Match reports November 28 2009

The 1st XI remained top of Surrey/Hants 2 with a 4-1 win over Southampton’s second side , but the result of the day came at Battersea where the Ladies beat runaway leaders Spencer 3-1 to move third. Results elsewhere were not so good. The 2nd XI slid back into relegation trouble with a 2-4 loss at home to Barnes, the 3rd XI’s six-match unbeaten run ended 1-3 at Sanderstead, the 4th XI went down 0-1 at home to Sunbury, and the Vets lost 1-3 to Wimbledon..

Click here for this week's match photos

Southampton II 1-4 1st XI
A hard fought and not pretty win with our coming up against a stubborn Southampton 2s who wanted to do their 1s a favour.

We knew we would have to be patient against a defensively minded Southampton by playing the ball around and building slowly. However it took a goal against the run of play to spur us into action with the home side taking the lead following a poor tackle from CV, a short and our usual defensive frailties in conceding a goal that should never have been let in.

Five minutes later we drew level with Rippers setting up Knapp and from then on it was a matter of when rather than if. Down to nine men for the last five of the first half we failed to capitalise, the home keeper saving well a couple of times but our six short corners coming to nought. We really do have to work on these.

The second corner of the second did bring our second, Knapp sniffing off the keeper at the fourth attempt prompting Hunter to question if age had caught up with him at last. This prompted Southampton to change tack and come out of their defensive mind set and we benefited with the greater space, Cookiey this time picking the ball off the keepers pads and popping the ball home. A later short was walloped home by Eds to make the score 4-1 but two from 12 corners is a poor return.

Cato won man of the match for a solid performance at the back although Rippers had his best game of the season and arguably had more telling touches and effect on the game in central midfield.

Wanderers beat Southampton and so tightens matters at the top with our having dropped four points, Southampton and Wanderers five. Two games to go before the break and six points required.

Spender 1-3 Ladies XI
This week saw us come head to head with the current league leaders, Spencer, and it can safely be said there were a few pre-match nerves about this one. However, after a few encouraging pre-match words from Goalie and some great team spirit, the ladies were set for leaving the pitch with nothing less than three points.

As in any match, it took a few minutes to settle into the game but we had soon got to grips with the opposition's playing style and were quick to get up in the D and get a few shots on goal. A cheeky flick in the back of the net from Sarah Mann put us 1-0 up. Spencer, looking slightly uneased by this early goal, soon realised this match wasn't going to be a walk in the park for them. The remainder of the first half saw some great one - twos and brilliant defending. However, a lucky straight strike from the top of the D by a Spencer forward saw the score hit 1-1 by the half time whistle.

The second half was a different story altogether. From the whistle, we were looking more confident than ever and as a result, did a fantastic job of putting training into practice. In defence, no Spencer player was left unmarked causing them to make rush moves, resulting in nothing more than giving us a few more sixteens. Making the most of these, the ball was soon up in the opposing D and some fanstastic textbook moves from the the mids and forwards saw us get two more brilliant goals from Jax and Vikki. All in all, it was a great effort all round which resulted in a well deserved win! Lucy Bevin

2nd XI 2-4 Barnes
Click here for this week's match photos
With a strong side (albeit with a number of new faces, and completely different from the week before) we were confident in beating a Barnes team who sat immediately below us in the league before the game. We were once again dealt a blow in the build up to the game losing Cookiey, called up after taking his opportunity to shine for the 1s the previous week, and Heardy to another 1s injury.

We started brightly enough, creating some early pressure in their d. However they were already proving dangerous on the break and we conceded first. This pressed us into action and a well worked move down the left left Porter unmarked on the left post to slot home for our first. We conceded another at the break, demonstrating an alarming tendency to miss repeated tackles, allowing their strong midfield to flood through. Once again our inability to hold the ball up front was the other main cause of our demise.

The second half continued in much the same vain. Repeated deliberate fouling in the middle third of the pitch by them effectively broke our flow and went unpunished by the umpires, in fact seemingly obvious decisions actually went against us. Bizarrely we were the first side to get a yellow, Will Stephens was the unfortunate recipient. Finally three quarters of an hour late they got a yellow for yet another shocking challenge. By then it was too late and the 4 goals we conceded could have been more were it not for some fine last ditch tackling (JP Davidson in particular) and some good saves by Paul Watson (on his debut). We finally got one back with a scrappy goal finally put away by James Bents.

We are now in 10th place and we have Old Kingstonians (5th) and Oxted (6th) before Christmas. In fairness Barnes were one of the better sides we have played so far, but in truth we were poor. We must build on short passages of great hockey (both in attack and defence) that we have been able to put together in small parts of games. A regular side that doesn’t change every week and a genuine striker would be very useful in developing this consistency. Rob Merry


Sanderstead 3-1 3rd XI
It’s really not a great mix for a Saturday afternoon, not only were we playing at one of the bleakest grounds possible where I swear it is 5 degrees colder than any where else. Then the afternoon was made complete by being greeted by everyones favourite umpire and also our favourite forward who it looked like had dropped down to the 3rd’s just for our pleasure. Nevertheless these two favourites were on surprisingly pleasant form especially the latter who seemed to have turned over a new leaf of serene calm. We didn’t need this pair to ruin our afternoon despite holding out until halftime at 0-0 we determined to throw it all away in the 2nd half. When Chris was taken off to hospital having head butted a stick we seemed to lose the urge to play. It was only when he had gone 3-0 down to three well taken goals by Sanderstead that we suddenly realised that we had actually come to the beautiful town of Croydon to play hockey. Although we pulled back one goal, through what was probably our only flowing move, with Andy slotting home from some great play by Stuey. There really wasn’t a great deal else to write home about. The only thing that we could take from this was that we really need to get ourselves back together for next week and also thankfully this was the only match in Croydon for the season. All our best goes to Chris who we can report spent a nice time (3Hours) in the joys of Maygay Hospital (reportedly a scary place at the best of times) and now sports a scar that would make Harry Potter pretty jealous. Nigel Hawes

4th XI 0-1 Sunbury
Report to follow

Vets 1-3 Wimbledon
Report to follow

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Match reports November 21 2009

The 1st XI remained top of Surrey/Hants 2 with a stop-start 4-3 win over Southampton Uni, but the 2nd XI went down 1-4 at Merton. The 3rd XI romped to an 11-0 win over Surrey Old Boys and the 4th XI won at Addiscombe by the only goal of the day. Despite the 3rd XI’s goalfest, the performance of the week came from the Ladies who played some sublime hockey in a 3-0 win over Reigate. The Vets went down 1-4 at Oxted.Chris Valentine fires the 1st XI into the lead against the students
Click here for this week's match photos

1st XI 4-3 Southampton Uni
A cracking game and all credit to Southampton Uni for making it such an entertaining match.

We knew it was going to be a tough one and that the league table did not prove to be an accurate indication of the University's ability.

The early exchanges went in our favour even though we did not create as many chances as we should have with our failing to capitalise on the territorial advantage that we had. However we did take the lead following a good save by the Uni keeper saw the ball come out to CV who just squeezed the ball home for us to take the initiative. The advantage lasted two minutes when the Uni countered and caught us on the break with sloppy marking allowing an unchallenged run into the circle with the resultant cross deflected home on the near post.

Cookiey restored our advantage clipping home the ball after a good move set him up and so it remained until half time following Trickster making a number of good saves.

At this point we should have made our experience count but instead we played ping pong with the vibrant Uni side and were pulled back conceding a well worked short corner 10 minutes into the second half. As the half progressed we did put the oppo's defence under pressure but were thwarted by a super performance by the Uni keeper and our not making the most of the chances we created. Hunter restored our lead with a flicked short but a minute later we were undone by a carbon copy of the second goal with 10 minutes to go. Our short corners were dire in comparison with the Unis that was well drilled.

Marshalled by their skipper at centre half who was outstanding and certainly the man of ther match Southampton looked dangerous each time they broke and at that point the game could have gone either way but as it was a liong aerial from Wobble enabled Rory to dart into the D and finish well with five to go. We held on to run out winners and gain three valuable points in what may prove to be a vital win.

As with all Uni sides they will improve as the season goes on so the next match in March is eagerly awaited. David Knapp

Ladies XI 3-0 Reigate
The Ladies will win games by bigger margins but rarely will they play better. The result against a side level with us in the table was pleasing and the victory was never really in doubt, but the slick passing play, rock-solid defence and two sublime goals will take some bettering.

We were one up in five minutes with a quite superb goal, starting in our own 23 and finishing second later with a cracking strike from May after some lightning-fast one-touch passing. We continued to press hard but the second didn’t come until six minutes into the second half when May tucked home a poorly-defended short corner, and Anna notched a third midway through the half which was almost as good as the first.

It’s almost invidious to single out individuals from such a great display, but Rosie Marriott was quite outstanding, her tackling and distribution almost faultless. Vikki Mottram, who has had a new lease of life since the arrival of Diesel, was also tireless in her running at the opposition, causing no end of panic even if her tackling remains interesting.

The parenting award goes to Helen Hawes who set a fine example to young Zac with a bout of toddler-tantrum stick lobbing when green carded and followed with an “oh f*** there’s no-one there” when she swept a pass from the halfway line towards her own defence only to find nobody keeping Julia company in her own half. In between she was as solid as ever.

Merton 4-1 2nd XI
Report to follow

The 3rd XI after their romp

3rd XI 11-0 Surrey OBs
There are some weeks when the match report pretty much writes itself even though the events were too many for me to be able to remember the sequence I at least have a record. The day started with confusion all over the place with regard to umpires - we had had three potentials laid on the night before but as SOB had stated that they had an umpire we had stood down our two spares. Unfortunately then SOB’s day did not start well as they actually turned up with 10 players and no umpire. Thankfully the umpire for the next match was good enough to stand in for them and they at least didn’t play with nine.

This was not to say that their day was going to improve at any time soon. We were looking to extend a five-match unbeaten run and had recently played so well but without our just desserts and were hungry to grab the advantage and make hay whilst the sun was shining (yes it did appear for five minutes!!). The game started at an unusually frenetic pace and there was some brilliant passing hockey being played with good runs off the ball being made all over the park.

Very soon we were 1-0 up and this was the way that the 1st half was going to progress. During the course of one of the best 1st half displays that I have ever had the pleasure to witness ( being in goal I had plenty of time to watch, especially seeing as I did not touch the ball in the whole half). After an extreme pummelling of SOB we went into halftime at 8-0 up. As you can imagine our halftime talk was mainly about just keep up the good work and let’s not let them score etc, etc. all I asked was that I wanted my team to ensure that I didn’t touch the ball in the 2nd half either. SOB’s halftime talk seemed to be a touch different as I don’t think I have ever heard quite so much grunting, growling and hyping up from an opposition goal in my life.

With us providing SOB’s umpire for the 2nd half we didn’t seem to get anywhere for the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half maybe all of the grunting had worked at half time. It must have been this as it definitely wasn’t because we were missing Armo who was umpiring for 15 minutes. SOB’s did seem to be attacking better and I have to say I was very disappointed in my defence in that I had to touch the ball once in the 2nd half during SOB’s only short corner of the match. Nevertheless we finally got going and managed to put another three goal past them before the end.

The goalscorers during the match (as I said I have no idea what order??) Preston 4 (a great return to prolific goalscoring), Doug 2 (a nifty display from centre Mid), Andy (a great first half and supplier of a number of assists), Ross (solid solo effort with a sweet strike just inside the D), Ed (This is becoming a habit from the new boy), Chris (OMG we can’t believe that he has finally scored – the time taken must attract fines of some sort at the next team drinks) and finally Armo (who now owes Chris drinks and also how do I keep scoring when I should be in defence?).

As I have already covered the goalscorers may I also commend the others who played their part in our epic pummelling Stuey, Tim, CD and Rich (our rocks in defence i.e. a defence which has pretty much stopped conceding goals ); Tissy (with this type of trouncing I can’t believe he didn’t score or get carded) This now put us up to third in the league and only one point off second. With the top two playing each other next Saturday … watch this space! Nigel Hawes

Addiscombe 0-1 4th XI
There were a few team members (esp. Crumby),who were worried about interacting with the Croydon population, so it seemed a poor omen when during our warm up Steve (bless him) asked one of the Addiscombe players to “flash us your top”, then proceeded to carry out some dynamic stretching that didn’t help our manly image (“ponsy” was a comment I heard!).

This aside the match started well, with us forcing five short corners. Nick J managed to convert one of these which was fortunate as this was the only score in the match.

The rest of the time, although there was good build up work, we couldn’t get the final shot lined up or on target. I think Dom was stunned when an Addiscombe 16 hit went across their goal to his stick. His shot on goal was stifled by the onrushing keeper. Dom’s excuse .. “He was so big!”

Addiscombe didn’t put us under sustained pressure, but always looked able to snatch a late opportunist score. So all in all a deserved win but hard fought – we must get the free hit rule clear as many good positions were lost through technical infringements.

Cakes were an issue for me as after dismissing my wife’s help, I made brownies without eggs!! – Flat and sticky. So, ever resourceful, it was down to Waitrose for additional backup. Strangely the team seemed to tuck in to the lot without a care. Anyway after an increasingly high set bar for the cakes there has to be a downturn at sometime.

To Crumby’s and others relief we managed to finish before it got dark and it was back onto the tram (?) before the vampires rose. Kevin Smith

Match reports November 14 2009

The 1st XI moved top of the Surrey/Hants Regional 2 with a 3-1 win over London Wayfarers, while 2nd XI eased their relegation worries with a 6-0 win over Wanderers, all goals coming in the second half. The 4th XI beat Surrey University 3-0, while the 3rd XI fought out a 0-0 draw against UCL Academicals. The Ladies went down 0-1 at Wimbledon, while the Vets also drew 0-0.Cookie slots home the 2nd XI's sixth
Click here for this week's match photos

London Wayfarers 1-3 1st XI
A workmanlike performance following a very lethargic pre match routine. A sign of the advannce we have made over the last 2 or 3 years however is the fact that a number of us realised we were way off the pace in the warm up and in each of their ways galvanised the guys into shape.

The first 10 minutes were going to be key as Wayfarers were a far better side than their league position showed with their first team more than holding their own in the tougher league above. Fortunately we managed to have the better of the first period and with some intelligent running in the mid field and up front scored a superbly crafted goal creating space with a quick interchange of 5 or more passes and threading through a well weighted cross for Eds to guide home following a blindside run. In 15 we were 2 up with another crisp move ending with Gavin forcing a stroke that Jonny H put home with great power. At that point we should have sealed up the game but allowed LW back into the game. Trickster made 3 very good saves but we conceded a goal on 25 minutes, caught on the break and allowed a shot from the top of the D to its way in. The initiative passed to the home side who pressed for the remainder of the half and the break came at the right time for us as we had lost our pattern and were running with the ball needlessly and at the wrong time instead of continuing our passing game.

Five minutes into the second half we restored our two-goal advantage when Knapp picked up a loose ball five yards out and from then on we controlled the game albeit being unable to find the sucker punch. Eds hit the post after a wonder save by the LW keeper and on a couple of occasions we made the wrong decision in the D.

All in all a satisfactory result and a reasonable performance but we do have to look back and consider the number of times we made poor decisions and runs that made the game more difficult than it need. All hands to the pumps next week v Southampton Uni with our being five key players short. David Knapp

2nd XI 6-0 Wanderers
Forgive the tired old cliche, but this really was a game of two halves, and one played in the most unpleasant driving rain. In the first we controlled much of the game, so much so that Wanderers' forward line were forced deeper and deeper into their own half to try and get the ball, but failed to make the breakthrough. We were so on top that at one stage Jon Heard surged through a series of tackles on a run which took him from the halfway line to within eight yards of the goal – out of puff and bewildered by unfamiliar surroundings, he was relieved to be fouled and win a short corner. However, throughout the game our corner routine was poor as we failed to convert one from more than a dozen opportunities. Nil-nil at the break and it had all the makings of one of those days.

In the second half we ran riot, three goals in the first five minutes ending the match as a contest. Will Stephens, in his first game of the season, scored twice and modestly claimed the change in fortunes after the break was simply because he had moved into midfield where he adopted a senior-citizen never-run approach. With Cookie running rings round a tired defence, we could have racked up a dozen. As it was, the fifth goal (sorry, scorer please identify yourself!) was wonderfully worked, a flowing, quick move from side to side capped with a cracking finish, and the sixth saw Cookie rob a defender on the halfway line, sprint through, round the keeper and fire home as he fell.

UCL Academicals 0-0 3rd XI
Report to follow.

4th XI 3-0 Surrey University
In almost 30 years with the OCs I reckon I have watched around 1500 matches and until today I wouldn’t have been able to name the worst one I had seen. The high point of the day came when Adam dished out his home-made cookies, superbly soft with just the right qamount of crunch of the outside, after the final whistle. They were so good they almost made the previous 70 minutes worthwhile. Almost.

The good news is that the 4th XI won 3-0 and moved into third in the table. The bad news is that this was a match which started sloppily and got worse with more unforced and avoidable errors that Steve Harmer’s English O-level paper. Harmer, incidently, was green carded simply because he had been captain of the side last year and the umpire held him responsible for the torpor.

Harmer, the jaded rock at the back of the midfield diamond and a man who last week admitted to being a “reformed Chav”, is an interesting case study. Despite much abuse from team-mates, opponents and passing spectators, week in, week out he turns in solid and unheralded performances. One facet of his play is well worth watching. Give him the ball anywhere in the opposing half, ideally in a dead-ball situation, and then watch. His head darts about as if looking for the smallest opening to thread a precision pass through. Unsuspecting opponents wait for a flick to the right wing or a sweep to the left. The unwary expect a Cristiano Ronaldo moment; what they get is Titus Bramble. Every time – and Opta stats show this is the case in 98.6% instances – having gone through his preparations he then belts the ball as hard and as straight as he can. It’s often effective and is a throwback to the era of grass hockey. There are few such practitioners of the art still left in the game. Get out and see it while you can.

Andy gave us the lead in the fifth minute, Jamal fired home the second on 20 minutes with an almost solitary strike of class, and Dom scrambled home the third with the last hit of the game. That aside, the only drama of the afternoon came when the wind lifted the dugout from its base, over the perimeter fence and deposited it upside down on the grass bank.

Surrey Uni at least brightened up a wretched day with their kit, classic shiny tight shirts straight out of Liverpool’s 1980s period with the shortest shorts to match. They huffed and puffed but seemed obsessed with kicking the ball when they did get near our goal. We gradually allowed ourselves to get sucked into the scrap, so much so that for the last quarter it was the very limited visitors who created the bulk of the attacking chances. The end could not come soon enough.

Wimbledon 1-0 Ladies XI
With Wimbledon sitting just below us in the league we knew it was going to be a tough match. It was a disappointing start for us struggling on a very bouncy pitch, frustration showing all over and unfortunately we went down one nil with a simple one on one.
However the second half was a totally different story. We regrouped and played brilliantly piling on the pressure. We had several chances on goal with the hitting of posts and diving for touches but not able to score. A really shame to lose one nil but a great effort with again some fantastic defensive work.


Veterans 0-0 St Albans
Report to follow.

Dodie out for a year

Dodie Khurshid is out of action for a year after fracturing both his femur and his tibia in his right leg during the second half of the 2nd XI game against Old Midwhitgiftians on Saturday.

Dodie stumbled and sustained the damage as he sought to regain his balance. He was taken to Kingston Hospital where he was diagnosed with a pulled muscle, ligamental damage and a fracture in the knee joint. “It’s too painful to assess precisely the extent of it,” he said at the time. “Cheery place hospitals, aren't they?”

But scans revealed more damage and on Thursday he was told that he needed reconstructive surgery which he will undergo next week.

He will be unable to put any weight on his leg for three months and cannot consider playing sports for another nine months after that. "I wasn't sure the news could get any worse until he said I couldn't fly out to Abu Dhabi for Christmas," he said. "Someone bring me a beer. Now."

We wish him well for the operation and look forward to seeing him back at TD soon where the beers will be on us for a while to come.

Match reports November 7 2009

A superb win for the 1st XI, battling back from two down to beat Yately 3-2 and so jump them into second place. The 2nd XI also came from behind - twice - but eventually went down 2-3 to OMWs in a scrappy match marred by an injury to Dodie Khurshid and some substandard umpiring. The Ladies moved into third in Surrey II with a 3-0 win over Old Georgians, the 3rd XI recovered from shipping a goal inside two minutes to beat Horley 3-2 and also move into third, while the 4th XI cruised to a 4-0 victory over a young OMWs side. The eyebrow-raiser scoreline came at Sevenoaks where the Vets went down 2-11.A chance goes begging during the 2nd XI's defeat to OMWs
Click here for this week's match photos

Yately 2-3 1st XI
A game both sides needed to win but one we managed to earn the points.

Yateley struck first with their dangerous short corner routine paying dividends early on and our failing to make the most of two very good chances. The home side went two up when Trickster chased one of the oppo's forwards and inexplicably brought him down with our having no complaints about the ensuing stroke which was scored with ease. With only a minute to go a two-goal half time deficit would have been a huge problem but at last we woke up and began to realise we are in a game. Two chances in the last minute led to a stroke that Hunter put away giving us the half time psychological advantage.

The second half was a different affair. We came out of the traps fast and dominate the proceedings albeit Yateley looking dangerous on the break. The scores were level when Woody threaded a through pass that reached Gavin whose pinpoint pass was slotted home by Rory who had his best game of the season so far, his fifth in six. From that point onward it seemed as if there would only be one winner but our cause was not helped by three yellow cards to Ripley, Knapp and Brewer, two of which were perhaps very harsh but when back to 11 on the second occasion a short-corner strike from Eds found its way home and we had the lead for the first time in the game. If nothing else Yateley are fighters and were not prepared to lie down and be tickled. They pressed and won two short corners, the final one with the last play of the game but for once the routine let them down and we ran out winners.

A loss for us would have provided Yateley and Southampton with clear daylight at the top of the league but as it is the win puts us one point ahead of Yateley and still two behind Southampton. The next meeting in February will be a very important game and could have a huge bearing on the end of season placings. A poor first half perfromance with Yateley deservedly ahead but a feisty second half one that saw us edge the game, just. David Knapp


2nd XI 2-3 Old MidWhitgiftians
Clueless in attack and spineless in defence ... sorry thought I was back at Twickenham. Although it would be a harsh assessment of our performance, in some instances that is how it felt. The fact is that we should have never, never lost against what was at best a mediocre side. This is the exact type of game that we need to take maximum points from, in order to stay in this league - we know that we will face teams significantly better than this lot and so we need to get things right and fast. Old Mid Whits had one player of any calibre, and we let him punish us. Which is poor.

We were not helped that we lost a few players from the previous week's victory: Tom, Chris, Neil and our skipper Rob (through illness) and the fact that Farqs and Selbs were hobbling around with dodgy hamstrings. We did however welcome back stalwart Dodie but alas he could not finish the game after sustaining a horrific leg injury in the second half (best wishes for a speedy recovery).

Not ideal preparation but even so we should have run out comfortable winners. We started fairly brightly with openings created for Austin and Jimbo, unfortunately nobody could get on the end of either move. Their goal came against the run of play and after one of the poorest decisions I have ever witnessed from an umpire (and trust me I have seen my fair share of howlers, eh Martin) - it didn’t just touch the strikers foot, he absolutely leathered it! I don’t want to sound like a moaning, bitter man so I'll keep this bit short ...

That was the worst umpiring performance I have had to endure since I have played for the OCs. Honestly I can’t remember so many wrong decisions being made. Two of their three goals were absolutely down to umpire errors, which is such a bitter pill to swallow.

Back to a little serious stuff – I’m not going to regurgitate the match - we lost 3-2 and had numerous chances to win, let alone find an equaliser in the last 10 minutes - Cooky decided to step it up a gear and ran them ragged. Paul (stepping in commendably for us) hit the post with about three minutes to go ... you just knew it wasn’t to be our day...

Umpiring aside we need to look at our own performance which was not up to scratch. Each week we talk about composure and ball retention. These are clearly basics but are of huge importance. At times we look good, at others we look extremely shoddy. We have had six games now so should be used to new faces etc. There can be no more excuses. We need to improve our quality all over the pitch and each take responsibility for our own performances. We have definitely shown we can survive in this league, and look forward to welcoming back Neil, Chris and, as rumour would have it, Will Stephens which will strengthen us undoubtedly. But we need to put in a massive performance next Saturday and find some consistency. Or we will lose to Argentina. Chris Porter And in case it needs saying again, the views expressed in this match report are those of the author and not of the whole club etc etc

Horley 2-3 3rd XI
Report to follow

4th XI 4-0 Old MidWhitgiftians
This week saw the 4th XI take on Old Midwhitgiftians at Thames Ditton. Thanks go to Amy Davis, whose kind pitchside babysitting allowed Rob Jonker to umpire. Amy was undoubtedly delighted to discover that she wouldn’t also be required to babysit the group of teenagers knocking balls around beside the pitch, as it turned out they were in fact our opposition. With an average height of 5’ 3”, compared to our 6’ 4” (yes, this is distorted slightly by Smeer’s 5ft to-be-seen-to-be-believed Mohican), and an average age of 13 to our 65 (yes, this figure is distorted by the presence of Messrs Aston and Crumby’s creaking limbs) gravity and the energy of youth looked like being our biggest problem this week.

Martin stood in for Nige Smith in goal, making his presence felt early on in the game with a scything tackle on OMs forward. The resulting penalty flick was remarkably flicked high and wide of the goal. After that, and not surprisingly, their forward line didn’t go near Martin until at least the last 10 minutes of the match!

OMs young team defended like groups of wasps and frustrated us in the box - time and time again getting in the way when a goal looked certain. The goals did finally flow though and we took a 3-0 lead into half-time. If David Beckham played hockey, he’d probably play it like Steve Harmer; well, that’s what Steve would like you to think. His “David Beckhamesque pass” (he asked me to say that) midway through the first half found Jamal well-placed to open the scoring. A further goal by Jamal and one from Howard followed soon after.

A good start to the second half led to us adding a forth - Adam Justice slotting home moments after shooting agonisingly wide – after a long period of domination. We did create further chances, but with the game seemingly won saw fit to step off the gas and see things out to the final whistle. The OMWs first and only shot came two minutes from time. Another good result which keeps us within two points of second place in the league. Thanks to Rob Jonker for umpiring. Dom Tucker


Ladies XI 3-0 Old Georgians
A routine win over the league’s bottom side lifted us into third place, and put us in a strong position for a run of three matches against top-five sides. We started strongly and were all over the visitors but only had a Vikki Mottram goal to show for our efforts. We rather lost our way at the end of the first half, but dominated after the break as Goergians’ composure started to fall apart. Veteran Vikki added a classy second from a pull back from the dead-ball line by Charli, and Sarah Mann wrapped up the win with a crisp finish after a goalmouth melee. She later praised “super teamwork and great passing all over the pitch”.

Sevenoaks 11-2 Veterans
Of course we all know that hockey is a team game but on Saturday an enjoyable and competitive match was transformed by a certain Paddy Osborn demonstrating the goal scoring talents that made him all time top scorer in the National League with more than 122 goals. His final tally of six goals rather understates his involvement as three others were touched on the line by other players depriving him of a deserved nine-goal haul !

The day started promisingly with 13 players present and correct before kick-off including David Burles who had brought his mother along so we even had support and Sevenoaks had kindly agreed to provide both umpires. The game started slowly for OCs conceding an early goal which we would put down to only having a few minutes practice on the magnificent new pitch at Sevenoaks as the game before had run over. Matt Speers put his body on the line defending shots with his hand and had to come off to get some feeling back into his hand. He spent the rest of the match wondering whether someone had drawn a target on the back of his shirt as every time the ball was lifted it seemed to seek him out!

We got back into the game at 2 - 1 when Derek Shanks, over from the US, crossed the ball for Andrew Eve completely unmarked to rifle the ball home from the top of the D. There was only the goalkeeper to beat and he managed to avoid his recent tendency to fire the ball over the top - aiming for somewhere is very over-rated! This could have been a mistake as Sevenoaks upped their pace and took the their lead to 6 - 1 at half time.

The usual fascinating and incisive talk at half time was cut short by the defence saying don't worry about that just find some way of dealing with No. 27! In the second half we managed to play some good hockey keeping possession and building well only to be finally be broken down outside their D the ball shelled down the pitch and deposited in the back of the net by No. 27! Again we had them worried with a goal from the elusive Burles sneaking into the D and firing home his shot which he cleverly arranged to be deflected in by a Sevenoaks stick. I think he was just looking for some respite from defending!

The final score of 11 - 2 sounds disastrous but there were some great highlights unsurprisingly amongst the defence. Andy Loates stopping a waist high drag flick on the line with aplomb. Peter Shanks making some spectacular saves when appearing to have been beaten and his plea for someone other than him to get involved in defending. And even more unusually in a heavy defeat the usual chorus of "Fortunate Fellow" fellow was not heard from Pete after each goal was scored - you just have to appreciate class !

In the usual Vets way we returned to the Sevenoaks clubhouse, supped some delicious Harveys Best and by the time we left somewhat later had nearly persuaded Sevenoaks that they had been lucky to just sneak a win ! We obviously took some comfort from the fact that St Albans Emperors who we lost narrowly to 0- 2 in the first game of the season had beaten Sevenoaks 6-4 but look forward with a little trepidation to that away match in 2010. Andy Eve