SATURDAY 18TH - HOCKEY

There are 3 matches from 12pm-3pm on Saturday. If you would like to play please let Captains / Players Reps know by phone a.s.a.p!

Each match will be 1 hour long, the first two will be ladies teams playing against the u15 boys and then u15 girls. These teams have cup matches on the Sunday and so we want to get them playing together and enjoying some adult hockey before they go to their matches. This also will give the ladies a good chance to keep fit and keep their stick skills in over Christmas. Please do get involved and make it a fun and enjoyable day!

The last match, 14:00-15:00 will be for two mens sides, from any team to play each other - please let your Captains know that you are available as soon as possible by e-mail or phone!

If you would be able to umpire some/all/part of these matches then please contact Justin, Emma, Warren, Sarah Watts or Ian Ringham!

We hope that this will be a fun and entertaining few hours before players and teams head off to their respective socials!

Merry Christmas.

Thank you to the following that umpired for us last weekend:

CHRISTMAS BOOKINGS

Why not celebrate your Christmas parties with friends, family, colleagues or team mates at The Village Hall Pub? Rachel and Freddie are currently taking bookings for December, and alongside the friendly atmosphere there will be a DJ playing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday until Christmas.
Pop in for a menu or phone us on 01753 887596, space is limited so call soon!

THIS IS A REPORT THAT ONLY JUST FAILED TO MAKE THE COPY DEADLINE FOR LAST WEEKS EDITION

A&C completed their first season in the A league with a mixed set of performances that proved just enough to clinch the league title. Going into the evening leading with 15 points, the title race was between A&C and Wycombe Rye A, in third place on 13 points. With two games to play for each team, it was expected that the last match of the season, between the two sides, would be the title decider.

In their first game against Wycombe Rye B, A&C started a little shakily but settled into a 3-0 lead at half time thanks to a couple of good goals from the fit-again Catherine Watson, a corner from Alex Teasdale and a fine goal-line save by Annie Brothwell from an opposition corner. The second half was one-way traffic with Wycombe Rye failing to create a chance throughout, leaving A&C as comfortable winners by 8-0.

Despite the scoreline the feeling was that we hadn't actually played particularly well, and going straight into the game against Wycombe Rye A this seemed to be confirmed as the opposition opened up a 3-0 lead early in the first half. Although a couple of goals were then pulled back thanks to Erin Ruxton and Alex, the play remained somewhat disjointed, and the second half saw a couple of soft goals conceded whilst a string of corners failed to find the net leaving A&C with a 5-2 defeat - by far their biggest defeat of the season.

However, after the final whistle it emerged that the win in the first game had been enough to secure the title, as Wycombe Rye A had only managed a draw with Slough earlier in the evening. Surprisingly 19 points (from a possible 30) proved to be just enough - but it was a very tight league with 4 points covering 1st to 4th places.

Despite the somewhat disappointing finale it has been a very successful season in this league. The opposition have been consistently strong and all those who played in this league have worked hard to raise their standards. The improvement in both individual and team play is marked, and I believe we go to the 2005 South Indoor tournament a much stronger team than a year ago.

Next week sees the last evening in the B league, with A&C needing one point from the two games to secure this title as well and round off a very successful Autumn.

Team: Keoghan Litchfield, David Dunford, Chris Blamey, Chris Yoxall, Simon Beedell, Alex Bagehot, Ian Ringham, Andy Watts, Jonny Brand, Ben Husbands, Danny Thomas, Ali Edwards and Iain McCurry. Manager: Geoff Brown

With the stunning win from last week still fresh in the memories, we travelled to deepest darkest Feltham to play British Airways, who were yet to concede a single point in their games so far this year. After arriving in good time (even after some more than dubious map reading) it was down to business, a rousing team talk from Andy Watts set the mood for how the day would shape out for us.

With our warm up completed and everyone raring to go we set out to try and do the impossible, WIN!!! Well as luck would have it we started the game in the best possible way, with a screaming run from Alex Bagehot down the left side and a great cut back the ball was put in the D and after a bit of a scramble the ball was put into the back of the net by Jonny Brand in what has to be one of the fastest goals I had ever witnessed.

From then on A&C seemed to dominate the field with some great play by all the team, the ball was moving round so fast that a sluggish BA was having trouble keeping up with the pace of the game. More and more pressure was put on the BA goal and only some fine saves from their keeper kept them from going behind even further.

Just before half time BA had a brief rally that concluded with a brace of short corners which unfortunately they scored off, 1-1.
With a quick turn around it was back to the action and it was a game not to disappoint, A&C seemed to carry on with some awesome play breaking down BA all over the park. Great breaks from Alex and Iain McCurry on the wings was giving us some great chances, with BA riled it was up to A&C to push for the win. Great defending from Chris Blamey and David Dunford was keeping BA firmly at bay as well as both making some skillful breaks up the pitch.

With a well won short we got our chance, a slip from Ian to Danny Thomas led to an awesome strike which was skillfully deflected over the top of the keeper by Andy Watts to push A&C ahead once again. A&C never looked back from here and continued to dominate all over the park, with some more great play in the middle of the park by Ian and Andy who was once again dominating the game from midfield.

With some great off the ball movement by Danny a slicing ball was threaded through from Andy, a great take by Danny led to him turning with his back to goal and flicking the ball over the keeper into the back of the net. Still A&C pushed forward putting even more pressure onto the BA D, again with some great play another well struck pass found its way to Danny who with a BA player on his back and going away from goal calmly slotted the ball into the roof of the net with a stunning reverse stick shot, 4-1.

Still not content with this margin we pushed on again and with a ball worked well from the back from Chris Yoxall worked its way down the wing with the help of Ali Edwards and was well drilled in by Iain who then with some great movement off the ball was there to push the ball over the line for our fifth, 5-1.

With about 15 min still to play A&C still needed to play some great hockey and they did not disappoint, BA pushed forward trying to get something from the game. But our back four of Chris Blamey, David Dunford, Chris Yoxall and Simon Beedell held firm and resisted all that BA could throw at them. With a run of 6 shorts it looked like BA were going to get the goal they were looking for but some stunning saves from Keoghan Litchfield kept them out and a superb save on the line from Chris saved us.
We continued to press forwards and great play from all over the field kept BA at bay. Ben Husbands was strong in the BA D and was unlucky not to get a late goal with a great save from the BA keeper. Oh and they did score a late consolation goal but the day belonged to Amersham and Chalfont, with the final whistle there was much celebration and a well deserved victory for A&C.

We now look forward to the second half of the season and who knows what awaits us in the New Year. Once again well done to all that played on Saturday, it was a great game to watch.

Following on from the A teams narrow success in the top league last week, the B team rounded off a fantastic Autumn Indoor 'season' with a draw and a win to go unbeaten throughout and retain the B league title that we won last year. The final record reads P10, W8, D2, L0, totalling 26 points, two points better than last year, and 6 more than second placed Wycombe High School B.

The first game on Monday was against the school, who are in the midst of preparations for the finals of the national U16 tournament in January for which they have qualified. Having been lucky to get a draw in the previous contest, A&C expected a tough game, but the girls showed the benefits of their extended warm-up with the fastest goal I've ever seen in any sport - we were one down with the ball in the roof of our net in 2 or maybe 3 seconds! A pass back to their middle player, a very hard pass straight up the middle of the pitch to their right forward who deflected it straight into the roof. A great goal, and an exciting start for the best game of hockey in this league. Fast, physical, with lots of skill on both sides, the game went from end to end throughout and ended 4 goals apiece, with Erin getting a hat-trick from corners and Rachel scoring from open play. In fact A&C nearly won the match with the last move of the game, the final whistle being blown while a shot was en-route to the goal. Had it been an equaliser the decision may have caused a lot of debate - a draw was enough to guarantee the title for A&C!

The second game was played at a somewhat lower tempo and the team struggled to raise their standard above that of the opposition. The result was a close fought match with GX, which A&C generally controlled through excellent work from the back by Lou and Lynda. But with nothing really working at penalty corners we were unable to open up a lead, and after open play goals from Emma and Erin it took a well executed penalty stroke from Erin to secure a 3-2 win with a few minutes left to play.

So two teams, two titles. A great achievement, and everyone is now looking forward to the South Indoor tournament. This is at Hazlemere, Surrey (Hants border) across the two full days of the 8th and 9th January. Supporters will be extremely welcome, and as soon as I know the match schedule I will share it via this newsletter.

To wrap up the reports for this part of the Indoor season, one other date for your diaries - Indoor Finals Night at Crystal Palace. As per the last two seasons I will get tickets for all those interested in attending the best night of hockey the UK has to offer. This year I believe the date is the 4th February. Assuming the format is the same as last year, then the first game starts at 4pm, the last game finishes at 10pm, and we will head off for some food at that point. Pencil the date in your diary, and I will confirm it as soon as I can along with the price of the tickets - as many of you now know, it soon sells out.