Men’s 1st XI 3 – 4 Wimbledon 2s
It started like a dream. Four minutes in, Old Cranleighans nearly took the lead — the kind of “almost” that has you already halfway through the celebration before realising the ball’s still in play.
That, sadly, was the high point for a while. Wimbledon clearly didn’t appreciate the early scare and responded with three goals before the end of the third quarter. Each one slightly more annoying than the last.
Then, as if to really rub it in, they made it 4–0 barely two minutes into the second half. Some would call it ruthless. Others would call it unsporting. We’ll go with “inconsiderate.”
But if there’s one thing OC do better than defending a lead, it’s mounting an unnecessary comeback from the depths of despair. Enter Worcester, who decided he’d had enough and absolutely leathered a reverse into the top corner from the D — the sort of strike that makes you briefly believe in destiny (or at least decent stick skills).
Moments later, Charlie Wolff joined the party, thinning one past the keeper with all the finesse of a man trying to open a jam jar. It went in, though — and that’s what counts.
Then came the third goal (scorer TBD — possibly divine intervention). Suddenly it was 4–3, Wimbledon looked rattled, and the OC bench started doing mental maths on how many minutes were left to complete the miracle.
Alas, the fairy-tale finish never quite came. The final whistle blew, the comeback fell just short, and the lads were left wondering what might have been — preferably over a pint and a plate of chips.
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Women’s 1st XI 0 – 1 Wimbledon 3rd XI
Conditions: Torrential rain, tough pitch, tougher game
It was a soggy start to the afternoon as the team braved the downpour for warm-up – drenched but determined. Despite the conditions, spirits were high heading into the match against Wimbledon.
The first half saw some solid play from both sides, with our defence staying organised and Molly making some key saves early on to keep the score level. We moved the ball well and created some promising chances, but just couldn’t find the finishing touch in the circle.
After the break, Wimbledon found their moment – capitalising on a brief lapse in concentration to slot home the only goal of the game. unfortunately the equaliser just wouldn’t come.
Post-match, gabby summed it up perfectly:
“Tough one today but lesson learnt not to be complacent, not to play as individuals, and listen to Lauren!! Anyway, we go again next week.”
- DoD: A battle of the falls this week! Storm Easy managed to stay upright (mostly), but Lily clinched it after making Ottalie cry before the game and then tripping over her own shoelaces. Iconic.
- PoM: A close race with votes for Sam, Serena, our skipper, Lolly, and Lily – but the honours go to Molly Warner, whose super saves kept us in the game and prevented a bigger scoreline.
Despite the result, there’s plenty to take forward – lessons learned, team spirit intact, and plenty of motivation for next week. We’ll dry out, regroup, and come back stronger.
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Hamstrings 2 – 1 Surbiton
This week saw the return of three Hamstrings regulars in CJ, Mike, and Robin. Spirits were high, and with the warm-up and team talk complete we all took to our positions.
Only problem? No goalkeeper. While lesser teams might have been flustered, the Hamstrings simply shrugged it off and handed the job to Robin who stepped up as our emergency sweeper/keeper. No big deal, Simon was only running 5 minutes late, or so we thought!
To say we started brightly is an understatement. Barely 41 seconds on the clock, CJ smashed a ball into the box finding Baz. Baz unmarked, took his time and calmly slotted it home. I’m sure that’s a record for our fastest goal. As we jogged back, smug smiles all round, I’m pretty sure everyone was thinking, “This is going to be a turkey shoot.”
For the next 15 minutes, with zero goalkeeper, remember, we played some of our best hockey. Passes were crisp, movement was sharp, confidence was sky-high. We created chances galore, but our finishing went missing and we were just unable to find that elusive second goal.
Then came the second half. Surbiton, clearly unfazed by our early fireworks, equalised within two minutes. Things got messy, our structure disintegrated and for about 15 minutes we treated possession like a hot potato, repeatedly giving the ball back to the oppo as if we were trying to lose the game. It had all the hallmarks of a “How did we draw that?” kind of game.
But thankfully, Ado had other ideas, amidst a goalmouth scramble he managed to slot one in for 2–1. Celebration, relief in that order. We clung on till the end, and walked away with all three points.
Post-match, Eastie decided to mix things up with a new MOM and DOD voting format. 3 – 2 – 1 point at someone.
The results: Mike Newton MOM and Simon Cooney self appointed DOD.
Another week, another chaotic win. Not our prettiest, but hey they all count!
Goal scorers – Barry Jones & Adrian White
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Women’s 3s 0 – 3 Spencer
The weather this week was nice and sunny, unlike the day before, though still very chilly! We had a good early start against Spencer — and a special mention to Jacques for turning up on time!
We started off strong, keeping the game level at 0–0 for most of the first half. Spencer then broke the deadlock with a goal from a short corner, which dropped our heads slightly. They followed up with another before half-time, helped by some very aggressive man-marking in the circle.
After a positive chat at half-time, we came out determined and put in a very strong second half. Everyone worked incredibly hard, even though we were a bit broken and only had one sub. Both Jacques and Sam battled on bravely through injuries.
Spencer managed to add one more goal to make it 3-0 — they simply wanted it a bit more on the day — but we never stopped fighting and truly held our own.
The umpiring was questionable at times, but we’ll leave that one in the past and move on to next week with our heads held high!
Player of the Match: Lucy, for nonstop running, brilliant aerials, and some fantastic tackles.
Special mention: Laura, for putting up an amazing fight and standing her ground throughout.
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Women’s 7th XI 3 – 1 Sunbury & Walton Hawks 4s
OC W7’s started really strong against Sunbury & Walton 4’s on a sunny 1st November morning. The first half OC were in control with great passing and connecting. After a lot of attacking pressure we won a short corner and thanks to a well practiced setup, it was converted brilliantly by Jess to put OC’s 1-0 up.
With the mids connecting play from defence to attack with some strong passes the next goal came quickly with a great finish from Amelie making it 2-0.
S&W dug deep and kept challenging with some very strong passes and attacking pressure but thanks to the OC defence and some well taken interceptions the ball was back in the OC’s D and struck by Jas bouncing off the S&W defender into the goal. 3-0 just before half time.
The second half and the dominating play continued with lots of shots on goal and great connections from defence to mid and into the D but no fourth goal came despite multiple chances. As OC’s tired S&W fought back and got 2 short corners, and despite OC’s tight defence managed to score 8 minutes before the final whistle. A 3-1 result and another win for the ladies 7’s. Everyone came off the pitch delighted with the result and having enjoyed really good team play. Thanks to Richard for his coaching and encouragement.
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Women’s 5th XI 0 – 1 Richmond W5s
Things were looking up this week: it was a home match,
10am push back, the sun was shining, Colleen was back from injury (yay!) and we had Ruth Tibble from the Women’s 1s coaching from the sidelines. We desperately wanted the win, so nerves were on edge, but we were feeling positive.
We carried that positivity into the match and dominated from the outset. We had lots of attacking play, numerous chances in the D and a short corner and it really looked like the game was ours to win. However, after 25 minutes we still hadn’t converted any of those chances into a goal and then unfortunately they got a break and somehow looped the ball into the D, over the defence and into the back of the net. They were buoyed up by this and stepped their game up a bit more in the last few minutes, but we kept them at bay and so ended the first half 1-0 down.
After a good pep talk from Ruth we kept our heads up and started the second half strong again. They had a few chances but our defence was solid and thanks to Olivia in goal (and an excellent save from Lola) they didn’t score again. And we tried desperately to score, really stepping up the effort in the last quarter and had the ball in the D on countless occasions. We had loads of chances, including an excellent shot from Bernie which the keeper had to practically do the splits to save, but just couldn’t get the ball in the net. We had one last chance with a short corner after the final whistle had blown and it was taken perfectly with a straight strike by Paula, but unfortunately they managed to save it and that was that. Final score 1-0 to Richmond.
A disappointing loss where the result did not reflect the run of the game, but that’s how it goes sometimes. We tried to focus on the positives at the end, of which there were lots. We played some great possession hockey and there was some fantastic linking play, particularly from Lucy, Atia and Lola, who was voted a well-deserved POM.
Written by Zoe Jones
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Puricrans 4 – 0 St Albans
A good performance overall against a St Albans side that is never easy to beat especially away.
Looking at their previous results all their games had been tight and this promised to be a similar game.
Although we dominated possession in the first half we did not create a great deal in front of goal as we repeatedly took the ball into contact and became frustrated as a result. The first goal eventually came with a perfect ball down the left line from Burlsey to Knappy who popped the ball home. One short corner for St Albans was the only chance they had in the first period following careless play giving trhe home team a very soft corner but the chance was spurned.
1 – 0 at half time was a fair reflection of the balance game and which spurred us on to change our tactics in the second period to good effect. Boxy set up Andy Mac for our second with a shot rifled from the top of the D just inside the far post that killed off St Albans spirt. Two further goals in the last 15 minutes sealed a good win albeit with injuries to Evo and Burlsey that are hopefully minor.
We move up to second in the league but play two of the top 6 in our next two games with 3 points separating 2nd from 6th.
MoM David Burles
Golden Glove Simon Shelly
Goals Knapp 3, Andy Macleod 1
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Women’s 6s 2-0 Merton W2s
With captain Georgina Anderson away, the lovely Emma Wilson stepped up to lead the team for a sunny 11am away fixture at Harris Academy Morden. The day started with some mild drama when Claire Wijewardene realised she’d gone to the wrong Harris Academy! Luckily, it was only 15 minutes away, and she made it to the right venue just in time for pushback.
Despite having seven defenders in the squad, the L6s came out strong with an attacking mindset from the first whistle. Tash Behrens made her debut up front, while Kara Quast pushed up into midfield to add some extra firepower. 
Down the other end, Freya, our goalkeeper, had a quiet day — only facing one real touch of the ball all match.
Our first goal came early from a well-worked short corner, expertly finished by Briony Raven after a beautifully executed routine. We went into half time 1–0 up and continued to dominate the second half. Briony struck again, this time from open play, with Kara providing the assist after a great attacking move.
There were a few bumps along the way — Karen Rose took an accidental headbutt from an opposition player, and Kara ended up with some mashed fingers — but spirits stayed high, and the team powered through to a confident 2–0 victory.
Player of the Match: Kara Quast — for her relentless runs, smart ball distribution, and tireless work across both flanks.
A fun, sunny, and well-deserved win for the L6s!
Warriors 6 – 1 London Wayfarers Barbarians
The day after Halloween dawned bright and warm — a welcome change after the storms that rattled windows the night before. The were no scary costumes on the OC pitch this time, just a squad of fully present Warriors, ready to haunt the opposition
From the first whistle, the Warriors wasted no time showing their intent. Barely a minute in, slammed the back of the oppo back board — an opening strike that sent an early chill down the spines of the London Werewolves.
But true to their name, the Werewolves emerged from the shadows only moments later, surprising the Warriors with a lucky deflection that crept past the defence — a jump-scare equaliser straight out of a Halloween special. That goal seemed to taser the Warriors into action, though; from that point on, it was all Warriors.
Three more goals followed before the half-time whistle, each one a testament to crisp passing and relentless energy. During the brief team talk, the focus may have wavered slightly — not because of tactics, but because Percy Pigs were making their way around the huddle, stealing attention faster than any opposition winger.
The second half was a masterclass in control. OCs kept the pressure high, forcing the Werewolves deep into their own half. Our defence was rock solid, leaving Barney looking more invisible than casper the ghost
A cheeky 5th goal appeared off a short and then came the sixth and finest goal of the afternoon — a moment destined for the season’s highlight reel. Dan surged down the right, pinged a bullet cross into the D, and James, with audacious flair, deflected the ball from behind him straight into the goal. A work of art, and a fitting exclamation mark on a commanding performance.
Final score: Warriors 6 – London Werewolves. 1
Still top of the table, still haunting anyone brave enough to stand in their way.
MOM – Ambrose Rowse
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