Not a happy finish

COWHC 3s 1-4 Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian 4s

29^th March 2014

The sun was out, the sky was blue, the pitch at Croydon High was looking lovely, in short everything was set for our final game of the season.  We watched the end of the 1s game and saw some great goals.

Sadly that was as good as it got, particularly for me as I had an absolute shocker, more of which later.

Once again we started the game short, with only 10 players lining up for the push back.  That's not great at the best of times, but when the weather is a bit warmer than normal and the opposition have at least 13 available, it doesn't bode too well.

We actually started reasonably well, pushing a high line and keeping Trinity pegged back a bit.  But gradually we began to drop back and soon after we won the first short corner of the game (about 10 minutes in), we were in our own 25 defending a free hit.  Unfortunately, in trying to make sure that everyone else was covering an opposition player I managed to let my own one drift free into the middle of the D.  Sure enough, the ball was played through to him and he finished well.

The game ebbed and flowed quite a bit for the rest of the half.  We weren't under a great amount of pressure if the truth be told, and with Trevor and Andrew running hard up front we were able to create a few half chances.

Half time gave as an opportunity to catch our breath and also welcome Qaz into the game, bringing us to the full complement of 11.

As in the first half we had the better of the opening exchanges, and a couple of chances to equalise went begging, either whistling wide or being stopped by the keeper and scrambled clear.  Eventually our pressure did count and the goal came from a short.  In a change to the regular routine Mike injected and received the ball back from Speddo.  His shot was stopped by the keeper, but fell kindly for Radders, who finished with aplomb.

I wish I could explain what went wrong after that, but I really can't.  We should have been in the perfect position to capitalise on this, we were looking arguably the stronger team and had the momentum.

Maybe we were pushing too much for the win, maybe it was just one of those days, but it all seemed to collapse around us after scoring.  Too many passes were going astray, including one 16 which came straight back at us.  I moved to close down the danger man, and looked to be pushing him wide until I slipped at just the wrong moment, leaving him one on one with Paul.  I can't say much about how he finished as I was face down on the turf, but suffice to say he did.

Their third came from a bit of scramble in the D and, when I finally got the chance to clear I managed to do so straight to one of their players on the edge, who scooped the ball back towards goal for a volleyed finish.

And there was still time for a fourth.  Some will argue whether the short that it came from should actually have been given, but it was.  It was probably the best strike that they managed from any of their shorts, with the ball zipping past my stick, possibly with a slight deflection on the way, and between Paul and John on the line.

4-1 probably flattered Trinity, but at the end of the day we weren't good enough to really get anything from the game.

POM was Radders for both his strike and for being the one who managed to try and keep things running in the middle of the park.

Finally, I must add a huge thanks to both Mike, who is stepping down from the captaincy after 7 years or so, and our regular umpire Del, who is moving to the sunnier climes of the South Coast.  Thank you very much gents, we couldn't have managed without you!

Finally!

COWHC 3s 3-0 Cheam Clarets

22nd March 2014

So, the penultimate game of the season arrives and we at last get our first win since Christmas!

Cheam Clarets had cried off pre-Christmas, so we went into this game a bit unsure of what to expect.  However a strong line-up and 13 players meant we had hopes of getting something out of the game.  James Mayhew playing at the top of the diamond was probably the biggest change to normal, and he gave us some stability and an outlet higher up the pitch that we had been missing in previous games.

Right from the start it was clear that we were all up for the game as the whole team pushed forward and kept Cheam in their half for long periods.  They did occasionally break out, but John, Speddo and, when it got that far Paul, were able to mop things up and re-start our attacks.  However we had the lion's share of possession, particularly helped by the fact it seemed like AJ had a magnet in his stick, with almost every 16 Cheam took on our right ending up with him.

With Andrew, Trevor and Angus taking it in turns to have a breather from being up front it meant the two on pitch could run hard and they were keeping the Cheam defence on their toes.  We were also playing some nice passing hockey, and made progress into the opposition D on a number of occasions.  So it was only a matter of time before the first goal game.  I intercepted a speculative ball forward from Cheam, but was struggling to get it out of my feet to control it properly and just managed to scoop it back to Speddo.  He played it out right to AJ and a series of quick passes led to Andrew (I think) taking a shot.  The keeper managed to get something on it, but was only able to deflect the ball into the path of James following in, who was left with the simple task of putting the ball over the line.

We kept pushing, knowing that 1 goal probably wasn't enough, especially with Cheam doing their best to get forward.  We managed to extend our lead a little while after scoring our first, and again it came from good, crisp passing with (I think) Trevor playing in the final ball for top-scorer Andrew to convert.

The opposition kept us honest though, and managed to win themselves a couple of short corners.  Most of these came to nothing, although one squeezed through Paul and deflected across the goal and wide off my stick, not that I knew much about it as it happened so quickly!

At half time the instruction was to keep doing the simple things, because that was what was getting us most success.

In fact the second half became a bit more stretched than the first, although we were still creating the majority of decent chances.  Unfortunately, as has been the case all season, they were always just the final touch away from being converted.  We may have been two to the good, but wanted more.

Eventually the third goal arrived, with Andrew taking a long corner to himself, dribbling out to create the angle and putting in a great cross.  Mike timed his run to perfection and swept the ball across the keeper and into the far corner.

We could have had a fourth too, as Qaz made a great run through the middle, rounded the keeper and shot, only for the ball to be stopped by the keeper's stick, which he had thrown in desperation across the D.  A flick was given and, having won it Qaz took it.  He claims he was caught in two minds as he stepped up to address the ball, and it was a fairly limp shot that the keeper saved comfortably.

We were able to see out the final few minutes with no real trouble and when the final whistle were happy to have the win.

POM was AJ, whose magnetic stick in the first half and availability as an outlet all through the game helped immensely.

Get out of Jail Card played!

COWHC 3s 2-2 Leatherhead 2s

15th March 2014

Match Report

Spring had definitely sprung in Croydon this weekend, the sun was out, the temperature was up and so a trip to the beach was in order.  Yes, we were at Harris Academy.

Leatherhead are one of those particularly tricky teams where you often finish the game thinking you should probably have got more out of it than you actually had.  In the away match they beat us 3-1, but a lot of that was down to us being a couple of players short, the 3rd goal actually coming while we were pushing for an equaliser.  However this week we definitely got out of jail.

As has so often been the case this season, we had a mixed team of mostly regulars, but a couple of extras, in particular Ciaran filling in for Paul in goal and Pirate joining us for the first half.

I don't know whether it was the weather or what, but we started the match pretty sluggishly and were soon made to pay.  Passes were going awry and, after only a couple of minutes, one bad one led to the opening goal.  I tried to play the ball inside to Radders, but got no power in the pass and a Leatherhead player was able to nip in first and start the move that eventually lead to the opening goal.

Even though they moved the ball quickly up to our D, we still had one or two occasions where we could have cleared it.  Somehow, however, the ball always seemed to end up with a Leatherhead player and eventually one managed to get a good enough shot away to beat Ciaran.

Gradually we started to wake up though and, cheered on by a couple of the ladies who had stayed on after their game, managed a couple of half chances.  And midway through the half we were back on level terms.  I tackled a player just inside the opposition half and fed the ball forward to Radders.  He played it wide to AJ, who drove forward a bit before playing the return pass to Radders in the D.  His shot was crisp, into the corner and gave the keeper no chance.

Sadly that remained the most fluent move we were able to put together in that half and again we were punished.

Mike did well tracking his player back towards our own goal down the left and managed to make the tackle in the D.  Unfortunately his clearance ended up with a Leatherhead player at the top of the D, who shot through a crowd and Ciaran, unsighted, was just unable to keep the ball from going in.

The second half saw the opposition really seem to start pushing forward and only an inspired display from Ciaran was keeping the score down.  As time ran on however the game became more stretched and we began to win a couple of short corners.  We couldn't keep the pressure on though, and every time we seemed to get up to the opposition D the move broke down and we were soon back defending.

However, we didn't capitulate and, with just about a minute to go, we won another short.  The initial shot was blocked and in the scramble that followed Qaz managed to poke the ball home with the very last hit of the game.

Relief all round on our side, particularly given our run of results since Christmas.  Let's hope we can take the fighting spirit shown at the end of this game into next week!

POM was, without any doubt, Ciaran.  There would have been no way back into the game for us had it not been for his heroics.

Next week can't come quick enough...

COWHC 3s 0-9 Epsom 5s

08th March 2014

Yes, I'm afraid you read the scoreline correctly.  We lost 9-0.

Things got off to a bad start when Mike told us that he'd had two late pull-outs, one of which unfortunately was Paul, which isn't great when you're playing a team who like to hit their shots in the D early.  We also had no umpire, again not ideal, particularly when it was our home game!  So Mike bravely (/foolishly) decided to pad up and Martin, after frantically ringing 90% of the club for extra players, picked up his whistle.

Being short does have a tendency to make life difficult, particularly as we actually started 3 players down as Angus hadn't realised he was playing and so got to the pitch just after we started!   As a result we started with a slightly unfamiliar line-up, particularly given that Trevor gamely filled in at right-back until Angus was ready.  The lack of players did mean that we were quickly overrun.  Any time we did manage to make an interception or tackle and get the ball away it was only for a temporary respite as it swiftly came back to us.  I can't fully recall the details of the 4 goals that were scored before half time.  I think the 3rd came from a break through the middle that left a 2-on-1 against Mike, but otherwise they all sort of blurred into one.

Just before half time we saw the results of Martin's phone calls with Finny arriving to take over umpiring duties and Foz turning up.

So, the second half started with us actually up to full numbers, although we cunningly decided to stick to the idea of mixing up the positions and put Martin out on the left wing!  Unfortunately this fresh tactic didn't work and Epsom maintained their dominance.  Again, the goals have kind of blurred into each other (I was tired alright! I'd been travelling all day on Friday and been chasing shadows for the previous 35 minutes!), there was one that came from a short corner, which I think may have been the occasion when Mike decided to hit Alex on the head.  Suffice to say they scored 5 more and only some good stops by Mike kept the score from becoming double figures.

POM went to Radders for fighting gamely to keep himself afloat in midfield while being swamped by runners from all sides.

1 gained, or 2 lost?

COWHC 3s 2-2 Addiscombe 4s

22nd February 2014

The return match against local rivals Addiscombe, our home game, took place at Croydon High, a pitch I'm pretty sure I've only ever played at as an away player.  But given that the away game was played at Oasis, our normal home pitch, I guess it all makes sense!

Sadly I missed last week's rather heavy defeat (hence the lack of match report), which according to Radders was rather frustrating.

Well this week was probably even more frustrating.  The core of standard 3s players were available, but with regular keeper Paul painting himself green (maybe) and spending the afternoon in South West London, before drowning his sorrows in the evening (probably), Martin had to once again deputise in goal.  As a bonus though, he had bought along his brother Keith for his first game in years.

We started the game well and were passing the ball confidently, playing a high line and pushing the opposition back into their half for much of the first 25 minutes or so.  As a result of the pressure though, we somehow only managed to score once, a move down the left ending with a cross from Andrew being converted on the turn by Alex for his first ever goal.  Minutes after that he was inches away from doubling the tally, running in at the back of the D onto another cross, but his lifted shot flashed wide.

Unfortunately it looked like we might be made to pay for our profligacy as towards the end of the half Addiscombe managed to string a couple of passes together through the middle and got into our D.  As Martin tried to change direction, he lost his footing and slipped over, leaving the opposition player with an empty net to slot into.  Worse, shortly after that, in similar fashion, they had another shot, this time one which skipped, bounced and spun like a Shane Warne wrong 'un and beat everyone to cross the line.

From 1-0 up and dominating to 2-1 down at half time was a situation that we would not have expected.  However, we refused to let our heads drop and started the second half in much the same fashion as we had the first.  Again we had the majority of possession, territory and chances, but as before we were only able to convert one.  This time the move was down the right, Qaz dummied the cross and left Trevor with an easy finish.

Back on level terms we pushed hard for the winner, often playing with 9 outfield players in the Addiscombe half.  On another day Qaz could have had a hat-trick, with a couple of chances just going the wrong side of the posts.  Others two had shots that weren't quite on target, or crosses that somehow managed to miss everyone.

So the score remained 2-2.  Given our post-Christmas record it could easily be seen as a point gained, but on the basis of the match it was most definitely two lost.

POM was Alex for breaking is goal-scoring duck and for his all round midfield play.  Although he was pushed close by Keith showing that he's lost nothing in his time away from the team and is more than welcome to turn out for us again.

What a difference a week makes

COWHC 3s 1-3 Reigate Priory Pilgrims

08th February 2013

After one of our best performances for a long time last week, with unfortunately the wrong result at the end, it was back to earth with a bump against Reigate.

We had a bare eleven available, which was apparently the case for all of the men's sides this week, but at least we had an umpire, meaning we could use all available players.  We started with a slightly experimental line-up, with AJ dropping in to left back and Alex playing at right half.  I was playing in the centre of defence with John as Speddo wasn't around.  The rest of the team filled in pretty much as usual, yet for some reason the fluency of last week wasn't there.

Maybe it was the system, maybe the conditions didn't help, maybe it was down to some rather over zealous umpiring at one end, with Andrew being particularly harshly penalised.  Whatever it was, we couldn't seem to string more than two passes together and frustration came into our play.  Credit to Reigate in that they did hassle us well, and didn't allow us to settle particularly, but we were hindering ourselves more than anything.

That said, we did actually manage to take the lead midway through the half.  In keeping with the way we were playing, the goal was't a thing of beauty, with Angus converting at the far post after the ball somehow found its way to him.

Our lead didn't last long though unfortunately.  And again it wasn't the best of goals.  A Reigate move was broken up and the ball cleared out towards the 25.  Unfortunately it went straight to an opposition player, who controlled and played a straight ball back into the D.  It was pretty harmless, although we should have given Paul a shout to leave it.  Sadly he got enough of a touch on it on its way through and the goal was given.

We did manage a couple of shots ourselves after this, and really should have re-taken the lead following either one from Andrew or one from me, both of which the Reigate keeper stopped, although how much he knew about either I'm not sure.

It was a rather disheartened bunch therefore that went into the half time team talk.  Following some motivational words from Radders we lined up for the second half.  And were hit by an immense hail storm, in which I swear the hailstones were actually coming horizontally across the pitch!  Fortunately, given the wind, it blew over pretty quickly, but not before everyone was given a good drenching.

Unfortunately, we still couldn't get any fluency in our play.  We weren't helped by Radders getting a stick to the chest, followed not long afterwards by Mike pulling his calf.  So from 11 players we were down to 9 and a half.  As a result, Reigate began to impose themselves on the game more, and it wasn't a surprise that they eventually took the lead.

One of their forwards managed to get free on towards the left corner of the D and somehow got his shot between Paul and the near post.

We probably threw caution to the wind a bit after that in an effort to get back on level terms.  Sadly that didn't work, and we got caught out again on the break.  The same player who scored the second goal was played through the middle and, although I got to him as he shot, my block only succeeded in lifting the ball into the air and past Paul's outstretched hand.

So a disappointing performance, a very disappointing result, and a post-Christmas slump in results that will hopefully pick up next week (maybe because I'm unavailable!)

POM went to me.

A Match Too Far...

COWHC 3s 1-2 Aldershot & Farnham 4s

01st February 2014

Match Report

An away match so far out we're bordering on needing passports, a pushback so late that anyone sensible is already in the bar, and all on the first weekend of the 6 Nations... Something of the perfect storm really that meant we played this game with only 10 players.  We actually had 11 people there, but unfortunately regular umpire Del wasn't one of them, so Martin had to take up the whistle.

Aldershot & Farnham are a tough team, and although we beat them before Christmas we had to work very hard to get the victory, which was our first against them.  Starting a man short therefore wasn't ideal, and when they won a short corner within the first couple of minutes I wondered if we could be on the end of our 3rd heavy defeat in a row.  However, I stopped the shot from the short on the line and as the first half progressed we started playing some of the best hockey I've seen from us in a long time.

Passing was crisp, quick and for the most part short, 50/50 balls were being won much more often than not and we were arguably the better team.  Just reward for the effort came midway through the half when a move down our right ended with a tempting ball right across the D.  Mike was first to it and finished with aplomb for his first goal of the season,

Unfortunately the lead didn't last too long.  A long ball out of defence found its way somehow to the edge of our D, where the opposition striker, back to goal, took a touch to control and then hit a reverse stick shot that went just inside the post.

Back on level pegging Aldershot's heads came up and what was already a tough game became even tougher.  Our effort never dropped though, and although they won a number of short corners we got to half time still at 1-1.

The second half saw us continue with the hard work and the excellent hockey, and an even, open game ensued.  We created some chances, one in particular for Trevor who was thwarted by ex-Croydon player Chris Kinal.  Aldershot continued to get more short corners and ended up taking the lead through one of them.  The short was played quickly back to the injector, who was able to get a very good shot away, although I could have possibly closed him down a bit quicker, and I think Paul is also a little disappointed that he didn't stop it either.

And that's how it remained.  Although the defeat was hard to take, it was a fantastic effort from the whole team.  That said, one player stood out and clearly merited getting POM - Angus, who stepped in to an unfamiliar right back position and looked like he'd always played there.

Expected, but it still hurts...

COWHC 3s 0-6 Epsom 6s

25th January 2014

Match Report

In some ways it's a bit of a shame that we've started both halves of the season against the teams that are the strongest in the league by quite a way.  Yes, it gives us the chance to gain some match fitness without really expecting anything out of the match, but it's still demoralising to have two pretty heavy defeats in a row.

With Martin stepping into Paul's spot in goal for the week we lined up with what looked to be a pretty strong team.  But it quickly became apparent that, for whatever reason, we weren't on our game, and against a team like Epsom 6s you need to be operating at close to top level.  They have a couple of very skilful older guys in the middle who control everything and seem to have Inspector Gadget-like arms as nothing is beyond their reach!  Around them they have a couple of kids who are also skilful and, crucially, quick.

We were under pressure pretty much from the start, not helping ourselves with some poor distribution.  We kept them out for a little while, and they were just beginning to get frustrated when they made the breakthrough that settled them down again.  One of the youngsters collected the ball towards the top left of the D and made space for himself with a sharp turn inside.  That put him one on one with Martin and, unfortunately for us, he found the gap between keeper and post and scored.

Goals two and three are a bit hazy.  I seem to recall that one was a solo effort by one of the central midfielders, while the other stemmed from a flowing move that ended with someone free in the middle of the D able to tuck the ball home.

There were some harsh-ish words at half time in an attempt to get us to start playing as we can.  The second half was a bit more open and we were able to have have some possession in the Epsom half and even into their 25.  However despite some strong running from Trevor, Andrew and Alex in particular, we just couldn't make any headway.

Needless to say Epsom were somewhat more ruthless, although their fourth goal had an element of fortune about it.  The shot from a short corner was miss-hit, maybe took a slight deflection too, bobbled, skipped, somehow found its way through Martin and John on the line and dropped apologetically against the backboard.

The fifth was again from a short, although a well worked one as they played the ball round the two runners and back into someone on the spot who finished well.  And finally number 6, which was another solo run by one of their older players who struck a rising shot that Martin managed to get his stick to.  Unfortunately it was one of those days, and the ball dropped down with still just enough pace to make it over the line.

POM went to skipper Mike Dawson, for chasing the same shadows as the rest of us but managing to get a bit closer to them!

And we're back...

COWHC 3s 1-4 Purley Walcountians 5s

18th January 2014

And I'm already late in getting the match report out!  Anyway, the first match back after the excesses of the festive season was away at PWs against the bunch of kids we had played earlier in the season.  It's probably no coincidence that the match was played at 4, giving them plenty of time to get back after playing for their school (probably).

They're a pretty talented lot it has to be said, and we knew we were going to be in for another tough game.  But we had a strong squad and actually a couple of substitutes for once!  The early exchanges were pretty even I would say, with Kieran Lewis (back from uni for the week) and Andrew in particular putting in some hard running up front and giving the opposition something to think about.

Unfortunately it was the opposition who made the breakthrough.  A short corner was played out to the right side of the D (as we defended it) and the flicked shot found the net via a slight deflection off my arm.  It was well taken, but I probably could have done more to stop it.  Fortunately from the re-start we went straight up to the other end of the pitch and, from a long corner on the left, the ball was worked to the top right of the D from where Andrew finished with aplomb.

We were only able to remain at parity slightly longer than PWs had been in the lead.  A move down our right looked to be running out of steam until a long ball was played cross field and one of the youngsters had slipped away from his marker and scored.

The game ebbed and flowed for the rest of the half with no change in the score.  2-1 down at half time was not a bad situation as we felt we were still in with half a chance of getting something out of the game.

However, it was in the second half that the difference in fitness showed, with the youngsters being that half a yard quicker and getting to the ball often just in front of us.  That meant they had more pressure than in the first half, and eventually it told.  They extended their lead again from a short corner, and again I'm disappointed with myself for it.  From the top of the D the ball was played to someone half way towards the penalty spot and just off to the right.  He shot back over towards the left where I was on the post and got my stick to the ball, unfortunately only managing to deflect it into the goal rather than away.

We had enough chances of our own though to cut the deficit with a number of shorts of our own, but unfortunately they never quite came off.

PW's fourth came towards the end of the match, and was similar to their second goal in that the ball went from one side of the D to the other and found a player not being marked.

It was as hard a game as we expected, but I think we can be quite proud of our performance.

POM was Paul for pulling off a number of saves that helped keep the score down.

2013/2014 Season - The first half...

COWHC 3s 0-5 Purley Walcountians 5s

05^th October 2013

Match Report

A relatively warm October afternoon saw the arrival of our first league match of the season.  Most of the team had managed one or two pre-season friendly matches.  Some (who shall remain nameless) had managed to avoid them, and boy did that end up showing!

This match was very much a case of men versus boys, with the majority of the PW side looking as though they would be out past their bedtime had the pushback been any later.  Unfortunately, this youthful exuberance was in stark contrast to our line-up, where only Akira was younger than 30.  That said, we were all seemingly up for the match and started well with a good solid pushback.

I think that was possibly as good as it got as things went steadily downhill from there, with no obvious reason why.  OK, so we weren’t helped by some, shall we say, dubious umpiring decisions, which were sadly made at the end we were defending.  This enabled PWs to build up quite a bit of pressure which we were never fully able to relieve.  As a result, they won a couple of short corners and managed to convert two.

The first was a rather unfortunate conversion, given that Mike managed to get out quickly enough to close down the strike.  He didn’t quite get enough on it though and the ball deflected up into the air and past Chris on the post.  The second, I really thought I had covered on the post, yet the low strike managed to somehow find a gap between my stick and my foot and ended up in the back of the goal.

Maybe it’s my age, but I can’t remember whether the third goal came before or after half time, but suffice it to say it did.  I can vaguely recall two goals in the second half.  One where a PWs youngster managed to dribble his way to the backline before pulling the ball back to an unmarked teammate who was able to tuck the ball away and another where the ball found its way to one of the older PWs players at the back post.  Paul tried his best to keep the shot out, but unfortunately in the end the player was just able to lift it over him and score.

I’d love to be able to put some sort of positive spin on things and say that we actually were kept from matching PWs score only through the brilliance of their keeper, but sadly I don’t think he actually had that much to do.  We did manage to break into the opposition 16 on a few occasions, but for various reasons the moves broke down and we were frequently having to defend counterattacks from those pesky kids!

The result probably flattered PWs somewhat, but we were far from at our best and they did deserve the victory.

Still the one thing that age brings is the experience to be able to move on and look forward to next week… and also the bad memory to swiftly forget days like this and pretend they never happened.

POM went to Speddo, presumably for managing to stem the tide of PW attacks rather than verbally abusing one of their players in the second half.

COWHC 3s 1-4 Epsom 6s

12^th October 2013

Match Report

After last week’s humbling at the hands of an exceedingly youthful PWs team, we rolled in to Epsom for our first away match of the season and found ourselves facing yet another lot of pesky kids!  Fortunately this year we actually had a goalkeeper with us, as opposed to last season’s mix up at the same venue which saw us with 11 outfield players instead.

Epsom started the game slightly brighter than we did, must be something to do with that youthful enthusiasm I’ve heard about, and were able to build up some pressure that we could only occasionally and temporarily relieve.  Having said that, it wasn’t all one way traffic and we did create one or two half (OK, quarter) chances of our own.

The opposition had a number of short corners, which they were unable to convert, a couple thanks to excellent challenges from the first runner, either Speddo or Martin, and one due to an excellent save from Paul.  But the pressure eventually told and towards the end of the half Epsom scored when a player was able to cut through to the backline and pull the ball into the centre to a teammate, who duly converted.

We managed to regroup somewhat at half time and started the second half reasonably positively, but once again Epsom were able to build up more of a head of steam than we could manage.  They won a string of short corners, some of which were rather fortunate, and converted one fairly early into the half.  The initial shot was partially blocked, but unfortunately fell to an Epsom player close in, who was able to put the ball away.

Epsom’s third also came from a short corner, again it was only partially cleared allowing one of their players to put the ball back into the middle.  Via a deflection it found its way through to someone just off to the right of the P-spot, who but it back across goal and into the corner.

The fourth goal came from some sloppy defending from yours truly.  I didn’t close down the Epsom right winger quickly enough and he was able to put a cross in too easily.  The first of the two strikers unmarked in the middle couldn’t control it, but his deflection fell kindly to one of his teammates, who scored from close range.

Surprisingly the game became quite stretched after this, as we managed to make a quite a few breaks into the Epsom 25.  Many came to nothing, but we did manage to chalk up a few promising free hits and short corners, converting one.  AJ played the ball back to Radders, who had injected, and he was able to flick the ball in.  Unfortunately, the remaining 3 goals remained elusive and we finished 4-1 down.

I would say we might have managed something if it hadn’t been for those pesky kids, but I fear we may still have lost.  That said, the performance was an improvement on last week, so fingers crossed for the future.

POM was John Grimsdale, his sterling work at the back keeping the score down.

COWHC 3s 2-1 Aldershot & Farnham 4s

19^th October 2013

Match Report

Week 3 of the season and we were at home to Aldershot & Farnham, home of former Croydon player Chris Kinal.  Although it’s normally good to welcome back ex-teammates, we’ve not normally had the best of luck against this particular side, being on the end of some pretty heavy defeats in the past 2 seasons.  Given that our first two league games this year had not gone well, there could have been an element of trepidation ahead of this match.

We had a bare 11, which fortunately wasn’t as much of an issue as it could have been as the opposition were in the same situation.  The match started quite well for us, and we created a bit of pressure, with a couple of half chances, although any shots that came were far too close to Mr Kinal in the Aldershot goal.  Gradually the game became more even, and then swung slightly in Aldershot’s favour.  They too created a couple of chances, won some short corners and then, sadly, scored.

The ball was worked out to our left and their player was able to put in a well hit cross just before he was closed down.  The pace on the cross was enough that as it reached the centre of the D another Aldershot player just managed to get in front of Alex Hannah and get the deflection into the goal past Paul Fennell.  From that moment until the end of the first half, they probably shaded things, although a great work rate and some solid play from our midfield and defence kept Aldershot at bay.

At the start of the second half it became apparent that Aldershot had changed their formation slightly, presumably in an attempt to get more out of the game than they had previously.  It took us a few minutes to sort ourselves out and get used to it, meaning they were able to win a short corner.  However, things didn’t quite go to plan for them as excellent running from Mike Dawson and Alex saw the ball not only cleared, but worked to Alex Steele on the left side of midfield.  He broke forward and, after a 1-2 with Trevor Marsh at the top of the D, fired the ball through Chris Kinal’s legs and into the back of the net!

Back on level terms, we were able to build some momentum, with the defence not allowing Aldershot to settle on the ball and the midfield working tirelessly up and down the pitch.  The pressure told, and a short corner was won.  The initial shot was partially cleared to the right corner of the D.  Andrew Gray, who had spent much of the first half off the pitch having been clattered on the ankle, shook of the effects of that knock and chased the ball down.  He managed to then get the ball back across the D to where a grateful Radders was stood in front of an open goal, which soon had the ball nestling in the back.

That brought a predictable response from Aldershot as the pushed forward in search of an equaliser.  There were a few hairy moments as balls flashed across our D, and a few moments when we managed to counter-attack into the space they left at the back, but couldn’t quite find the final ball.  In the end we held firm for a very satisfying victory.

POM was yours truly, although it was a close run thing as it was an excellent team performance.

COWHC 3s 1-0 Reigate Priory Pilgrims

26^th October 2013

Match Report

A day before the “Great Storm of 2013” was due to hit we made the trip down to Reigate to play their Pilgrims.

With our usual keeper missing, Martin Burke volunteered to step into the breach.  A slight line-up shuffle also saw Mike Dawson starting at right back and Alex Hannah pushed into the centre forward position.  The first couple of minutes were fairly even, with both sides creating a few half chances, but nothing particularly clear cut.

And then came the turning point of the match.  Alex Steele played a superb ball from around halfway to the edge of the Reigate D.  It was worked through to Andrew Gray on the left, who managed to get to the by-line before turning back inwards.  From a narrow angle he then fired in a shot, which beat everyone to end up in the back of the net.

That really brought the Pilgrims forward as they pushed for the equaliser.  Martin saved well from one shot, I diverted a cross behind at the near post and their centre forward managed to put one shot from a bouncing ball over the bar.  It wasn’t all one way traffic, however our midfield had been pulled pack to help out with the defence a bit too much, so we were resorting a bit too much to long balls.  With the pace we had up front these were more often than not chased down by one of our players, but too often they were left slightly isolated.

We held out until half time and, after a break and a few choice insights from Radders, lined up again for the second half.

The oppo had come into the game off the back of two defeats in their opening two games, similar to ourselves prior to last week, and it quickly became apparent they didn’t want to make it three in a row.  The tactic appeared to be to go for broke, as we soon found that all four of our defenders (me, John G, Speddo and Mike) were marking.  With Speddo unable to step in to cut things off in the middle of the park as usual, the pressure built at the back.  We conceded a couple of short corners, but fortunately excellent running by Mike and Speddo meant these came to nothing.

However I think the moment, in my mind, that summed everything up and made me realise we would hold firm and it might just be our day came midway through the second half.  I deflected a Reigate shot towards an empty goal, a matter of maybe half a yard from the line.  Showing footwork akin to something I’ve probably subconsciously picked up from Strictly Come Dancing, I managed to keep my feet out of the way and flick the ball out just as it touched the front of the line! Fortunately there was no opposition player following up and the ball was cleared.

Martin made a couple more saves, but from that moment on, even with the rain coming down, we were able to keep Reigate at bay and also created a few opportunities of our own.  I’d like to say that we blew the opposition away (sorry), but in the end we ground out a 1 – 0 victory that was down more to the defences of both teams than anything else.

That said, POM went to Andrew for the decisive goal and his tireless front running.

COWHC 3s 0-0 Cheam Hunters

02^nd November 2013

Match Report

It’s been a while since we’ve been to the beach, sorry, Harris Academy!  I think we had one match there last season, and this week we took our buckets and spades to the first of two Cheam teams in the division – the Hunters.

We were coming into the game on the back of two victories, but our opponents could go one better having won three from three in the league so far.  So although confidence was high, we knew we were in for a tough game, and things didn’t look any better when the opposition turned up with 13 players, while we appeared to only have 10… or 9.5 given that Radders was apparently suffering from the plague.

That said, we started with a very high intensity and it didn’t really look as though we were a man short.  We created a number of half chances in the first couple of minutes, but nothing particularly clear cut and gradually Cheam began to get themselves into the game.

The won the first short corner of the game, I think almost mid-way through the half, but nothing came of it and this kind of set the tone for the rest of the match.

Cheam had maybe two further chances, one which was scrambled behind by a combination of Paul and Chris, but in the same way as we hadn’t really troubled their keeper, there was nothing to unduly worry our back line.

We had, by now, got up to a full complement of 11 thanks to Waqas turning up, and that made a difference as we were able to even things up on the pitch.  We were playing some of the best hockey that I’ve seen us play for a while, with some great quick passing and some excellent movement up front from Waqas, Trevor and Angus.

The second half was much the same, although we probably shaded it as Cheam were getting pretty frustrated that they weren’t able to create anything and we managed a couple of shots that just went wide and also won some short corners.

Sadly we appear to have been afflicted with the same malaise that we had for much of last season, in that we simply can’t score.  We could have been made to pay for our profligacy when one of Cheam’s players broke through late on to be one-on-one with Paul, but our keeper was always favourite and rushed out to clear the ball.

In the end I don’t think either team can be too upset with a point from what was a very hard fought, yet fair, match.

POM went to John Grimsdale for the second time already this season, for his excellent work at the back and also a couple of driving up-field runs through the centre of the pitch.

COWHC 3s 2-2 Addiscombe 4s

09^th November 2013

Match Report

After our sandy excursion last week our beach theme continued with an away trip to our home ground of Oasis Academy.  It lived up to its name, with one end under what seemed to be at least an inch of water!

We actually started the game with only 9 men as yours truly and Trevor Marsh turned up just as a delayed push-back was being taken thanks to some serious traffic issues on the way.  However it was mere minutes until we were at full strength and attacking the pond end with some gusto (although no paddles!).  We had the majority of the play during the first half, with some good chances being created.  But, as has been our failing for some while now, conversion was the thing that was missing.  Admittedly the pitch conditions didn’t help matters, with the ball slowing up quite a bit and some of our players finding it hard to keep their footing properly (naming no names, Andrew…).

We won a couple of short corners, one which was delayed while the Addiscombe umpire changed his whistle for one that could actually be heard by everyone, not just the local dogs.  But injecting the ball through a river isn’t the best way to open up chances and the came to nothing.

At half-time the score was 0-0, and the rain was easing up.

Addiscombe didn’t ease up though.  They started the second half with a real urgency, which possibly caught us a bit by surprise.  We were defending the deep end and had spoken at half time about trying to play a high line to keep the ball away from the water.  But while we were still getting used to the conditions we conceded a fairly soft goal.  I think two clearances didn’t clear the water, and two opposition players managed to get small touches to the ball in front of our defenders, just as the ball was slowing up.  Through this, the ball got to a player a short way out who was able to slot home.

It was a very disappointing goal to concede, and fired us up.  From the restart we pushed up to the other end and began to create some real pressure until only a few minutes after going behind we were back on level terms.  A sideline on the right was worked into the D and, although it was cleared out to our left, the ball only made is as far as me just outside the 25.  I played the ball back into the D, where Andrew was able to take it, turn, and fire the ball into the far corner.  An excellent finish, but it was of course all about the assist…

The game then opened up, more so than in the first half, and both sides had a couple of chances before Addiscombe again took the lead.  Once again, it was a sloppy goal, where we were again caught out by the pace of the ball, or lack thereof.

2-1 down, but far from out of it, we again levelled soon after going behind.  This time the goal came from a short corner.  The ball got to Angus at the top of the D, who worked his way past a couple of players before getting the pass away to Andrew, again in the right place at the right time, to finish.

After that, we probably again had the better of the game, and indeed missed a great chance to get the victory late on when Mike just failed to convert a cross from Radders.

A disappointing result in the end, from a game where we probably should have been out of sight by half time were it not for our lack of cutting edge.

That said, POM went to Andrew, the 2-goal hero and man who gives us the energy up front.

COWHC 3s 0-1 Epsom 5s

23^rd November 2013

Match Report

After our gap week, in which I’m sure a few niggles were nursed and batteries recharged, we headed out to Epsom for our match with the second side they have in our division.

We always have a tough game against this team, and although we had a reasonably strong outfield squad, our usual keeper, Paul, was missing.  Fortunately Ciaran Pell volunteered to step in and duly padded up.

From the off Epsom seemed to have an extra player, as they pushed forward in numbers.  We held them at bay, even when a couple of dangerous balls made their way across our D.  Slowly we managed to get a small toehold on the game, but were still feeling the pressure.  Midway through the half Epsom did manage to get the ball in the net, but it was disallowed by for a high stick by one of their players, who had actually ended up on the floor with a cut above his eye.  It seems in his efforts to get to the ball he had collided with Ciaran with face meeting helmet and coming off worse!

We remained just about in the game, helped by the pace we had up front, particularly from Andrew, who managed to bring a great save from the Epsom keeper as he looked to keep up his goal scoring run.  That was as good as it got for us though, and Epsom themselves brought a great save from Ciaran later on.

At half time we decided that in order to combat the extra space that the opposition seemed to have in the middle of the pitch we would change from 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2.  However Epsom started the second half like they finished the first, playing with a high level of intensity and still seeming to have a man spare whenever they came forward.

We held firm though, with some excellent tackles being put in by defence and midfield, and the forwards offering something of an outlet when we could actually find them (I think most of our passing radars were being temperamental!).  Epsom were restricted to trying to play the ball across the D from wide areas, enabling either Ciaran or the defence to make the clearance, or often watch the crosses go safely off the back line or the other side of the pitch.

As the game went on it looked as though we were going to be able to frustrate the opposition and pick up a hard earned point, much as we had against Cheam 3 weeks earlier.  But then came the sting in the tail… from a side line hit in our back left corner, with about 5 minutes left on the clock.  It looked as though we had them contained with the only clear way out being for them to play the ball backwards.  However they managed to get a cross through, which somehow managed to get through Martin and Ciaran and this time Epsom had a player in the right place to score probably one of the easiest goals they’ll score this season.  Disappointingly this was probably the softest, scrappiest chance of the whole game and it was our undoing.

We didn’t have enough time to get back into any sort of rhythm and, although we saw out the remaining minutes well, had to accept a bitter defeat.

I got POM, however I do think that Ciaran in particular deserves an honourable mention for his efforts in goal.

COWHC 3s 1-3 Leatherhead 2s

30^th November 2013

Match Report

This week was a match very much about numbers... Early start (10.30 pushback, away), full strength opposition (12 players), under strength COWs (1 keeper missing, 9 players to start rising to 10), four goals registered (only one for us) and one ghost goal.

Going into the game Leatherhead were below us in the league, although to be fair baring the top two the division is pretty tight at the moment.  But starting any match 2 players short, and with our regular keeper Paul having been “appropriated” by the 2s, we were probably facing a bit of a struggle.  Martin had stepped into the breach in goal and we lined up in a 3-3-2 formation.

We started, naturally, under a bit of pressure, but seemed to be just about coping.  That, bizarrely, changed when our 10 man, Pirate, turned up.  The extra man seemed to confuse us and we lost all positional discipline, particularly when it came to picking up and tracking runners defensively.  As a result Leatherhead scored twice in reasonably quick succession.  I don’t remember the exact build up to the first just that a shot came in from the top of the D, which I managed to get a bit of my stick to.  However that only succeeded in deflecting it up and off the top of one of Martin’s pads into the goal.

The second came down our left, where I faced a two against one that soon became a three against two as Mike came across to help out.  Unfortunately the ball got through to the spare man who was just inside the D and fired a pretty unstoppable shot into the far corner.

Some pretty harsh words were said at half time, first by Radders and then by Pirate.  These seemed to be the kick up the backside that we needed and, although Leatherhead probably just shaded the first couple of minutes of the second half, we gradually began to push higher and higher up the pitch.  Our passing was better, our movement was better, and we began to play the way that we know we can.

With Pirate and Radders pulling the strings in the middle of the park, we were creating a number of chances.  Aided by the chasing of Andrew, Bob and Trevor up front.  The reward came probably mid-way through the half when the ball found its way to Pirate at the top of the D.  He drag-flicked the ball into the corner of the net and the game was now on.

More chances were created, and we had a couple of short corners that didn’t quite come off, but we were pinning Leatherhead inside their own half.  However, pushing as high as we were in search of the equaliser did mean we were at risk of being caught on the counter attack.  And that is precisely what happened.

The opposition had threated to catch us once before, but held on to the ball too long and enabled us to get back.  We should have learned from that, as they certainly did.  The next chance they got the passed the ball sooner and released their winger to run in on Martin unchallenged.  Initially it looked as though Martin might have done enough in pushing the player wide and to the back line, but he managed to get his cross in and, although Mike got to it the ball flicked upwards and into the path of the supporting Leatherhead player, who had the simple task of playing it down and into the empty net.

There was a final twist in the tail though.  Right at the end of the match, we played a ball in from our right towards the area.  It went right through everyone except the Leatherhead keeper, who got a touch on it before it went into the back of the net.  The umpire seemed to signal for a goal and the end of the match at the same time, which confused everyone.  It wouldn’t have changed the overall result, but would have helped our goal difference marginally.  But, Fixtureslive is showing it as 3-1, so that must be official!

POM went to Bob for sterling work up front.

COWHC 3s 3-2 Trinity Mid-Whitgiftian 4s

14^th December 2013

Match Report

So, the last game before the Christmas break… and this report is actually being written with the help of Helmet-Cam footage, as I managed to forget to do it until January!

A slightly bizarre start against our local rivals as Paul was delayed on his way to the game, meant we actually played the first couple of minutes with 11 outfield players.  Yes, that’s right, we actually had a sub, compared with two weeks previously when we couldn’t get a full complement out on pitch.

The first half was fairly even, although we were possibly guilty of giving the ball away a bit too much.  We created a number of chances, including several short corners, but unfortunately, as has been the case for quite a while, they were not converted.

Mids were also creating their own chances, and we were doing a pretty good job of keeping them at bay.  That was until about halfway through the first half a quickly take free hit just inside our 25 caught us off guard and the Mids striker was able to turn me on the edge of the D and fire his shot past Paul.

So we were 1- nil down at half time, but far from out of it.  However, the low winter sun would be in our eyes for the second half, which could have made life tricky.  Indeed, it did for Helmet-Cam, so I may have some of the details of the second half slightly wrong…

Again things were fairly even, and a quick counter attack saw us win a short corner.  Radders injected and received the ball back from AJ.  His shot was blocked on the line, but only as far as Andrew who had the simple task of slotting home.  With the scores evened, and Mids’ heads looking like they might be dropping, we started pushing for the lead.

But, we let them back into it.  They worked the ball down the right and into the middle, before getting it from the top of the D back over to the right side, where an unmarked player flicked the ball just past Paul’s outstretched hand and into the corner of the goal.

We were behind again, but our heads definitely didn’t drop as we were frustrated that we’d given them the chance and worked hard to get back at them.  To be fair, we did go through something of a scrappy phase, before equalising.  Speddo somehow found himself out on the right wing and his ball into the D was converted, I think by Angus, but poor memory and the sun interfering with the video mean I’m not sure…

Our third goal showed the merits of playing to the whistle.  Mids won a short corner and their shot was stopped by Paul.  As he sat on the ground, with the ball between his legs the opposition appealed for another short while Speddo played it out to AJ.  It was then worked up our right wing, into the D and the back of the net.  I think this goal was Andrew’s, but I may have the scorers of goals 2 & 3 the wrong way round (sorry lads!).

There was still time for Paul to have to pull off a couple of good saves, including a double stop from a Mids’ short corner, plus one of the moments of the season so far.  A break left two Mids players clear through on Paul.  As he rushed out to meet the one with the ball he called out, leading the opposition player to panic and put his pass behind the support runner, who would have had an open goal had the pass reached him.

That was probably the last moment of note in the game, and we managed to eke out our third win of the season.

POM was Andrew, for again weighing in with the goals where it matters.

Summary of the season so far – mixed.  We’ve had some good results, particularly the win against Aldershot, some unfortunate losses, and too many games where we’ve made life difficult for ourselves.  Our New Year’s resolution is to find a goal scorer and turn some of the close games into victories.  Fingers crossed…

2012/ 2013

As previously mentioned, I thought we'd start with last season.  That should give a good grounding going into the reports for this season, although it may make for long (and possibly difficult) reading:

Epsom 6s 3-1 COWHC 3s

20^th October 2012

Match Report

Ah Epsom, somewhere that COWHC third team seem to not enjoy travelling to.  Last season a hot day, losing one player to injury and another to a yellow card, plus our brave captain Mike Dawson stepping boldly into goal lead to us putting in possibly our worst performance leading to a 3-0 loss.

So this we rock up this time round and, while watching the 1^st team give us an example of how to play hockey (?) a quick headcount revealed we had 12 outfield players available, which was good.  What wasn’t so good is that as time went on we began to realise that one rather crucial element was missing – a goalkeeper.  A quick phone call revealed that somehow there had been a breakdown in communication and he was at work…

Never mind, we’ll see if the 1s keeper fancies playing again, or at least leaving the kit behind…

Nope, he has to get back, and the kit belongs to the school and has to be returned that afternoon.

This does not bode well.

The decision is therefore made to play with 11 outfield, so we line up on a rather unfamiliar 4-4-3 formation.  Initially the extra man in midfield led to perhaps a bit of confusion over marking shortly into the first half an Epsom central midfielder slips through and scores with a strike from the top of the D.  Not a great goal, and certainly one that any keeper would have easily stopped.

Slowly we began to get used to our unusual formation and began to create some half chances of our own.  The defence was holding pretty firm, Pete Speddings urging us to press higher up the pitch, John Grimsdale picking things off behind him.  Out wide Chris Maundrell, to quote Radders’ half time talk “had the right winger in his pocket”, while the guy Alex Hannah was marking seemed to want to climb into his pocket in a rather more literal fashion.  Fortunately he was subbed off before we could point out that Alex is a (retired) cage fighter…

Sadly we didn’t make the pressure count and Epsom scored a second, very similar to the first.

Still, heads didn’t drop, even when Epsom went 3-0 up following a scuffed 16 which went straight to one of their players.  We kept pressing and got our reward when Speddo, following his own advice, ghosted in at the back post to tuck the ball away.

3-1 at half time, and oddly I think we were the happier team.

The second half started and we settled back into the rhythm we had found towards the end of the second half and were certainly making Epsom think.  There were chances at both ends, two Epsom ones cleared from close in by Chris Maundrell.  As the game wore on it began to get more stretched, but we were enjoying the lion’s share of possession and our passing game was more telling than Epsom’s.  We spent much of the last 7 or 8 minutes in their half, but the closest we could come was two half chances, one cleared by the keeper and one off the line by a defender.

So a goalless second half meant the score sadly remained Epsom 3 – 1 COWHC.  But the result could have been much worse, and I think we had them worried towards the end.

POM went to John Grimsdale for his sterling effort at the back, although there was a 4-way tie in the voting at one stage as it was an excellent team performance.

Sanderstead 3s 0-8 COWHC 3s

27^th October 2012

Match Report

Two weeks after the derby match against Trinity Mid-Whigiftians, our second lot of neighbours – Sanderstead – arrived at a rather chilly Oasis Academy.

For the second week running we were playing after COWHC 1s, so were able to take heart from their battling victory as we warmed up.  Following last week’s minor hiccup on the goalkeeping front we did at least know we were without our regular keeper for this match.  So a big thank you must go to James Cornwall for donning the padding and stepping between the posts.  I’m not sure what he was expecting, but it probably wasn’t how the match actually played out!

Our opposition had turned up with only 10 players, and before long it was apparent that this was effectively 9 given that their centre forward was obviously struggling with some kind of injury and was practically immobile.  Not only did this enable us to play our normal passing game the extra space meant we were including some excellent switches of play from one side of the pitch to the other with relative ease.  Furthermore, we were able to play the game mostly in the Sanderstead half, in fact left back Chris Maundrell was playing like Ashley Cole minus the Twitter account! (and fitness, and money…).  Even centre backs Pete Speddings and John Grimsdale were rarely pushed further back than the halfway line in the first half.

The first goal duly arrived, with Nick “Radders” Radford drilling a cross in from the right side of the D and Qaz Khokhar deflecting the ball into the roof of the net (amazingly he went on to say that this wasn’t intentional!).  The pressure continued to tell with further goals coming from Dave “Foz” Forsdyke, Andrew Gray, poking the ball in from about 2 inches after good work by Jim Swift, and Laurence De Souza.

So, 4 – 0 up at half-time and looking good, or so we thought… But Radders had other ideas and had a go at us in his team talk for losing shape.  It has to be said he was spot on, weak opposition and extra room meant there was some ball chasing going on and often no width across the middle of the pitch in particular.

The second half started and we seemed to heed his words, because the width remained and we looked fairly comfortable.  Sanderstead did manage a couple of half breaks, and Corny had to touch the ball once, a deft pass to yours truly, who had managed to get back to a more normal left back position at that particular point.

However, the traffic was again mainly one way.  A fifth goal was added before something of a collectors’ item arrived.  A Chris Maundrell goal!  Yes, a few minutes after having one of the biggest “swing and misses” of all time, when totally free at the top of the D, I made no mistake when the second opportunity arose, tucking the ball away from just above the P-spot past 2 scrambling defenders.  First goal in at least 5 years I think…

Two more goals were added before things were wrapped up by the umpires.  Although we didn’t quite make it to double figures, although one goal was disallowed for someone calling “Mine” in the build-up and Speddo narrowly missing with a strike from a short corner, the final reckoning saw a hat-trick from Qaz, two goals from Foz and one a piece for Andrew, Laurence and Chris, bringing a nice +8 to our league goal difference.

POM went to Andrew, more for his tireless running and great positioning than the poacher’s finish.

Aldershot & Farnham 4s 8-1 COWHC 3s

03^rd November 2012

Match Report

According to Wikipedia “Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire”.  Unfortunately for us, they appear to have combined themselves with Farnham and so play in the Surrey league.  Even so, it’s a bloody long way to travel on a cold November morning!  They ran away with SOHL Div 5 last year losing only once and drawing only once all season.  Although they haven’t had things all their own way so far this season in Div 4, we knew we were going to be in for a tough game.  The distance we had to travel and the relatively early start time didn’t help our cause either.

With our regular goalie still absent through injury and a number of key regular players missing with work and other commitments, we lined up in an unfamiliar 4-4-2 formation.  AJ had volunteered to don the pads and take up station between the posts.  Chris Maundrell moved from his usual left-back spot into the centre of defence alongside John Grimsdale, with Joe Hendry left and Martin Burke right.  Mike Dawson also made the move from left to centre, lining up alongside Nick Radford in midfield, while youngsters Akira and Matt took up very unfamiliar half-back positions, leaving Bob Stephenson and Trevor Marsh up front.

Unfortunately, against a well drilled, disciplined opposition we were soon being cut apart by good pass and move hockey… the kind we usually play when everyone is in their normal positions.  But needs must and we tried hard to match our opponents, creating a couple of half chances during the first half.  However we were all also guilty of giving the ball away cheaply, and the Aldershot players were pretty clinical.  They rarely crowded the D, instead opting to pass the ball around recovering defenders and by half-time we were 5-0 down.

The half-time team talk was generally positive though, just reminding players to keep it simple and not panic.  In terms of skill level, the oppo were not that much stronger than us, so we came out ready and raring to take them on.

Sadly, before too long, we had conceded again.  A short corner was slipped back to the injector, who managed to put the ball in about the only spot on the goal line that wasn’t covered.  Still, were felt we were holding our own slightly better and managed to work our way up to the other end and win a short corner, which was converted by Akira, slotting the ball home under the foot of Croydon old boy Chris Kinal in the Aldershot goal.

6-1, five more and we’d be back on level terms…

Sadly an Arsenalesque come back was beyond us as we shipped two more goals and were grateful to AJ for giving an Aldershot player the evil eye as he lined up a P-flick late on, making him put it wide.

So a disappointing 8-1 reverse, all but wiping out the boost to our goal difference that we gained last week.  Still, to paraphrase a rather famous film – Next week is another Saturday.

Roll on Epsom!

POM went to Chris Maundrell, although it was close and personally I think all I did was live up to my tour nickname of “Mouthy”!

Epsom 5s 4-3 COWHC 3s

10^th November 2012

Match Report

To borrow a cliché, there are no easy games in SOHL Div. 4.  However after our humbling at the hands of Aldershot and Farnham last week we were hoping that a game against Epsom’s 5^th team (one of two sides the club has in this division) offered us an opportunity to get back to winning ways ahead of a run of matches against the top 3 teams in the league.

On paper we had a good, strong squad available, albeit with three Mikes – B(owling), C(halk) and D(awson).  Not too confusing then…  This week Martin Burke was taking up station between the posts with Paul Fennell still crocked.

Unfortunately we didn’t get off to the greatest of starts.  A long ball from the heart of Epsom’s defence came up our the left side towards Chris Maundrell.  Unfortunately I had left my brain somewhere in the car park and let the ball run past me.  The Epsom centre forward was on it in a flash and had a clear run on goal.  John Grimsdale and Pete Speddings tried to scramble back and cover, but Martin was left exposed and Epsom were 1-0 up.

The teams were evenly matched though and we were creating chances ourselves, including a short won by Radders when his shot was blocked by a defender’s shin.  However we went 2-0 down when another move down our left resulted in a cross being half blocked by me, but the bouncy pitch saw it skip up and enter the D, where an Epsom player reacted quickest to slot the ball home.

One thing that can be said about COWHC 3s though is that our heads don’t drop, and we got ourselves back into the mix through a combination of Mikes.  Mr Bowling took a free hit, which he ended up drilling into the D, where Mr Chalk was on hand to deflect it home.  2-1 and we were back in the game.

The half was far from over though, with time for both sides to score again.  Epsom struck first from a short corner, which was played back to the injector, who managed to find a gap and score a well taken goal, his second of the game.  Once again though, we managed to narrow the deficit and again it was a Mike scoring.  This time Mike B took a free hit to himself, strode through the D and tucked the ball in.

So, a one goal deficit at half time, and a game we felt we could get something from.  A few choice words from the experienced heads of Mikes B and C about combatting Epsom’s long ball game, while also opening up a few options for ourselves by narrowing the midfield and allowing the full backs, Joe Hendry and Alex Hannah more space saw us ready and raring to go.  The tactics worked, with supply cut off to the Epsom centre forward we were gaining more of a hold on the game and frustrating the opposition.  So much so that one of their players received a yellow card for kicking the ball away, almost hitting Speddo in the head, after conceding a free hit.

Fortunately we were able to capitalise on having the extra man and before long we were on level terms.  A good build up down the right saw the ball get through to the P-spot where, Mr Dawson made it a hat-trick for the Mikes by sweeping it into the bottom corner.

The game was now very evenly poised, with both teams making the opposition work.  Sadly for us there were two stings in the tail to come.  Firstly Epsom took the lead again from another short corner.  This time with a strike from the top of the D that was well struck and shot past everyone into the net.  But perhaps the most painful sting was the one right at the end of the match.

Excellent work by Bob Stephenson on the left meant he found his way into the D near the base line, his cross was converted by Akira.  We were back on level terms… for all of about 3 seconds.  Loud appeals from the Epsom defenders saw the goal disallowed for a foot in the build-up, much to the distress of Bob, who was adamant that he had made his way into the D legally.

The decision stood though, and we ended up narrow losers.

POM went to Alex Hannah by a landslide, with his commitment and energy an example to us all.

Old Georgians 3s 3-2 COWHC 3s

17^th November 2012

Match Report

A tough run for the 3s began this week with the arrival of the table-topping Old Georgians at the beach (a.k.a. Harris Academy).  However, we were boosted by the return of our regular goalkeeper, Paul Fennell, and the fact that when the match started we had 12 players available to the opposition’s 9.

We started very brightly, the extra men on pitch counting as we created quite a bit of pressure.  That’s not to say Georgians were completely pinned in their own half, but we were looking good, playing lots of nice triangles.  However, we couldn’t make the pressure count, despite creating a few chances.

Sadly things unravelled slightly when an extra Georgian’s player turned up about 10 minutes into the first half.  Suddenly they had an outlet up front, and a quick one at that.  A long ball from just inside their half was tipped on by the new arrival and he out accelerated the defence to end up one on one with the keeper.  Paul closed him down, and looked to have created enough of an angle to make life difficult, but the shot flicked off a pad and found the corner of the net.

We still had the lion’s share of possession, and I was able to push forward from central defence to add to the pressure from midfield.  Unfortunately this left John Grimsdale isolated against the new arrival and another long ball was taken in almost exactly the same fashion as the first.  This time Paul had enough time to come to the edge of his D to close the striker down, but none of the defenders were able to get back quickly enough to cover behind him.  2 – 0 down, and, in my opinion, both against the run of play.

I think our heads dropped a little after this as Georgians had a bit more of the play at the end of the first half, forcing a short corner, which Martin Burke deflected across the goal and wide.

Fortunately, half time swiftly followed this and we were able to regroup.  A slight tactical reshuffle saw me drop a bit deeper (I should never have got so high in the first place, those nosebleeds are a killer!), meaning that the Georgian’s striker now had two defenders to deal with – first John, then me – a combination few are able to get past, and this guy was no exception.  We were able to keep him quiet and began to exert the same pressure on the opposition as we had at the start of the match.

This time we were able to get our reward as the ball broke to Akira on the left side of the D, who cracked home a great strike into the opposite corner.

In our push for an equaliser though, we lost a touch of positional discipline and Georgians scored a third from a sideline hit on the left.  We were still trying to organise who was picking up which player when the hit was taken.  It was worked into the D, where I got a half tackle in on the Georgian’s striker, the ball broke, getting slightly airborne and Paul managed to get a touch to it.  Unfortunately the Georgian’s striker was quickest to react and managed to poke it home to complete his hat trick.  Shortly afterwards he left the match to go and play something called “football”…

With the opposition back to only 9, and their only real attacking option gone, we were again able to push forward.  This time John took the role of rampaging centre back and from his quickly taken free hit he slipped the ball to Radders, who scored his third “top-of-the-D” goal of the season.

3-2 and there was plenty of time for us to get at least an equaliser, if not actually win.  Sadly, our “cow’s arse & banjo” malaise struck again (ask AJ) and despite creating several chances we were unable to convert any and, for the second week in a row, went down by the odd goal.

The positives though were that we played some excellent hockey and held our own against the top team in the league.  Even though they were short a couple of players, I think we would have pushed them hard had they come with a full complement.

POM was Akira, not just for his goal, but also for his energetic chasing and closing down up front.

Cheam 3s 4-1 COWHC 3s

24^th November 2012

Match Report

The 3^rd team’s mini slump continued into a fourth week, although to be fair there was only one of those matches that we could reasonably have been expected to win… and this wasn’t it.

We haven’t played Cheam for a couple of seasons, but most of us have played them in the past and know they’re normally a very good side, who work hard for each other.  They also seem to be quite good at something called “training” as they were aware of where everyone was on the pitch and did the simple things in terms of moving the ball around and closing down the opposition (namely us).  Most of us actually felt that the T, R, A, I and N should be replaced by C, H, E, A and T ;)

Seriously though, Cheam were sitting in second prior to this match, so we knew we had our work cut out.  Starting the match with only 10 players on the pitch therefore was not the best way to start!  Sure enough, Cheam cut their way through midfield and won a short corner which was dispatched in an excellent manner.  The striker at the top of the D found a gap past our two runners to another player who deflected the ball into the roof of the net.

Shortly after we were up to our full complement, and the tireless running of James Mayhew and Akira Swami upfront was causing their defence a few problems.  Sadly another Cheam counter-attack brought them another short, and their second goal.  This time the ball was played back to the injector, who finished despite Martin Burke moving to close him down.

Cheam kept attacking in numbers and keeper Paul Fennell was called into action a couple of times, while the defence did their best to stem the flow.  Midfield were able to relieve the pressure occasionally and once we got the ball to the forwards they were able to create some chances.  In fact the Cheam keeper had to pull off a few saves before finally we got the breakthrough, with Mike Dawson striking for his second of the season.

With the deficit halved we tried to push for the equaliser.  But Cheam weren’t about give up their lead and, despite our best efforts, they managed to extend it before half time.  Again the goal came from a short corner, an attempted drag flick only getting partially airborne, but with enough pace to hit the backboard rather than be cut out.

So 3-1 down at half time, but the team talk wasn’t downbeat given we had managed to get on the score-sheet and, even though we knew we were up against a good team, there were some good elements to our play.

The second half sadly followed a similar pattern to the first, with Cheam having the lion’s share of possession.  The defence of Joe Hendry, John Grimsdale, Chris Maundrell and Martin held them at bay, with Paul again pulling off several good stops.  The Cheam keeper also had some work to do as, on the few occasions we were able to break free, we did manage to get some shots away.  Nothing seemed to be wanting to go in though, and unfortunately the dam at the other end was breached one final time.

A sideline hit was taken while we were still trying to organise the marking (most unfair of the opposition to do that!)  and Cheam worked the ball into the D.  It was half cleared, but when it was played back in a Cheam striker managed to scramble the ball home despite the close attentions of Paul and Chris.

There was still time for a couple of chances at both ends after this, including one where Paul had to stretch his right leg about as far as he could to deflect the ball away from the goal, an action which left him walking off the pitch slightly gingerly at the end of the match!  But which also (in addition to his previous exertions) saw him walk off as POM.

Surbiton 8s 4-2 COWHC 3s

01^st December 2012

Match Report

I deliberately delayed this match report hoping that Newcastle United would give me something to say about us being in good company with our run of defeats. But sadly the Toon went and won on Monday, so the best I can say is that we're like Man City in Europe (sorry Radders!)

Surbtion have been around the top three in the division for most of the season, so even being at home meant we were in for a tough game – and so it proved.  As in previous weeks, our display was far from bad, indeed at the end of the match some of the opposition were overheard saying how much they’d had to fight for the victory.

We had a strong squad available, including 3 substitutes, although Surbiton had two of their own meaning we wouldn’t have as much of a “fresh legs” advantage as we’d hoped.  The opposition started the game quite strongly, getting something of a grip on midfield, helped by pushing their defence high up the pitch.  This meant things got a bit cramped in our half, so it was no surprise when that Surbiton won a number of short corners.

Again, as in our last couple of matches, these were our let down.  Surbtion’s first and second goals both came in this manner, the first a very sweetly struck shot from the top of the D which whistled into the corner.  That had us a bit worried as it was so well hit we wondered if that would be the story of the match.  In a way it was, as more often than not Surbiton took a direct strike at goal.  Fortunately for us, the striker’s radar was never quite as accurate as that first time.  The second goal actually came from the ball being played back to the injector, who tucked it home.

All of that said, we managed to get our own back with a short corner goal of our own.  The ball was worked to Laurence De Souza, who buried the ball in the back of the net.  Surbiton were still controlling most of the play, but we were holding our own and able to break out on occasions, particularly with James Mayhew and Alan Johnston’s tireless running.

Only one goal down at half time and, although we could perhaps have improved our performance in certain areas, we were just about holding our own.

The second half started perhaps slightly more evenly matched, with our marking having improved from the first half.  This meant Surbiton’s options were slightly restricted compared to before, but they had one main outlet down their right.  A very tricky, skilful player who wasn’t afraid to take players on.  It was down this side that their third, although it came from a side line hit, that was played to one player who wasn’t closed down quickly enough.  He hit the ball into the D, where Alex Hannah managed to get his stick to it, unfortunately this wasn’t quite enough, and the ball got through to a Surbiton striker who was able to tuck it away.

We were still able to create some pressure of our own, and won another short corner – which worked almost to plan, as the ball eventually found its way to Radders, who almost scored.  By almost, I mean that Akira got the final touch as the ball was crossing the line, so has claimed the goal!

With the difference back to only the one goal we tried to push for an equaliser.  Surbiton were a bit too strong for us though and they themselves got yet another short corner.  They converted this one when the player the ball was slipped too wasn’t closed down quickly enough.  He was able to play the ball across goal where another Surbiton player got to it just ahead of John Grimsdale to make it 4-2.

POM went to Paul Fennell for the second week running.

Leatherhead 2s 2-1 COWHC 3s

08^th December 2012

Match Report

Does anyone know a 20-goal-a-season striker that fancies joining us?  In fact even 10-a-season might do, because at the moment we’re making Fernando Torres look prolific!

Yes, sadly our bad run continued at Leatherhead, in what was certainly the most frustrating match of the season so far and possibly one of the most frustrating I’ve been ever been involved in.  This match was a story of missed opportunities combining with a cruel sting in the tail to leave us placed fourth from bottom and finishing this half of the season on a low note.

A late work call meant that regular ‘keeper Paul Fennell had to postpone his attempt to win a hat-trick of POM awards until the New Year.  Martin Burke therefore donned the pads for the second time this season.  In a concerted effort to protect him as much as possible we started the match with a high tempo, pushing forward at every opportunity and restricted Leatherhead to very little in the way of opportunities to get into our D.  Conversely we were creating lots of pressure, and some real chances.  One of the best came mid-way through the half, following a defensive re-shuffle leading to yours truly, Chris Maundrell, moving into the centre.  Good work down the left side of the pitch saw the ball reach Trevor Marsh.  Seeing a big gap in front of me I ghosted into the D and Trevor played the perfect ball in to me.  Unfortunately I then showed why I don’t often get into these positions, by not quite getting enough elevation on my attempted shot to clear the grounded Leatherhead ‘keeper.  It then proved almost impossible to dig the ball out from underneath him, and sadly we couldn’t make the resulting short corner count.

Further chances came as we were able to find quite a bit of space in the opposition half (note to the Leatherhead player who at one point spotted me free and called to a teammate “watch the runner” – I’ve never been called a runner before, so my threat in that position was limited to say the least!).  Jon Gadion in particular, in his first match for a while, was causing the opposition plenty of problems. However, the breakthrough only came towards the end of the first half when another move down the left ended with a ball into the D being converted by Andrew Gray.

A slight lack of organisation at the restart almost saw us undo the good work, but we were able to work the ball away and headed into half-time in the unfamiliar position of being in the lead.

The second half started in a very similar vein, with us putting a lot of pressure on the Leatherhead D, but never quite seeming to get the rewards.  Either the final ball didn’t quite come off, or the extra touch was taken when it perhaps wasn’t needed.  Leatherhead would occasionally break out, but generally John Grimsdale, Alex Hannah and Joe Hendry were able to keep them at bay.

Sadly our inability to make the pressure in the final third count came back to bite us when, on one of their breakouts, Leatherhead won a short corner.  The initial shot wasn’t particularly well hit and Martin dived forward to push it away.  Unfortunately the clearance went straight to another Leatherhead player who managed to find the gap past my left foot and into the corner.  Most irritating!

There was still plenty of time and we kept pushing to regain the lead. Jon had one shot saved, and couldn’t quite bundle the rebound home.  Other chances went begging too before the real kick in the teeth came.

Almost at the end of the match John took a 16.  Was the Leatherhead player fully 5 metres away when he stopped it?  Did he control it with his body as he entered the D?  Sadly neither question matters much now as the umpire didn’t give either and the player was allowed to continue on and place a fairly tame shot into the corner of the goal.

Time had, by then, almost run out for us.  I think we managed one more effort to salvage the draw, but in the end walked away having snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and with a very bitter taste in our mouths.

Jon Gadion won POM, proving he’s lost none of his skills or effort in his absence from the team.

Leatherhead 2s 0-1 COWHC 3s

12^th January 2013

Match Report

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, and Oasis Academy was certainly cold enough for us to harbour dreams of getting three points from the visit of Leatherhead.  A quirk of the fixtures computer meant that only two weeks after being cruelly beaten at their place we had the opportunity to get own back.

Initially it looked as though that chance might be taken away from us as at the official push-back time there were only 6 Leatherhead players at the pitch.  Slowly, however, their numbers swelled, with the final 3 players arriving around 10 minutes late and we were able to start.

From the start it was apparent that we were really up for the game, and although we didn’t have it all our own way, for much of the first half we kept the opposition at bay, restricting them to a few half chances and nothing more.  At the other end Dave Forsdyke, Trevor Marsh, Akira Swami and Qaz Khokhar were keeping the Leatherhead defence occupied, and the opportunity to regularly switch, with one able to take a break meant their fresh legs was a useful advantage.

I may be biased, but I would argue that we probably looked the more likely team to score during the first period and the goal duly came towards the end of the half.  Yours truly, Chris Maundrell, intercepted a Leatherhead clearance just inside their half.  I took the ball forward before playing it to Qaz on the top of the D, he then moved it out to the right and on to Alan Johnston.  He took the ball towards the byline before playing it in to the middle, where Foz wanted the ball more than the Leatherhead defender, nipping in front to tuck the ball away.

The half time team talk consisted principally of reminding us that we had been in the same position before Christmas and ended up losing.  The hope was that if we kept it simple, played good, possession hockey, then we wouldn’t be in the same situation.

Unsurprisingly, Leatherhead came out strongly in the second half, pushing an extra man forward in an attempt to get back into the game.  The pressure brought them a couple of short corners, none of which were converted.  Otherwise a defence marshalled loudly by me held firm, with opposition players being marked tightly, shepherded down blind alleys and tackled solidly.

That’s not to say it was one-way traffic as we were able to counter-attack on a number of occasions, with just the final touch missing, or maybe the final ball not quite getting to the right spot.

In the end, a superb team performance saw us through, and the hard won 1-0 victory saw us achieve back-to-back wins for the first time this season, what’s more, both with clean sheets.

POM went to Chris Maundrell for the second time this season, although in my opinion anyone on the pitch could have taken the award.

Sanderstead 3s 3-1 COWHC 3s

09^th February 2013

Match Report

After a couple of weeks of inactivity thanks to the weather, COWHC 3s had continued their winning ways with a hard fought victory over Epsom.  On the horizon though was a local derby away at Sanderstead, which always makes for a tricky match.

Things were looking a little dodgy when, on arrival at the pitch, one corner was covered in ice!  However, with both teams pitching in and a little improvisation this was cleared and the pitch underneath was perfectly playable.  Game on!

The corresponding fixture in the first half of the season had seen us run out 8-0 winners, but both captain Mike Dawson and vice-captain Nick Radford warned against complacency.  We started the match well and scored a quick goal, Mike coming in from the left of midfield to finish a move that had been built down the right.  Unfortunately this may have caused us to relax slightly, possibly thinking we were heading for a similar score-line as before.

This enabled a couple of the better Sanderstead players, who hadn’t made the away trip, to stamp their authority on the game.  We kept them at bay for much of the first half, and created a couple of further chances ourselves, one each for Mike and Nick in particular, which both went just wide.  But the equaliser came towards the end of the half.  A short corner was, perhaps slightly harshly, given and finished with a well taken strike.

1-1  at half time and the team talk was not one of the easier ones we had had to listen to this season.

Despite our best efforts in the second half, the two key opposition players were still able to dictate much of the play.  The second goal duly came with an aerial being played from just inside our half.  It landed on the edge of the D, perfectly placed for a Sanderstead player running from the right wing to take a touch past the onrushing Martin Burke (kindly filling in in goal) and finish into an empty net.

This sparked some life back into our side, but sadly we conceded a third before we could really get going again.  A free hit inside the 25 was played back to an opposition player who drilled the ball into the D, another Sanderstead player was able to get enough of a deflection on it to get it past defenders and Martin.

From the restart we were able to finally keep hold of the ball and started playing some good hockey again.  Another chance was created for Mike, but he ended up coming off second best in a collision with the keeper.  With Mike now hobbling upfront, we had to reshuffle our line up slightly, but were still able to create a couple of opportunities that didn’t come to much.

Unfortunately time was running out for us and a promising move involving Chris Maundrell bringing the ball out from defence and playing a one-two with Pete Speddings down the right was cut short by the full time whistle.

A disappointing loss all told, but we’ll pick ourselves up for next week and the visit of Aldershot and Farnham.

POM was Nick Radford for his sterling efforts in the centre of midfield.

Epsom 5s 2-0 COWHC 3s

23^rd February 2013

Match Report

So another cold Saturday and another match at the über-exposed Harris Academy pitch.  Who was it that decided hockey was a winter sport?

After watching the ladies show us how to play the game properly, we lined up for the return fixture against a strong-looking Epsom 5^th team.  A little bit of goalkeeper musical chairs meant our regular keeper was unavailable, so skipper Mike Dawson bravely (foolishly?) stepped into the pads.

From the pushback it became clear that we were in for a tough match.  In particular the Epsom midfield were not allowing anyone time on the ball and breaking forward in numbers at every opportunity.  We were able to keep them at bay for a while and made some incursions into the opposition half ourselves.  However Epsom were creating more half and clear chances and the pressure told when, midway through the first half they finished a good move with a well hit strike that left Mike with no chance.

More opportunities followed, with Mike making some good saves and Chris Maundrell stopping one shot just short of the line.  It wasn’t quite enough though as a second Epsom goal came, brought about by something else they were proving very effective at – closing down the options at our 16s.  Our hit out made it past the first ring, but not the second and Epsom broke forward quickly down their right.  The ball was crossed to the top of the D and, although Chris tried to close down the Epsom player in time they were still able to get away another well struck shot, this time on the reverse.

The 2-0 half time score was probably a fair reflection of the game so far, but after a few inspiring words from Mike and Nick Radford we came out raring to go.  We stepped up the intensity slightly and were now matching Epsom in terms of commitment.  As a result, we were able to get the ball forward more and created some good opportunities, one of which brought a very good save from the opposition keeper.  If that had gone in, would things have been different?  Possibly not, as the game was actually opening out slightly and Epsom were still creating chances themselves.  However, despite both teams’ best efforts no more goals were scored, leaving the final score as 2-0.

POM went to Mike Dawson, after a very close vote.  His willingness to go between the posts as well as the saves he pulled off winning the day.

Old Georgians 3s 3-0 COWHC 3s

02^nd  2013

Match Report

It might just be me, but it seems as though a lot of the teams we’ve played in the second half of this season have been very different to those we played in the first half…

Anyway, I digress.  St George’s College is a pretty impressive venue, and Old Georgians look to be a club that can match their surroundings.  They’ve been towards the top of the table all season and looked a decent outfit when we played them at Harris Academy, although we pushed them close in a 3-2 defeat.  The score in this return fixture doesn’t accurately reflect the fact that we did so again, and had our current non-scoring malaise not affected us once again we could have got something from this match.

We had a reasonably strong line-up available, however it maybe that the late push back (15.30) affected us slightly as we were sluggish to start and conceded the first goal relatively early on.  And, if we’re honest, it was quite a soft goal as a Georgians midfielder was allowed to run through almost unchallenged to the edge of the D and place a shot into the far corner past a desperate lunge on the line from Chris Maundrell (who may or may not be writing this report…).

That woke us all up and we started to play the way we can.  At times our passing and movement was causing the opposition some problems, however things sadly fizzled out around their D more often than not.  One move saw a side-line hit from Chris being deflected by Qaz Khokar into the path of Andrew Gray, who took the ball on to the Georgian’s D but couldn’t quite find the final ball.

The pitch was playing very quickly and we soon realised that the opposition’s main tactic seemed to be to use this pace to drill balls into our D and hope for a deflection.  And surely enough their second goal arrived via this option, the ball finding its’ way just past Chris to be diverted into the net past Paul Fennell.

Once again we found ourselves 2-0 down at half time, despite not having been outplayed in any way.

During the second half we began to create some more opportunities ourselves, the cutting edge the only thing stopping us from getting back into the game, and maybe even onto level terms.  We were also getting the hang of the pitch and cutting out many of the long balls that Georgians were trying to play through us.

That’s not to say we were dominating and it was all one way traffic.  Georgians were still creating some opportunities themselves with their better fitness levels enabling them to break quickly and the hit the post a couple of times.

Unfortunately our defensive resistance couldn’t quite last the duration of the half and the opposition notched up their third goal… coming from a long ball into the D!  For once not as well struck as previous ones, meaning it bobbled a little on its way through to the Georgians’ striker, who was just able to poke it through Paul’s legs as the keeper closed him down.

So another frustrating day on the pitch left us wondering where the goals will come from over the remaining couple of games this season… Answers on a postcard please!

POM, as with the last couple of weeks, was a close vote, a 4 way tie at one point eventually going in favour of Nick Radford for a particularly dominant display in the middle of the park.

Surbiton 8s 4-1 COWHC 3s

16^th March 2013

Match Report

OK, so I admit writing a match report nearly 1 month after the game itself does mean that my memory of events may be a little rusty.  I was hoping to utilise “helmet-cam” footage to boost recollection, but I’m assuming that keeper Paul Fennell has realised how horrific the film is and deleted it instantly!

So here goes – It was the final weekend of the 6 nations, the day before some festival where everything apparently turns green for the day, and we had been chosen to play the late slot on Surbiton’s water-based pitch.  Lucky us… well, I say that, we were playing the league leaders, were going to miss the start of the England – Wales game, and had (I think) only 10 players.

The match started and it soon became apparent why Surbiton were top, and they were definitely making the most of their extra man.  We managed to keep them at bay for a short while, although there was one nervy moment when Chris Maundrell deflected a strike from outside the D wide of our own goal (I knew exactly where it was going, even with my eyes closed…).  The first goal for the opposition duly arrived, although it took a while for most people to realise.  A shot was half cleared from just in front of the goal line to just outside the D, sadly straight to a Surbiton player who put it straight back in.  There was a touch from another Surbiton player inside the D and a faint “thunk”, however the ball still seemed to be outside the goal, albeit just on the line.  Paul and one opposition player then engaged in something of a private battle to keep the ball out/ in, while others stopped believing it was a goal, and indeed the umpire duly gave it.

A second goal came from a quickly taken sideline move, where the extra player was made to count as the ball was shuttled through a couple of players into the D and finished with aplomb.

Things remained at 2 – 0 until half time, and as we took our break we reflected on the fact that we were doing reasonably well at keeping the opposition at bay given we were a man down.

The second half was roughly similar, with a lot of Surbiton pressure but also us able to make some breaks out.  Nick Radford in particular was able to assert some dominance in the centre of midfield and the energy and tenacity of Jon Gaddion also making an impact.

However it also followed the first half in terms of the opposition scoring two goals.  Their third goal even we had to admit was very well worked, with again the use of the extra man proving key as they moved the ball quickly past us, before being finished by a player ghosting in at the back post.

I don’t remember much about the fourth, other than I think it was scored by the same player who had got the previous three!

We gave ourselves a brief glimmer of hope when Chris intercepted the ball on the 25 and worked it forward through Radders and whoever was right half (sorry whoever that was!).  They played the ball towards Trevor Marsh up front, however it was slightly too strong and ran through to a Surbition defender.  Trevor kept running though and put the player under enough pressure that he mis-controlled and the ball ran loose.  On it like a flash, Trevor took the ball into the D and finished with a reverse stick shot.

Sadly it was too little too late for us and we couldn’t pull the remaining 3 goals back.

POM went to Mr Gadion for his third of the season – one per game he’s played!