Match report February 26 2011

An excellent win on the road for the 1st XI, returning from Oxted with a 2-1 win, while the 3rd XI came from two down to beat Reigate Cardinals 4-3 in a cracking game. The 2nd Xi squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Addiscombe, while the 4th XI had a lovely day out at the delightful venue that is Battersea, losing 6-0 and missing a chunk of the rugby as well. The Ladies and the Vets had the week off.

Oxted 1-2 1st XI
And so we went on the road for the second successive week this time down to Oxted and came back with 3 well deserved points but we made it slightly harder than it should have been. With the luxury of 12 players we lined up with a starting 11 that could have been pushing for promotion this year if it weren't for a set of rather bizarre post christmas results for us. Anyhow to the game... we started and dominated...a lot...unbelievably so..switching from side to side, pentrating runs, possesion, crosses, deflections, short corners, Gavin's sandwedge practise shots...we had it all...apart from the goal which someone must have moved. And then we changed things...and then it went a bit wrong...Oxted gained more confidence as their goal remained intact and suddenly they had a couple of short corners. The second of which was struck like a bullet came off Coops and hit Hunts...penalty stroke...which seemed a strange decision as it was going wide and that Hunts is never inside the post on short corners (we have photographic evidence from most games this season). Umpires conferred, there was some typical argument and counter argument as you'd expect from either team and the decision was changed to a long corner I think. Anyhow a few minutes later Oxted had another attack and a fairly lose, comfortable-to-deal-with-put-it-off-the-side ball was played into our D...only for Coops to engage in a bit of Arsenalesque defending taking the ball off Cookiey's stick and side footing it to the Oxted attacker at the top of the D who couldn't believe Christmas had come so early this year...1-0 Oxted at half time.

CB gave an inspiring talk at half time spouting the usual rubbish about more goals in this, we've had most the possession, don't panic, yadda yadda and we went back to the starting formation...and played no better. Well to be fair it was a bit better but the Oxted centre half decided he'd like to have a storming second half and started to make CB look like the old slow defender he is..luckily Hunts and Woody in midfield got to grips with this and started to take control again and a swift move up the left back to the right, back again left and the ball popped up at Danny's stick. He cut in beat 14 people, some of them twice (isn't that right Dan?) and unleashed the sweetest strike into the bottom corner.

And back we went again and again and eventually won a short corner...Now this is where Cookiey should be writing this report as he called a slip left failing to notice that Woody wasn't there to push out so Cookiey offered to do that and then also to do the slip left strike...now I know Cookiey's quick but it was an odd call and luckily one that the rest of the guys ignored. So up stepped Rippers and proceeded to hit possibly the worst reverse stick shot he's ever done but it completely dumbfounded the keeper who was quite possibly still laughing as the ball somehow went through him and into the goal. 2-1 and of course there were no nerves for the final few mintues...somehow we held on as Oxted threw everything forward. But to no avail and we took the points. One of those enjoyable games and Oxted were unlucky and not quite sure how they are where they are in the league. Great tea and post match beers back at Oxted although quite why there is a collection of owls and tea house tea pots is anyone's guess. Chris Brewer

2nd XI 2-2 Addiscombe
A scrappy game which we ought to have won, again creating enough chances to have buried Addiscombe long before the end but, to their credit, the visitors kept exploiting our midfield naivety and in the end were worth a point.

Torrential rain made for unpleasant playing conditions even if the surface was perfect, and the players and officials would admit they did not have their best days. We went two up but then lost our way as the yellow cards started being produced – or not in some instances – and our indiscipline meant one OC was lucky to escape without a red.

As has been the case several times, we created plenty of chances and at 2-0 ten minutes into the second half seemed set to win. But we paid for two sloppy lapses in concentration, and at the other end were twice denied one-on-one chances when the umpire blew without allowing for any advantage. At least we are going down fighting, although in some instances individuals need to rein in their tempers both during and after the game.

3rd XI 4-3 Reigate Cardinals
A cracking game full of flowing hockey which as half-time approached seemed to all Reigate’s only for our perseverance and a simple but effect short-corner routine to secure us all three points.

Reigate were a delightful blend of experience and youth and for 25 minutes ran our midfield and defence ragged. Two goals – the first a flick – could have been three had the umpire (Knapp D!) not blown as the striker rifled the ball past our keeper, and somehow we kept out a barrage of short corners. As half time approach we got a short and Alex Lewis stopped, shot and scored to give us hope going into the break.

Reigate took five minutes to wake after the re-start and in that time conceded two more shorts, and again Alex slammed home both, one inside either post. Thereafter Reigate pressed hard but our defence, marshalled by the wise if less mobile than of old Stu Steele, held firm, even if three times we went down to ten men, the final time for trying the old “let’s put 12 on and see if anyone notices” stunt.

Reigate equalised with the goal of the game, their forward running along the dead-ball before flicking over the keeper from an impossible angle. But their veteran midfielder who had brilliantly run their game finally headed off, exhausted, and they were never quite the same danger. Seven minutes from time Alex smashed home another short corner to earn us a win which seemed impossible 40 minutes earlier.

One thought. Reigate, who played lovely hockey in a creditable spirit throughout, had 21 short corners and converted none. As with many clubs and most of our sides, the old-fashioned stop and shot seemed to be deemed obsolete and so each corner was flicked or seen as the start for a series of switches and shimmies. At the other end Alex showed the value of the old way. Some of our other sides could learn from keeping things simple.

Spencer 6-0 4th XI
The secret diary of Nathan Glover, aged 24 and a half (AKA OC 4s vs Spencer, Battersea Park).

26th February 2011

Dear diary,

Today started well enough, as I removed the cake from the fridge. My mother had emailed me a great recipe for a chocolate biscuit cake, which I didn’t even have to bake! It just sets in the fridge!

As per usual I was a little late leaving for hockey, even though the match didn’t start until 3:30pm. It took about an hour to cycle to the pitch, which gave me a while to think up excuses as to why I was late.

Arriving at the pitch, I met a few new players; Omid was making his debut in the 4s, and Richard helpfully came to play from the vets, and Louis was back after being injured [thanks guys!].

The rain ended just before we set out onto the pitch and gave way to a bright, clear afternoon.

In the game itself, Spencer played with high tempo and breached our defences on a few occasions, and some goals slipped in to our net. Bish was very unlucky not to get an early goal with an excellent chip on Spencer’s goal. In general there was good composure from the 4s, with Dom and Smeer making good runs on the wings and looking dangerous, and we were awarded several short corners. Unfortunately we were unable to capitalise on these opportunities and were 4 – 0 down by half time.

Unphased by the score, we set out to play our best in the second half. Although we didn’t manage to score, and conceded two more goals, we played some great passing hockey, and looked very coordinated as a team. As Dom said, we are now playing the kind of hockey that we wouldn’t have been able to a couple of seasons ago. Nathan Glover

Match report February 19 2011

A superb result for the 1st XI, holding league leader Havant to a 2-2 draw away from home, and a first win of the season for the 2nd XI who thrashed Old Midwhitgiftians 6-0; the 4th XI beat struggling Old Reigatians 4-1 to continue their rise away from the relegation zone, but the 3rd XI lost to leaders Sunbury and Walton Hawks 2-4. The Ladies beat Wanderers II 4-1 in a friendly while the Veterans lost 1-3 at St Albans



Havant 2-2 1st XI
Click here for match photos
The 1st XI came away from league leaders Havant with a superb 2-2 draw, vindicating the decision to stick with a winning side rather than chop and change depending on availability. Full report to follow.

2nd XI 6-0 Trinity Old Midwhitgiftians
Click here for match photos
The 2nd XI recorded their first win of the season – they have been playing well of late but lacked the confidence in front of goal – and were boosted by the 1st XI decision to retain a winning team and in so doing releasing a couple of returning absentees to the side. Three goals in either half was not an unfair reflection on the game, and while it may have come too late, it was a much-needed and deserved morale-boosting victory.

Ladies XI 4-1 Wanderers
The Ladies enjoyed a well-earned win over Wanderers II, a side struggling at the bottom of the division above. In the first half it appeared as if Wanderers would prove too strong for us as we struggled to break down their defence and allowed their midfield to control the pace, their goal on 17 minutes the only one of the half. But even without an inspirational talk from Goalie, we were a different side in the second half, with Philly tormenting their defence, our midfield in charge and our defence rock solid. A well-struck Sarah Mann goal off a short corner level the score seven minutes after the break, and then a slick and classy strike from Philly put us ahead five minutes later. As Wanderers wobbled, Michelle, who was also causing no end of problems, slotted a well-taken third and then Philly rounded off the scoring two minutes from time.

Sunbury and Walton Hawks 4-2 3rd XI
Report to follow

4th XI 4-1 Old Reigatians
Stung by recent comments such as ‘Who needs Harmer?’ or even the rather ill informed ‘Who is Harmer?’ Harmer’s Column returns to the coal face this week after spending eight days studying the playing techniques of Barcelona FC in the Catalonian capital. The passion, power and precision of those Nou Camp athletic elite have always influenced the Mighty 4th team. Obviously we hide it well but blow away the dust and you will find these values at the heart of the squad driving it forward to ever greater glory. Stirring stuff or what, eh!

Unfortunately the weather on Saturday morning was as damp and moist as Chris Bent’s laundry basket with all the attractiveness of his broken big toe! That’s right it is ugly, just like Mr Bent’s last three hot dates! For those of you sensing a theme running through the last few lines, then you will be glad to know that Mr Bents is now regretting recently calling me a ‘Chubby version of Gazza!’

Since the beginning of the New Year, the mighty 4th team have been improving slowly. Last week’s victory against Sanderstead gave the team more belief that we can win those tight matches in which we have too often come second.

We welcomed Nathan’s brother Ben to the centre of defence for a one match only appearance who was flanked either side by Harmer and Smith (the very old) at right and left back respectively. Smith (the slightly old) returned between the posts stinking of deep heat in an attempt to avoid tweaking his back again. The midfield consisted of Howie anchoring the centre of the park with a strong line of Grant, Rob J and Nathan working their magic in the middle. Upfront Jamal ‘AKA The Thames Ditton Chopper’ returned to centre forward with Smith (the much younger) and Smeer, both of whom are on fire at the moment, working the wings.

Alas for the first 15 minutes we showed OR’s too much respect and we fell behind to a lucky goal which came from us not clearing our lines after a short corner. From that point onwards the traffic was only one way and the mighty 4th’s spent most of the time camped in the oppositions half. Countless opportunities came and went but our forward line could just not find the clinical finishing touch. With Smeer taking a break on the side line, Nick J waddled onto the pitch and managed to unleash a stunning hit from the top of the D which flew the keeper, clipped the last defender on the knee cap and shattered the backboard. Nick wheeled away from the goal knowing that he had managed to score with only his third touch of the match and broken his record from the previous week. Before half time we went close on several occasions with the pick of the bunch Joe’s inch perfect shot that avoided three defenders and then pinged off the outside of the post! The OCHC subs bench obviously decided to reverse sledge our own team for their inabilities which made the driving rain only feel like a minor issue.

At half time both teams came in and knew that the next goal was going to settle the match. The OC’s were in the ascendency but we needed to be cruelly clinical, decidedly dirty and excruciatingly evil ...just like Robin Crumby’s chat up lines. From the re start we took the fight to the OR’s again and started to work the angles but all to no avail. It was not until Smeer returned to the pitch that he scored two glorious goals, one a half volley from a tricky cross and the other a deft deflection around the advancing keeper. At 3-1 up we started to really stretch the opposition with the right hand side of Atushi, Nathan and Jamal pressing hard to find the next opening. Alas Jamal was struggling to get past the oppositions left back and on countless occasions lost the ball due to dubious lack of basic skills. In fact, the OCHC bench were so distressed they demanded that Jamal ‘get the bloody basic’s right!’ Alas Jamal thought that this was the opposition umpire sledging him and amusingly turned around to unleash a volley of disgust, thankfully he realised his mistake in time.

As the clock ran down we mounted numerous attacks against a tiring OR defence. With a ball released by Smith (the very old) at left back, which facilitated a lighting break from midfield to release Smith (the much younger) to run at the OR back line. A quick one – two with Jamal, allowed Smith (the much younger) to stroke the ball past the keeper and into the goal. As Smith (the much younger) wheeled away in delight, it was reported that Smith (the very old) commented ‘I made that!’

At the final whistle, we had won 4-1 which gave us back to back victories for the first time this season.

Harmer’s Column signing off. Steve Harmer

St Albans 3-1 Veterans XI

Stuart Sleeman on the mend

Stuart Sleeman has returned home after spending three days in Kingston Hospital following the horrible accident he suffered in the Veterans match against Tring on Saturday.

Stuart’s standing leg was clattered by the goalkeeper as he received the ball and was turning to shoot - he suffered a triple fracture of his leg as well as a dislocated ankle. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and the match was abandoned.

Stuart underwent surgery on Monday to have pins inserted and was released from hospital on Wednesday.

We all send Stuart, who is the second-oldest player in the club behind Mike Butcher, our best wishes and expect him back on duty next season.

Tommy Trinder singled out Howie for special metion. “Of note would be that Howie turned up after 15 minutes and joined the game after 19 minutes and his first touch was a pass to Stuart in the D which resulted in a short tap of the ball by Stuart then wack from the keeper then game over...........

Match reports February 12 2011

A good all-round week with wins across the board, but one overshadowed by a serious injury to Stuart Sleeman in the Veterans match. He suffered the three fractures and a dislocated ankle when he clashed with the goalkeeper. Our best wishes go our to him.

1st XI 1-0 Bournemouth
Another good and hard fought win against Bournemouth who made the long trip up for a 13.00 start which was a very civil decision of our fixture secretary but not picked up by Knappy who told everyone it was an 11.30 start before the opposition’s skipper put him right. Not too sure anyone would have been happy with a 10.30 meet for a 13.00 start….

Sticking in the main to the side that battled hard against Southampton and came home with the spoils, the game was a near repeat of the first game v Bournemouth. Early pressure from them, 2 top short corner saves from Ross and then concerted pressure from us, an inspired performance from the Bournemouth keeper who kept us at bay, a number of short corners to us that were comfortably dealt with by the away defence and some top play by us. Just as we appeared to be becoming frustrated we won a short corner at the death of the first half and Cookiey was again on hand to deflect the ball home. Fair to say he had badgered us all to use this corner, but you have to play difficult to get.

The second half was again one where we had the balance of play but were unable to score a second. Great save by Danny Poulsen on the line, but unfortunately to deny Cookiey his second with a wicked reverse stick shot. More corners came and went with Bournemouth having sufficient character to look dangerous on the break. We held out and as 1 – 0 wins go, this was as comfortable as they come.

The game was played in great spirit and great that Bournemouth like to play good hockey and also allow us to play. Both games against them in the top few of the games played so far this season.

Havant this week with a score to settle following the concession of 2 poor late goals last time around that enable them to sneak a victory. David Knapp

Ladies XI 7-0 Reigate Priory
Once we’d all found our way out of the local forest and found the pitch (Helen), Old Cranleighan Ladies started off in fighting form, all ready for this game against Reigate Priory Ladies 2s.

We started off with a strong attacking move with quick one-twos into the opposition’s half. Keeping up this team work, with some good dispersal of the ball and May speeding down right wing, soon our attempts on goal by Michelle, Emma and Philly landed us a short corner. Sarah Mann made short work of this and got a straight strike into the corner of the goal.

The first half continued in this vein with good movement from the middle of the field by Philly, Anna and Jax, until Sarah Mann pushed forward again to put another in the back of the net. We finished the first half 2–0 up.

After a rousing half time talk we put into practise our training sessions’ ‘quick-shots-on-goal’ technique. We were communicating well and even giving the ball round the back a try between Tux, Mez, Lucy and Helen. We pushed forward to attack and had several close calls as May and Jax struck balls across the D which were either not picked up or Reigate cleared. The pressure finally paid off and Sarah Mann did the unspeakable reverse flick into the top right hand corner of the goal (if Goalie hadn’t been umpiring he would have looked away!). Sarah was on fire and closely followed this goal with another, this time with a ‘take-no-prisoners’ strike from the top of the D from open play.

At 4-0 up we were on a roll and kept up the pressure against the Reigate goalie, though there was the odd break from Reigate to keep us on our toes - one of which saw Julia being pressured and coming out on top in a 1 on 1 situation.

May and Michelle now took up the scoring mantle and tucked another goal away each with persistence and good placing by the posts. This took us to 6-0, at which point Helen found the perfect run to take her upfront for a well placed cross, so that she could whip the final goal into the bottom right.

The game finished 7-0 – hopefully Manny is going to score 4 goals everytime she comes back from holiday! Sarah Tucker

Old Kingstonians v 2nd XI


3rd XI 7-1 Leatherhead
We faced Leatherhead this week, I have to say I was rather worried when I found half the team in the bar drinking beer and watching the rugby before the game, in true 3rd XI fashion.

Starting off with a 3-4-3 formation. The goals started to come with Dickie getting the first (no it was not a reverse stick in the top corner). Andy P got the next one with a sweetly worked move and a shot struck past the keeper, leaving him no chance.

Alex Lewis got the third, coming from a short corner, hit straight at the keeper although, a connection was defiantly made as I could not even see the ball from the touch line.

Leatherhead caught us napping at the back and managed to pull one back. That proved to be the only strike that got passed Nige (I play better after three pints) Hawes.

Two more goals came from Alex and Ross before half time. After half time we went back to our traditional 4-4-2 and closed the game out.

To summarise my rubbish match report: the goals came from:

Andy P x 2
Alex L x 2
Ross A x 2
Dickie x 1

The score line eventually finished 7-1. That’s 14 goals in two games, what does that say about the injured Captain? That is not an invitation for your opinions. CD gets MOM this week, this is given for consistency of performances over the last 4 weeks. DOD goes to Jock, for only getting one decent photo of Nige sticking his finger up and the camera. Thanks again to Nick Lewis for umpiring us. Chris Bents

Sanderstead 0-4 4th XI
A somewhat beaten and battered OC team eventually all turned up to play Sanderstead – several carrying ageing aches and pains, plus no substitutes! The future certainly did not look bright…....but the side was predominantly made up of the same bodies that in recent week’s have started to play purest 4’s hockey in many a year….. the Surbiton game excepted.

Sanderstead were riding in comfortable mid-table, but were really up for this clash against one of the apparent minnows of the league. OC’s started strongly, but without a recognised striker……would they be able to fill the onion bag? The answer came surprisingly quickly………Howie despatched a slow bouncing bomb into the area and Nick J took aim and despatched on the volley from top of the D…..1-nil to OC’s in under 2 mins.

OC attacking control continued and a 2nd goal quickly followed with 4 mins on the clock………Robin Smith rifled a ball across the front of goal and Smeer sniffing on the left post did the honours.

Through the rest of the 1st half, OC remained camped in the Sanderstead half, but could not convert a series of good half-chances…..would they rue the lack of a Louis or Jamal? Sanderstead were also dangerous on the break and only some great last minute defending and several fantastic saves from Matt Olley kept them at bay.

At half-time Grant (skipper for the day) stressed the importance of keeping our shape and warned against complacency…….reminding us of the 2nd half last week …where a combination poor defending and crooked umpiring saw us concede 4 goals, and defeat!

OC’s continued much the same in H2, dominating possession and leaving Matt needing binoculars for the most part. The game however was not put to bed until……after excellent approach work, Robin S got on the end of a strong diagonal ball to the back-post…..game, set and match! …with 20 mins to run. Smeer later bamboozled their keeper with snap shot from close in to complete the rout. The game was seen out comfortably, with Howard performing one remarkable act of time-wasting……the ‘over-the-shoulder moon-ball-over-the-fence trick’!

Overall the score for once reflected the level of OC possession and control…..AND this was the 1st clean sheet of the season. Well done to all and thanks to both umpires....not that I’m still bitter about the Woking umpire from last week! AND…..who needs Harmer??.......in fact who is Harmer? Nick Jocelyn


Veterans v Tring - Match abandoned

Dodie Khurshid - A&E will never be the same again

In a forgettable 2nd XI match at TD in November 2009, Dodie Khurshid turned and as his shoe became caught in the pitch, fell to the ground in agony. So used were many of us at the sight of him flapping around as if shot, for some time we ignored him. Eventually he hobbled off where a trained physio diagnosed a twisted knee. Little did we know that was to be his final outing for the club or that what seemed a routine injury was in fact a very serious break. Several operations later, he has finally announced his retirement. The comments on his Facebook page when he did so spoke volumes for the fondness with which everyone who has known Dodie regard him.

Dodie was one of three player we identified in the late 1980s as being the kind of people that the Old Cranleighans wanted to recruit as we strove to adapt to astroturf and replace an ageing 1st XI. The others were Will Stephens and Johnny Stables. Stables moved to some remote part without telling us, but nonetheless, two out of three wasn’t bad.

It soon became clear that while Will was the more flamboyant, grumpy (yes Will, you are) and gnarled player, in Dodie we had a solid defender , albeit one who was guaranteed – and I do mean that – to sustain an injury of some kind during any match. We also had someone to mend the fences Will and others had smashed down during games.

Often Dodie managed to get injured during training as well. Browsing through my archives I found I have as many pictures of Dodie lying on his back, legs in the air, almost crying, as I do of my own children. I once had to drive him to Kingston Hospital bleeding profusely from a head wound. He was greeted by nurses in A&E like a long-lost friend.

But hypochondria aside, Dodie was – is - the kind of player any club longs for. Utterly reliable – only in his twilight years did he even think about daft mid-season skiing trips - quietly efficient and utterly committed to the cause on the pitch. If a ball was heading goalwards, Dodie saw the stick as only one option for blocking it, his knees the barrier of choice. The same attitude applied to attackers, and for one so relatively slight he was deceptively hard to get past. Despite that, he received few cards – in 2003 a report noted a green in a 1st XI match was his first for eight seasons. Off the pitch he was a bit of a smoothy, and not only with opponents and umpires.

His game fell apart the further forward he went. By the time he reached the opposition D he was next to useless. As the years went on it became a challenge to get him to score. In one 1st XI league game against Wokingham when we were 15-0 up he was planted in front of the goal while passes were fed to him, all to no avail.

In 2005, in his 16th season, he finally scored (see picture below) and minutes later he tried for a second, a sliding effort which, inevitably, finished with him lying on the ground bleeding. The floodgates were opened. The second - and final - goal came just two seasons later.

As the years went on speed, never really his strongest asset, diminished but his guile grew. His legs, as my wife endlessly told anyone who would listen, remained divine.

Off the pitch, as on it, he took on a lot of work without show or fuss. Even when sidelined by injury and confined to a sofa and a diet of daytime soaps, while many in such a position would have ceased involvement with the running of the club, he continued to help. It was so typical of Dodie that he concluded his retirement message by saying he wanted to “continue his (now) 22-year association with the Old Cranleighan Hockey Club. If they'll let him.”

His wish to remain involved can only be to our benefit. Personally, I am delighted we haven’t seen the last of him at TD. There are few enough gentlemen – in the true sense - left for us to lose one. Martin Williamson


David Knapp writes:
There is very little I can add to Martin's words which reflect my own views on Dodie's amazing service to the club.

I am aware that Dodie is recognised as a very intelligent guy but I do not find that thought sits easily with his decision to continually come back for more punishment. One of his last injuries was in a warm up for a league match. The 3s had just finished. Eds hit the ball goalward only for Dodie to appear from stage right and take a pile driver in the mouth. It was a horrible sight with a from tooth appearing through his upper lip. However in order to calm him down I strolled up and said " no problems Dodie, a mere scratch but as it is a mouth wound, a little more blood than you would expect". Dodie was reassured. At this point one of the 3s walked past, galnced at Dodie and uttered the immortal words " Oh Jesus, Dodie that is shocking, I am going to puke". Cue Dodie going very white and into shock and then into a car and off to A & E.

There are certain people who you know you can utterly rely on, and Dodie is one. Once he has said "yes, I will be there" there is no need to remind or prompt him again. Luckily the club has many of these types but those who have no such facets to their make up could and should look and learn from Dodie.

Thanks Dodie for all those hard yards and for coming back for more. The club is lucky to have had you around with your presence missed over the last 12 months or so.

I can only say thank you for the past and so glad you will be part of the fabris for the future.

Match reports February 5 2011

The 1st XI produced their performance of the season to win 3-2 at Southampton with ten men, ending a run of three successive defeats; the Ladies remain second in Surrey Division Two with an excellent 3-1 win at Merton, avenging their only pre-Christmas defeat; the 3rd XI eased into mid-table comfort with a 7-2 victory at Barnes, but the 4th XI's relegation worries continue after a 2-4 loss at home to Woking.



Southampton 2-3 1st XI
Without a doubt, the best result for many years and character by the bucket loads.

Due to injuries and three unavailabilities for other reasons Tim Thorpe stepped up along with Ross Kingsnorth and Tissy to give us a mere 11 players - or so we thought. Sadly we had a no show, second time this season, and not a word of apology to any of us.

Be that as it may and putting the disappointment to one side we outplayed the home side in the first half, who had 13, to sneak a 2 - 1 lead. Hunts slotted a stroke after 15 minutes following a magical run by Woody who won the stroke as his shot entered the goal, were pegged back by a well taken reverse stick shot from Southampton's only attack in the first half and snuck ahead when man of the moment Cookiey cleverly deflected the ball home with the last touch of the half. I never thought I would use the word clever when talking about Cookiey. He showed us the meaning of commitment, playing through the pain of a hernia or pregnancy without a grumble and was once again up there challenging for Man of the Match.

No question we tired in the second half but although we were pressed deeper in our half, Southampton were unable to make the most of some really good chances although Ross made a wonder save when faced with 3 on 1. What we thought was an unlucky award of a stroke against us with eight minutes to go, following Tissy's unnecessary, but have to say, deserved yellow card, was put home and Southampton sniffed victory. Remarkably we stepped up a gear on empty tanks, Tissy came back on, we forced a couple of half chances and then a short corner that was the last play of the game. The German worked again and we took the points.

The last few weeks of the season have to see us at the top of the club change our level of commitment to ensure players do not drift away over the summer. A task force will be set up to hit this face on and ensure that we do not go into games with 11 players per side, but in our case only 10 ... David Knapp

Merton 1-3 Ladies XI
I think it’s fair to say there were some nerves ahead of our Merton re-match. These weren’t calmed when a garbled phone call from Philly 40 minutes before push back lead to Goalie rushing off to rescue her from ‘somewhere on the roadside in Tooting’ after her car broke down!

Despite these distractions, we had a good warm up and Philly/Goalie appeared with minutes to spare. We started off brilliantly, pushing up against the oppo with the first 10 minutes or so spent solely in their half, it really looked like this match was ours for the taking but then something happened and our nerves kicked in & Merton picked up on this. They got some good passes through, leading to several straight runs into our D. There was even a one on one with Jules but she kept her cool and the shot at goal went wide.

With Goalie barking at us from the sidelines, we got our heads back into the game. A rebound shot in the D from Emma and an unlucky deflection from the oppo lead to an own goal on 27 minutes. This gave us the boost we needed and seemed to shake the oppo with the last few minutes of the first half spent back on their side of the pitch. We really wanted to win this one and it began to show.

The second half was full on from the start. Despite some physical tackles we didn’t drop our guard this time and Nikki scored a fantastic second goal, aided by some great passing between Philly and Michelle. The oppo were really hot on taking their free hits very quickly so we had to stay switched on the entire time, despite beginning to flag towards the end. We won a short corner and Philly made a quick deflection in from beside the goal post (something that is drummed into us at training!) taking us to a well earned 3-0. In the last few minutes the oppo got a goal back but thankfully the final whistle blew soon after.

Merton were a tough but fair team to play, they don’t hold back on their hard tackles (with one player even taking out Jules!) but we had a really good game against them.
Emma Varley

A footnote, more of a question. Given Tooting & Mitcham FC, the home for Merton, is in what might be described as a built-up area, how come the whole place smells like a farmyard?

2nd XI 4-8 Bank of Boks
With success comes confidence, but when you're struggling then it's hard to turn the tide. Suffice to say we were 3-2 up at half time and had created enough chances to have had a much bigger lead, so much so Eds Copleston, in town from new York for the day, was already taking the plaudits for the win. Then the nerves set in and it all went pear-shaped and we collapsed. There were enough signs to suggest all is not lost, but the revival is likely to be to enable us to play in the division below. Andy Selby said on Thursday we had 15, and so he released two to the 1st XI. On Saturday morning he had two cry-offs, albeit with good reasons, leaving him with the bare XI. Our visitors had plenty in reserve, so much so at at one point is was rumoured there as many as two non South Africans on the pitch.

Barnes Beavers 2-7 3rd XI
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4th XI 2-4 Woking
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