Ashford (Middlesex) Hockey Club

Ashford 3’s 2 OMT 4’s 4

Bit of a damp squib end to the season. We showed flashes of the play that have seen us move from 11^th up to 7^th  during the 2^nd half of the season but can have few complaints losing to a more-motivated OMT side.

We had plenty of chances to score and lots of D action and – if I am being positive – last season we would never have had that D action! Unfortunately, we weren’t too clever often delaying the actual scoring attempt until it was too late.

The other thing to day is that some woeful collective defence saw us give up certainly 3 of the goals. We did get back to 2-all with Wild Man’s 4^th goal of the season and a flick from yours truly but conceding a 3^rd goal pretty much straight from push back didn’t really help much!

Ho hum, well it has still been a top season for a side that has come in the bottom 2 or 3 for the last 3 seasons – we should come 8^th and may come 7^th

It has been a very enjoyable season and we have been a real team – not bad for a team starting at 14 and finishing at 53!

Our success goes on against the top teams in the league. 4^th-placed Marlow had a similar side to us with a few old boys and talented sprogs (though probably a bit older than ours) and once again we had a really good game of hockey regardless of the score.

Started off poorly and after the first 15 we were deservedly one-down but we then steadily improved throughout the rest of the game. We only got one shortie but scored from it – Harry flicked Sam’s rebound home – but I was happy to get the first half out of the way.

Second half we really worked hard collectively but would single Harry out for his all-round game, he sometimes suffers from ‘enthusiasm varies with interest’ but he was certainly interested today and was on hand to bat in our second from close-range, another good team goal but I cannot remember anything else about it!

A draw would probably have been fair but we have probably had 3 games this second half end in draws when we should have won so I think we deserved a little rub of the green. Also a big thank you to Bobby who came out in awful weather to help out Marlow and umpire.

So we go to the last game safe in mid-table obscurity and with only one defeat in our last 8 games and this is already a terrific season for us.

Newbury & Thatcham 3’s 0 Ashford 3’s 0

This was a very entertaining, hard-fought game and the only failing was a lack of goals though the home team had about 12 short corners and we had at least 5 1-on-1’s but we will be nice and put that down to good defending.

One of the major assists to the success of our season has been fantastic availability of our regulars but we did have the opportunity to give a debut to Parm – father of Kulvir and Aranvir – who played at left half and did very well (I brought Aranvir up to look after him). Also I had to reshuffle midfield with Matt S playing the Jimbo role and he moved forward to partner 14-year-old Rob Forster who played his first game in midfield for us.

The team as a whole got back to basics after the second-half blip against Wycombe, we lacked a little bite generally in the first half and put ourselves under pressure but the second half was more even and we were always dangerous. The last ten minutes we tired and Newbury had a couple of open play opportunities plus a couple of shorties but we still had a 1-in-1 to win the game!!

This point probably means we are staying up but we will leave the fizzy pop in the bottle for now…

Witney 3′s 2 Ashford 3′s 2

Maybe we should just play the league leaders away every week! It could also have been it was a lovely, mild day again but off we went to Witney and although a point apiece was a fair reflection of the game, conceding 2 goals in the last 4 mins was a little hard to take! The game was a bit sleepy and had an end of season feel for much of it, very strange given Witneys’ championship ambitions. It was a pleasure to renew acquaintance with the burly no 17 Nick Viagra who as usual seemed more interested in umpiring the game than playing it! Playing up front, Viagra certainly provided stiff opposition. After 15 mins, we took the lead where the oppo stopped for a foot which was not given and Harry had no compunctions in putting the loose ball away. We played pretty well but nothing spectacular and saw the half out fairly comfortably and for much of the second half, the game continued in a similar uneventful vein. Witney in the last 20 mins started to exert pressure and good play from Andy R in goal and a Viagra cock-up ensured we kept our lead when shock! with 7 mins to go we had a shortie and a loose ball was pounced on by the very person typing two-fingered here for his first outfield goal for 4 years! Witney threw everything at us and we cracked 4 mins to go and 2 mins later (groan) a weak shot was blocked but the loose ball put away and we were hanging on! A last-second shortie for them was not good for my heart rate but their captain very kindly hoofed it to keep things all-square. Before the game, I would have snatched a point so gotta be pleased.

Ashford 3 Wycombe 3

Not so pleased with this draw, we gave up 3 very soft goals and one in the last 30 seconds to snatch a point from the 3 that were pretty much on the plate. We pretty much completely outplayed the oppo in the first half and they were lucky to be only 3-1 down. We were profligate in front of goal and made some poor decisions in the D and the second half was as poor a performance I have seen from us. A lovely team move and run and cross from young Matt saw Shane slide in at the far post for the first. Sam banged in a stonker of a shortie and after we had gifted them a goal back, Chris Lunn scored from close range. Right at the end, a lad appeared up front – I think his surname was Ringer – and we needed to adapt to cope with him in the second half. We didn’t and the team as a whole but also myself as the captain need to learn from this. What is good is that I can carp about giving up a game like this. We have improved throughout the season and the second half of the season has been great fun and we have played some lovely hockey and 1 defeat in 5 is nothing to sniff at…however we are still a work-in-progress!…

…when the 3’s beat the might of Leighton Buzzard 2′s 3-1 and knocked them off the top of the table!! I happened to be at Van Dyke school playing in the game! Probably one of the most enjoyable and rewarding games of my 38 years of playing hockey!!! And I’m getting carried away with these exclamation marks!!!!…

Went to LB really hoping more for a good performance than 3 points – we had a young, decent team (I was a year older than my 3 other defenders!) although Chris was ill – the main point I put across to the boys was we had to be patient and hold the ball well cos LB (and Witney) are comfortably the best teams in the division. Starting with a bare 11 against LB with 2 subs, off we went a little nervously as usual but we survived a couple of minor scares and got into the game with Chris Lunn putting a shot just past the near post. We went one-down against the run of play when the LB forward snapped up an errant clearance and they finished nicely. We continued to play decent hockey and forced a few shorties and pressurised the home defence and with 5 minutes of the half to go, a lovely move down the left set up Wild Man who slapped the ball home from near the top of the D, lovely finish. 1-all and the home team were arguing with themselves, half time and I had virtually nothing to say bar keep going.

Second half was just a real pleasure to play in and it would have been great to have done this with a home crowd as I really didn’t think we had such a complete performance in us. Defence was solid and spread the ball, midfield dominated their counterparts and allowed us to pressurise their defence and the forwards were too quick and skilful for their backs and everyone worked tirelessly.

We were awarded a penalty from a shortie when their guy kicked it then fell on top of the ball! And I took my first p-flick for at least 4 seasons, yes, the normal one! We didn’t sit back on our lead and kept playing and it was no surprise when we went 3-1 up with 8 minutes to go. Right by the back line, Harry turned on a sixpence (I don’t know what it was doing on the pitch) beat one player, two players, flicked past the keeper and Wild Man deflected it in from close range (for goal no. 3 of the season and his best-ever season return!! Doorknob nomination for a forward/midfielder!) and we played the game out in comfort. I’m sure LB had a few players out but this result will have rocked the hockey world – well MBBO Div 6 anyway! Well done, lads, very proud of you…

Everything about the game versus bottom-team Abingdon was good apart from one thing: we played well and had an enjoyable game against much-improved opposition however we couldn’t make the game safe and suffered not only a late-equaliser but a last-minute goal-that-never-was!

First half was relatively even but we were more incisive and forced several saves from their ‘keeper while Chris T in our goal was untroubled.

Second half, we were on fire! Could have scored 2 or 3 times before a smart team move down the right resulted in Chris Lunn slapping home from close range. We really did play some lovely stuff but you gotta have some product for your pressure and we didn’t get the second goal. 5 minutes to go, we let in a bit of a soft goal but credit us, we kept our heads up and pushed the oppo back in search of a deserved winner. Last minute, young Sam worked his way into the D and stuck a reverse-biff inside the far post. Next thing we knew it hit the fence behind the goal and appeared to have missed. No goal given and when we looked we found 2 small holes with one short rung missing and the ball had gone through one of them.

Ho hum I guess after the surprise point against Harrow this was Hockey Karma restoring itself!?!

After a couple of disappointing results and good if ineffective performances against Eastcote and Oxford (both of whom we beat first time out), I awaited with some trepidation the visit of Harrow who are lying 3^rd and dispensed with us back in October and the team even lighter in adults than normal. Well, what was I worried about?! A terrific first half performance and an increasingly backs-to-the-wall second half saw us hold off a very useful Harrow team who were physical but never dirty.

All the side played well but have to single out Andy Ritchie in goal who made what seemed like a quadruple set of saves coupled with desperate defence from the rest of us and that was one attack!!

The first half we played some really good stuff to hold back the visitors who were particularly strong going forward and we had a fair bit of play ourselves, some lovely short ball pass-and-move hockey by midfield and attack at times which gave us a bit of rest at the back and gave Harrow’s defence food for thought.

Second half, an interesting airborne tackle by Bubs meant we held our breath to see what the ump would do (short corner, phew!) and he did himself a mischief so we had another re-shuffle with young Ryan coming into the back. Harrow pushed us further back and the last 15 minutes reminded me of the Battle of the Alamo (except we survived!). So nil nil – we should have had Nil Smith umpiring!

Great fun and very proud of the team!

Just a quickie to finish off the last 3 matches we played to finish the first half of the 3s league season. We continue to have a very young team with a couple of extreme exceptions.

Wycombe 5s beat us 1-0 and were a real Carlsberg team as in…‘probably the best 5^th team in the World!’ We did very very well to hold them first half and second half probably should have taken the lead but Andy continued to be busy and they scored a short corner to see us off. We also had a very impressive team pic taken in the pouring rain which shows off the age range in our team!

We then beat Newbury & Thatcham 2-0 at home, probably a bit flattered by that scoreline. We were one-up through I think Sam Betts and deserved our first half lead. Second half, oppo played better and we stepped back a bit and it was against the run of play when we scored a similar team goal with I think Shane scoring. Wild Man had another good game in midfield

Last game, we played a pretty good Marlow team and were a little below our normal levels and defended stoutly but conceded 2 goals – both a bit soft and one too many as it proved. Second half, I asked the boys to give it a go and risk conceding to score and so we conceded another! No, we played much better and our link play improved, also we were  a lot younger than the oppo and started to stretch them. Once we scored from  a short corner through Sammy (again, I think), we bossed the last 15 minutes but could not score.

So we are 7^th and the aim is to maintain a mid-table position at the business end of the season. 2 sides (Leighton Buzzard and Witney) are a cut above the rest but we can aspire to beating the rest (and we drew with Witney at home, our best result of the season). The first half has been very encouraging, scoring more goals already than last year (discounting the OMT 9-man game) and showing more intent and game than the last 3 seasons. Hopefully, the bulk of the team can stick together and I would be hoping to match or better our record in the second half of the campaign.

Ashford Ladies Vets (Ashford Antiques (AAs)) played Sunbury Ladies Vets (Sunbury Stars of the Past (SSOP)) in their annual challenge, Christmas match at Ashford on Saturday. Well the rain ceased for a while and we had around 15 ex Ashford players spectating, and a squad of 12 to face a very determined and large Sunbury squad. Ashford attacked early on and went ahead following a good move between skipper Lynne Morgan, winger Tracey Walsh and striker Maria Cavilla, which saw Maria open the scoring. SSOP then piled on the pressure, and only good goalkeeping by the AAs Player of the Match Ali Boxell, and a lot of hard work by the AHC defence marshalled by stalwart sweeper Doreen brown and debutant Mandy Gowland kept the visitors at bay until just before the interval, when they nipped into score an equaliser. Despite some good work and shots by AA star Jackie Parsons and others, Ashford didn’t make much headway in the second half. In fact Sunbury dominated much of the game, with Sally Jordan and others controlling play, but the AAs managed to hang onto the 1-1 draw and thus retained the trophy – just!

AA – A.Boxell, A. Saunders, D.Brown, I.Okello, M. Gowland, L. Morgan (Skipper), V. Chudleigh, S.Westlake, T.Walsh, C. Jacobs, J. Parsons, M. Cavilla

Four mini-reports to cover the latest games the 3’s have played. A mixed bag of results but 3 out of 4 performances were very encouraging. We have also played the teams that will contest the top 3 positions this year and our play and performances against them show we have come a fair way from last year where there were frequent backs-to-the-wall efforts!

Abingdon are struggling and they were more ‘half-termed’ than we were. Mark Bell drove the team forward and we were 3 up at half time through 2 goals from Ding Dong and Shane. Second half we added one more from Harry and Shane attacked some guys’ stick with his knee (and all his fault!) and rolled around a lot.

Next were Leighton Buzzard 2’s who were top – a team of adults and the best team we have played. Most of them were old enough to be the dads of most of our team (not me or Bubbles). They were very well organised, the best defensive ring/formation I have seen for a long time but we worked very hard, got to half time 0-0 and the second half we had more play without looking very dangerous. They were getting very frustrated but we were very disappointed to concede a soft goal with 7 minutes to go and it was quite amusing (well eventually) as they scored their 2^nd with less than a minute to go and the guy celebrated like he’d won the Olympic Gold. We made, I would venture, the probable champions really work for their win, very happy with the team, Jimbo was stalking the midfield like a bad-tempered wildebeest.

Next up, Oxford 3’s who were equal 2^nd and were a decent team but we did not help ourselves with a mediocre display. Worked hard as ever but ineffective and a goal in each half did for us.

Finally, we come to Witney 3’s who had gone 2^nd coming into this game and were a good bunch. They were also a good team, a little open at the back but a real handful coming forward. I know they had a few out but they also had at least 1 if not 2 young lads from Holloway who were playing below their level. Because of Witney being a little more open, we got into the game and grew in confidence and looked more dangerous. We could have had 2 goals before we got our first through Wild Man but thereafter Witney asserted themselves and deserved the equaliser if not the goal just before the break, which was a bit soft collectively to concede.

We had played well and there wasn’t much to say really at half time, heads up and keep it up! Well, second 35 was a really good half of hockey, keenly contested, a good standard and a bit of testosterone chucked in (particularly from their no 17 who was keen to promote his umpiring credentials! Not better than my 1A I expect).

BigJohn, Joseph M, Wild Man and Shane had their best games of the season and we hung in there to then equalise from a shortie by young Sam 4 minutes to go. Our best game of the season against a top 2 team I would expect

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

Harrow 1′s 5 Ashford 3′s 2

We started off rather sluggishly and, allied to my rather poor bit of play, soon found ourselves 2-0 down. The most pleasing aspect of the whole game was our heads did not go down and we played some rather nice triangle-y hockey down both flanks which denied Harrow the ball and frustrated them while allowing us to get into the game. Ding Dong (Mark Bell) had an outstanding first half causing their defence a lot of problems and was rewarded with a neat finish for 2-1 before a nice team combo set up young Sam for his trademark close-range finish…2-all and playing good hockey! Both teams were a bit loose defensively and we were continually having trouble with the more direct Harrow attacks, must mention their ump who was extremely honest and blew for half time as their forward was through and hurtling towards our D!! Quite amusing to see Bubbles budding bromance with their Big Lad up front, they had a hug before the start of the second half before resuming taking lumps out of each other.

Second half we conceded a 3^rd and we were never really able to play to the levels we had in the first and, while we competed well, Harrow deserved the win. We also paid for only having 11, some of the lads really did need a rest. All in all, a good effort against a team who have won all 4 games and we can look forward to our weekend excursion to Abingdon next week!

Despite losing, we are still 5th with 4 teams above us on maximum points and us 6 points adrift of the pack!

Ashford 3′s 4 Eastcote 6′s 0

I may not have been speechless during the game but I was afterwards as the 3′s met my target for the season – win more than one game this season – in the 3rd game of said season!! We were comfortable winners…a first half was keenly contested but we were the more incisive and it was no surprise when Harry scored from a slipped short corner. The second half did not go to plan at all…we’d agreed we’d keep it tight first 10 and pass and hold the ball better…90 seconds into the half, we had scored 2 goals and won the game, didn’t say anything about that! Chris Lunn slapped a loose ball home and then Eastcote gave the ball up on their 25 and Harry ran through to reverse-smack home. A 4th arrived midway through the half when Harry passed through to Sam B who made no mistake so we stand 5th in the table…nose bleed territory!…

Ashford 2’s 4 OMT’s 2’s 2

Better late than never! With a superb tactical move by El Crabitan chundering pre-game and ruling himself out, OMTs never stood a chance. Also, OMTs make a habit of turning up short and so it was today, starting with 9 and we took full advantage – after early signs of rustiness, we settled into our game and scored 3 before half-time. Jas from a short, Betts with a nice finish and then, miracle of miracles, Shaggy with a reverse finish from a nice through ball from Jas. They got their full quota of players two thirds of the way through the first half and we did well to withstand the ensuing barrage of pressure. Second half, they came at us and scored with a short, but we then held our end and scored a good goal after great work from Jas down the right to cut it back for Freddie to finish at the near post. They attacked, scored one more, a couple of nice saves from Ryan, but we hung on for a well-deserved 4-2 win.