Feymous last words: The Cardinals approached their penultimate summer league fixture (against Bristol & West 'B') in good heart following our well-earned draw at Long Ashton Frys. It was evident from early on that this would be a similarly close contest between two well-matched teams. We had a few defensive problems early on as our much-changed midfield diamond got their bearings, but we worked our way into the game. Our numbers had reduced from 13 to 11 on the day of the game, which was not a problem in itself, but it did mean that we had to move Alan Sparks back into defence and James Pope back into midfield, which limited our attacking options. So whilst we worked hard and did carve out some chances they were limited. Our defence though looked in good nick and we were also able to limit Bristol & West’s chances, so it was no surprise when the half-time scoreline was 0-0.The second half carried on in much the same vein. Bristol & West did more of the pressing but struggled to find a real cutting edge, whilst we had some chances in the break. Ultimately the game was decided by three moments in our D in the last quarter.First Bristol & West forced the ball home and a goal was given. Personally I didn’t spot anything wrong with it but others seemed to think that a Bristol & West foot was involved and after a consultation between the umpires the ‘goal’ was disallowed. Then a Bristol 7 West player had a clear swing at the ball from a central position near the top of the D but a Westbury players stick impeded the downswing from behind, only for a Westbury hit to be given. We were fortunate it wasn’t a short, but a really harsh umpire could have given a flick.Our luck ran out with third incident about ten minutes from time. I made a block tackle on the top of the D, the ball ran inches behind the Bristol & West player who was no longer trying to play the ball but who blocked me as I tried to move forward to take possession. As I was blocked another Bristol & West player picked it up on the run from immediately behind the tackled player – his initial effort at goal was blocked but the ball fell to a teammate who was able to put the ball into an open goal. For me it was clearly a defensive hit for obstruction, third man or otherwise.And that proved to be that, a 1-0 defeat. Apologies for the rant, but it was hard on all the side who had tried hard throughout a close game to lose it in that fashion. Results have been hard to come by this summer and we were close to getting one. In truth if one team deserved to edge the game on the balance of play and territory, it was Bristol & West. However they would have had little to complain about if it had ended in a draw.Despite my comments about a couple of individual decisions I would like to thank the umpires (including our own George Banting) for a generally good game.I would also like to thank the following who played their last game of the summer for us on Tuesday for their efforts – Martin Eland, Duncan Ogilvie, Sam Parker and John Ludley (who was typically tireless and creative on Tuesday). I would like to give a special mention to Martin Eland who had another good game and whose shotstopping has been outstanding all summer. If we were having a player of the summer he would be a strong candidate. It's true that he has let in a few goals, but it has rarely been his fault – at least he has had enough action to justify his match fee.One game to go – away in Wells. One last effort guys. Let’s go out with a bang not a whimper!

Feymous last words: Breaking news! The Cardinals are not pointless. It has been a tough summer for the Cardinals with a string of league defeats, some of them heavy, but the sequence was broken with a hard fought draw away to Long Ashton Frys, a team who had defeated us last season.There were two key elements to the Cardinals approach. One was to introduce a four man midfield diamond with Toby Whitehead on the right, Dave Wornell on the left, Alan Sparks at the base and Tom Ash furthest forward. The second was to make a positive effort to start the game strongly and not to concede early goals (as has happened with alarming regularity lately) and thus to establish a foothold in the game.In fact we nearly committed our customary Cardinal sin of conceding a very early goal, but we had a stroke of luck as umpire Martin Rees blew for a short corner just before the ball was struck home. Otherwise though we were much sharper and more committed in the first quarter than in recent matches and we began to play with more confidence and fluency. We were rewarded midway through the half when a team move involving Messrs. Sparks, Ash, Palmer and Whitehead took the ball from the left jand side to the right hand channel, then back to the top left of the D where Dave Wornell arrived to strike the ball home decisively.Though there was defending to be done, the four man midfield were doing a good job of assisting the solid back line of Aitchison, Nichols and Rose and we looked as though we would hold on to our lead until half time. Indeed Martin Palmer and James Pope both had decent opportunities to extend the lead.Unfortunately late in the half an opposition slap towards goal took a deflection off Martin Fey’s foot causing it to creep in at the far post past the otherwise solid and indomitable Martin Eland.The second half carried on in much the same vein, a good competitive contest. We had an early scare when the opposition hit the post and a very late one when they came close to snatching a far post winner in the dying seconds. That would have been harsh though as in between the Cardinals gave as good as they got. James Pope, Simon Hewitt and Martin Palmer worked hard and combined well as the rotating front two and we engineered some chances of our own, including a couple of one on ones with their keeper, but we were unable to break the deadlock.Overall an excellent team performance. We are a team who very rarely have the luxury of fielding any star players from top level teams (though we often have to play against some), so we have to battle for 70 minutes to get results in this league. That’s what we did on Wednesday, and that is exactly how we have got some excellent results against good sides in recent seasons. (And I tell you what, it’s really satisfying when you do it). It is up to us now to keep it going for the last couple of games and finish the season on a high note.

Palmer's prattle: The Cardinals were not at the races for the first 15 minutes of their home game with S Glos. A strong team on paper were blown away as early goals by S Glos that left a mountain to be climbed. S Glos started by pushing the ball to us, got it back, and three passes later an unmarked forward arrived in the D to pick his spot with just 20 seconds having passed since the starting whistle! Two more goals followed as edged shots were going wide and a S Glos forward arrived at the back post to nudge them in. In between the first two goals Max Longden was unlucky to see his reverse stick shot hit the far post and cannon back into play. Harry Newington had to powerful short corner strikes saved. The first rattled the keeper's pads, the second caught the runner out's stick and flew just over the bar. Graham Aitchinson pulled off a spectactular goal line clearance, but a few minutes later S Glos scored again. The visitors had a classy centre forward who had skill, pace, agility and confidence. He was able to worm his way through a crowded D to score. He must have scored or had a hand in almost every S Glos goal during the game. If he plays for them in the winter they will be a much stronger side in seasons to come. By half time we were 5-0 down and looking at a severe thrashing. Martin Fey, at half time, made the point that we didn't start playing in the first 15 minutes and that we must raise our game. The troops regrouped and battled away in the second half. Yes, S Glos scored three more goals, but the Cardinals were getting the ball forward and making a game of it. A short corner was earned and the final whistle went at 8-0. Harry Newington shaped up for the final strike of the game. He hit the ball with such venom that the defenders could not react. The ball hit the keeper's foot and deflected up into the roof of the net to make the score 8-1.

Webster's waffle: Games against Robinsons are usually good close games and this was to be no different. We had the worst possible start going 2-0 down in the 1st 5 minutess, but we picked ourselves up Chris Poulsom scoring a good goal to put us back in the game. A great run from the returning Zeyn Mulla meant a nice easy tap in to make it level. Good work from Alex Webber resulting in another goal and it looked like we might go in to half time in the lead but Robs hadn't finished yet! 3-3 at half time and the next goal was always gonning to be important and alas Robs got it. The last 20 minutess was a bit of a blur with some tired hockey being played especially by Westbury. Final score 6-4 to Robs. I must say that once again a young Westbury side played very well against a opposition who apart from one young player had a full adult team. Even though results have not gone ourway recently, the standard in this league this year has been very high and our young lads have matched much older players blow for blow. I've been very proud of the lads this summer. Lets keep it going at Bath next week against top of the table.

Ratcliffe's ramblings: Thanks Tony.Scorers - Webster 3, Poulsom . Old MOM - Webster Young MOM - Wanklyn. A disappointing result because we so nearly had them. As well as the goals we had some unconverted opportunities. We tired in the second half of the second half and started giving the ball away cheaply, which was our downfall and I have noticed throughout the season that our defence is vulnerable to breakaway attacks. Apart from that a lot of hard work from everyone and plenty of good passing hockey played and skill from the youngsters. Chris Poulsom's goal was a turning point in the first half that inspired us to come back at them. Tony Webster reliably slotted in a hat trick set up, as he says, by Alex Webber for one and Zeyn Mulla for two. Josh Wanklyn did some fine work in attack. He looks more and more assured each time he plays.

Cameron's corner: After a tough game the previous week, this game wasn't quite so one sided. We should have been right in the game, but always seemed to be slightly off the pace in terms of our passing, movement and thinking. A couple of very handy Bristol players were caused us trouble throughout and brief lapses in concentration cost us dearly - costing us 3 goals in the first half. We had some bright moments in attack, where we looked like we could cause real problems, but didn't manage to convert.In the second half, we were significantly brighter and more decisive in our play. This gave us much more possesion and pressure, which eventually led to Tim Dawson slotting away a screamer from a well worked short corner.Sadly, they scored 2 more goals, and the game finished 5-1 to Bristol. Probably a fair result on the balance of play, but disappointing nonetheless. 

Palmer's prattle:  The Cardinals and Devils fought out an 'end to end' return friendly match. Both sides showed a desire to win the ball and use it creatively. The first goal of the game came when a move down the right saw Josh Wanklyn receive the ball on the left hand side of the D. His first shot hit Graham Aitchinson in the chest, he responded to the rebound by hitting in in the gap between Ed West the keeper on vacation from Cambridge University and the near post. The Devils posed a number of threats in going forward and it took some typical solid Cardinals defending to prevent a second goal going in. Martin Fey, Graham Aitchinson, Alan Sparks and Ernie Wise had to be at the top of their game to keep a rein on the Devil's forwards. At the other end the Cardinals were making chances and Sam Banting had to be alert to prevent them scoring. The four man midfield of Ash, Ludley, Spencer and Yuill were working well together for the Cardinals, and is wasn't a surprise when Tom Ash took the ball down the right, his cross was clipped to Dunca Ogilvie who was in his usual preditory position at the back post, to sweep in the equaliser. The game conintued to tetter backwards and forwards as both sides pressed to gain the advantage. Tom Ash again provided the telling ball from the right and Martin Palmer thumped in the goal which rewarded a long spell of Cardinal's pressure. The Devils were by no means out of it, with Richard Beesley prompting a series of attacks, and firing in some massive crosses. Josh Wanklyn did get the ball in the net, but the goal was cancelled because of an attacking foot being involved in the build up. In the dying minutes the Cardinals earned a short corner. John Ludley's shot played bagatelle with Chris Tomlinson's feet and stick, before running to Martin Fey, who rammed in the loose ball only to see the umpire had blown for the pentalty stroke. The stroke was duely despatched by Martin Palmer and a few moments later the final whistle went. This win for the Cardinals came after a run of 9 defeats. There were strong performances from all 11 Cardinals on duty, but Tom Ash, Antony Spencer and John Ludley were in excellent form. Alex Yuill offered skill and guile as an attacking right midfielder. For the Devils is was good to see Paul Croker wield a stick for the first time since last September. He was able to put in some key tackles and was able to get around the pitch with greater flexibility. Richard Beesley, Dave Ratcliffe, Chris Tomlinson and George Banting used their experience to get the best out of their young players. Ben Lipfriend was a threat when he had the ball and Pete Ratcliffe and Nick Slater worked hard for their side to counter the Cardinals midfield. Josh Wanklyn looks very Websteresque in his good stopping and control of the ball, the way he runs and his shooting ability. Graham Aitchinson has two bruise to show for his big hitting. Thanks go to Steve Puetz and Martin Rees for their confident, well positioned umpiring. They allowed the game to flow and contributed to a good evening's entertainment.

Cameron's corner: We turned up in Bath with a bare eleven players on a warm Summer's night, little suspecting what an education in hockey would be coming our way. However, when I was reliably informed that there was a Scotland interational and an England B player amongst the opposition ranks, I started to wonder if this game might be a little bit tricky.When their third goal went in after about 15 minutes - their centre back dancing around 3 or 4 of our defenders before calmly slotting a reverse stick strike into the top left corner of the net - I knew it was a damage limitiation exercise. Despite a fully committed, battling performance, we went in 5-0 down at half time.But then our luck changed. Dom Harris couldn't make it out for the second half after taking a nasty blow to the foot. Our performance with 10 men was so resolute that they only managed another 4 goals in the second half! Final Score 9-0 to the Rascals.Whilst obviously this looks bad on paper, I honestly think that this was the best performance the Bishops have given so far this Summer. Everyone fought hard for every ball and supported each other 100% in attack and defence. The forward line in particular (all one of them in the second half), ran themselves into the ground to try to keep the hordes at bay. In truth were were simply beaten by a much better team and some excellent finishing. If we could replicate this performance against some of our other opponents, we would have more results to our name this year.

Ratcliffe's ramblings: A lacklustre first half from the Devils, very much on the defensive against a Chippenham B side that might just have had some elements of Chippenham A or even Chippenham within it. Some very good work from Pete Murphy brought us to half time 0-0. After some inspirational half time words from Tony Webster, and some tactical re-organisation by Dave Wornell, the Devils started the second half with rather more bite and were 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go, both goals from Tony, though the second was made by Josh Wanklyn – in Tony’s words: “All the credit goes to Josh A great run beating 3 players, also being fouled a couple of times, then a square pass leaving me with an open goal. It was like playing with Frosty again. That’s praise enough.”Unfortunately, Chippenham then upped their game a bit and managed three goals on the trot – two breakaways and one from a short corner.All the same it was a good game, hard fought and, although disappointing, no one begrudged Chippenham their win.Old man of the match – Tony for goals. Young man of the match – Peter Ratcliffe for speed, tackling, distribution and switching positions on demand.Thanks to Andy Cameron for umpiring, and doing it very well, and to Pete Murphy, Alistair Jacklin and Worney for guesting.Team (6 adult, 8 youth) – Murphy, Jacklin, Ratcliffe D, Minchin G, Tomlinson, Laurence, Maydew, Wornell, Slater N, Webber, Jepson, Ratcliffe P, Wanklyn, Webster.

Feymous last words:  The Cardinals suffered another defeat this week, this time to Shepton Mallett. On the plus side though, it was a cracking game of hockey (well umpired by Martin Palmer and Roger Montague), the Cardinals played their best hockey of the summer so far and as a result emphatically ended their four game goal drought. The Cardinals played some good team hockey throughout – our team moves and ball retention clearly benefitting from the presence of Terry Watts in midfield, ably assisted by Tom Ash and Anthony Spencer. Unfortunately we went a goal behind when a Shepton short corner broke down and one of their players pushed the ball in the direction of the goal from the top of the D, more in hope and expectation, only for the ball to creep inside the post. In response Simon Hewitt had a good short corner strike saved, but Shepton broke quickly from the rebound at scored a second. Aliatair Jacklin, desperate for a Westbury goal before his imminent departure stuck the next short corner. It was heading well wide but somehow Toby Whitehead controlled it and steered it back into the heart of the D, where Martin Fey steered it home first time. 2-1 down at half time we knew it would still be hard to get a result against a good Shepton side, but our hopes were raised when Martin Fey poached a second to equalise. Shepton struck back with a well-constructed and well-taken third and unfortunately this was swiftly followed by three more as their forwards ran amok for a period, which was a little harsh given the general run of play. The Cardinals didn’t give up and replied with one of the best goals of the game, a move started on the halfway line involving Toby Whitehead and Terry Watts on a couple of occasions, ended with some intricate short passing in the D to set Sam Parker up to flick the ball home from the left hand side of the D. Shortly afterwards Sam was about to have another shot when a Shepton player swept the ball away with the back of his stick, resulting in a flick. It was pointed out to me later that it could have been interpreted as jug avoidance on my part not to elect to take the flick myself, but I rather wanted us to score and Harry Newington did the business on his return to bring us back to 6-4. Unfortunately there was limited time remaining and whilst the Cardinals pressed hard until the final whistle, that is how it stayed. A footnote – this game has rather bizarrely left me as the team’s leading goalscorer, which is just plain wrong. I look forward to my teammates putting this right next week. If we can perform like we did in this game I’m sure the goal tally and the results will improve.

Bluebottles secured their first win of the summer by 2-1 with agoal in each half by Ben Tucker, both coming from short corners.

Cameron's corner: This was a rather disappointing 6-0 loss for the Bishops against a useful Vinyards team.The first half was mainly spent camped in our half and defending stoutly. A couple of lapses of marking led to us going in 2-0 down at half time.We emerged for the second half looking to be more positive and impose ourselves on the game. Good idea in theory, but bad in pratice. Two more Vinyards goals came ridiculously quickly. However, the rest of the second half did show some real improvement. We started to build possesion and created a number of decent chances with some excellent movements. Sadly, we didn't manage to convert any and a couple more Vinyards goals came on the break. Many thanks to John Elms for umpiring and Smurf for filling the pads and keeping the score from being even more embarassing.

Palmer's prattle: The Cardinals had their smallest squad this summer, yet there was an optimism at the start that the losing run could be ended. Bath Cobwebs were beaten 3-0 last season and the opening minutes started off at an even level. Unfortunately the skipper pulled a calf muscle mere minutes into the game and as he limped off Cobwebs scored! City of Bath sportingly loaned Westbury their 12th man to bring us back to 11 players. As the game developed it was clear that Cobwebs were a well organised and skillful side. They scored a second goal from a penalty stroke to lead 2-0 at half time. It was a wet evening and The Cardinals found themselves leaking goals, despite the heroic efforts of Martin Eland in goal and the hard work of his defence in front of him. Yet another battling display kept Cobwebs at bay for a long time, but they managed to snatch two goals inside the last two minutes. A few fresh legs might have kept the score down, but a dozen players canvassed had other commitments, four players didn't reply to emails and a post on the forum received just one offer from Sam Parker, who was already umpiring. Sam did a fine job with the whistle in conditions that were most un-summer like. Martin Eland was once again our top player and he kept the score down with his outstanding keeping.

Ratcliffe's ramblings: Those of us who were aware of N Somerset's 14-3 win over Robbies in their previous outing were a little more daunted than perhaps we should have been, but it was soon easy to see, from a storming first goal in the opening minutes, that this side with a fair few fit fast twenty-somethings had the potential to romp away.But romp away I’m pleased to say they didn’t. In the pre-match team talk the skipper asked for discipline in defence and a high work rate from the midfield, and that was exactly what he got. In true Devils fashion, the lads, young and old, dug in after the early setback and N Somerset flagged after their early surge once they started to find themselves contained and outplayed. The skipper had also asked for short sharp passing and running off the ball, and that too was exactly what he got. There was just one dribbling run in the whole of our game.The first half ended 0-1 down but with the Devils having had the majority of possession and pressure. Until near the end, the second half was something of a repeat of the first. N Somerset surged through for an early goal but then the Devils dug in and fought back with excellent dominating hockey. The battling performances from Nick Slater and Alex Maydew in midfield caught my eye particularly. Westbury pressure came good with a Webster goal set up from a Chris Poulsom cross after he had worked his way into the D by driving down their left base line. Towards the end the Devils were a bit rattled by the loss of Chris Tomlinson at sweeper thanks to a blow to the knee and N Soms piled on the pressure – but to no avail thanks to good defending, particularly from young (‘Chip off the Old Block’) Ratcliffe ably filling the Tomlinson gap, and some very fine saves from Mike Harvey. There was no-one who didn’t give 100% and our younger 3 - Dave Parry, Josh Wanklyn and Alex Webber - all showed plenty of promise to justify their place in the squad, but young man of the match this week goes to Ben Lipfriend for a solid and skillful performance at (attacking) right back. Old man of the match nearly went to Mike Harvey for those saves but is taken by Chris Poulsom who was a tower of strength at centre mid. An excellent result from 9 youngsters and 5 adults against a robust all-adult side. I’m not saying we were robbed, but if the goals had gone according to the play I dare say we would have won. Warmest thanks go out to Mike Harvey for standing in between the posts, to Andy NJ Cooper for umpiring, to Andy Yuill (Alex’s Dad) for helping out with transport, to Josh’s Mum for sideline support, and to Dan Webster for running the subs with the help of the new team stopwatch.

Palmer's prattle: The Cardinals lost 1-0 to a well taken Grapes goal. A lot of solid defending kept OBs out, and when we did give the ball away (a little too often for comfort) Martin Eland was again in fine form and when Steve Cook of O Bs sent in a reverse stick lob, Martin Fey recovered to make a spectacular clearance off the line. He also cleared another from the line as well. The Cardinals only danger in attack was a couple of good runs by James Pope, and two short corner strikes that the visiting keeper saved. Tom Ash was back from 6 weeks of 'super-sizing' with 'Uncle Sam' and showed some great skills especially in the first half. John Ludley played well in the middle under a great deal of pressure from the opposing midfield.

Palmer's prattle: The Cardinals and Devils opened their summer seasons with a friendly match. The Devils had the best of the early part of the game, with Richard Beesley having the freedom to push up from his sweeper's position to add extra drive to the Devil's midfield. The Devils fielded a number of youngsters new to the summer, however, it was the old hands who engineered the win for the Devils. Tony Webster unleashed a shot that Martin Eland in the Cardinals' goal threw himself in front of for a great save. The ball came back to Tony, who hit an unstoppable shot into the goal. Martin was in action again several times keeping out a Devil's second goal. Antony Spencer was full of running and his passes into the D created several chances that weren't taken by the forwards. James Pope was causing problems to the Devil's defence with his surging runs. After the break the Cardinals began to find some form and began to move the ball around better. A short corner shot from John Ludley came to Sam Parker. Sam's shot was saved, but Duncan Ogilvie picked up the ball with his back to goal. He showed good footwork in working the ball round and placing it between the keeper and defender on the line. Joe Petch in goal in this corresponding game last summer was an untried novice who looked a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights in his first senior game. This time he was a colossus making numerous saves to deny the Cardinals a winning goal, his save against James Pope was excellent as it had 'goal' written all over it when James hit the D with just Joe to beat. As it is with these games, the side that rode it's luck pushed up in the dying minutes. Richard Beesley drilled the ball into the D and George Banting scored a memorable goal by deflecting the ball past a wrong footed Martin Eland. George celebrated arms raised in the knowledge that his goal would turn out to be the winner. What did the teams gain from this? The Devils have a core of senior players who can take control of the game and encourage the youngsters. They played some excellent hockey and have every prospect of doing well this summer. The Cardinals were missing six of their squad who, with the exception of Alan Sparks, play in the Warriors and Widgets during the winter. There were a further 3 players out injured, two with long term injuries. Thanks are due to last season's Cardinals John Ludley, Alistair Jacklin, Dom Harris and Sam Parker who will be playing for the Bishops this summer in helping out. The Cardinals will have to dig really deep to stay in Division 3, but if the new squad can recapture the team spirit and work ethic that has been an integral part of this team, then maybe points can be garnered in the games to come. First up are Firebrands Clinkers next week.

This was a good work out for both sides, with captain Andy Cameron donning the pads to keep goal for the Bishops. The Angels scored the only goal of the first half when Doug Scott finished off one of their many attacks with a smart shot. The Bishops contested every ball and the game stayed at 1-0 at the break. The Bishops actually equalised from a disputed short corner when James Holliday struck the left hand post. The ball rebounded across the face of the post and Liam Glorney picked it up a metre outside the right hand post and squeezed it in from a tight angle. This spurred the Angels into action and it became the Dave Harris show, as Bomber turned on his pace and skill to set up five second half goals with his sweeping drives down the right. Chris Hutton was on hand to sweep in 4 goals at the back post and Adam Geddes did like wise to score. The best goal of the bunch was Chris's hat trick goal which was team move down the pitch involving Doug Scott, Chris Butt and Gary Catchpole who had a dominant day running the middle of the pitch for the Angels. The Bishops can still take a lot of credit in the way they defended. It was only as they got tired after long spells of challenging every move that the Angels were able to score the flurry of late goals. On the balance of play 3-1 might have been fairer, but when Dave Harris hits you at pace, then goals are going to come. The game saw the return of Adam Geddes after dislocating his knee in February, and Will Glyn made a confident return to action along with Tim Dawson and Geoff Rickard who have not been seen in red and greed for some while.