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THE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER OF CLIFTONVILLE HOCKEY CLUB

 RESULTS, SATURDAY 15th September 2001

THIS WEEK, SATURDAY 22nd September 2001

FORTHCOMING MATCHES, SATURDAY 29th September 2001

CLUB HOUSE DUTY = THE LADIES

DATES FOR THE DIARY

Club Dinner Dance – TBA

Bonus Ball Winner: Unknown

Club Lottery Numbers: 13 17 22 27 36 41

Match Reports

2^nd XI vs. Folkestone, won 3-0
Its that time again, the excitement to apprehension the passion that is the start of the season. After a summer of fitness and training we marched into the 2001 / 2002 season with a vigor and gusto not seen before in the annals of second team hockey.

With the usual cry of is “James Foot here yet”, and “wafer thin mint”, we started against a strong Folkestone side. The second team has changed slightly, the departure of Roddy and the absence of Rob Burton due to wedding commitments meant a new look for the back line. And the addition of some pace (at last) with Danny George and Chris Tupper meant we had some finishing up front.

So to the game, spurred on by the watching crowd of first team players we pushed forward, and like a bubble of air rising from the deep blue sea we soon raised our game above the Folkestone team. Our first goal came from either Danny or Chris, whilst our second was from either Chris or Danny, whilst the last goal was definitely Danny.

A fine performance from all with Algy’s old bones lasting most of the game, which is a good sign for octogenarians everywhere.

So, to this years match report theme, last year it was Neasdon which got a mention on all submitted match reports. For this years theme I am want you, the humble reader to suggest what running story-line you want for the second team match reports. By inviting you ideas I am not only listing to my readership but am also seeing whether or not anybody reads beyond the first five lines in a match report. If you do not come up with suggestions you are obviously not getting to line eighteen on the report. If no suggestions are forthcoming I will be referring to great political leaders of the past three centuries as my running story.

I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Sea Cucumber

3^rd XI vs. Folkestone, lost 5-1

For Whom the Knell Tolls (By Our Reporter Dave Morgan)

“I didn’t mind the miss, it’s all this I can’t bear” said forward Michael Knell, 16, on Saturday as his Cliftonville team-mates commented on his finishing skills, or lack of them.  ‘Miss’ Knell had made a great run through the heart of Folkestone’s defence leaving the goalkeeper and last defender lying in the opposition D when he was seen to try a reverse-stick shot from less than 2 feet out.  There was not another player within 20 feet.  The shot went wide of the right-hand post, causing much hilarity for the Folkestone ladies observing and heartache for the Ville players.

Things had not begun well for the new-look Ville 3^rd XI under captain Mark Keenagh.  Adopting a 3-5-2 formation, they found themselves under severe pressure and the young defence were at 6s and 7s as Folkestone walked a goal in after a half-save within 5 minutes.

Another period of concerted pressure saw Folkestone gain a short corner and the defence unfortunately missed the corner taker as he picked up at the near post and scored to double the lead.  It was now that Ville started to put passes together.  Kriss Tupper, the flying winger, picked up the ball just inside the Folkestone half and managed to work his way into the opposition D before gaining an excellent deflected goal past the keeper.

It looked like Ville were back in with a good chance of gaining a result.  Unfortunately, on the stroke of half-time and against the run of play of the last 10 minutes, centre-back Carl Perez scored an own-goal as a cruel deflection sent a ball going just wide of the right post past Dave Morgan’s left ear.  Half-time 3-1.

The second half saw the loss of Tupper (as The Channel Tunnel called) so Ville changed to a 4-4-1 formation.  This certainly improved things and led to a number of chances, particularly for Danny George who shot narrowly wide.  Then it was the moment that Knell wanted to forget.  But couldn’t.

Ville’s heads dropped briefly, allowing Folkestone to score two quick goals.  The first came from a well-worked short corner routine, the ball going between keeper and left-back and the final goal was a long pass to an unmarked forward at the top of the D who threaded the ball past Morgan running out.

All in all, a little disappointing and plenty of food for thought.  However, this was a very young team (apart from Gary Ingoldsby and Dave Morgan) and the opposition were a team above our league opponents.  A special mention must be made: Jason ‘Bruce Lee’ Jackson, whose primeval screams upon getting the ball, constant running and all-out effort were a sight to behold…

Spanky

Senators vs. Sutton Valence, lost 4-3

Senators travelled to old friends and rivals Sutton Valence on Saturday 15 September to start the hockey season once again and as is usual with the first game of the season, many of the regulars were unavailable so a scratch side was assembled. The extent of how scratch a side it was became clear when two of Cliftonville's juniors were invited to play for the veterans and even that only meant the senators had 10. Just to add to the confusion Sutton Valence play in red and white, which necessitated a colour change so Cliftonville ensured that they were all kitted out in blue shirts, only to find that Sutton Valence had chosen their alternative strip of yellow so that Cliftonville wouldn't have to change. Seems both of us tried to be helpful to no avail.

Cliftonville took some time to sort themselves out but did manage to make some inroads into the Sutton Valence half in the opening minutes before Sutton Valence started to make full use of the extra man. Therefore it came as no surprise that sheer weight of numbers led to Sutton Valence scoring a goal within ten minutes. It was clear that unless Cliftonville pulled out all the stops, Sutton Valence could easily run up a considerable victory. However Cliftonville gritted their teeth and led by Gavin Bailey in the middle, started to pass the ball around to the effect which meant that
Sutton Valence's superiority was being negated to some extent. Dave Burney, Cliftonville's front runner was causing some problems for the Sutton Valence defence and obtained a number of short corners from which one of the Juniors, Scott Alder, managed to slot past the goal keeper to equalize.
Stung by this repost, Sutton Valence came back hard and the defence of David Lawrie and Trevor Devon held firm but could do nothing to stop a well taken goal by Sutton Valences centre half who ran half the pitch before cracking it past the Ville goalkeeper. Ville continued to battle and in the dying minutes of the first half had an attack which resulted in a shot on goal being stopped by one of the Sutton Valence defenders legs giving rise to a penalty flick. Nick Alder flicked the ball just under the diving keeper meaning that at half time the score was 2:2.

Despite being a man down, Cliftonville sensed that there was an opportunity to actually win the game and it was not long into the second half when from a further short corner, Jeremy Saker deflected a shot past the stranded Sutton Valence keeper to give Ville the lead for the first time at 3:2.

Sutton Valence threw everything at the Ville defence and John Lowden covered a considerable amount of territory in his role as sweeper and stopped many attacks whilst the other youngster James Handley continued to be outstanding in goal. However, not even he was able to stop a shot drilled in after a short corner was given against the Ville defence. Ville continued to press forward for the winner and Ray Setterfield on a couple of occasions went close. With seconds remaining of the game, Ville thought that they had earned a 3:3 draw, but the umpires awarded a free hit to Sutton Valence on the top of the circle. Quickly taking it from the wrong place, they managed to get the ball across the Ville goal line for the last hit of the match and to win 4:3.

The return to hockey, or indeed any activity since April certainly took its toll on a number of the veterans but no doubt fitness and skill levels will return as the season progresses.

Nick Alder

Court and Social

New stick skill… “THE LAMBERT” involves throwing your stick away as the ball approaches, causing mass confusion/hilarity/disbelief amongst opponents and teammates.

Fat Bloke News…Sat 15th Sept 2001. Danny George asks bemused Burger King (Folkestone) staff for a 'Jonathan Lambert meal'.

Dodgy looking geezer news…Later, the self-same Mr. George is asked for I.D. at Tesco when he tries to purchase alcohol...