Match reports - January 31, 2009

The 1st XI continued their promotion bid with a 7-0 drubbing of Walton & Weybridge Hawks, while the 2nd XI battled to a 0-0 draw with UCL Academicals and the 4th XI drew with Barnes Beavers 2-2. The Ladies remained bottom of the league after another 0-1 loss, this time at Old Kingstonians, the 3rd XI crashed to a 1-8 rout at Leatherhead while the Veterans were well beaten 0-4 by Southgate

Walton & Weybridge 0-7 1st XI
One thing may cost us this season, lack of personal discipline. I do not only mean the bad tackles leading to a short corner and an equalising goal a few minutes from the end but the whole concept of our approach to the task in hand. This starts on a Wednesday night and turning up to training, to being sensible on a Friday night, respecting those in the team who are sensible and on match days to ensure we all meet on time as requested by the skipper. As soon as these things go wrong or are lacking the 70 minute game goes wrong.

Not only does it affect the rest of the team who are then affected by an unnecessary distraction but it winds up those who put in so much effort to pull together the team. There is then discord on the bench, wrong substitutions are made and the structure falls down with disharmony the product.

Fortunately this weekend's game was against a poor Walton and Weybridge side who put up little resistance with us scoring three in the first 15 minutes and four in the last 20. In between there was a sterile 35-minute patch with us taking the wrong decisions in crucial areas. The defence held firm as a unit with the back five including Trickster and the bulk of the midfield barely allowing the host side a sight on goal. The two Woods were especially effective and Cookiey could not be faulted for the amount of leg work he put in.

Gavin scored our first hat-trick of the season finishing his goals extremely well, Ed B scored two corners, Eds swept home a loose ball in the D and Chris Brewer notched his first for many years when picking up the pieces from our final corner. Up front we have to perhaps be a bit more selfish on occasions in the sense of having an early shot on occasions rather than teeing up a tap in.

This season will go down to the wire and ultimately the most disciplined side who gives no margin of error will win the league. There is no room for sloppy preparation "just because it is a side at the bottom" as we have to approach every game as if it is a cup final. Each team in our league has something to play for with the next season's change in the league structure and we will be kidding ourselves if we think we can just identify three or four games as key games that we have to win. Remember London University two seasons ago ... David Knapp

2nd XI 0-0 UCL Academicals
Given that we have have by far the best defence in the league but only two teams have scored fewer goals than us, you do not expect goalfests when we play. Allied to a defence that a couple of years ago would have been gracing the 1st XI - Robson, Heard, Stephens, Duff and Khurshid - then getting Stephens to buy a drink would be an easy steal. As it was, a draw was just about a fair result. We created only one half-chance and what some might claim was a shot in the entire game, while UCL managed a few shots but surprisingly decided on four three-on-ones that dribbling through Duff was the easy option. He made sweetly timed tackles on each occasion. UCL did have the ball in the goal only for the short-corner strike to be harshly disallowed. The decision did not justify the "f***ing cheat" comment aimed at the umpire by one of the UCL players and the refusal of most to shake hands. UCL, who share our ground, are a club we feel close to and who we spent the evening eating curry with.

Leatherhead 8-1 3rd XI
Not much to say. The consensus of the survivors drinking in the bar and downing some utterly vile Austrian Butterscotch paintstripper provided by Jock was that we deserved to lose but not by four goals. Preston netted our one goal although we gave up in the second half, Jock insisting that one of the Leatherhead goals was via a foot. That only left seven to account for ...

4th XI 2-2 Barnes Beavers
A great game all round with some well worked passing and strong team work - 2-2 probably being a fair result in the end. The highlights were Bertie Bance's two wonder dribble goals ... two slower-paced shots have never before crossed the line in one match - nice one Bertie.

Old Kingstonians 1-0 Ladies XI
We played Old Kingstonian’s this week and with OK’s also being towards the bottom end of the league we had hoped to take some points off them.

With a slightly depleted squad, as many people were away for the weekend, we started strong even though a number were playing out of position and Rossy P was still trying to navigate her way through traffic mayhem! However we were caught on the break in the first couple of minutes and a goal mouth scrabble led to OK’s taking an early lead – bugger, bugger and bugger! Sorry for the swearing but we didn’t deserve it!

With this we didn’t get downhearted but took the game to them. Our attacking play and determination to make the fifty-fifties meant we were controlling the game and getting opportunities on goal. Whilst this sometimes left us open to OK’s catching us on the break again, as most of us were up in their half, the defence of Tux, Lucy, Ros, Mez and Jax were able to cope and if not then Steph cleared any loose balls hard out to the sidelines. As we came into half time an OK’s forward decided tackling with a shoulder barge was the way forward (we were beginning to get under their skin) and promptly got a green card from their umps … only to be followed 2 minutes later by a yellow as Goalie (“I have never given a yellow before”) simply had no choice! Okay so now we had the advantage … but then someone blew the damn half time whistle, not helpful!

The player advantage didn’t last for long in the second half as she was back on in four minutes – I ask you! That said we continued our attacking play with good drives up the midfield by Viks, May, Anna and Niks which meant we had opportunities on goal but just couldn’t find the final touch. Snoops, Ems and Lucy continued to hassle the OKs forward line but as the ball glided across the goal mouth attempts to drive it home were dashed as the OKs keeper put in a last ditch save. Injuries meant that for a while Snoops had to play in defence but ‘Psycho’ and the rest of the defence were able to clear the shots on goal with Steph covering behind.

As the last two minutes came we kept pushing but it just wasn’t happening and the score line remained 1-0 to the end. A good game and certainly our determination to get ourselves out of the relegation battle is coming through – we just need to get some goals!!! Well played guys. Next game 10am @ home this Saturday – club support would be good if anyone has a spare morning! And lastly thanks to Goalster who has helped us out a lot this season – cheers. Helen Hawes

Veterans 0-5 Southgate
Report to follow.

Time for an OCHC Colts section?

The committee has decided that it is time to look once again at setting up a colts section at the club. Initially we would aim only at the Under-9 and Under-11 boys and girl age groups. The reason is due to the amount of time and man power required to run a colts section properly.

The view is that it will attract adults as well as colts and open the club up to more people.

Volunteers will also be needed to run the coaching and so heads need to be raised above the parapet. Police checks are now required for all coaches of minors with standard forms being completed and submitted to check criminal records..

Equipment would be required but the intention would be for the colts to be self funding at an annual cost of say £75.00 per child.

At this stage we only need an indication of whether you

1 Would be interested in coaching and/or

2 Have a child or children who would like to become a member of the club

3 Could help in promoting the idea via local schools, sports clubs and the like.

In addition as a number of our adult members are on the verge of starting as well as those already having a family now may be the time to consider setting up a match day crèche at the club.

Again, would this be of interest to you?

Please contact David Knapp

All kit now available to buy

Helen Hawes is delighted to announce that we are now fully stocked up with kit ...home and away shirts, shorts, socks, hoodies, beanies and jackets. She writes:-

"I will be at the club this Saturday (January 31) between 9.15am and 10.30am to give the 4th XI their away shirts. I will also be at the curry evening and will bring them with me – I’ll be the very sober one! If you miss me this weekend then I shall be at OCs much of the following Saturday (7th) to watch the girls and the 3rd XI."

* Home Shirts - If you need a home shirt then they can be bought for £10 or if a replacement for £20.

* Away Shirts - For anyone who has paid their subs for this season then you are entitled to an away shirt. These can be obtained from your captain but to help them please can you let me know your home shirt number.

* Men’s Shorts (with OC crest) - These have now arrived and can be bought for £20 a pair. Sizes are 32”, 34”, 36”, 38”, 40” and 42”.

* Beanies - These are £6 and one size fits all.

* Socks - Available at £7.50 a pair.

Knapp decimal error

With the next 100 Club draw looming, spare a thought for Tony Loveland who received a most welcome email from David Knapp advising him that he had "won £6000 in the pre-Christmas draw". What a difference a small decimal point can make. Fortunately, Knapp was able to send a quick follow-up pointing out that the amount was actually £60 before Tony had booked the holiday of a lifetime ...

Match reports - January 24, 2009

The 1st XI ground out a 1-0 win over Merton, but the Ladies' relegation worries deepened with a 2-5 home loss to Raynes Park. The 3rd XI's one-match winning run came to an end against Bank of England, but the 4th XI came away from Battersea with an excellent 2-1 win over Wanderers

Click here for this week's photos

1st XI 1-0 Merton
Against a vastly different and far more competitive Merton side we were made to fight hard for these three points.

The game was predominantly played in the midfield with neither side really creating many clear cut chances. On the short corner count we won 6-1 but our corners that had recently been so effective were poor with no on target shots.

Our goal was the product of a lengthy period of sustained pressure with James Wood on hand to nudge the ball home having been set up by Gavin Adair and Chris Valentine. CV had his best game of the season so far proving to be very effective on the right hand side. The defence too held firm and only allowed Merton three shots, two in the same move 10 minutes from the end and a speculative shot that hit the post and bounced to safety.

We could and should have scored more than the one goal but squandered a number of good positions and the Merton keeper made a handful of good saves to keep the away side in the game.

Fair to say had we shown the same commitment to the cause last week as we did today we would not have dropped points.

Back to winning ways and the great satisfaction of a clean sheet.

Thank you also to Aaron and Keith for umpiring the game in such an excellent manner. This is the third or fourth time we have Aaron and he has umpired better each time - and from an initially high starting point. The certainty of the decisions of both umpires was akin to a national league match - yes, I can still remember those days ... David Knapp

Merton v 2nd XI
Report to follow.

3rd XI 3-6 Bank of England
Report to follow.

Wanderers 1-2 4th XI
We put the disappointment of last week’s final minute defeat behind us to record a well deserved away victory against Wanderers. With several players absent due to holidays and wedding planning the side was juggled slightly. Neil Robertson-Ravo, Atsushi and Bish joined the team, whilst Dom made his first appearance as goalkeeper.

We looked bright and determined from the start of the match with Rob Jonker, Adam and Bish battling well in midfield and distributing the ball cleverly to the skillful front line of Smeer, Neil and Louis. Wanderers did well to deflect several jinking runs towards goal by Neil, and Louis was denied on a couple of occasions by last-ditch tackling before finding the net with a fine strike from a short corner. (0-1)

Wanderers were left to rely on counter attacks and looked dangerous at times. All too often though their play resulted in a ball into touch, or was met by an excellent interception by our back line (Grant, Rob Crumby, Nick Aston, and Atsushi). Atsushi played brilliantly at pivot in the absence of Steve Harmer, calmly intercepting passes and using the ball simply and intelligently. Grant, Rob and Nick were equally solid and composed, ensuring that Dom didn’t touch the ball for more than 20 minutes of the first half.

The only thing we did wrong in the first half was stepping on the ball too often. One such kick resulted in a strike across goal and a goal mouth scrap which ended with the ball being struck high into our net. (1-1). Half time.

The second half was played in much the same vein as the first. We won a lot of possession and moved the ball around well. Rob Jonker commanded play from the middle of the pitch, using Atsushi’s simple passes out of defence to great effect. Adam found a lot of space on the right and Bish kept Neil well fed on the left wing. The winning goal was scored mid way through the half, once again by Louis who found space to finish from close range. (1-2).

All in all, a great team performance, a deserved three points, and a good competitive game of hockey which everyone enjoyed. Thanks to Wanderers for providing the umpires and playing the game in the best possible spirit. Dom Tucker

Ladies XI 2-5 Raynes Park
Report to follow.

Match reports - January 17, 2009

Old Kingstonians 3-3 1st XI
Two great mid season games, but boy did we slip up today, pressing the self destruct button on a couple of occasions.

The best time to concede is in the first minute and so having gone one down after 55 seconds we had plenty of time to respond. Matters were back on an even keel by the 5th minute when Ed Breton popped home our first corner and for the next 15 minutes OKs could hardly get a touch and it seemed only a matter of time before we scored and so it proved to be with Gavin sweeping the home expertly to make it 2 -1. This followed great work down the right flank. Perhaps we became over confident because our game deteriorated dramatically and we became sloppy, giving away possession time and time again and putting ourselves under pressure. We again failed to clear the ball leading to the oppo's first short corner that was beautifully converted. Knapp had the chance to restore the lead just before the break but somehow contrived to put the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

At half time we seemed to have nailed the problem and although Ed B received a yellow that had been coming we regained the lead with Ed C cracking home a short. Another goal was key and would have put the game beyond OKs but as they showed in September they were going to fight all the way. Disappointingly we failed to convert two or three good chances at 3-2 and then conceded an unnecessary corner leading to Ed B's second yellow and a shot which bobbled home to level things up. We still had time to score from two more chances but it was not to be.

Territorially and chances wise we deserved to win but attitude wise we did not and OKs won this side of the battle hands down and fully deserved their point.

Quite simply we have to be cleverer. At the end of both halves we had the ball in the circle with a minute to go and instead of rolling it on a foot tried to create a chance. Our corner routine looks dangerous so we need to win corners in such situations. However having squeaked past OKs in game one with a last-minute strike the chances of doing so again were minimal.

A fair result with a bag full of work to do in the next 10 games if we are to win the league. Well played Nick and James Wood on their debuts with some plus points coming from the game. David Knapp

OKs v 2nd XI
Report to follow.

Purley Walcountians 2-4 3rd XI
New year, new start probably the Saturday that the whole 3rd XI has been desperate to arrive finally we have our first win of the season. Turning up to Purley at 4pm on a cold dark Saturday afternoon was not what anyone would have chosen but as you can see it was all worth it because of the result.

The match started off fantastically when only a few minutes after a great cross from the right Preston slotted an absolute corker in to take us 1-0 up. The whole team was buoyed by this and some the best hockey this season was to follow. Andy and Tom were making some great runs up each wing and Ross and Armo were controlling the midfield. Although the next 10 minutes was a bit end to end, eventually a short corner was won from another good attacking move. Using a route one tactic with the straight strike this was too good for the Purley Keeper and we went 2-0 up. The first half continued in pretty much the same vane with defence holding strong. We welcomed Jock back after a long absence and it was a really strong performance from him at right back with a number of good runs from defence and solid hit outs it did make a difference (Please do not tell Jock that we praised him). The rest of the defence was also holding strong with Ewan having a strong tackling performance at Left Back (before Rich admirably covered for him – when he wore himself out) Tim also seemed to relish his man marking role whilst Andy stood solid as a rock at sweeper. Despite all of this strong play unfortunately it was not enough to prevent Purley pulling one back with a scrappy goal. This unlike other times was not enough to force the heads down. Preston was again in the right place at the right time and managed to stick his second away to give us a half-time lead of 3-1.

After possibly our best half of the season there was not much other than encouragement required at the break. The second half got going and continued in the same way as the first we continued to make some good chances and were unfortunate not to go further ahead. Just as everyone had started to look at their watches to see how much longer we would need to hold out for our first win, Purley got their second this could have meant a dodgy nail biting last 10 minutes. Our heads momentarily dropped and Purley seemed to have got the idea of a draw into theirs. Thankfully for us though Ross had different ideas and was not in the mood for any nail chewing. After a great run and looking at a one on one with the keeper it looked like he had pushed the ball far too wide. Nevertheless with the deftest of touches he managed to cut the ball back and into the goal. Even though Ross was not even aware of it we were 4-2 up. This is the way it was to stay and as I have previously mentioned we finally had our first win of the season. All I need to say to finish this is, Please can we ensure that we don’t have to wait so long for the next one. Thank you to all who turned out for what was probably not the most inviting match in history. Nigel Hawes


4th XI 2-3 Walton & Weybridge
A breezy game to start the second half of the season, with plenty of good play from both sides, no end of goalmouth action and a late and cruel twist. Walton put together some slick passing moves without converting them into clear-cut chances, while we tended to rely on the indefatigable Louis Strover ( a word that he has never been called in his entire life before today) who created problems for the Walton defence throughout. We took the lead on 25 minutes, and conceded 45 second later from a poorly-defended short corner. We restored the advantage with what one of the Walton defenders described as “complete ***ing powder puff defending” ten minutes into the second half and looked good for that lead until we shipped an oh-so-soft equaliser ten minutes from time. Both sides continued to attack, but we gave away a short corner a minute from time, failed to take one of the three chances we had to clear the ball and paid a heavy price as one of several unmarked forwards rifled the ball home. A good performance even if the outcome wasn’t. Also, full marks for astute reading of the game to Steve Harmer. Standing next to the umpire when two minutes were signalled and shouted before the interval, he turned to one of our subs and told him to “warm up … you’re on in two minutes”.

Cheam 1-0 Ladies
Our first match back after Christmas, we were raring to go and had a strong side. Rewa had kindly stepped into goal for us and Ros was back out of retirement (her recent engagement to Baz clearly giving her a new lease of life!), sweeping for us again! We had scraped a draw against Cheam in our first match of the season and were determined to go one better second time around.

We started well with good distribution from the back through the midfield and pretty much dominated the first half, pressurising the Cheam defence well and giving them very few chances. We had several shots fly past the goal, free hits just out side the area and a short corner cracking first strike saved by the Cheam keeper. Cheam had a couple of near misses but it was safe to say we were the dominant side and by half time we clearly had Cheam rattled – it feels good when you see your opposing team bickering at each other!

Our work rate had been good in the first half and our defence pretty tight and we knew more of the same hard work and eventually a goal would come. Unfortunately it was the story of out season so far in the second half. Cheam had restructured slightly at half time and this appeared to have made quite a difference. For the first 15 minutes they had us on the back foot and we never quite regained our momentum of the first half. Cheam were moving the ball around much better and putting our defence under far more pressure. They won their first short corner of the match which we defended well and cleared but minutes later all our hard work so far was undone as we saw Cheam scramble a weak ball over our back line to take them into the lead.

Keeping our heads up we knew we were more than capable of getting ourselves back in the game. From this point on we began to take control again bar giving away another short which we cleared before Cheam could get a shot in. We managed to get the ball back into Cheam’s half and once again began putting the Cheam defence under pressure. Unfortunately despite our efforts we just couldn’t seem to get the ball in the back of the goal. Although we started the second half of the season with a loss, probably a harsh result, we did put in one of our strongest performance of the season so far, which bodes well if we can maintain this standard and hopefully score a few more goals in matches to come. Thanks to Helen and her bump for umpiring for us! Jackie Waite


Veterans 1-1 St Albans
Report to follow.

1st XI continue New Year blitz

1st XI 5-1 Mid Sussex
Our second friendly and a second good and comfortable win against a side in an equivalent position to us in the Sussex/Kent league alongside ours. Another chance to look at the new players pushing and wanting first XI status with some absentees.

Mid Sussex had a miserly goals against record conceding less than a goal a game which suggested a tight defence organised by our past goalkeeper James Myers. Two top-class saves in the first 20 minutes showed why but this was after we had notched two in the first 15 through Chris Valentine and Cookiey both tap ins after some really incisive and sharp hockey. Nigel had not been called into action due to our dominance but as the half progressed we lost opur way and Mid Sussex came back into the game. They fully deserved their goal just before the break. Our problem seemed to stem from the reluctance to play the short one stop hockey that we had played with the ball being transferred across the pitch stretching the opposition. We also lost our shape as we became a little cavalier.

3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half wrapped up the game, two from Rippers and a second from Cookiey, the latter another tap in having robbed the defence of the ball and having a three-on-one against the keeper - who had been changed at half time. Once again we lost our shape and the pattern of play just as we had last week so we do need to recognise this and ensure it is not repeated in the forthcoming league encounters. The solution is a simple one which will be invoked against OKs.

Cato and CB were their usual dominating selves with Nick Lewis having his best game at the back making sure he heeded the advice of avoiding the use of the long ball. Nick Wood also had a far more solid game than last week at centre back making a series of uncompromising tackles.

We lacked a bit of fitness in the midfield which was the cause of our less effective second periods in each half and we were guilty of allowing the game to become stretched with us being saved by Nigel making three excellent saves to keep the the scoreline as it was. CV ran off the ball well and Cookiey read the game extremely well to fill in the hole created by CVs surging runs.

Two good performances with the side beginning to take a settled look about it and we now need to take the 40 minutes of top hockey into the league, play it for 55 minutes and avoid the nailbiting odd-goal victories. David Knapp

School win inaugural Loveland Bowl

A huge day for the club on the 3rd January with the 1st XI playing against Reigate Priory - high up in the league above - being a forerunner for the long awaited school v the young OCs match that followed.

The school came along early and were in the stand to watch our performance which turned out to the best of the season by a long chalk. The performance was especially pleasing with our blooding the Wood brothers and there being a perceptible increase in the levels of fitness in some key areas. Indeed, the conclusion is that there are now going to be some tough but welcome selection decisions for the next three months.

1st XI 5-1 Reigate Priory
Reigate Priory are sitting third in the league above ( and could go into second should they win their game in hand on those above ) and although they themselves were four or five players short nothing should be taken away from us as we outplayed RP for the first 25 minutes and were three goals to the good, courtesy of two superb finishes from a rejuvenated and fitter Gavin and a classy finish from Nick. Rippers in the middle had his best game of the season and although we did fail to find him during a 20-minute spell when we lost the initiative his influence was key. Our three goals came from swift incisive moves down the right flank and hitting the back line. Similar moves down the left also created problems for RP and Rory was unlucky not to score his first goal for the first team when his deflection hit the bar in the dying minutes of the half. RP pressed for the last 10 of the first period with our being a little naive when tired and continuing to press rather than looking at the phase of the game and playing a more conservative game. During this time Trickster stood firm with Cato - as always - putting in a huge amount of work and capably dealing with the scraps. Nick and James Wood gave us the solidity at centre back and left midfield that frustrated the opposition.

The second half saw us on top again and a glorious sweeping move from the left across the pitch to the right byline resulted in Rory popping home the final pass to in essence wrap up the game. At this point RP woke up and stepped up their game and slotted home a good goal after a period of concerted pressure but it had to be a good strike to beat Trickster who earned his corn with his best performance of the year.

The final 10 minutes were ours and there was time for Chris Valentine to score our final goal at his second attempt to wrap an excellent victory.

The game taught us a great deal. Our fitness is still lacking in certain areas so we need to take 13 to every game and utilise the subs properly and effectively. There is also a need to recognise that at certain times of the game we need to rein in our enthusiasm. A 3 - 1 half time score would probably have put a completely different complexion on the game and to this end we did our best to throw away possession and give RP a lifeline back into the game but we stood firm.

All in all a great start to 2009 and hopefully we will have a game next week to consolidate what we learnt this week.

School 2-0 OCs 2007-8
After much gnashing of teeth and wailing the school fixture has reappeared in the calendar after a break of over a decade and on a cold but dry evening at TD the game played by both sides was worthy of the occasion to commemorate the late Roger Loveland. Fittingly Roger's widow Betty was present to make the presentation of the Loveland bowl to the school's skipper after a very exciting and entertaining game. A number of familiar faces were present in the crowd and with the parents and friends of a number of the players also in attendance the game was very well supported.

In essence the OC side will wonder how they did not run out winners due to the chances and number of short corners that came their way but they came up against Ross in the school goal who had a truly outstanding game making a series of top draw saves that kept us at bay. As the match wore on we became frustrated and the school's belief grew and 15 minutes from the end the school slotted home their second short of the game and took the lead. Although upping their game, our lack of team work counted against us with Ross again picking off anything thrown at him.

Three minutes from the end and against a stretched OC side the school nipped in to score their second and make the game safe.

The trophy was presented to the beaming school captain with the OCs pledging to win the trophy back in 2010.

I would like to thank the four umpires who helped out today in both games to save the teams taking part from having to provide unqualified umpiring and also to the school and Paddy Harman for organising the 2 teams. However the greatest thanks go to Betty Loveland and Roger's brother Tony and his wife for coming along and continuing the great Loveland service to Cranleigh and OC hockey for braving the cold and in Betty's case in presenting the trophy.

We all look forward to the 2010 fixture. David Knapp