Match Reports - March 23, 2013
The highlight of the weekend was the win for the 2nd XI which secured them promotion into Surrey One with a game remaining, the winner-takes-all game against Spencer Saints a feisty affair. The 1st XI extended their winning sequence but the wretched form at the bottom end of the club continued
Wanderers 1-4 1st XI
As the famous fisherman’s rhyme goes, “When the wind is in the East, ‘tis no good for man nor beast”. Well, it turns out that a biting easterly breeze played amidst flurries of snow is not great weather for hockey either. However, not for the first time this season the OC 1st XI coasted to a comprehensive victory despite not being at their best and producing a fairly lacklustre performance in the second half.
We actually made an impressive start to the game despite having been hampered by a warm up led by Stu Ripley, whose hamstrings are proving to be about as robust as Michael Owen’s in his advancing years. This meant he was restricted to the bench cupping his skinny latte but Jock once again significantly bolstered the squad to provide some much needed rotation. Fluid hockey that belied the sub-zero temperatures ensued from the first whistle and it was not long before Wisey, in attempting to control a cross, mistrapped the ball into the top corner.
With our tails up we played some excellent hockey and forced Wanderers into conceding a pair of short corners that were both converted by Nick Ripley. The first expertly shanked into the bottom corner and the second skilfully used a deflection of the defenders stick to outwit the ‘keeper. With Jay Harman unavailable due to not fancying the cold very much, Ripley sensed this was his opportunity to close in on the coveted prize of OC top scorer. He was not the only one to close in on young Harman. With a typical persistence that has become a trademark of his this season, Chris Gray bustled his way through a couple of tackles before sliding a diving reverse stick shot under the ‘keeper.
Still not even halfway through the first half, the OCs were producing some fine hockey and Wanderers were having to expend a lot of energy chasing down the ball. When they did get hold of it they were unable to retain possession and it looked like becoming a bit of a procession. However, with the game seemingly already won we just coasted through the remainder of the half. They were also indebted to Dan for doing did what all half decent ‘keepers do and standing in the right place so that a well-aimed deflection hit him and not the goal. Fair play to the lad as he must have been freezing.
Despite saying all the right things at half time, unfortunately we failed to actually put any of it into practice. Credit must go to Wanderers here for pressing higher up the pitch and putting us under a lot more pressure than the first half. They also used their big bald chap in the middle to good effect and it would be remiss of me not to mention his sumptuous forward defensive to a bouncing aerial that drew much appreciation from the cricketing purists out there. Textbook stuff.
The game became very stretched and when we did get possession we were unable to build and retain possession from defence through the midfield to the attack. As a result the match began to resemble a good old game of wiff waff. Wanderers sensed a way back in and when one of their attackers slipped down the right and delivered a tap in to his strike partner, they thought they had a sniff. In truth though we were were never in danger of being pulled back but their inability to go back up through the gears and get a stranglehold on the game in the second half was frustrating.
After the game, the stand-in manager, Stu Ripley, looking resplendent in old-school style jogging bottoms tucked into his socks had this to say about the game, “I’m livid. I sent the lads out all fired up after a great warm-up despite only having two balls. They did everything right to start with but then took their foot off the accelerator. I think tactically I’m slightly culpable for leaving Wisey on too long despite the fact that he couldn’t see or breathe for most of the second half but that’s no excuse. I almost spat out my skinny latte when we conceded that soft goal and I can’t help thinking it wouldn’t have happened with me on the pitch. Livid.”
Some harsh words from old glass-hamstring Ripley there. Another way of looking at it would be job done inside 20 minutes and the quest to become this season’s Invincibles rolls on to Chichester in a fortnight’s time. It would be gutting to fall at the final hurdle so focus required. Let’s get the job done! JLT
2nd XI 2-1 Spencer
So, we have done it and emulated the 1s promotion success with a game to spare.
Fair to say we were a tad fortunate following a fairly inept first half display which could have seen Spencer 2 or 3 ahead instead of being held 1 - 1. Quite simple they wanted it more, were first to the ball whilst we were naively dribbling onto open sticks through the centre. Spencer deservedly took the lead midway through the first half as the ball was squeezed under Goalie's body from a brave Spencer forward's dive but the away side were unable to add to the opener. We did force the odd half chance with CB, yes, CB, on the end of a cross with a full length dive but was thwarted by an excellent save. Down to 10 men we forced the equalizer when, with 2 minutes of the half to go, CB's pin point sharp cross was deflected expertly into the roof at pace leaving the keeper stranded - shame it was their centre back.
The second half was a different affair as we stepped up a couple of gears, played the ball wide and got under Spencer's skin. Some horrible tackles from both sides were correctly punished with yellows but we snuck the lead when a forceful run by Guessy set of Henry whose shot was well saved by the keeper for the rebound to fall kindly that was popped home.
Spencer then lost their sense of humour with the first half goal scorer ( for us ) telling Knappy he would see him in the car park afterwards. Regrettably he had left the Vasoline at home and the agricultural tackles being penalised with short corners. The refrain of "ringers" was heard a couple of times which was a wee bit odd as the 1s beat Wanderers 4-1 at Battersea and arguably the pot was calling the kettle black with an overheard comment of "you have to be more careful at this lower level with the tackles" from the Spencer bench.
Two top class saves from Goalie, the second oldest player on the pitch, at important junctures kept our noses in front. Both were top drawer and very sharp showing glimpses of his former self.
The 2-2 draws in their last two games may be more the reason for their demise. To their credit a number of them did congratulate us on promotion. Now to stay there and move onwards and upwards. The 13th April promises to be a top evening. Rex B
Goan 5-1 Oxted
A long way to travel for a beating by a side with an average age over more than 50 but with age comes experience and an ability to let the ball do the work. We showed we had not learned from the 1-3 loss at TD in October when we dominated possession but were well beaten.
Barnstormers 2-7 Reading
The end of the season will be a welcome relief for the Barnstormers after a drubbing by Reading handed them their fifth straight defeat.
Wanderers 1-4 1st XI
As the famous fisherman’s rhyme goes, “When the wind is in the East, ‘tis no good for man nor beast”. Well, it turns out that a biting easterly breeze played amidst flurries of snow is not great weather for hockey either. However, not for the first time this season the OC 1st XI coasted to a comprehensive victory despite not being at their best and producing a fairly lacklustre performance in the second half.
We actually made an impressive start to the game despite having been hampered by a warm up led by Stu Ripley, whose hamstrings are proving to be about as robust as Michael Owen’s in his advancing years. This meant he was restricted to the bench cupping his skinny latte but Jock once again significantly bolstered the squad to provide some much needed rotation. Fluid hockey that belied the sub-zero temperatures ensued from the first whistle and it was not long before Wisey, in attempting to control a cross, mistrapped the ball into the top corner.
With our tails up we played some excellent hockey and forced Wanderers into conceding a pair of short corners that were both converted by Nick Ripley. The first expertly shanked into the bottom corner and the second skilfully used a deflection of the defenders stick to outwit the ‘keeper. With Jay Harman unavailable due to not fancying the cold very much, Ripley sensed this was his opportunity to close in on the coveted prize of OC top scorer. He was not the only one to close in on young Harman. With a typical persistence that has become a trademark of his this season, Chris Gray bustled his way through a couple of tackles before sliding a diving reverse stick shot under the ‘keeper.
Still not even halfway through the first half, the OCs were producing some fine hockey and Wanderers were having to expend a lot of energy chasing down the ball. When they did get hold of it they were unable to retain possession and it looked like becoming a bit of a procession. However, with the game seemingly already won we just coasted through the remainder of the half. They were also indebted to Dan for doing did what all half decent ‘keepers do and standing in the right place so that a well-aimed deflection hit him and not the goal. Fair play to the lad as he must have been freezing.
Despite saying all the right things at half time, unfortunately we failed to actually put any of it into practice. Credit must go to Wanderers here for pressing higher up the pitch and putting us under a lot more pressure than the first half. They also used their big bald chap in the middle to good effect and it would be remiss of me not to mention his sumptuous forward defensive to a bouncing aerial that drew much appreciation from the cricketing purists out there. Textbook stuff.
The game became very stretched and when we did get possession we were unable to build and retain possession from defence through the midfield to the attack. As a result the match began to resemble a good old game of wiff waff. Wanderers sensed a way back in and when one of their attackers slipped down the right and delivered a tap in to his strike partner, they thought they had a sniff. In truth though we were were never in danger of being pulled back but their inability to go back up through the gears and get a stranglehold on the game in the second half was frustrating.
After the game, the stand-in manager, Stu Ripley, looking resplendent in old-school style jogging bottoms tucked into his socks had this to say about the game, “I’m livid. I sent the lads out all fired up after a great warm-up despite only having two balls. They did everything right to start with but then took their foot off the accelerator. I think tactically I’m slightly culpable for leaving Wisey on too long despite the fact that he couldn’t see or breathe for most of the second half but that’s no excuse. I almost spat out my skinny latte when we conceded that soft goal and I can’t help thinking it wouldn’t have happened with me on the pitch. Livid.”
Some harsh words from old glass-hamstring Ripley there. Another way of looking at it would be job done inside 20 minutes and the quest to become this season’s Invincibles rolls on to Chichester in a fortnight’s time. It would be gutting to fall at the final hurdle so focus required. Let’s get the job done! JLT
2nd XI 2-1 Spencer
So, we have done it and emulated the 1s promotion success with a game to spare.
Fair to say we were a tad fortunate following a fairly inept first half display which could have seen Spencer 2 or 3 ahead instead of being held 1 - 1. Quite simple they wanted it more, were first to the ball whilst we were naively dribbling onto open sticks through the centre. Spencer deservedly took the lead midway through the first half as the ball was squeezed under Goalie's body from a brave Spencer forward's dive but the away side were unable to add to the opener. We did force the odd half chance with CB, yes, CB, on the end of a cross with a full length dive but was thwarted by an excellent save. Down to 10 men we forced the equalizer when, with 2 minutes of the half to go, CB's pin point sharp cross was deflected expertly into the roof at pace leaving the keeper stranded - shame it was their centre back.
The second half was a different affair as we stepped up a couple of gears, played the ball wide and got under Spencer's skin. Some horrible tackles from both sides were correctly punished with yellows but we snuck the lead when a forceful run by Guessy set of Henry whose shot was well saved by the keeper for the rebound to fall kindly that was popped home.
Spencer then lost their sense of humour with the first half goal scorer ( for us ) telling Knappy he would see him in the car park afterwards. Regrettably he had left the Vasoline at home and the agricultural tackles being penalised with short corners. The refrain of "ringers" was heard a couple of times which was a wee bit odd as the 1s beat Wanderers 4-1 at Battersea and arguably the pot was calling the kettle black with an overheard comment of "you have to be more careful at this lower level with the tackles" from the Spencer bench.
Two top class saves from Goalie, the second oldest player on the pitch, at important junctures kept our noses in front. Both were top drawer and very sharp showing glimpses of his former self.
The 2-2 draws in their last two games may be more the reason for their demise. To their credit a number of them did congratulate us on promotion. Now to stay there and move onwards and upwards. The 13th April promises to be a top evening. Rex B
Goan 5-1 Oxted
A long way to travel for a beating by a side with an average age over more than 50 but with age comes experience and an ability to let the ball do the work. We showed we had not learned from the 1-3 loss at TD in October when we dominated possession but were well beaten.
Barnstormers 2-7 Reading
The end of the season will be a welcome relief for the Barnstormers after a drubbing by Reading handed them their fifth straight defeat.
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