| Westbury
& United Banks HC: Results for Saturday 25/11/06 |
| Team |
Opponents |
|
League |
Scr |
Scorers |
|
1st
XI |
v Cardiff |
A |
Premier 1 |
1-4 |
Roper |
|
2nd
XI |
v Bath Buccs III |
H |
North Div 1 |
1-3 |
Poulsom |
|
3rd
XI |
v Yate II |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 1 |
3-0 |
Taylor A 2 Catchpole |
| Wanderers |
v Bristol UWE III |
A |
Br & NW Som Div1 |
12-2 |
Jarvis 3 Rickard 3 Millman S 2 Lewis
2 Hobson Taylor M |
| Wizards |
v O Bristolians IV |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
4-3 |
Christopher Woodward Andrews Colton |
| Warriors |
v O Bristolians III |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
0-5 |
|
| Widgets |
v Bristol UWE IV |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 3 |
pst |
pitch only suitable for water polo! |
| Match
comments |
|
1st
XI: Village's view: It is fair to say that Cardiff are
the best side in the league. They played some great
hockey and deserved to win! Having
said that we played some great stuff and went in front
early on. They equalised shortly afterwards. The rest
of the 1st half was a tense affair played mainly in
our half, but we sneaked a couple of chances on the
break. Halftime 1-1!We battled well throughout the 2nd
half, but they dominated possession, which meant that
we had to do the extra leg work. Half way through the
half they scored 3 quick goals, mostly due to us turning
the ball over too easily. Struan (spelling?) nearly
got a debut goal right at the end, but the keeper got
in the way of a bullet. |
|
2nd
XI: Slider says: I did think that
Tucker was going to post his infamous, articulate 'summary'
of the weekend events... he's obviously still writing
his epic match report so a few words from me will tide
you over until his fluent text graces our screens...
Due to a training ground mishap involving
the lethal combination of Ger / Terry and a fast moving
hockey ball, the skipper had to sit out this match with
minor concussion and a seriously ugggly black eye. Having
to watch from the sidelines and not pick up a stick
was a difficult experience.The
game was a gritty encounter. For 35 mins the 2's struggled
to find their both their rhythm and their range, with
many passes missing the mark. By conceding so much turnover
ball the team made it hard work for themselves and though
the efforts were good, Westbury rarely threatened. An
improved 2nd half saw us match Bath for 25 mins and
an early goal from Psycho brought hope. Sadly, a cruel
call on Platform brought Bath their second and they
never looked back. Bath controlled the last 10mins and
the third came before the close.It
was good to see Bees make his return to the 2's with
an excellent, dogged performance though it has left
him needing an amputation on both of his tired legs.
North Bristol, 1pm this week for a return to form! |
|
3rd
XI: Yate had most of the possession
in the first half and looked a good side, but they slipped
up in two aspects. Firstly they didn't penetrate the
D and Ron Wheeler only had a save in each half and secondly
they couldn't keep up with Gary Catchpole. Frank Gibbs
through ball was not stopped by the defender leaving
Gary a clear run at goal from just inside the halfway
line. Gary expertly placed his shot past the advancing
keeper. Alex Taylor was close with a couple of glancing
efforts and there were not many Westbury chances. Chris
Cutts took control of the ball and after beating several
defenders (some of them twice) he delivered a brilliant
cross for Alex Taylor to guide in at the far post. The
thirds without ever really taking a firm grip on the
game were comfortably ahead at half time. It was more
of the same in the second half, with both defences cutting
out most attacks. Jimmer was very prominent for the
threes and his fellow defenders looked well in control
when they had possession. When Yate did earn a flurry
of short corners they were pressured into shooting wide.
Finally with the last touch of the game Alex Taylor
swept in the third goal. Andy Griffin said afterwards
it was not the usual third team performance, but it
ensures that the thirds remain top of their division
and add 3 more to their goal difference. |
|
Wanderers:
The Wanderers were on fire as they dominated the game
and demolished Bristol UWE by 12 goals to 2. JJ reached
his ton with his first goal and added two more just
for fun to complete a hat-trick, he has now scored 12
goals in a successive games. Geoff Rickard notched a
hat-trick of his own and there were two for Tufty and
two for Johan Lewis who was playing his first game for
the Wanderers. Rich Hobson and skipper Matt Taylor completed
the scoring. The Wanderers have been unbeaten in their
last 5 games and scored 25 goals in their last three. |
|
Wizards:
The Wizards were not their lethal selves in the first
half as O Bristolians were quicker to the ball and more
inventive in their passing. The Wizards had the first
scoring chance with their opening move, but the ball
was hit wide of the post. O Bs then scored twice and
then got a third as the half was drawing to a close.
A Westbury short corner fell to Alan Christopher who
prodded the ball over the line to give the Wizards some
hope. In the second half it was a totally different
Wizards, who took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Hugh Woodward closed the gap with a goal. There was
a long period of Westbury pressure. A third goal looked
on the cards. George Banting, Charlie Knight, Mark Crofts
and Si Andrews were controlling the midfield. When the
equaliser came it was stunning flick from the edge of
the D by Si Andrews. There was a lot of 'whooping and
hollering' in delight at pulling back to 3-3. BUT, the
Wizards were not finished there. A short corner came
to Mark Colton who hammered the ball home. There was
still time for both keepers to make further saves. There
were cheers from the team on the final whistle and the
Wizard's place at the top of the table was secured.
This was a great team effort and it was good to see
Andy Cameron back after his hand injury and Alex Payne
and Poker did a grand job man marking the two O Bs forwards
and shutting out their threat. Well done the Wizards
- a great comeback. |
| Warriors: The
Warriors were unlucky to lose by 5 goals. Brian Nichols
told me afterwards that there was an element of misfortune
in 4 of the goals, some which might not have been given
on another day on another pitch. |
| Widgets: The
previous match was abandoned on the water and the Widgets
game therefore never got started. |
| Westbury
& United Banks HC: Results for Saturday 18/11/06 |
| Team |
Opponents |
|
League |
Scr |
Scorers |
|
1st
XI |
v Bristol Univ |
H |
Premier 1 |
2-4 |
Richardson Roper |
|
2nd
XI |
v Bristol Univ II |
A |
North Div 1 |
3-1 |
Pearce-Smith 2 Tucker |
|
3rd
XI |
v Bristol UWE III |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 1 |
5-0 |
Cutts 2 Bell 2 Nichols G |
| Wanderers |
v O Bristolians II |
A |
Br & NW Som Div1 |
7-2 |
Millman S 3 Taylor M Rickard Carter
Jarvis |
| Wizards |
v N Bristol III |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
2-2 |
Woodward 2 |
| Widgets |
v Robinsons VI |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 3 |
4-2 |
Pope 2 Ogilvie Walkey |
| Match
comments Today
the club put out 95 players in 8 teams, 6 in the league
and two in friendlies. |
|
Meaks
writes: 1st XI: After almost scoring within
30 seconds we found ourselves a goal down from a short
corner. The score was level at halftime after Nellor
connected from a short corner of our own. With the Uni
hassling and pestering whenever we had the ball we still
couldn't find our rhythm. A penalty stroke (Deaks took
the ball), a fortunate goal from a short corner and
a well converted breakaway saw the Uni 4-1 up with not
long to go. Meanwhile,
verbal abuse and stick tackles swiftly earned yellow
cards, 2 for each side. We did get one back at the end,
a Village through ball nearly decapitating the umpire
who managed to see Shads get a deflection whilst being
on his backside. Despite the frustration we battled
to the end, never once losing the plot with each other
and always being positive.The support from the rest
of the club and 'associates' (age range, T minus 3 weeks
up to Webster) was fantastic throughout. Tommy Alger,
who has been away revising for his umpiring exams (international
level), providing constant feedback for the umpires.Roll
on Cardiff next weekend (minus the skipper and JP). |
|
Slider
says:2nd XI: I had thought
about competing with Tucker to see who could write the
longest match report this week, but I'm not sure I could
equal his inspired (if rather self-praising) writings
of last week's epic cup match. Instead, I'll be brief...
We won... again!Even with Alger playing,
the best sweeping on show undoubtably occurred before
the match; as the whole team (with the noticeable exception
of Platform Pete, who curiously chose not to help but
to practice his 'dangerous' drag flicks instead) spent
20 minutes removing surface water from our beloved Dingle
pitch. Showing great teamwork, the 2's did a wonderful
job of getting the pitch into playable condition.So
impressive was our start to the game that we'll be adding
'pitch sweeping' into our warm-ups from now on. We passed
crisply, tackled hard, looked impressive at the back,
awesome in midfield and dangerous up front. We controlled
the game for most of the 1st half producing some of
our best hockey of the season. It was the Silver Fox
JPS who opened the scoring with a poachers finish to
end a sweet Westbury move. Only once did the Uni threaten
when Clint was left exposed and was required to destroy
one of the Uni forwards... a flick? nope! A short corner...
a sharp piece of work from the skipper broke down the
ensuing Uni short, and we broke downfield at lightning
speed putting numerous Arsenal-style passes together
and finishing the move with Tucker's gentle prod of
the ball over the line. 2-0 and in control.The Uni got
one back when a lucky bobble from the poorly laid edge
of the Dingle 'D' was stabbed home by a sneaky forward
and a few tense moments followed until... we took control
of the game again and attacked with vigour. The Silver
Fox again popped up to score our 3rd goal with a sublime
finish to seal a cracking victory and make it 6 wins
on the trot (inc. Tucker's cup match) for the 2's.Great
stuff gents. We're creeping up the league now with 15
points and 6th place. Top stuff! |
|
3rd
XI: The third team were back on course
as they demolished Bristol UWE. Normal service has now
been resumed with five goals for, and a clean sheet
at the other end. Chris Cutts hit the target twice as
did Belly. Gareth Nichols completed the scoring. The
thirds are two points ahead of Robs and seven ahead
of Firebrands at the top of the table. |
|
Wanderers:
A fine win for the Wanderers. Normal service was resumed
here as well, with Tufty getting a hat-trick in the
7-2 early morning win at O Bristolians. The other goals
were shared between Matt Taylor, Geoff Rickard, Steve
Carter and of course the customary JJ goal taking him
to 99. In fact JJ has scored his 9 goals in 7 successive
games. This result means the Wanderers leap-frog above
O Bs in the table to 5th place. |
|
Wizards:
Hugh Woodward scored a superb goal after 2 minutes.
Picking the ball up on the left wing he cut in, hit
the D at the inside right spot and hammered an unstoppable
cross shot. The second goal came three minutes in the
second half, again Hugh was the scorer after a short
corner shot came to him. The Wizards were in the driving
seat and pressing for the killer third goal. Shots flew
all over the place but not between the posts. Smurf
made three excellent saves, but then N Bristol got a
stroke and then an equaliser when a lofted shot that
was going wide was deflected in. Chances were still
created to win the game, but some good goalkeeping and
a clearance off the line left the Wizards with just
one point. The team are still top of the table. |
|
Widgets: Three
league wins is breaking new ground for the resurgent
Widgets. James Pope added two more to his tally, Nathan
Walkey scored once as did Duncan Ogilvie. They are now
7th out of 12 teams in their division, giddy heights
for the team. Well done to Brian Callis for master-minding
an important victory. |
| Westbury
& United Banks HC: Results for Saturday 11/11/06 |
| Team |
Opponents |
|
League |
Scr |
Scorers |
|
2nd
XI |
v Leominster |
H |
North Div 1 |
2-1 |
Colquhoun Hancock |
|
2nd
XI |
v Isca II (Sunday 12/11/06) |
A |
HA 2nd XI Trophy |
2-1 |
Small Colquhoun |
|
3rd
XI |
v Robinsons IV |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 1 |
2-3 |
Beesley Nichols G |
| Wanderers |
v S Glos H |
H |
Br & NW Som Div1 |
6-2 |
Taylor M 2 Jarvis 2 Millman S Evans
G |
| Wizards |
v Robinsons V |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
9-3 |
Palmer M 4 Holmes A 2 Scott Puetz
Christopher |
| Warriors |
v Firebrands VI |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
2-3 |
Money 2 |
| Widgets |
v Imperial |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 3 |
2-4 |
Fox J Chase |
| Match
comments |
|
2nd
XI: Slider Says: Saturday - 2:1 win
vs Leominster. Another great win
means it's 4 out of 4 for a buoyant 2nd team. You must
excuse my uninspired writing, its late after a corking
away victory against ISCA in the cup today and the body
and mind hurt horribly following today's heroics (more
on this to come from the vice captains report on Monday...
oh yeah, Tucker missed a gem of a sitter today which
he'll probably omit from his match report).Anyway, to
Saturday - we won! Played very well at times... Moved
the ball crisply... Battled well... TC scored a lovely
goal to out us one up... Platform Pete took one on the
'knee' for the team... Several of our team began yelling
at each other... not sure this is necessary gents. Leominster
equalised rather fortunately... We lost Tony to the
red mist... The 10 men battled on... Herbie Hancock
popped up on our tried and trusted 'castle two' short
corner move, to hammer home the winner. The 10-men held
on for dear life... The defence held firm... The 10-men
controlled the last 5mins to seal a fantastic 3points.Great
won lads. We are playing with great confidence now we've
had a consistent side for a few weeks. Bring on the
Uni next week...Many thanks to all of the 1sts and friends
who gave us great support.Good night from a tired Slider. |
|
2nd
XI: Tucker's
Tribulations: I am so sore - it hurts to write.... After
a hard fought win on Saturday, the ‘in form’
2nd eleven traveled to Exeter for a Sunday afternoon
Cup match against Isca A (a Prem 3 side probably relishing
an easy win against a North-Div 1 team).Westbury were
slightly changed after loosing a couple of regulars
from Saturday’s line-up, and in came a dynamic
trio of replacements allowing the much awaited comeback
of Tom 'now using his dad's stick' Alger…..The
game started at a fast pace, with crisp, precise passing
moves from both teams providing good spectator end-to-end
viewing for the Isca supporters, Tom Alger's wife, Tom
Alger's sister and his new puppy - who had all turned
out for the spectacle!First blood went to Westbury;
starting from deep, the skipper broke free and passed
to Nick (sitting in as replacement center half) who
then linked through Tucker (having an awesome game as
support striker) and onto Limbo just inside the opposition
25. What then happened can only be described as ‘sublime’
as Limbo performed ‘taxidermy’ by stuffing
both Isca full backs and then driving a shot past the
keeper into the bottom left – Limbo went mad,
Westbury were lifted, and the Isca supporters knew their
team now had a proper match on their hands.With the
game then transcending into a tense period of play and
strong tackles going in from all areas, a yellow card
was inevitable at some point, and it was unfortunate
to see Isca get a man sent off in such a keenly fought
match. Even more unfortunate, was the sight of the Isca
captain struggling to contain his anger at the decision
and getting 10 mins in the sin-bin himself for a ‘Webster-like’
retort. Westbury tried to make the most of an 11 on
9 period of play, but despite some patient build up
(again through Tucker - picking up passes all over the
place) couldn’t pressure Isca enough to widen
the score line before half time. After a much needed
rest, we started the second half with our usual 10-15min
period of ‘route-one’ hockey, and a slump
in performance, however the team morale stayed strong,
and with Billings and Watts beginning to dominate down
the right hand side, and Ger and Strewan securing the
left, another strong period of play prevailed. A great
move, via the Nick-Tucker combination in midfield sent
the ball through to a scampering TC, and with a swift
reverse-stick shot past the Isca keeper’s right
foot the score line increased to 2-0.Isca then threw
everything, including the kitchen sink (full of burnt
baked beans) at us and tested the Westbury defence to
the full. Alger was in superious form, controlling the
game from the back and giving Ger, Pete and the Skipper
a solid base to move from, even Tucker was seen sprinting
back to help secure the barracks! To not give to credit
to Isca’s perseverance would be cruel though,
and after a high-pressure period of play in the Westbury
25, not even Ron (who was having a solid game between
the posts) could keep out a tasty little reverse stick
shot from the Isca forward, 2-1.With 10 mins to go it
was all about Westbury, several neat passing moves supplied
opportunities for young Nichols, TC and Limbo, but despite
these and an 'out of character' miss by the maverick
Tucker we couldn’t quite hammer the final nail
into the Isca coffin. At full time a 2-1 win was all
that was needed, and as any extra time would surely
of seen mass cramp and lactic overdose - a good job
too!Congratulations to all Westbury players, if we continue
this way – we’ll be very difficult to deal
with! |
|
3rd
XI: With the captain away, the thirds
fell to their first defeat of the season against Robinsons.
3-2 was the score, Bees and Gareth Nichols were the
scorers, this was goal number 50 for Bees. No doubt
this will just be a single blip, in what was until today
the perfect start. The thirds are still top 3 points
ahead of today's opponents. |
|
Wanderers:
S Glos came and stunned the Wanderers by taking a 2
goal lead with two smart strikes at goal, when some
of the home defenders had gone walkabout. The Wanderers
worked their way back in control and by half time were
3-2 ahead. Tufty struck from a short, Matt Taylor from
a short that was switched around the D, and JJ after
a foot on the line. Matt's goal was his 50th for the
club. Before the umpire could blow, JJ pounced to tuck
away the rebound. The second half was more like the
Wanderers of old, with Gareth Evans looking a great
threat in the centre of midfield. Stig's through ball
gave JJ another chance that he took coolly. Then the
move of the match finished with JJ laying the ball off
for Matt Taylor to score. Gareth Evans scored his first
goal for the club with Stig claiming the vital assist
in the crowded D. JJ is now just two goals from retirement
and the Wanderers have a respectable 50% playing record. |
|
Wizards:
The Wizards were quickly ahead with another Doug Scott
goal with in minutes of the start. Robinsons equalised
but almost immediately Adam Holmes knocked in a rebound
from Steve Puetz's short corner. Steve then lived up
to his recently acquired 'Thunderbolt' nickname with
a thumping strike. Adam Holmes then added his second
after Alan Christopher's shot was saved, Adam swept
in the rebound. Si Andrews and Charlie Knight provided
the class in midfield with everyone else playing simple
but effective hockey around them. Robinsons pulled a
goal back to make it interesting. Alan Christopher after
several good chances notched his goal to restore a 3
goal advantage. Then it was the turn of Martin Palmer
to finish off several good moves to score 4. Cocksy,
Doug Scott and Alan Christopher all made telling passes
that were tapped in from close range. Robs did get a
third, but the 9-3 win for the Wizards was a fine result
against the team formerly in third place. Steve Puetz
and Tim Denner played well and everyone contributed
to an excellent result. |
|
Warriors: The
Warriors pulled back two goals but lost to Firebrands
3-2. Dave Money was on target twice. |
|
Widgets:
Challis' corner: The Widgets were unable to keep their
winning run going after meeting a strong Imperial side
which ended in a 4-2 defeat. The Widgets played well
through the majority of the match although we lost our
way in the second quarter. The first goal of the game
came from the Widgets through a short corner which came
loose after the first strike on goal which with assistance
from Joel Chase was put away by Jon Fox. Imperial were
taken aback by this and upped their game and with their
strong forward attack and ability in getting behind
the Widgets defence gained the equaliser. This marked
a sustained attack from Imperial in which they were
able to score another two goals. The Widgets although
down were able to pick the game up again and just prior
to half time managed a second goal scored by Joel Chase
with assistance from Harry Newington. The
second half saw a much more cohesive performance from
the Widgets and had it not arrived with a good second
half performance from the Imperial goal keeper the score
line could have been different. The Widgets defence
performed much better in this half and were able to
keep the Imperial out with some good saves by Richard
Gee. One more goal though did get awarded to Imperial
which came from a free hit from what was a rather poor
decision from the umpire . Overall the Widgets can feel
proud of their performance and gave Imperial an excellent
game which I think they thought they were going to walk
way with. |
| Westbury
& United Banks HC: Results for Saturday 4/11/06 |
| Team |
Opponents |
|
League |
Scr |
Scorers |
|
1st
XI |
v Taunton |
H |
Premier 1 |
1-2 |
Frost J |
|
2nd
XI |
v Lansdown |
A |
North Div 1 |
2-1 |
Colquhoun Armsby |
|
3rd
XI |
v N Bristol II |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 1 |
5-0 |
Bell 3 Pearce-Smith Nichols G |
| Wanderers |
v Firebrands V |
A |
Br & NW Som Div1 |
1-1 |
Jarvis |
| Wizards |
v Somerset Gryphons III |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
3-1 |
Scott Palmer M Colton |
| Warriors |
v W Glos IV |
A |
Br & NW Som Div 2 |
0-7 |
|
| Widgets |
v S Glos II |
H |
Br & NW Som Div 3 |
6-3 |
Chase 3 Pope 2 Newington |
| Match
comments |
|
1st
XI: Village's view: It is fair to say that the entire
first team felt robbed after this game. However, I guess
that we have nobody to blame but ourselves. Frosty over
heard the oppo saying that if we had some good forwards
we would have won...but that is off the mark. The forwards
played really well and there are at least 7 people that
could have scored today. We
started well and went 1-0 up midway through the first
half, a half which we dominated. Then just after half
time we let in a weak equaliser. We then pressed forward
and should have scored 4 or 5. The TV keeper had a great
game, alongside their skipper at the back, who always
seemed to be there to block the shot....frustrating
as that was a point would have been okay....sadly when
it isn't your day things don't work like that. TV got
another one on the break with 6 or 7 mins to go. We
still had 5 or 6 chances to equalise, but we were a
bit like Arsenal in the champions league midweek....it
was just not our day.This was our best performance of
the season and probably the best performance by a Westbury
team that I can remember....the whole team worked tirelessly
throughout the game and we played some great hockey.
Sadly the result wasn't what we wanted |
|
2nd
XI: Slider says:2nd XI:
This was a fantastic win for the 2nds, giving us 3 wins
on the trot and taking us to a pleasant 6th place in
our league. We were excellent
for 30mins - playing some of our best hockey of the
season. Organisation at the back was spot on, the passing
was crisp, the skills were perfect and with the movement
off the ball being superb, every player was provided
with several passing options. Because of this we controlled
the half. Moonie forced a great save from the keeper,
and it was TC who opened the scoring with a classy finish
into the top corner. Our solid midfield 4 controlled
possession, and the forwards all had great games and
were all unlucky to not increase our lead.As is our
tradition though, we went off the boil for 20mins in
the second half and got punished. Lansdown came out
after half time fighting... literally. They niggled,
pushed, shoved and fouled their way back into the game,
even resorting to their 16yr-old verbally abusing the
elderly Webster and their best player punching the skipper!
No cards were shown!We also lost our heads a bit, both
at the umpires and with each other - as such we were
poor for 20mins. We should have been punished for our
ill-discipline but were rescued by 3 fantastic saves
from Clint. When composure returned, and we began to
play with our heads again, the skipper picked up the
rebound from another TC shot and nicked the winner.If
we control our desire to rant at each other when things
turn sour, we will build on this great performance and
should cause most teams problems. To a man, we played
superbly and rightly came out winners. Job done! |
|
3rd
XI: Griff's report: A professional
solid performance saw the 3rds secure a comfortable
5-0 victory against North Bristol A. Once again it was
a team performance with goals from Chris Bell (3) ,
JPS and Gareth Nichols. Man of the Match – Gareth
Nichols. The threes now have a 5 point lead over their
nearest rivals, with an impressive goal tally of 38-1. |
|
Wanderers:
The Wanderers drew with Firebrands with JJ getting his
6th goal of the season JJ's COUNTDOWN is now 4.
This was a good point to take against a team
in 4th position in their league. |
|
Wizards:
The Wizards leapfrogged over Somerset Gryphons to the
top of the table taking away the home teams unbeaten
record. Gryphons could not deal with the pace and drive
of the Westbury midfield with Doug Scott, 'Middle Aged
Guy' (Croftsy) and Hugh Woodward driving forward at
every opportunity. Doug open the scoring when a short
corner was switched to him. Within minutes Martin Palmer
latched onto a cross and slid it home. The quality of
play was excellent and the defence dealt with what the
Gryphons could throw at them. In the second half the
home team stepped up a gear, and Smurf had to make three
sharp saves in succession. Cocksy cleared one of the
line for a second week in a row. A Westbury short was
moved around the D until Mark Colton swept it in for
number three. Gryphons | | | |