End of Season Dinner set for April 27

The End of Season Dinner will take place at Aragon House which is in the New King’s Road on Friday April 27th. The dinner is at 8pm and will be preceded by a champagne reception.

The dress is black tie and cocktail dresses and tickets will be £35.00 from your team captain.

Summer Leagues to start in May - apply now!

Once again the OCHC will be running men’s, ladies and mixed summer leagues between May and July on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Matches will start at 7.20 and 8.20 pm and be 25 minutes each way. Usual hockey rules will apply and each team will be asked to provide an umpire. As usual we hope the leagues will be fun and friendly and keep our fitness up throughout the summer months.

All matches will be played at the OC Club and the bar – which is within 40 yards of the pitch! – will be open throughout.

The cost to enter the league will be the same as last year, £300 per team.

If you are interested please contact Jackie Waite (jackie.waite11@googlemail.com).

We are hoping to finalise the participants within the next fortnight and the leagues and fixtures will be organised and details distributed in mid April.

Match report March 24 2012

The Ladies ended their season with a 2-0 win, not enough to avoid relegation but which showed we may well be able to bounce straight back, and the 2nd XI ensured their own safety with a 2-0 win against Cheam. The 1st XI went down 3-7 at Fareham, the 3rd XI lost against Reigate by the odd goal in nine, and the Barnstormers lost at Sunbury

Ladies XI 2-0 Spencer
We had nothing to play for but pride, relegation already a done deal, but it was Sarah's last match as captain and everyone wanted to bow out with a win. Spencer needed victory to make 100% sure of their own safety, so both sides turned up with 16 players and no end of enthusiasm. The first half was nip and tuck, both teams creating chances without ever looking really threatening, Spencer coming closest when Rosie Marriott flung herself to scoop a ball off the line and then almost managed to drag it back into the goal as lying flat on the ground she aimed to clear it!

We opened the scoring three minutes after the break when, fittingly, Sarah rifled home a short corner and two minutes later we went two up with a more scrambled effort. After that the game became more open and Spencer could have come back with a string of breaks which split our defence but Julia was in excellent form. We too had several openings, and it was a really entertaining game to watch and one which suggested we had more than enough skill to press for immediate promotion next year.

Thanks to Sarah for all her hard work.. She is being succeeded by Tux who will hopefully have the old backline back after a series of pregnancies and moves to far- flung places.

2nd XI 2-0 Cheam
The absurdities of rules where players cannot double up on a weekend unless they are playing for a national league side were in evidence again. Last week Fareham drew with lowly Reigate when there was a Saturday National League match. This week there was no clash and they beat us 7-3.

2nd XI 2-0 Cheam
We did not expect to be fighting off relegation coming into the weekend with 25 points but in a tight and well-contested the league that was the scenario after we managed only two points in our previous four games.

Cheam, sitting just above us, had won the reverse game at their place 2-0 so we expected and got a tight match. Unlike most games this season we started really well, keeping possession in their half and creating chances. Frank had some great flicks on goals from short corners but he was up against a keeper in excellent form.

The deadlock was broken when David slotted a rebound off the keeper but then we started to dribble to much and lost the ball too regularly. Fortunately, Cheam were not having one of their best days, otherwise the score would have been different. Our back line were also doing a great job at mopping up anything that came through with Cato, Alan and Mini Mez all putting in their fair share of work.

We dominated the second half came up to the point 15 minutes from time when
Frank slotted the ball with a reverse stick into the bottom left. We then decided to make life harder for ourselves but in the end Cheam could not break down the defence despite some close shaves and we held on to ensure mid-table respectability and a final weekend with nothing to play for.

3rd XI 4-5 Reigate Priory
An entertaining ding-dong battle which went down to the final whistle and in which both sides missed a hatful of chances. The game did not start until close to 5pm after an injury in an early match, but in beautiful spring sunshine it was soon clear from our defence why we had shipped 24 goals in the previous three matches. Fortunately for us, Howie and Neil were in superb form and constantly troubles an experienced Reigate back line. 3-5 down with two minutes to go, we ensured a tense finale with a fourth and then won a short corner on the stroke of time which we could not convert.

Match reports March 17 2012

A gritty draw for the 1st XI but otherwise, aside from the Barnstormers' victory over Indian Gymkhana, there were defeats for the 2nd XI, 3rd XI and Ladies

1st XI 2-2 Southampton
One has to feel sorry for Southampton whose path has been similar to ours in that they competed fiercely for promotiong in our unbeaten season 2 years ago and who are now fighting desperately to avoid relegation. Quiote simply they wanted it more than us and on that basis alone deserved to win. A lively squad of 14 players faced one of 11 with one no show and one worse for wear. We should have absolutley no grouses about ending up mid table and need the influx of players that is possibly on the cards to see us change our current attitude of a reluctance to train and general malaise that seems to affecyt us from mid February onwards.

Southampton were also on the worng end of a series of decisions culminating in yellow cards that disrupted the game that also counted against the travelling side. I lost count of the number of cards and it just wasn't that type of game but instead one in which a team was fighting for survivial and the other going through the motions.

A blank half time scoreline was down to 2 keepers making 6 good saves between them and level at half time was a fair one.

Our susceptibility at defensive shorts was exposed midway through the half with a good save by Ross not being mopped up and the rebound was put home. Knappy could have done better on the line. As is often the case, this spurred us into action and Rippers popped home our next corner with a well worked move. From here one hoped we would step up a gear and bury the game but it was Southampton who regained the lead after pressure form us, a well worked move and a top finish by the oppo's striker who was a constant threat. A curate's egg saw us level when Cato popped up in the D to slot home his first of the year and we had the chance to snatch the spolis with a short corner as the last play of the game but fluffed our lines.

Interesting alleged "quote" via a Southampton member on the subject of selection by a National League second team we still have to play "we will struggle this week ( 17th) as our 1s have a National League game and we will be up to 9 players short". Er, they did struggle, drawing 2 - 2 with lowly Reigate Priory....

As least Wales won the Slam to brighten my day

Match report March 10 2012

A poor weekend with only the 1st XI winning, completing the double over tenants London Academicals to move us to fourth in the league. A loss for the 2nd XI means they risk becoming embroiled in a relegation fight unless they pick up their game, and the 3rd XI also slipped into the bottom four with a heavy defeat. The Ladies levelled from two down against Barnes before losing, leaving us battling to stay up

London Academicals 2-3 1st XI
An end of term feel to this away from home game with our performance in the first half probably the worth of the season that saw us caught twice on the break and down 2-0 at half time.

Fortunately we were wise enough to stop talking to the umpires and keep the ball in the second period with Gavin contiuing his rich vein of form scoring two good goals either side of Cookieys first of the season to enable us to take the points. Suicide was nearly committed with two daft yellow cards but fortunately Accies evened things up with two similarly stupid cards to enable us to complete a double over our tenants.

An important win for various reasons and only three to go with a top four finish our aim. Rex Harrison

Ladies 2-4 Barnes Hounslow Ealing

London Academicals 2-3 1st XI

2nd XI v London Academicals

Surbiton 8-2 3rd XI

Hamstrings 2-3 Reading

Match report March 3 2012

A mixed weekend with draws for the 1st and 2nd XIs and defeats for the 3rd XI and Ladies. The Barnstormers had a hard-fought 2-2 draw with a chippy East Grinstead but the Hamstrings were hammered 13-0 at Maidenhead, our worst result in living memory

1st XI 3-3 Barnes
Click here for photos
Another disappointing result that sees us slip further back in the table. All rather frustrating after a superb start to the game with our taking a 2 goal lead in the first 20 minutes. The first was a great Gavin finish following a slick move and the second a gift as a Knapp trickle somehow rolled over the line - just.

After that we disappeared for 40 minutes playing one dimensional hockey and gifting the opposition 2 goals and, to cap it all, going 3 - 2 down when sloppy marking allowed a swift shot from the top of the D from the Barnes centre half that rattled the back boards. In between times we had received 3 yellow cards and Barnes 2, all of which were correctly given albeit the recipients feeling hard done by. To be frank the decisions were those that would be given higher up and so we need to get used to being umpired properly. The Barnes third goal came when we were down to 9 but our extra man at the death enabled us to score an equalizer with another top finish from Gavin and then with 30 seconds to go had the chance to win the game but could not convert.

If the truth be known, fitness cost us even though having 2 subs along with the predeliction of long balls to the left and into the D seeing our centre midfield bypassed and the open acres on the right rarely used. The fears expressed four weeks ago are beginning to look very prophetic.

Epsom 2-0 Ladies

Wanderers 1-1 2nd XI

3rd XI 3-5 Goan
A match where we started strongly, levelled after going 1-3 down and then threw the game away with some poor defending. Goan were, as always, highly skilful but prone to imploding, and after weathering a good start from us they moved the ball around well to ease into a comfortable lead. They then lost their best player to a yellow card for a flailing hand, and that allowed us back into the game. But having done the hard work, we then fell apart at the back, allowing Goan far too much room and paid the penalty, despite some strong defensive play from Ollie and Rob Crumby and some great diving saves from Matt Olley. School report would read : inconsistent with some promising signs of improvement - needs to concentrate more in exams!
Barnstormers 2-2 East Grinstead
A hard and highly entertaining match which either side had enough chances to win but where a draw was a fair result. The visitors moved the ball around well but were largely undone by the incessant bellyaching of their No. 17 which annoyed the umpires and his own side in equal measure.