This pre league friendly encounter was a 10 a side match after the stand in A&C captain agreed to lend Trevor Wood to Wokingham. Despite going a goal down A&C rallied to a lead of 3 -1 at half time as the pressure told on Wokingham via the speed of Mark McCree on the right wing and the dominance of the midfield of Sean Cremin, Tony Fermor, Steve Richman & Steve Jenkins.

A heavy shower mid way through the second half served to envigorate all the A&C players including Trevor Wood who scored his second goal for Wokingham, whilst James Carter completed a hat trick with a deft deflection from a McCree hard driven cross from the right.

A conspiracy between A&C backs Lionel Warren & Alan Crossman allowed Trevor Wood to complete a hat trick which secured the provision of a jug of ale from the somewhat surprised "on loan" player.

A fine start to the season with 11 goals all from A&C players!

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

ALE DINNER - WED 29TH SEPTEMBER

A chance to sample some fine ales, alongside a 3 course dinner and the opportunity to meet and listen to the head brewer from our brewer of the month - Rebellion.

MENS AVAILABILITY

As you may or may not be aware I have recently taken on the role of Men's Playing Representative.

One of my main aims this year it to try to map out the availability of all players as far in advance as possible. For some of you this could mean as far ahead as Christmas, for others it may be 3-4 weeks. I am not unrealistic; I know that people have commitments, other than hockey, that cannot always be planned in advance.

To achieve this will benefit all of the men's teams; it will mean that the captains know in advance who should be available each week, leaving them only the task of confirmation. It will particularly help those teams that are lower down the 'pecking order' for players, and who's teams can be disrupted by unknown or changing availability.

You will notice an A3 document is now pinned to the notice board at the club, it details every Saturday from now until Christmas and is broken down into AM and PM. I would be grateful if you could take the time to fill this in as far ahead as possible, your captain will also have a copy and you can give them your availability as well. I am asking for AM and PM, as although you will probably play in a regular team, if you are unavailable for a game, you may be able to help out another team. Hopefully this approach will strengthen the men's side of the club and allow players to play as many games as possible.

I am also available if you wish to talk to me about pretty much anything. I can be contacted by email at jbootl01@bcuc.ac.uk or by phone in the evenings on 07968 418 060.

I thank you in advance for your support.

Team: Marsden; Watson; Bullock, Parker, Ferguson; Ruxton, Shaw, Brothwell, Durkin; Teasdale, Patterson; Subs: Frick, Hewitt

A&C completed their pre-league programme with a well-worked victory away to Staines. However, this was after sustaining some early pressure from the home team. Staines made some excursions down the middle of the pitch which were thwarted by the alert central defence pairing of Catherine Watson and Rachel Parker. A&C looked dangerous on the break especially through Laura Patterson's pace when on the right.

A&C took the lead after 14 minutes when Erin Ruxton swept home Lynda Bullock's pass from a free-hit just outside the D. The game continued to be fairly evenly contested throughout the remainder of the first-half.

After the break, A&C gradually took the ascendancy with some good passing, particularly from Alex Teasdale in the middle of the pitch. With constant movement from the front runners, A&C started to exert some sustained spells of pressure which finally brought a second goal in the 55th minute. Following a penalty corner, Patterson blocked a defender's clearance on the line which forced the ball in.

Minutes later, Emma Hewitt saw her strike from the top of the D hit the post but A&C then got a deserved third goal when Katy Shaw neatly finished off another flowing move. Staines still carried some threats up front and on one breakaway, Helen Marsden did very well coming off her line to force the oncoming forward wide before Lynda Bullock cleared.

In the end though, A&C might have had a couple more goals and are now set for next weekends opening league encounter on the Saturday and the first round of the Cup on the Sunday.