Hamstrings 2 – 0 East Grinstead Saints
There was nothing unusual about the build-up to the match against East Grinstead on Saturday for the Hammies. With one player in A&E from a morning run, plenty of banter, and a committed car park warm-up that combined with an overhaul of shortie strategy. It all felt like a typical game day. What followed was anything but routine. The team delivered a masterclass in possession, patience, and creating opportunities, leaving our goalkeeper—Man of the Match in the last two games—spectating for much of the match, often with his helmet off.
Contributions across the pitch from start to finish, made it difficult to single out a Man of the Match. Hard work at the base of the diamond opened up space, sparking attacks down both wings. The pressure finally paid off, resulting in a 2-0 victory, with goals from Baz and Steve. Special congratulations to Mike for earning Man of the Match, constantly posing a threat and delivering quality feeds into the D.
Great to have the winning smiles back!
Barnstormers 5 – 1 Old Georgian Phoenix
*OC Barnstormers v OG Phoenix.**
*_an occasionally true story_
Those of you with dogs or kids playing other sports will know it was a filthy start to the day. Howling gales and driving rain not exactly warming the body or soul, but eventually the clouds parted to reveal a strange orange ball of heat and light. As this was happening a band of 13 Barnstomers (average age 49) were making their way to a historically impregnable fortress for a showdown with the unbeaten Old Georgians Phoenix.
Having arrived uncharacteristically promptly and completed the warm up, Captain Si dished out some words of wisdom. These have been covered in previous match reports as they never change, but I suppose at least we’re consistent. They’re gonna be good. Keep it simple. Play our game. No chat to the umpires. Use the bench. Etc. etc.
The game started with the sun on our backs, and some of what the skipper said might have actually made it through to the old grey matter as we started pretty well. Moving the ball around the back nicely, transfers between Dougie, Tongy, Searsy and Ed created openings to get the ball in to our midfield and particularly out to Yongy and Ritchie in the wide channels. Although not threatening the goal in the first few minutes we were settling in to a nice pattern of play, and continuing like this would surely pay dividends eventually. Knowing consistency would be key we started to ignore all that, carried the ball a bit too much and found ourselves in a bit of bother, conceding a few turnovers in quick succession. OGs really should have made more of their opportunities but thanks to some scrambled defence and some great saves by keeper and MoM Ian we kept them out.
After this somewhat rude wake up call, we settled back down into our patterns of play and after a decent move up the middle skipper Si opened the scoring with a crisp forehand strike. 1-0 OCs. First half done.
The half time team talk was pretty short as on the whole it was a reasonable half of hockey, the lack of jelly babies and / or Haribo being the only point to be improved upon moving forward.
The second half got underway…at least I think it did. With the sun directly in the eyes of the left back / left half and the umpire at our end (more of that shortly) it was hard to get a solid read on the game, but I think we continued to play some reasonable hockey. We definitely had the better of possession and territory, but couldn’t quite finish off our chances and with the game still poised at 1-0 all results were still possible. After we lost possession in their D JJ chased one of their defenders back and made a slightly robust challenge. Despite the umpire at that end awarding nothing more than a free hit, the aforementioned chap who was 80 metres away with the sun in his eyes saw it differently and marched the full length of the pitch to award JJ a yellow card. OCs a man down and the home crowd building the pressure was on, but we weathered that storm and soaked up the OGs pressure without conceding.
Back up to a full compliment, the side to side transfers maneuvered the tiring Phoenix around more and more, opening up opportunities for us to play longer balls forward. Craig, playing in his first game for many months, took particular advantage of this and fired a laser up to a renewed JJ. He carried the ball forward with his characteristic blend of power and grace, before entering the D and smashing a trade mark tomahawk like a cross bow bolt into the bottom right hand corner. Cue much whingeing from the Phoenix about age, ability etc. Either way we didn’t care. Cracking goal. OC 2-0.
Now, the two events may not be related but I’m writing the match report so tough. With the skippers words about using the bench ringing in my ears, and my legs and lungs both in need of a rest I took some much needed time on the bench and they scored. Coincidence? Who knows? Either way it was now 2-1 and the game was well and truly in the balance. Emboldened by getting back to within a goal, the Phoenix really did rise from the flames and put us under more and more pressure and we conceded several shorts in a row, but again the defence held firm(ish) and Ian made another couple of good saves to keep us ahead. Inexplicably, up the other end we failed to get a single short corner in the whole match, the verdict being if we were in possession stick on stick was a stick block but if OGs had it, it was a stick tackle. We were also penalised for hitting the ball on to a defenders foot in their D….it’s a funny old game.
As the game entered the final 10 minutes or so, OGs really started to push for the equaliser, but as they threw more and more men forward we held our shape well and when we turned the ball over some excellent long passes found them outnumbered in midfield and defence. The whingeing about JJs first goal scoring masterclass had barely subsided, when to rub salt into the wound he launched another absolute rocket that flew over the keepers head into the top left corner. The exaggerated praise for his contributions may be a result of him knowing I was doing the match report and him buying me a beer afterwards. Investigations are ongoing.
With only a few minutes to go and now 3-1 down, OGs to their credit continued to push forwards, but we held firm and as we continued to dispossess them on their attacks, more and more gaps were opening up with CB playing the link man to get the ball out to Ritchie on the right or Powelly higher up. Around the 68th minute we finally put the game to bed when yet another turnover resulted in us stringing together a few slick passes to find Gerry in space in their D. A crisp strike thudding into the back of the goal, a beautiful sound to OC ears and the Phoenix would rise no longer, their unbeaten season now turned to ashes. 4-1 OCs.
The icing on the cake came pretty much from the restart as another slick couple of passes resulted in captain Si straining the hamstrings one more time to execute a textbook reverse hit over the already prone keeper. 5-1 OCs. Job done. 3 points to take back to the fortress.
MoM – Ian Kerridge
Goals – Si Quinton (2), JJ (2), Gerry Davies
Women’s 1s 1 – 2 Hampstead & Westminster 3s
In a tightly contested match, OC faced off against Hampstead & Westminster at home, ultimately suffering a tough 2-1 defeat. The game showcased a mix of resilience and challenges, with OC’s trying out a new formation that would showcase the team’s strengths, with the efforts underscored by a blast of Taylor Swift from the McErlain/Davis/Short carpool to inject some energy into the team ahead of the game.
The first half saw Hampstead & Westminster take the lead with a well-executed short corner goal early on. OC struggled to find their rhythm in the new formation, which hampered their ability to establish a cohesive attack despite some great skills. Mia and Macy connected well with the backline, breaking up the Hampstead midfield to drive the play forwards. Easy and Madi both made breaks for the D with the promise of a deflected goal, only to be cut short by the Hampstead defenders. A cracking backline pass from Lolly saw Hattie so nearly tap the ball in for the first goal for OCs, only to be followed by Candela coming agonisingly close to equalising with a powerful drag flick that struck the crossbar, highlighting the team’s potential to capitalize on their chances. Strong defending from both teams saw the scoreline at 1-0 Hampstead heading into half time.
A change in tactic at half time back to a 4-3-3 formation had the OC’s girls starting the second half with fight in their bellies. There were a few gaps in the OCs press, allowing Hampstead to pass through the middle of the pitch and work their way towards the OC defensive D. OCs had a clear majority of possession and there were increasing moments of flair. Danni had several reverse stick opportunities, though one strike saw the ball fly well clear over the goal, earning her a DoD vote! Despite the grit shown by Tex, Hazel and Emma from the backline, Hampstead doubled their lead with another goal in the 52nd minute. OC continued to battle hard and showed promising flashes of skill, reacting quickly to fight back and gain a penalty corner. A strong injection from Kenzie out to Gabby on the second castle saw a disguise slap slotted into the goal with the help of a deflection from the Hampstead defender, giving OCs a goal back with 10 minutes to go and a glimmer of hope. Emma and Sylvie both found chances to progress upon the D from long corner re-starts, coming agonisingly close to a goal. As the final whistle sounded, a penalty corner was awarded to OCs and all players joined the play. Despite the great pace of the left slip from Tex, Hampstead were able to hold off the goal threat and came away with the win.
Despite the loss, OC’s played well and demonstrated determination. Hattie received two green cards during the match, both for body checks on the opposition, seeing her take the DoD. Though the inconsistent umpiring on this matter certainly frustrated the team!
A well deserved MoM performance goes to Em Short (Tex) for really stepping it up and causing all sorts of trouble for the Hampstead attackers.
We had an early start with a 10am PB at home and although it poured with rain so hard during the warmup we had to shelter in the stands, the sun came out by the end of the game. We had Jacqs helping on the bench and giving encouragement throughout and we welcomed Serena Wijewardene for her first match with us.
Game number five really saw the benefits of playing and training together from the previous four weeks and we are really coming together as a team.
Within the first 10 mins or so of the game our spirits were lifted when Lucy Gilmour tapped the ball in for our first goal being assisted by Darcie Waite. The opposition had one big hitter at the back but it didn’t take long for us to tighten up the press and those hits then got stopped in their tracks.
In the second half we put into practice everything we had done at training with the mid fielders really connecting with the forwards and team players coolly holding on to the ball making sure the pass was on.
We had a brilliant short corner goal from Eva Hughes-Leaver off a straight strike into the left back corner and about 5 minutes later the team produced a textbook goal initiated from Serena at the back. Frankie Gray scored, lifting the ball into the back of the net, again the assist from Lucy. We never stopped trying for more goals.
The defence was strong and spent most of the game high up the pitch and on the attack, there was only one moment on the break that got them worried but there was no need as our GK Nikki Goldsmith was on it despite that being the only touch for Nikki in the game!! The whole team was delighted with such a lovely win.
POM: Eva for her short corner goal.
Women’s 4s 0 – 1 Surbiton Jaguars
A fantastically played game for the Ladies 4th team this week with an
unfortunate result.
Up against Surbiton we knew we were going to be facing a well-trained,
challenging side. The first 10 minutes begun slow, with us conceding putting
Surbiton 1-0 up. However, OCs were still very much in the game, waking up
after conceding early, and managing to hold Surbiton off from scoring again.
Despite some fantastic runs in the midfield and a special mention to Connie
with some excellent passing, it was a shame for the overall score to remain 1-
0 to Surbiton. Looking forward to next week and hopefully a more rewarding
score line!
Women’s 3s 3 – 0 Sunbury & Walton Hawks 2s
The day started off with a lot of rain.
It soaked the pitch at Oaken Lane.
Helen and Alice arrived with a brush.
To sweep away the watery slush.
A strong line-up for the team.
Everyone arrived super keen.
Poor Sangster hurt her back.
Late arrival for our super sub Jacq.
Nicky and Molly were a great addition.
To the Ladies 3s goal scoring mission.
Ailsa and Miggs gave fiery team talks.
Ready to face Sunbury and Walton Hawks.
Jenny and Megan were strong in midfield.
Both Elles formed a defensive shield.
Many shots were made in the oppo’s D.
Many saves were made by the oppo’s goalie.
Many shorts were given, but alas no goal.
Partly because Chloe Pim fell down a hole.
After half time, we started to jam
With a tight angled goal from super Sam.
Next came a goal from Alice Pim
Who gave it an extra tap to ensure it went in.
Final goal was a piece of magic from Miggs Ensuring the ladies 3s finished as bigwigs.