OC Hockey Club

Women’s 1st XI  7-2  East London 2s

With a lot we wanted to show after last week’s result, the L1s trekked to East London ready to play, in Lauren’s words, some “sexy hockey”.

Under sunny skies and with spirits high, the start of the game couldn’t have gone better. Less than a minute in, Lauren (“Lolly”) intercepted a defensive transfer and smashed a straight strike in from the top of the D.

East London responded quickly on the counter, levelling the score at 1-1 by the 6th minute. But we regrouped fast. Danny got us back on top with a strong finish from a rebound, before a slick short corner routine saw Gabby (“El Captino”) slot one in from the left slip.

Lots of quality play from both teams and we continued to apply pressure, with Bella powering down the right wing and firing an unreal ball across the goal, where Gabs (“Easy(Jet…)”) was waiting on the post to tap in. The score at halftime: 4-1.

Lots of sugar consumed we were ready for the second half. East London came out hard, pulling one back early to make it 4-2, but we held our composure. Danny, still on a mission, lobbed the keeper for her second – and not long after, she completed her hat-trick with a clinical finish from a perfect assist by Gabs.

With just five minutes left on the clock, Lily M scored a brilliant rebound goal, sealing a 7-2 win.

We then headed off for some fab match teas with the oppo – thanks East London for having us!

Goalscorers: Danny x3, Lolly x1, Gabby x1, Gabs x1, Lily M x1
MOM: Serena (“RiRi”) for tearing up the pitch!
DOD: Sylvie for dropping a rugby tackle… can give the OCRFC some tips

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Men’s 1st XI  2 – 2  London Wayfarers 

Kings House Sports Ground – League Game (2nd vs 3rd)

There are draws that feel like losses, and there are draws that feel like wins. This one? Definitely the latter. On a sun-soaked October afternoon that felt more like Marbella than Mortlake, Old Cranleighans staged a gutsy comeback to snatch a 2–2 draw against long-time rivals Wayfarers — and keep their title charge very much alive.

The game had all the ingredients: top-of-the-table tension, a bit of history, and a few colourful moments (mostly from the Wayfarers’ card collection). They started sharper, finding the net twice before half-time as OCs struggled to click into gear. The boys in blue, though, never panicked. Heads stayed cool while Wayfarers’ tempers didn’t — and that proved crucial.

After a stern half-time reset and a rallying cry that could probably be heard back at Thames Ditton, OCs came roaring back in the final quarter.Step forward James Cutter, who decided it was time to take matters into his own hands — twice. His first was a well-taken finish after a slick passing move, and his second… well, let’s just say the keeper’s still looking for it. Two goals, one man-of-the-match performance, and the comeback complete.

By the final whistle, Wayfarers looked shell-shocked, while OCs were buzzing — proud of the fight, the spirit, and the reminder that this team doesn’t know when it’s beaten.

Next up: a tasty trip to the OC fortress to take on Brom Becks, with momentum swinging firmly in OC’s favour. If this was the benchmark for October, the rest of the season’s looking very bright indeed.

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Women’s 2nd XI  2 – 5  Tulse Hill & Dulwich 

Old Cranleighans Ladies 2s hosted Tulse Hill & Dulwich Ladies 2s on the 11th of October in what proved to be a hard-fought battle from start to finish.

OCs came out strong, moving the ball with pace and intent around the press. Despite their early dominance, the visitors showed sharp discipline in their interceptions and were quick to exploit gaps through the middle, launching several dangerous counterattacks. OCs earned a handful of short corners in the first half, with Candela delivering beautifully placed drag flicks, bravely saved by the goalkeeper.

After an evenly matched opening spell, OCs finally broke through as Sophie drove calmly into the D and slipped the ball past the keeper’s left foot to level the score. However, Tulse Hill & Dulwich responded quickly, capitalising on a loose ball to edge ahead and take a 2–1 lead into half time.

With the sun now blinding OCs’ defence in the second half, fatigue began to creep in on both sides. Some slick passing down the left saw Jess pick up the ball cleanly, drive the baseline and carve out promising early chances at goal.

Despite their efforts, Tulse Hill & Dulwich’s strength through the centre proved decisive as they converted turnovers clinically, stretching the scoreline to 5–1. Still, OCs showed no signs of giving in. Determined to finish on a high, Hazel and Jax linked up strong in the final moments, piecing together a brilliant moment of play that found Sophie once again in the right place to slot home a well-earned second.

Despite the result, there were clear positives in work rate, teamwork and resilience. Stepping up a division was always going to be a challenge, but performances like this show the potential is there. With a few adjustments, OCs will only get stronger as the season goes on.

Match Report: Goals, Redemption and Chaos!
Women’s 3s  3 – 0  London Wayfarers 5a

After last week’s win at home, we came into the game confident and ready to repeat. Last time we played at Kennington Park we came away from the match with an unsatisfactory draw that did not reflect the flow of the game, so we were ready to prove ourselves even if it was against an entirely different club! After a long time coordinating train times, we all arrived at roughly around the same time and walked together to the pitch. We also managed to put together a pretty full team sheet including Michelle the Goalie and a defensive sub!

The first half: We started the match calm, playing great passes through tot the front of the pitch, but Wayfarers were quick on the counter and were threatening from the first, overturning balls and running to our D – but Michelle charged them down making excellent saves, along with great tackles from Laura and Jess at centre back. We did become panicked at this point, not helped by the perhaps a little bias umpiring. But we fought through, with a perfectly timed volley shot from Freya sending us into the lead just before half time!

The second half: We came back out strong, keeping the pressure on Wayfarers and getting rewarded with another goal! This time from Sam smashing it into the backboard. Wayfarers weren’t done however snd we had a few tense Short Corners in our D with more great saves from Michelle and clearances from the defence. Wayfarers were doing well at picking the ball and making holes in press, so we became tighter drawing them into spaces and then tackling back. We were awarded a Short Corner and Sam took the opportunity to put another past the keeper, making the score 3-0. But tragedy struck as both Jess and Laura had to come off with knee injuries, leaving me and Holly to fill in for the centre backs and Izzy stepping in as Left Half. We faced some major opposition down the wings, but sticking with man to man we were able to hold them off until they got a final Short Corner on the whistle – which we calmly carried out of the D to victory!

We will now go into our next match against local rivals Surbiton feeling confident to pull off another win.

MoM: Laura Hutton

An early game against NPL to start our weekends and what a game it was!There were fetal positions, there was barging but most impo