Rule 1: Don't do anything else and miss club day, the weather is always glorious! Rule 2: Why not take your holidays when club day is on you are guaranteed a suntan! Rule 3: Don't go on holiday - see rule 1. Yes it was another scorcher for club day as the event was once again brilliantly supported by the men in red & green and ladies in and red & black.

In pool 2 Mrs & Mrs Armsby said it wasn't a goal fest, but there was a lot of good hockey played by four teams who were evenly matched. Both were full of praise for the goal keepers Mssrs Hicks and Eland for the men and Ms Palmer for the ladies playing in her first club day excelling as a representative of Westberries. Team 7 were bottom of the pool with 2 draws and one defeat. Jordan Pardington's goal earned a point against Team 6. They also drew 1-1 against Team 8, but went down 2-1 to Team 5, with Phil Cockram getting a consolation goal. Also on 2 points but a better goal difference was Team 8 who earned two draws, 2-2 v Team 5 and 1-1 against Team 7. Joe Thomas was on target twice in the first game and Penny was the scorer in the second. Their one defeat was by 3-2 to Team 7 with Richard Beesley and Struan Wilkins being the scorers. It was tight at the top of the pool as well with the place in the final decided by a goal difference tie break decision, as both Teams 5 and 6 had 5 points each. The runners up were Team 6. Joe Thomas showed his predatory instincts despite his impending rest to get his leg right with two goals and Mary Page added the third in their 3-2 win over Team 8. Joe scored in the 1-1 draw with Team 7 and they fought out a goalless draw with Team 5. The top team in the pool turned out to be Team 5. Their 2-1 win v Team 7 came when Alex Webber and Gary Roper set each other with a goal each. Gary scored twice in the 2-2 draw with Team 8, whilst Team 6 held them to a goalless draw. Pool 1: There were slightly less goals in pool 1, but there was a big difference between the experience in the team,s but lots of effort put in by all four sides to make it an entertaining pool. The opening game saw a strong Team 1 stamp their authority on the game with an emphatic 3-0 win over Team 2. Max Longden at 17 was given the responsibility of being Team 2's play maker and nearly opened the scoring. Team 1 were kept at bay by great saves by Ed West, but all that was undone when a defender's 'hospital pass' gifted Chris Cutts the ball on the penalty spot for him to pick his spot to flick in. Steve Millman flicked in number two and Doug Ward struck the third. Teams 3 and 4 played an end to end game but neither side could get the ball between the posts, the nearest was a Justin Chave shot that came back off the post. Teams 1 and 3 were next up and Team 3 opened the scoring. Umpire Chris Cocks played a great advantage, as he could have awarded a short corner but allowed Dave Wornell to reach the dead ball line and whip in a thumping cross for Alex Yuill to turn in at the back post. Team 1 showed their strength as Will Holmes, who looked a class player all day scored two well worked goals to give Team 1 a comeback 2-1 win.. Team 4 played well to earn a 2-0 win against Team 2. Justin Chave rounded off one attack with a well take goal. The second goal was probably the best of the day. Neil Richardson went on one of his trademark wobbles from just inside the half way line, left - right,t past just about everybody in Team 2 finishing with a simple push past the keeper. A brilliant individual goal that earned a high five from one of his opponents. The comedy moment of the game came when Nathan Walkey was stick tackled by his own player, but in the crowded D the umpire thought it was a defensive clatter of sticks and gave a short corner, much to the surprise of the Team 4 defense. Team 3 against Team 2 saw Paul Mason's precise shot find the net. Team 2 then managed to put their best spell of the day together and fine skills by Max Longden enabled Martin Palmer to tap in an equaliser to make it 1-1. In the last pool game Team 4 needed to win and Team 1 a draw to make the final. Steve Millman scored at the back post after a great cross from the right. Steve's second goal showed how the master of control was able to make time and space in a crowded D to flick in an excellent goal. Close to the end Steve Puetz celebrated the arrival of his baby daughter with a good strike for Team 4.7th & 8th place final: Team 2 v 7. Team 7 had the class and control of Armsby, Ludley and Cockram and Watts, but they couldn't find a way to get past a defense masterminded by Mark Crofts, Chris Cocks and Paul Croker. Harry Jepson had the best chance for Team 7 and Nathan Walkey saw his best effort of the day tipped over the crossbar by Pete Murphy. The game finished 0-0 and in Nathan's words neither side had the 'wooden spoon' as they both finished 7th!5th & 6th place final. This was a high scoring game on the original sand pitch. Pete Ratcliffe was on target witha hat-trick as Team 3 won 4-2. Hugh Woodward and Struan Wilkins scored for Team 6.3rd & 4th place final. Joe Thomas opened the scoring for Team 6 as they opened strongly in the bronze medal match. The game turned on a fantastic Chris Butt goal. Chris was top of the D, left hand side and struck a superb reverse stick shot to find the far corner of the goal. Neil Richardson capped a fine day of skill and running (does he ever get tired) with the winning goal.

The Final. Some of the recent finals have been games contested by tired players, but this one was a classic. Steve Millman scored his 5th goal of the day to give Team 1 the lead. They had all the pedigree of a winning side. However, the popular support was with Team 5, who as a younger less experienced side put in a great team performance to turn the game around. Gary Roper equalised after a goal mouth melee. The game was end to end with saves from Martin Hicks and Pete Murphy at each end of the pitch. If you were to write the script for how this game would finish you couldn't write it any better than it happened. A Team 5 attack saw the ball moved left and Michelle Smith was there to meet the ball on the volley in the middle of her stick and find the net half way up the goal just inside the post. A memorable goal to win the game for her team. The high fives showed the appreciation of her skill in scoring. There was barely more than a minute left and Team 5 won the day to complete yet another highly successful club day. The winning team was: Murphy, Roper, Geddes, Andrews, Glorney, Banting G, Aitchison, Webber, Taylor, Smith, Iles.

Thanks go to Dave Wornell for organising another excellent day. Special mentions should go to the five goalkeepers who must have lost a stone in weight between them on a hot day as they excelled themselves with their goal keeping skills. Duncan Armsby made his long awaited comeback after his awful injury, his first action since September. The standard of play and the competitive nature of the games was a testament to the commitment of everyone to play proper hockey. A number of young players were involved in the day Parry, Jepson, Pardington, Lawrence and Webber who all showed the progress they have made since entering adult hockey. Thanks go to everyone who umpired and it was encouraging to see younger members like Will Holmes and Max Longden blowing the whistle. Max had to make a crucial decision to disallow a short corner goal that had been worked around the D but didn't hit the backboard as it was still the first shot. The next similar event will be 2nd club 7s in September.