Ashford (Middlesex) Hockey Club

Sorry, but unfortunately the Thames Lodge Hotel have let us down so therefore we have had to make a VENUE CHANGE…The Annual dinner will now be held at The Anne Boleyn Hotel in Staines (http://www.boleynhotel.com/).

It is still on Saturday 27th April, arrival drinks will be served from 6.30pm, to be seated for the meal at 7.15pm, followed by awards, raffle and the disco!

Details of the menu and wine list have been e-mailed out to members and all pre orders of wine by the bottle will receive a 10% discount.

The tickets are £37.50, thank you to those that have already paid! The latest we need the money by is Wednesday 10th April.

This year’s Annual Dinner Dance will be Saturday 27th April at Thames Lodge Hotel in Staines. Welcome drinks overlooking the Thames, three course meal, the much anticipated awards and lots of dancing to end the evening!

Tickets are £37.50 each, please make cheques payable to Ashford Hockey Club, alternatively you can pay via bank transfer, contact Doreen Brown on treasurer@ashfordhockeyclub.co.uk.

Menus are to follow shortly.

Fixture list now updated to include fixtures for games that were re-scheduled due to the snow in Jan.

Good luck to all the AHC teams on Saturday, especially the Ladies 2′s in their relegation battle and the Men’s 1′s who are over in Jersey. The men play Jersey HC in the 3rd round (I think!) HA Trophy match at 6 pm at Les Quennevois sports ground. I am pretty sure AHC has never played a competitive cup match out of the UK before, so this is a first! The Ashford Antiques have toured and played in Guernsey, but I don’t think any of our sides have ever played a National cup game abroad. Have a good game and all the best to all and enjoy the trip boys.

The lucky astro draw winners for January 2013 are

£100 Martin Smith

£50 Val Hardman

£50 Mark Appleyard

Congratulations to all the winners and your cheques should be with you soon. It is only £12 per year for a ticket and a draw is made every month throughout the season, with the extra big money prizes being drawn at the AHC Annual Dinner in April. Application forms are available on the website (see link on side bar) and on the Club Notice Board. Help support the club and give yourself a chance of winning some money at the same time.

All home games are OFF. Enjoy the snow.

The Ladies section are currently struggling with lack of goalkeepers and although Sarah Jacobs, Kate Thompson, Chloe Russell and Kim Downs have all helped out on occasions and sacrifuced their chance to play on the pitch as normal; we are looking for experienced goalkeepers to join us and play regularly. We are hoping Tara (Dyson) McLoughlin will be able to play again soon, and we do of course have stalwart performers in Sam Grant and Charlie Poulter, but they are our only two recognised keepers and can’t cover 3 League matches each weekend. We have been advertising for new keepers on the official England Hockey website and GB goalkeeper Beth Storry and star forward Alex Danson, both kindly retweeted my request for goalkeepers to their Twitter followers (15,000 between them) since early December, but no replies as yet. Please can you all therefore ask around to see if any of your friends, family, work, coffee or college mates would be interested or know anyone that might help us out . We do provide specialist coaching and kit, so please ask around and let myslef Lynne -president@ashfordhockeyclub.co.uk or Ladies Club Captain Emma Hynes know. MANY THANKS.

The Xmas newsletter 2012 has just been sent out to members via e-mail and it contains all the latest AHC news, information from Ashford (Short Lane) Sports, social dates and teams performance stas at the half way stage of the season, Ashford Antiques (AAs) gossip and lots of other articles. Please contact me (Lynne) via president@ashfordhockeyclub.co.uk if you haven’t recieved a copy and we hope to have a copy linked to the website soon.

Middx League Division 3 17.11.12 Winchmore Hill & Enfield 3′s 0 v Ashford 3′s 8.

A confident Ashford side arrived for their away fixture against lower placed Winchmore Hill & Enfield.

Ashford made a slow and reserved start against a depleted Winchmore team. The pace soon picked up with strong play down the right of the pitch from winger Chloe Russell, rejoining the team after injury, supported by Kate Thompson making her on-pitch debut. Shortly into the first half, after several attempts, Ashford secured their first goal with a confident strike from left winger Ellie Watson. This was soon followed by a second, direct from a short corner, slammed into the back of the net by Russell. The Red & Blacks continued to dominate play through the first half with the ball rarely leaving Winchmore’s 25, however despite several further corners and shots on goal, the home team fought hard and the score remained 2-0 at half time.

The second half began with a determined Ashford unit who kept the opposition at bay using impressive skills and persistent tackling to maintain possession. As Ashford got in to their stride, the Winchmore defence were left out-paced and frustrated at the renewed energy and strength of the visiting team. A string of goals followed resulting in an outstanding hat-trick each for captain Nicky Davis and super striker Chloe Russel. A further goal was controversially disallowed, denying forward Anita Sharma a chance to add to the score sheet.

The goals scored were a result of numerous short corners and relentless attacking play, backed up by an impressive centre midfield of Abi Cowell and Megan Connell, also making her season debut. Both players were unlucky not to score themselves after a number of near misses.

Ashford’s defence of Irene Okello, Doreen Brown, Jane English and Kate Thompson had a quiet game except for a last minute breakaway attack resulting in a short corner. However this was cleared with ease by a confident and experienced defence and keeper Sarah Jacob finished with a clean sheet.

The final score of 8-0 means that Ashford Ladies 3’s remain undefeated for a fourth consecutive week. Man of the match was awarded to Chloe Russel.

Report written by Sarah Jacob

A home team with a mix of regular players, a new recruit and some returning from injuries, stepped out onto the home turf as a confident unit.

West Hampstead started at a hectic pace but Ashford’s determination to gain control in order to play a thought out, connected game soon resulted in Jackie Parson’s superb straight strike goal from a short corner routine putting the Red and Blacks 1-0 ahead. Ashford continued the upper hand with the help of a strong defensive back line, providing forward Annie Neyton time to deliver a sharp, high shot which Anita Sharma masterfully connected to slam pass the West Hampstead’s goal keeper, making the score 2 – 0 to Ashford.

The second half continued on in the same vein with Ashford’s cool dominance against a now frustrated West Hampstead unit. This was, furthered by a superb set piece pass from Sarah Jacobs, through to an awaiting Annie Neyton who thundered home a straight strike from the top of the D, to make the score 3-0 to Ashford. A last minute consolidated attack resulted in West Hampstead scoring a goal, only to be shortly met with another goal from a Jackie Parson’s deliverance of a straight strike from another short corner. The final score was a much deserved 4-1 victory to Ashford, who pride themselves on being a competitive, friendly team who seek new players of all ages and more importantly of any ability.

Report written by Annie Neyton

Ash Factor last night was excellent and enjoyed by all with a record eight entries. Well done the organisers (Abi Frith & Elliott Smith), judges (Stewart Fry, Hynes, John Lewis, Abi F), comperes (Dave Baker & Darren Cole) and all the contestants. The Ladies colts singing and dancing troupe won narrowly from the Men’s 2’s ( a sexy Westlife imitation group). The result being decided by the audience and the volume of their clapping/cheering for the two finalists. Great stuff all.

Well the sun shone, the newly refurbished goals and corner posts were in place, and PHC Chiswick let the Club President take the first push back in the first game on our new playing surface and we (Ladies 2′s) then went and lost 1-5. The consolation was that Freddie Chudleigh scored the first AHC goal on the relayed carpet and our weakened team held them well in the first half. The Ladies 1′s followed us on and
looked to be well on the way to a 3-0 defeat by Staines 3′s, when Maria Cavilla pulled one back and a determined Emma Hynes got another shortly after to frighten our neighbours somewhat, who snatched a fourth goal in the dying minutes of the game to finish winners by 4 goals to 2. I am pleased to report though that the other games played at home were the men’s 2 ‘s who won 4-2, with the being Jas, Freddie C, Shaggy and Alex Betts. They were followed by the men’s 3′s who won 3-1 (Harry Weigner 2 & Sam Betts) won and young Matt Sutch scored the first AHC own goal under the new rules on our new pitch! The men’s 1′s also won 5-4 in a high scoring game v Old Merchant Taylors, whilst the 4′s lost 0-5 away to local rivals Staines. The Ladies 3′s only had 10 players and had to travel to Richmond for a some what late 4.45pm match. A gritty performance, led by some solid goalkeeping from Charlie Poulton kept the opposition at bay and secured a point for AHC as the match finished as a 0-0 draw.

In case you haven’t been contacted, all three home games at AHC today (11/2/12) have been cancelled due to a frozen pitch. We don’t know as yet if colts training or the Men’s HA Trophy cup game away tomorrow will go ahead. The Clubhouse will of course be open for business as normal from noon today and tomorrow and live sport will be on the TV, all welcome.

Ladies hockey Saturday 21.1.12
The Ladies 3’s game today was conceded by the opposition, so they had a 2-0 walkover and the three points keep them in 4th place. The ever keen 3’s squad decided to meet up at Short Lane to practice instead and coaches Bubbles and Mark Appleton turned up to put them through some drills. . Pleased to report that the 1’s won 3-2 away and scored in the 2nd minute (well done Nicky Benedict) and move up to 5th place in the Premier division. The 2’s were held to a 0-0 draw at home despite the opposition only having ten players, but still remain in 4th position. The full results were:

1st XI beat Hendon & Mill Hill 1st XI 3-2 (away)

2nd XI drew with Hendon & Mill Hill 2nd XI 0-0 (home)

Funnily enough, the two men’s games played at Short Lane were also 0-0 draws which is very unusual for our pitch/teams!