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| 2009 Hockey Tournament |
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Match Report - Old Boys Hockey Tournament - Sunday 13th September 2009 TEAMS: Bradfield, Canford, Charterhouse, Cheltenham, Sherborne and Wellington. There had been rumblings on the grapevine about an imminent Old Boys hockey tournament in London since Sherborne, Cheltenham and Canford organised a three way tournament in October last year. It seemed to make sense. Every other sport had regular fixtures, if not an active league - so why not hockey? And so it came to pass that a gathering of some of the finest English public schools (and Canford) came together to contest the right to call themselves the strongest, fittest and most skilful of the hockey playing schools in southern England. The venue was the University of Westminster's sports facility in Chiswick, boasting one sand and one water based Astroturf.
It would be remiss of me not to mention at the start that unfortunately due to the social nature of so many Pilgrims, 32 of the 40 players asked to play were unavailable. What could a captain do in such a situation but do his best and try to pull a team together out of nothing, and with no keeper…?! The term 'ringer' is often overused in competitive amateur sports, however, it would be fair to say that in this instance, it might have been a little more appropriate than on a number of other occasions. By pure fluke, the Pilgrims somehow managed to find another 6 players who all happened to be playing regular club hockey at a fairly decent standard, most of them at the same club as me… New rules had been introduced at all levels of the game by the International Hockey Federation with effect from 1st May 2009, and many players had yet to play under the new rules. These include the introduction of the 'self-pass' and restriction on hitting the ball directly into the 'D' from free hits. Put simply, the new rules were designed to speed the game up and improve the safety of those who play. Analysis of international games played under the new rules has indicated that the ball is in play 40% longer than previously, which gives an idea of the greater need for higher levels of fitness… Or additional substitutes! Enough of the lead-up. With 6 teams competing, the tournament promised to be a competitive affair. Wellington had the ex England captain Bill Waugh in their ranks, Charterhouse an English Universities player. A number of teams boasted national league hockey players. The standard was high. Split into two pools, Sherborne were competing against Bradfield and Charterhouse on the sand based Astroturf for a place in the final. Unfortunately both Bradfield and Charterhouse did not have full teams and all 3 teams had arrived without a goal keeper. We resorted to playing 11 outfield players (Bradfield and Charterhouse utilising spares from other teams) in each pool game. First up - Bradfield. Both teams took some time getting used to the new rules with a number of early free hits given against teams for failure to apply them. The Pilgrims were soon into the rhythm of the faster pace though and with substitutes available, were able to capitalise on some loose play by Bradfield early on. The presence of players playing regular hockey really assisted and the non-Pilgrims were a great addition to the squad. Sherborne went ahead early with a goal from Fegen and followed up with another from Horton, despite squandering a number of opportunities in the interim. The Pilgrims proved too strong for Bradfield despite some late surges and won 2-0, although the score line did not accurately reflect our dominance. Charterhouse had a good reputation on the Schools circuit and did not disappoint with some skilful individuals in their ranks. However, the Pilgrims were in form and pressured them from all across the pitch. Some solid defence and quick 'self-passing' from free hits caught them off guard and it was quickly 2-0 thanks to a brace from Fegen. A final breakaway goal initiated from the midfield putting in some great legwork to counter attack from defence allowed Holdoway to seal the game, leaving it 3-0 to the Pilgrims and on top of the pool. The final was quite rightly played on the water based Astroturf which Wellington had played both their pool games on and won convincingly. This proved an altogether sterner test and ensured the Pilgrims were tested throughout. We made a number of early errors getting used to the pace of the pitch and the 'bounce' factor that playing on water based pitches brings into the equation. Wellington were used to this by now and put us under a lot of early pressure. Some scrambled defence led to Wellington regaining possession in the 'D' and a quality reverse strike saw their forward put Wellington 1-0 ahead before half time. The availability of substitutes had really helped the Pilgrims at this stage and the half time talk was not one of panic, but of composure. The presence of players playing regular hockey again helped and a re-shuffle of the formation resulted in some strong play from the Pilgrims in the second half, maintaining plenty of possession and coming close to scoring on a number of occasions. Wellington came back with a vengeance though and some desperate defence saw a strike deflected off the cross bar. The game finished in open play with both sides feeling the pace from a well played final. Wellington won 1-0. My thanks go to all those who helped out at relatively short notice. The Pilgrims played some attractive flowing hockey and earned a place in the final, although Wellington ultimately finished as deserving winners. Pilgrims: Tom Russell, Jamie Holdoway, Will Fegen, Ed Stephenson, Kit Regan, Tom Bishop, Gavin Thow and Jimmy McKillop. J. McKillop |
