Men’s 1st XI 2 – 2 Hampstead & Westminster 2s
The final home game for the M1’s before the Christmas break welcomed a top of the table clash with Hampstead & Westminster. Importantly, due to extra care taken with kit selection this week, the week long partnership deal with sports direct came to an end.
With challenging November conditions, the game favoured the away side first with a goal in the second half (45’). The constant pressure and slick hockey from OC’s came with reward as a deserved goal from Nick Cherry (65’) put the teams level, setting up a thrilling final 1/4. A goal which felt like an apology after the mornings Ashes result.
With good spells of possession and a man of the match debut from Taiki Mumford, OC’s took the lead through the inform Ben Roe (67’) from a short corner. The support from the home crowd fuelled the final 1/4 and put the away side under pressure, however unfortunately they equalised through a late short corner (70’). Despite the 3 points sliding away in the final minutes, the performance was one to be proud of and it sets up a thrilling final game of the calendar year against Holcombe next week.
Overall, it was a fast paced, high quality game considering the conditions on the night. Special shout out to the ball boys and girls and the crowd who braved the cold, wet conditions!
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Women’s 1st XI 1 – 0 London Wayfarers 3s
The Ladies 1st XI came out strong despite the grim weather, putting immediate pressure on Wayfarers with several early near-misses. Persistence paid off when the team secured a short corner and converted it well: Lauren delivered a powerful straight strike, and Easy, on the post, got the all-important touch to send the ball home. 
The second half saw more attacking intent and determined build-up play, but Wayfarers’ tight man-to-man marking made it increasingly difficult to break through. Despite the pressure, our defensive unit stood strong. Solid teamwork at the back from the defence and a series of composed, crucial saves from Molly ensured we kept a clean sheet.
Player Highlights:
- Man of the Match: Gabby, for outstanding, reliable defending throughout.
- DOD: Holly, for a series of questionable moment – most notably the inability to eat a yogurt without spilling it everywhere.
- Team Spirit Award: Haz, for stepping up as stand-in coach while Lauren was away.
- Oscar-Worthy Moment: Easy, for an unforgettable on-goal swing that ended in an equally unforgettable slip and fall.
A strong performance, great team attitude, and a well-earned win in tough conditions. Well played, ladies!
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Women’s 3s 0 – 1 London Academicals
In the second half the battle continued, however it was very defensive and within the last quarter London Academicals found the back of the net. OCS fought hard and had several late chances, however the final score was in the oppositions favour.
We knew going into the match that this was going to be difficult with the opposition top of the table, with a centre forward who had bagged lots of goals and the team known to play very physically. At half-time 4-0 down it was clear that all of these things were true, and with the weather getting worse, the rest of the match could have got away from us.
. We were ready… but were we. No keeper in sight nor a centre back. Our new ‘youth’ signing was nowhere to be seen and Simon was somewhere between Reading and OCs. Not to worry Chris ‘Hyrox’ James, was ready to answer the call and took this as an opportunity to add his name to the team sheet.Puricrans 8 – 2 Southgate
A tough week for Greg in obtaining a fit, able and balanced squad against Southgate whose results this season have been vastly better than last. Every single O60s keeper in the south east of England probably received a “help” email from Greg with a negative response from one and all. Add to this 3 players in either South America or Asia and 3 one legged injured players we could only rustle up a squad of 10. The 10 included the return of Ravi Lally 21 months after his heart attack at Oaken Lane and this, in itself, made the whole day worthwhile.
A foul day’s weather and the traffic jams on the various roads leading to Trent Park resulted in a disjointed and inadequate warm up but one that did not hold us back at the start of the game.
Oddly we played against a 10 man defence even though without a keeper and as a result dominated the whole game albeit reaching half time 1 down courtesy of their one attack that led to a short corner and a goal. At the other end we peppered Southgate’s goal with zero success.
All changed when Andy Mac cracked home our equaliser that opened the floodgates. 7 more goals at regular intervals including Birdy’s first goal for the club that soon became a hattrick. Two of our goals came directly from 2 of the oppo’s pushbacks.
Annoyingly we conceded a second goal from their second short corner in the only attack they mounted in the second period.
A filthy drive home after the best teas on the circuit finished off an ultimately satisfactory day.
MOM Bird
Goals: Bird 3, Lee Marnitz, John Marnitz, Macleod, Knapp and Eve.
The Women’s 6’s bravely battled the Kingston traffic and some last minute random parking issues for our away game at Teddington. Fortunately, the rain eased up as the match started and we began strong, making it clear our training sessions are paying off with some great set pieces and good communication.
We put the pressure early on and Briony scored a great goal 25 minutes into the game. Unfortunately, Teddington got a sneaky goal just before half time but we were determined to come back in the second half.
There was great defensive play between Emma, Kate, Ness, Tash and Sarah with Kate deservingly receiving lots of votes for player of the match for her solid play, reading the game well and intercepting the opposition.
Our forward line worked really well together today with some great skills on display from our junior players including Darcie and Meghan getting around Teddington’s strong defence.
The midline worked hard to push forward and then run back to defend with player of the match Amanda on fire – one minute scoring a goal and the next taking the 16 yard hit out.
Team work makes the dream work (together with a lot of half-time Haribos!) and we scored again in the fifty-second minute holding a strong Teddington side to a 2-2 draw.
We’re all sending love to Tash and hope she makes a speedy recovery post an injury which left us all a bit worried as she was laying on the floor working out which parts ached!
Heavy rain set the scene for a tough match against Teddington today, but both teams handled it well in a lively first half. There were good spells of build-
The rain got worse in the second half, but our play improved. The opener came from a lovely first-time hit from Jenny, which took an amazing deflection from Bernie before finding the net. We kept pushing, with some excellent attacking runs from the midfield and forwards. Our player of the match, Hildegard, then added a well-deserved second goal to scoresheet.
Teddington piled on the pressure late on, but the team held firm defensively, clearing danger to see the game out 2-0. In tough conditions, it was a solid, well-earned win!
