Great performances from a number of teams this weekend with wins for both 1st XIs as well as cup victories for the Over 40s and Over 50s in very wet conditions
Men’s 1st XI 3-1 Cardiff University
Click here for match photos
We returned to the Thames Ditton fortress for our first home National League game of 2020, hoping to continue the push toward the league title and promotion. With Storm Dennis causing carnage throughout most of the country, a flooded D meant the game was moved to fortress B at Oaken Lane.
We started positively moving the ball quickly and creating a number of decent chances. Two of these found themselves in the back of the net only to be disallowed by the umpires leaving Charlie Lamb and Jack Smart falsely celebrating. Despite the pressure a neat counter attack from a penalty corner saw the away side break the deadlock and take the lead. We continued to build patiently but were thankful for a goal-line clearance to ensure they didn’t go further behind after some sloppy defending. Josh Doble also made a couple of key saves to ensure the game remained in the balance. We rallied and just before the half a neat deflection from Charlie Lamb saw the ball spin in to goal as the scoreline now read 1-1.
The third quarter was probably our best passage of play with us dominating possession and territory. With this game two short corners which were dispatched by Will Marshall to give us a two-goal cushion but we didn’t close out the game as comfortably as we should have, disrupted by two yellow cards and the hamstring bug infecting two other members of the squad. Cardiff piled on the pressure in the final minutes but we held out for a 3-1 win. With Bristol University beating Richmond, we are now five points clear at the top although both sides below have a game on hand. Next week sees us travel to Cheltenham in search of three more points
Men’s 2nd XI 6-0 Camberley & Farnborough
DOD is an ancient tradition dating back generations and I personally hope to pass onto future generations. However, on Saturday 15th February that tradition was torn to shreds. Did it go to a player who claimed to ‘earn more than his friends’? Did it go to a player who couldn’t trap a ball if it was covered in glue? Did it go to a player who wore an awful Nets cap? Did it go to the player who got carded for not being 5? Did it go to the player who shanked a hit 7 yards away from the goal? Did it go the the player who shared far too much information regarding his most recent personal conquest? No. It did not. It went to 100% D. Roberts.
Cooper scored 2 in the first half*. The second half started with D. Roberts driving through midfield and being rewarded with a bouncing ball which he cooly slotted home through the use of a reverse stick strike, the crowd cheered and the OC’s went 3-0 up. Minutes later, D. Roberts the veteran forward with blood dripping down his legs, lactic acid attacking his joints and the rain attacking his soul managed to burst forward picking up a bouncing ball, control it and then slotting the ball home. 4-0 to the OC’s and as the celebrations ended the lads knew we had won thanks to the goals of D. Roberts**. Emery then scored 2 goals.
* Editor’s note – the first was a fast-becoming-traditional clinical and stylish reverse into the side netting from top D.
** Editor’s note – and not the hatful of missed chances that earnt DOD.
A convincing win and the lads look forward to regaining their dignity through voting fairly for DOD and more importantly train beers after beating Andover next week.
Men’s 4th XI 1-2 Bank of England
The New Year transfer window was a disaster for the 4s as our run in the last few weeks has been as barren as a Scottish spinster crofter. All started so well with a victory against the then league leaders Reigate Priory. Of the three games we could easily have taken six points from Guildford, who equalized in the last minute, and Boks who er, scored in the last minute. The Guildford result was galling as we fought back from two down to take a 3-2 lead, missed two or three chances to put the result beyond doubt but didn’t. we dominated the whole game and harked back to the day as Eds and Knappy shared the goals. To be fair to Guildford we sneaked a 3-3 draw in game one in November when we were outplayed but helped by their home umpire so all in all fair dinkum.
Oxted however pummelled us and we were two down in 8 minutes and three down at half time. We did have our moments whilst conceding the first two but decided to give their centre forward a Chinese New Year gift for the third. Lambo snuck one back with an outrageous upright reverse stick half volley, none of this back of the stick tomahawk “skill”, that I can’t do, thus the vitriolic tone. 3-1 became 5-1 but we had the last giggle. Over the last 2 or 3 years we have come out on top of Oxted, fortuitously, but in this game they took every chance and are rightly clear at the top and on this showing deserve to win the league.
Bank of Boks was another what if. 80% of the game in their half but a load of tosh in the D. Their two shots found their way home from the best player who had no B o B socks, no numbered shirt and who was seemingly called the wrong name by many of their side. We cannot argue with the result as we only had Lewis’s slightest of edges that deflected the ball home to draw us back to 1-1 by half time. To be fair to Boks none of them were from the Southern Hemisphere as clearly they have all bokked off. There was the most amusing episode towards the end of the first half when their ageing grey haired right back said “ I am going home if that decision is not reversed”. Well, it wasn’t and he did. JJ has been asked to install a sand pit and some plastic buckets at TD for when they visits next season.
Twelve months ago we would have settled for a mid table finish and that is where we are likely to end. We do need to ensure that this season does not peter out and become a going through the motions as we do have some tough games looming. We must banish the thought of Isla McTavish becoming our mascot.
Ladies 1st XI 5-1 Sunbury and Walton Hawks 1s
This weekend saw us facing a match rescheduled due to a frozen pitch in January. Sitting 4th in the league with a game in hand and on a winning streak,having beaten the league leaders the previous week, we were keen to get three points in the bag and leap frog us into 3rd while our other opponents rested. We had a strong team with Laura Price and 2’s Captain Sophie Cook joining us from the 2’s to replace those less committed and off skiing …
An inspirational pre match talk from coach Will (a debut as 1’s coach/manager) and we were off. We pressed hard from the start and after a brief spell of pressure from the opposition, intercepted, passing the ball swiftly from Holly Hulme at the back through our midfield of Nikki Springett, Liz Norrington and Katie Richards to our on form forward line of Laura Searly, Meg Perry and Georgie Sangster. Following waves of attacking pressure we won our first short converted with a drag flick from Richards. Hungry for more goals we were straight on them from the restart although a break from the oppo against the run of play saw us concede a slightly dubious short corner. First attempt saw Hawks convert although the umpires had already blown due to a Hawks player breaking the D early. Their injector sent to the half way they tried again and this time strong defence from Amy Hulme we safety cleared the threat.
Back into our offensive stride we were soon back up the other end, Perry and Richie reeking havoc in the midfield with Alina Mir blocking any counter attack on the left and Price causing endless issues for Hawks in the D. We soon added to our score line the first of a Sangster hat trick coming from a rebound off the keepers pads, and a second a cross from Searly, Sangster casually dragging right and slipping past the keeper. Half time and 3-0 up. More inspiration from Will – ‘don’t let them score’ and squashies to refuel and we were off again.
Hawks came out strong soon winning a short corner but again strong defence from Norrington and Molly Hanson and we cleared. Michelle Rankin as ever bossing us from the goal ensuring we held position and made a few crucial touches to keep Hawks at bay. Pressing high and hard our next goal came from a Hawks error with Cook intercepting and passing selflessly to fellow 2’s player Price who slammed the ball in the goal giving the keeper no chance. Hawks again came back strong and had definitely upped their game. We defended another short well, although a momentary lapse of concentration saw a ball around the back and across our D intercepted and capitalised on to get Hawks a goal back. Sorry Will! We were not about to draw the second half however and shortly before full time Jackie Waite picked up a loose ball coming out of Hawks D, a quick pass to Mir on the base line who sent the ball screaming across the goal where Sangster deflected in to secure her hat trick and person of the match to go with it. Luckily the match finished prior to storm Dennis hitting, but not before storm OCs hit Hawks!
Full time score 5-1 taking us to 3rd in the league. All to play for and only three points difference between at 1st and 3rd. Big thanks to Will for stepping in to coach us and the strategic last 10 minutes of the match.
Over 50s 2-2 St Albans Over 50s
OCs won on penalty shoot out
Storm Dennis did its best to knock this one on the head but unlike King Canute nature was mastered. Like Canute for some utterly bizarre reason our hard working ground staff curiously started pushing water that was collecting on the back line of the club house end back on to the pitch, not that it would have made much difference to the eventual amount of collected H2O at that end.
St Albans definitely did not want to play but play we did having given them the option to play towards the flooded end for the whole game. This very strange offer from our captain was a master stroke as it was far easier to defence that end than attack, one would have thought….
As it was both their goals came from over hit passes stopping dead in two inches of water and being worked home by some determined shovelling of water and ball. Cleverly St Albans did not win any short corners as, if they had, the ball would still be under water on the push out spot.
We dominated the game but were unable to breach the inspired St Albans defence whose keeper was man of the match. Our goalie, Howard, tried to claim the ignominious award of being the first player to drown on a hockey pitch when taken out by one of their forwards in a 50/50 tackle and finding himself face down in the water. Thankfully he survived and was able to take part in the stroke barrage at the end. Fair to say as St Albans missed the target on three Howard was not needed although he made his most telling save of the game when smothering their first stroke.
Having been 2 down and facing defeat Wrighty showed his sons how to do it with two deflected goals, the last in the 70th minute. Although we missed 2 strokes 3 were enough to get us through (3 – 0) to face Bristol, away, in the quarter finals on the 8th March.