The Great Ms. B - Ladies 1st

You could say Sarah Birger is one of life's great rocks who puts her calmness and hockey acumen to good use on the astro. However that places too much emphasis on her assets and disguises the fact that she is as mad as a March Hare.

Sarah, who shall henceforth be referred to as B, has a penchant for red wine and is known principally for marrying Watsy (but that doesn't actually make her a bad person).

She plays... well wherever she likes really but is generally to be found patrolling central defence. When B does mark the opposition she makes frighteningly good tackles and frequently drives the ball out of the D to safety. On the odd occasion she chooses to pass to the opposition in front of the goal, she always tries to amend the error of her ways. In fact she frequently runs out first on short corners and will probably be continuing this tradition on Sunday.

Away from the pitch, B is generally a quiet and reserved person apart from when she is loud and brash. B enjoys a good knees up and loves country line dancing.

B also has another interesting charm. She enjoys listening to Magic FM and does so on journeys to the most lengthy of away fixtures. Magic FM conjures up many thoughts to true music lovers but to B it represents diversity, Phil Collins and a darn good listen frankly.

Should Mrs Watsy fail to survive this Sunday's Cup game, she will be remembered for her vitality, her friendship, her warmth and her posterior as she repeatedly pulls the ball from the back of the net.

Martin is expecting the kit in, in the next week or so - so if you have ordered kit it should be available very soon!

Remember: No money, no kit. Please send cheques made payable to "Deep Bassi" to:
Martin Cartledge
4 Capell Road
Chorleywood
Herts
WD3 5HZ

Doug Maccoll - £17
Linda Bullock - £15
Louise Hagan - £30
Colin Byrne - £45
Claire Winter - £15
Mark Vivien - £30
Theresa Vivien - £30
Rachel Rowell - £30
Kate Henry - £30
Natalie Spenser - £30
Ursula Webber - £30
Henri - £30
Peter Westerway - £30

Captains: If you see a name of a player in your team can you please remind them on Saturday.

Maidenhead 4th 1-3 Ladies 4th
(Yabba Dabba Doo!)

After a car park pep talk from our newly appointed inspirational leader (aka James Heath), off went an increasingly focussed, increasingly team-spirited, increasingly buoyant Ladies 4's, to conquer our dark demons on the Maidenhead pitch. And conquer them we did....

A couple of guest appearances helped - Sue Champs, and the blushing (yes really) wild rover (raver?) Helen Johnston. Well, that particular retirement was shorter than any of Frank Sinatra's. I digress - we played very well, probably as well as we can!

Our forwards attacked throughout with enthusiasm, speed and skill. Our midfield closed down the spaces and dominated the middle ground, and our defence were rock solid and woman-marked manfully (?), leaving Kitbag to do the sweepy thing. We fought for each other, backed up, closed down, called etc etc. All the things James and Dave have been exhorting us to do at training.

First half goals came from Natalie D, Judith (her first goal since before half the team were born, scary but true) and Megan.

Well done, one and all, but special thanks to:
Heidi for umpiring
James for inspiring us
Fay for providing the Ladies 4's crèche
Sue B for staying on the sidelines (only joking)
Helen (it's only a game) Johnston and Sue (why can't I run the crèche) Champion.
Any one else who knows me.

Phoenix-Ranelagh, be afraid, be very afraid!

Ladies 3rd 2-0 Wycombe 4th

Well after a few games of definite defeat (11-0, 7-0!) we were hoping to pull back some of our dignity in this match. It was an early one which was a bad start but with some input from Dave and a warm up from Fay Rider we were ready to rumble!!

The first half started fairly strong from both teams. There were a few near misses from both sides, and a real struggle towards the end of the first half when Wycombe nearly pushed the ball over the line but the defence held it. With some excellent keeping from Helen Marsden we were able to hold the score at 0-0 by the end of the first half.

The second half started with a real battle from Wycombe as they were in their goal area for the best part of 10 minutes in the second half. We eventually managed to get rid of the ball and it headed our end. We finally pushed the ball into the D, Judi Burrows, who was holding out near the goal and managed to pop the ball into the back of the net after a rebound ball from the goalie.

A few short corners later and still no further goals from either team and we felt good that we were 1-0 up. Eventually, Judi Burrows again managed to hit the ball into the net as it rolled under the goalies foot.

Can you make it a hat trick next time Judi, and make it your round?

2-0 Victory at last to the 3's!

RESTAURANT NIGHT, CLUB FUND RAISER.

The ladies 2 will be whipping up a feast, when they turn the clubhouse into a restaurant on Friday 29th November.

Venue: The Clubhouse
Menu: Choose one from each course (Starter, main and dessert) Menu TBC.
Cost: £12. (3 course meal, inc. Coffee and Tea)
Table Booking: catherine_watson@yahoo.com

QUIZ NIGHT ON SATURDAY 23RD

Teams of 6 people (£10/head - includes Fish & Chip Supper). Prices. Call Caroline 07887 675310 if would like to captain a team.

The September(!?) edition of SCOOP is nearly ready. After a warm reception to the inaugural A & C edition last season, we've (myself and Beanie) put another one together. However, between the two of us, we cannot possibly cover the whole club - so please can you send us some funny A &C hockey club related funny stories, incidents, quotes anything really - even hockey. Please email me at andy@watsy.com.

All club members are invited to play in a mixed in-house tournament at Newlands on Saturday 21st December. Your captain will collect the names of those interested at least three weeks in advance and all names will then be mixed up. It is hoped that each team will consist of a member of the Mens 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, Vets and Ladies 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th giving 12 players per team. Each team will be given a silly name, appointed a captain and vice to organise playing positions etc.

A straight match fee of £5.00 will be charged per player and there will be an organised event in the evening to round off the day, at which a raffle will be drawn (tickets will be on sale throughout the day) and the winning team will be presented its prize.

This day is meant to be fun. There is no pressure for players to attend, however it will be a great opportunity for players to meet and play with other club members.

Easter Tour - Folkestone, B&B cost set at £23 pppn, deposit £25 by 8th December, then the rest paid in three instalments at the end of Jan, Feb and March.

Names to Watsy (andy@watsy.com) and Zoë (zoe.scott@ntlworld.com) a.s.a.p. so we can confirm numbers.

Tring 1-5 Mens 3rd

In contrast to the awesome performance the week before, AC 3rds had a bit of a shaky start to say the least against Tring 3rds away last Saturday, which continued pretty much all through the first half. Apart from Douggie's goal off a short corner, AC never really took charge of the game and the match looked for a long time as if it could go either way. After a much needed team talk, AC responded very positively in the second half, producing the excellent standard of hockey we have been used to this season, defensively, in midfield and attack. A goal by Nick Wilson set the tone for the rest of the match, followed by Goochie putting the ball away after Ringham's 'attempt' was saved by the goalie. The fourth goal resulted when Craig's strike was deflected to Ian who found the backboard. AC were unlucky to concede a goal after a strike from the opposition, but came back soon after with a goal from Nick Wilson after a goalmouth scramble.

A superb second half resulted in a 5-1 victory, with everyone putting in excellent performances: Ian Ringham, Simon Gooch, James Sorby, David Dunford, Craig Ottaway, Iain McCurry, Nick Wilson, Doug Newton, Tommy Keeling, Henri Etchegoyen, Josh Steele and Hugh Rhys-Davies.

Mens 4th 4-2 Rover Oxford

The Mens 4s came into the match defending a 100% record, for the season so far. There was a welcome return for Tony Eaude but the team was missing several other regulars especially from defence. In an attempt to cover this the team went with an unfamiliar 3-5-2 system, packing the mid-field to take the game to a potentially strong Rover Oxford side. An excellent early goal from Mark Stevenson, after some impressive one-touch build up play, showed the omens were good. A&C won several short-corners in this match and it was good to see the 4s finally making themselves a consistent threat from this play. The second short brought a first A&C goal for team captain Bruce Greenwood, finishing from a textbook return hit from Tony Eaude, the ball was swept in at the near post.

2:0 up but Rover Oxford would not disappoint. A very good side who were equipped to break fast from deep in midfield. On several occasions they created havoc inside the A&C 25. Despite some good work from Dan in goal, with virtually the last hit of the half they had completed their come-back....the score 2:2.

With no sub, a couple of positional changes to bolster the attacking options which had flagged towards half-time, saw A&C re-take the initiative in the second half. Kern Sorzano deftly got on the end of another quality drive from Tony Eaude to deflect the ball in and then scored a second from another well worked short corner. Receiving the right slip from Tony, Kern finished with a first rate flick into the top left hand corner. A&C 4:2 up but with the game still hanging in the balance as Rover continued to show their quality going forward and again catching us on the break..... Unfortunately the captain's modesty does not permit him to repeat, in writing, the glowing report of a certain goalmouth incident which he bored half the club with on Saturday night. "Save" to say those that were there will, hopefully, remember it.

Despite owing that one to the captain, it must be mentioned that overall the very busy goalkeeper had an excellent game. Special mention must also be made to Alex Norvey and Kevin Kiltsy who came into the side having not played with us this season and notably gave their all. Man of the Match goes to James Lander who worked tirelessly in midfield seemingly able to be in 2 places at once. His play was often the reason for Rover's possession breaking down and he was involved in many good moves.

Despite some scares at the back, A&C could also have scored more and this was a well-deserved win against a quality side.