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

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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.