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.