thomas Cross, William Nurse, James Huntley.
Scorers: Andy Balchin (x2), Rob Heath (x3), Gareth Weir, William Nurse
MOM: Andy Balchin
TFC: Bubs
Hatrick Boy: Heath
Next match: Saturday 3rd February vs. Wimbledon - away
Men’s 2s – No game
Next game: Bromley and Beckenham 3s (A) 11.45
Men's 3s vs. Southgate 3A's: Lost 4-1
Ahhhh the dizzy heights the 3's have reached!!! Playing against national / premiere league centre forwards!!! You'll start seeing us in China Whites next with Robbie Layton falling out of limo's with no underwear on. Again.
Well only a slight dig at Southgate for playing one of their 1st team guys up front against us but he was no match for a stern defence in the 1st half with an inspiring team performance after going 1 down through a penalty stroke. Then King Arthur rallying his knights to a fightback with a blistering strike clipping the backboard from the narrowest angle on the right. My comment mid swing of "never ever ever ever shoot from there" was swiftly retracted. All credit to the kid for a top game against probably one of the more physical defences we play against.
Second half was a different story. Again a penalty stroke decision didn't go our way after Jeremy expertly cleared his lines in a 1on1 and a couple of late counter attacks as we pushed forward. But a defiant performance worthy of 3 points against anyone in our league but the top 2. Playoff place looms for the first time maybe ever. 9 points from 5 needed. (WC)
Umpire: They provided both.
Scorer: Arthur
Next match: 2 weeks off, so far away I don't even know.
Tornados vs. Wayfarers Heavies: Lost 1-7
A game with more ringers than a campanology society... Wayfarers thought nothing of loading up their 'social' side with players happy to make a mockery of the league... THD outclasses Wayfarers every year at 2s, 3s and 4s level - always walking away victorious in our encounters - now we can put integrity up there with pride as two other things we have that they don't. Still with the way the league is shaping up this season their '5's are likely to be promoted and their 4s relegated... there'll not be a dry eye in the house! Hopefully, our 07/08 fixtures will not have us waste our time against a club with such a chequered past. (MJ)
Team: Will Pigden(GK), MJ, Roland Ferneaux, Andy Potapa, Nick Jones, Aidan Brock, Will Lucas, Jon Kirby, Alex Fishwick, Si Riley, Si Wilshire, Tom Alexander & Dougal Davis.
Scorer(s): Will Lucas
Man of the Match: Aidan Brock
Umpire: Chris Coleman.
Next match: Saturday, February 10, 2007 Wimbledon Men's 6s H: CP-B, 10.30
Men’s 6s vs. St Albans: Lost 0-3
Doug apologies for work limiting availability for report-writing this week.
Scorers: Them
Umpire: Si
Next game: 3rd Feb vs. Indian Gymkhana away
Women’s 1s v Maidenhead 1s: Won 3-1
Amazingly, the ladies 1s have continued their winning streak. Amazingly, we're joint top of the league after H&W lost their game at the weekend. Amazingly, Sharon has scored against a team other than Reading. But most amazing of all, is the fact the Eeej forgot she had a game.....twenty years of turning up every Saturday to play hockey and she reaches a momentous birthday and the memory goes. While we were relieved that Eej hadn't suffered horrendous injuries in a car crash en route to the match, Eeej was relieved 1) that we weren't reduced to 10 players without her and 2) that we won. So all good. But still funny and something that won't be forgotten easily! BIG fine.
But the game was good, despite going 1-0 down fairly early on to a Maidenhead side that are always tough to beat. Yours truly equalised before half time from a short corner and the team kept their resolve in the second half to push further. Faye worked her magic down the right, winning a short corner that Lou converted at the second attempt. Unfortunately, shortly after the umpire didn't take too kindly to some comment that Faye made under her breath about a decision that was made and we went down to 10 players for a while. Not to matter - we carried on passing the ball around and, through a sea of white shirts, Martha hit the ball to Sharon who delighted the crowd with a fantastic deflection into the bottom corner. Back to the full complement of 11 players we held firm for the final 10 minutes to seal a convincing win. The icing on the cake was discovering that arch rivals H&W lost their game to give us equal points at the top of the table. (GB)
Team: Pipes, Alex, Kath, Clare, Nicky, B, Lisa, Gem, Faye, Martha, Lou & Sharon
Scorers: Gemma, Lou & Sharon
Motm: Faye
Next Game: Away v West Witney 12.30pm
Women’s 2s vs. Barnes Hounslow Ealing 3s: Won 1-0
We're not sure which Duke's Meadow it once was but he evidently didn't invest sufficiently in land drainage. I don't think they water this astro anymore because it all comes up from below, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the slime. I recommend a lengthy pre-wash with a colour care detergent.
This game had all the hallmarks of a nil-nil draw, which could have been due to the horse tranquillisers the captain had been taking for a stiff neck which resulted in several fluffed short corners at the top of the D. Fortunately the rest of the team were on better form.
Emma and Claire worked very well together on the left, and the forwards stepped things up several gears from last week. Late in the second half another wayward short corner strike was anticipated perfectly by Zoey who deftly deflected it in to huge cries of collective relief. We gave away 1 or was it 2 short corners, but apart from that, and 2 breakaways necessitating quick decision making from Pipes, it didn't really feel like we were under too much threat.
It is with some surprise (given the trio of games before Christmas when we underperformed quite dreadfully) that I find we are top of the league this week. Some might say the smart money is on Spencer (who totally outplayed us in December) and London Eds (who, for reasons I don't understand, have 3 games in hand and are a mere 4 points behind us), but the smart money isn't always right. Some of Spencer's results have been curious, and we are certainly capable of beating the other teams. The next game against old Cranleighans on 10 Feb will be crucial for both teams. (KS)
This week's eventual winners were: Pipes, Kato, Shorty, Hils, Lucy Muldoon, Biba, Hannah, Emma, Sarah, Claire, Zoey.
POTM: Emma
Scorer: Zoey
Umpire: Lou Campbell, cheers Lou
Next game: 10.00 on 10 Feb v. Old Cranleighans
Women’s 3s vs. Woking Vets: Drew 1 – 1
We were cheated out of a win. The fact that the average age in our team was most likely half that of the opposition, it is embarrassing that we didn’t. Things didn’t get off to the best start though when we received a frantic call from George, victim of our captain’s car (and navigation), which had taken a diversion towards Guildford back to Woking via Bagshot despite at least two of its passengers having played in Woking several times before. But as the game begun with only 10 v. 11 players on the pitch, a figure in the form of Lou Curry could be seen sprinting towards us in the distance and we could rest assured that the rest of our team was on its way.
With memory blurred by pre and post-match events, the sequence of goals, passes and impressive runs etc escapes me. At 1-1 though, we looked pretty good and really deserved a win from the number of shots on goal (on target) that we made but which, unfortunately for us, were stopped by some convincing saves from their GK. Other reasons and excuses for not winning are: (a) being distracted by the fact that the opposition kept standing on us whenever we had the ball and (b) having the game stopped during an attacking run so the umpire could recover from minor cramp on the sidelines by performing a variety of calf-stretching exercises.
Still everyone enjoyed the game, particularly Karen and Jen who were enjoying the game so much that they forgot to sub themselves back on but had, by the looks of things, a nice time chatting and cheering us on from the sideline. The journey home wasn’t without its dramas either, when a member of the team (who shall remain anonymous…at least for a while longer) knocked into the back of a little old lady’s Micra at a roundabout having been distracted by an influx of texts from Lou who insisted on following her home. Lesson 1: don’t text and drive. Lesson 2: don’t follow team members who are driving in the wrong direction. (EP)
Team: Lou Curry, Dulcie Davies, Stacey Sellman, Jen Watson (Supporter), Karen Dodds (Supporter), Rosie Le Voir, George Hills, Kate Vicary, Emma Parker, Helen Shackleton, Mo O’Brien, Rachael Biggs, Beth Little.
PoM: Emma P
Umpires: Woking provided (with muscle cramp)
Next Game: Saturday 3 February v. Raynes Park 1s (Away)
Women’s 4s: No game
Next game: Saturday 3rd Feb vs London Edwardians, JAGS 11am
Women's 5s vs. Wanderers 5s: Lost 0-6
Team: Olivia Salau, Jean Sutton, Nicole Yost, Martina Vanderleij, Fatima D'Onofrio, Helen Fermor, Ash McDonald, Stephanie Engeler, Len Price, Kate Leckie, Andrea Beattie, Helen Clark
Umpire: Penny Ganser
Scorer: We should be so lucky
Women's 6s vs. Leatherhead Away: Lost 3-1
The day started off looking promising, in so much as it wasn’t pissing down like it had been a week ago; we found the pitch without too much drama and we even pushed back at a decent time! However, that is where our luck ended. I was recovering from being ill and Gigi was drunker than Oliver Reed at an Irish wedding. Combined with being a man short of a team anyway, we were effectively playing with 8.
Undeterred, we set off at lightning pace and yours truly delivered a backboard-shattering powerhouse of a shot from top D to open the scoring. An idle spectator could be forgiven for thinking we were doing really rather well. Our passing, communication and movement were looking great – apart from Gigi, who was staggering about wheezing like a drunken, asthmatic. Then, against the run of play – they equalised.
At half time, they brought on fresh legs. LOADS of them. We didn’t; largely because it wasn’t an option available to us, but mainly to psych the other team out. Charlotte played a blinder in goal with some awesome one-on-ones and couldn’t do much about their second goal coming from an unfortunate short corner. Ever the responsible captain, Kate made a point of telling everyone to mark up. She was so involved in this, however, that her own mark slipped by un-noticed to score a third. The irony was lost on most of us.
We fought hard to get back in the game and though we had our chances we failed to convert any into goals. Pats on backs go to Mags, Lex and Lucy who were outstanding in midfield and wing; and to Jess who had a great game at sweeper. At the end of the day, we were out-manoeuvred by a better-prepared team. Admittedly, it would be interesting to see how we might have fared on another day with a fully fit 11, but some things will ever remain a mystery… Like how a board of advertising executives ever approved the concepts for ‘Elephant.co.uk’, or if the member of the oppo with the beard was actually female..? (AM)
Team: Captain Streaker, Jess Beaches Geldof, Shona Chambers, Monty, Mags ‘Lightning’ Aylward, Lex ‘Rouge’ Price, Alanna Macintosh, Gigi ‘Drunken’ Ho, Charlotte ‘Reactions of a Mongoose’ Ryan, Lucy ‘What – I’m not a defender?’ Gilchrist.
Umpire: Katie ‘Broken’ Stone
Scorers: Moi (of course)
Next Match: Saturday 03rd February vs. Camberley & Farnborough – 12.30 home
HA Trophy: Dragons vs. Wimbledon: Won 4-2
A thorough team performance that saw representatives from the 1s through to the 4s- although on the day the difference was hardly noticable.... well they do say that form is temporary and that class is permanent! Roll on round two in three weeks time as we are in good shape to tackle whomever is thrown to the Red & Green Wolves... ahem... Dragons. (MJ)
Team: Piggy (GK), MJ, Coleman, Will Nurse, Aido, Ed Marland, James Kirby, Lou Curry, Gemma Baker, Emma Parker, Kath Sowter, Hanah Cooke, Lisa Cox & Ellie Gardiner.
Scorer(s): Aido (2) & Will (2).
Umpire: Lou Campbell & Si Riley
Next game: Sunday, February 04, 2007 Wanderers Daquiris Battersea Park 12:30
Next Trophy game: Sunday, February 18, 2007 Middleton & Bognor Dulwich College (tbc)
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