IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE!

The general feeling in the clubhouse last Saturday was that it had been a poor day for the club and in fact a senior lady member asked that I draw a veil over the ladies’ results! But this column is fearless in facing up to reality while giving the benefit of any doubt to the top club in the region! Of the fourteen matches we played seven finished in wins for Magpies with one draw and six defeats – so it could have been far worse.

Four of the seven wins were achieved away from home with the Men’s 7ths leading the way (in start order) by beating Bury St Edmunds 5ths 4-0. Hamish Harvey and Roger Kent followed up shots by Eric Davy before Eric added the third with Roger completing the scoring with an individual effort along the goal line. Alfie Fawkner and Sol Barker were impressive in midfield and after the game the Bury players complimented our team, including the young players, on their exemplary sporting behaviour.

The Men’s 1sts then beat Wapping 5-2 (Tristan Baynes 2, Toby Price 2 and Sam Moore) to move back to the top of their league with Bedford holding West Herts to a 3-3 draw although West Herts still have a game in hand. Although the game at Wapping began at 11.30 it was not until 2.10 before the result reached Weybread! Mr Marconi could have done better! At least we will not have that problem this coming weekend when the Men’s 1sts have a double header at Weybread. They host Norwich City on Saturday (12.30) and Bedford on Sunday (12.15) – the latter game being brought forward from December 14 to enable Magpies to play in the East Indoor Championship.

CHRISTMAS PRIZE DRAW It is a big ‘thank you’ if you have already responded. If you have not done so yet but kindly intend to do so please note the closing date is this coming Saturday (30 November)  with responses either direct to Philippa Taylor or over the bar at the club.

Meanwhile the Girls’ Development maintained their excellent form with a 6-2 win over Dereham with the goals coming from Emily Woollatt 2, Alice Woollatt 2, Millie Preece and Phoebe Eglington and the Ladies’ 5ths beat Broadland 2nds 5-1 (Victoria Findlay 3 and Matilda Warde-Aldam 2) although team captain Jose Tibbenham thought they should have been more ruthless when their opponents played the opening minutes with just nine players!

Back at HQ the Men’s 6ths got the day off to an excellent start with a 4-0 win over Norwich City 6ths with goals by Andy Caston 2, Simon Bardwell and Stuart Peters – the latter at the age of 45 being the youngest of the trio! Next into home action were the Ladies’ 4ths and it was good to see them beating Lowestoft Railway 4-2 with Izzie Knowles 2, Sophie Long and Vicky Blackmore on target.

Over on the other pitch the Ladies’ 1sts were beginning the second half of their seasonwhen taking on St Albans who beat them 1-0 on the opening day. St Albans started the game strongly and we were relieved to see Charlotte Lee-Smith save an early penalty stroke before Angie Wheelhouse put us ahead after 28 minutes with a crisp reverse stick shot inside the left post. Magpies had chances to score a second both sides of the St Albans’ equaliser which came from a penalty corner in the 45th minute but by the end of the game the home supporters were grateful for a point with the visitors pressing for the winner. While Magpies are in 5th place in the league only five points behind second placed Sevenoaks they are only four points above the relegation play-off spot. On Saturday they travel to play leaders Holcombe (2.30).

FUN CASINO & FIZZ EVENING (Saturday 30 November) There are a few tickets left. To avoid disappointment please secure yours by contacting Frances Taylor via [email protected] or on 07717 531269.

It was then the turn of the Men’s 2nds to display their skills and as expected league leaders Cambridge City 2nds were quality opposition having won all their games this season. City went ahead when they converted a penalty corner before skipper Lawrence Baynes equalised in like fashion from a switch. The visitors went on to convert two more corners before adding a fourth goal from the penalty spot. However, the home team can take heart from their performance in which James Meek and Will Dunn caught the eye with their work rate and accurate passing. This Saturday the team will be looking for their second away win when they play Long Sutton (1.00).

In the last and most entertaining game of the day at Weybread (and with rain falling) theMen’s 3rds beat IES 2nds 4-2. Gavin Cole put them ahead before IES equalised but we were back in front at half time when Ewie Cumming popped up to score his first goal in two seasons. When IES equalised again the faithful home supporters were beginning to have their doubts over the outcome. But with ex-first teamer Iain Cumming making a welcome return to the game in defence and with brother Ewie, skipper Matt Brand and Sonny Molloy in top form Gavin came up with another goal before Guy Paul finished off a classy flowing move to give the team a deserved victory.

Away from home the Ladies’ 2nds lost 3-1 (Anouska Stott) to St Albans 2nds so they will be looking to bounce back when they entertain Maidstone on Saturday (2.15) and the Ladies’ 3rds will hope for the same when they host UEA 2nds (10.45) after their 4-2 defeat (Jemima Jacobs and Sarah Legg) to Loddon. The Men’s 5ths, after going down 2-1 (Andy Johnson) to IES 3rds, will also hope for a change of luck when they play visitors Lowestoft Railway (3.15).

BALLOON CHALLENGE It is a sincere ‘thank you’ to all who have returned their challenge tags. If you have not already done so your contribution would still be much appreciated for youth committee funds. The balloons will be released by event organiser Heidi Wooltorton in the week ending Saturday 14 December during youth coaching sessions that week in small batches to avoid any UFO concerns or aviation problems. This is not a joke!

 

There was mixed success for our three teams in EHB Cup home action last Sunday. TheU14 Girls played really well to beat Norwich City 3-0 (Anna Tighe, Victoria Findlay and Matilda Warde-Aldam) while the U16 Girls battled hard against Ipswich before losing 2-1. After conceding a goal in each half they fought their way back into the game with Izzie Knowles showing composure to calmly guide the ball into the net after running through the Ipswich defence. Meanwhile the U14 Boys were losing 5-1 (Jolyon Summers) to Norwich City despite playing some attractive hockey.

Good luck to all our teams this weekend including on Sunday the Men’s O50s against an East O55s team (2.00) following Shefford and Sandy’s concession of the EHB Cup game.Please see the website for a full list of this weekend’s fixtures.

Other news and comment

a) Congratulations to Katie Adcock and Robbie Kinsella on the birth of Evie Rose Dulcie(7lb 1 oz for those interested in this detail!) on Tuesday 11 November. Evie was understandably the centre of attention when she paid her first visit to the club last Saturday!

b) Supporters of GB and England hockey will have been sorry to learn of the retirement from international hockey of former captain Glenn Kirkham. Glenn played in over 200 international matches with skill and distinction with one of his greatest achievements being when he helped England to European Championship glory in 2009 with the memorable 5-3 victory over Germany. Glenn, who comes from Lincolnshire and now plays for East Grinstead, was a member of the highly successful East U14 team which also included Jonty Clarke and ex-Magpie Richard Alexander and all three went on to represent GB in the Olympics.

c) The final of the NCAA championship in the USA last Sunday was a Magpie (Cherry Seaborn) versus Ipswich (Chloe Hunnable) affair with Chloe of University Connecticut coming out on top against Cherry of Duke University by two goals to nil. Chloe scored for Connecticut from a first half penalty corner while Cherry (who has been troubled by a leg injury) had a sparkling spell in the second half in the game streamed over the internet. Congratulations to both Chloe and Cherry on their excellent seasons for their respective universities.

d) Orange or white ball? White every time for me. What do you prefer as player or spectator?

e) Yarmouth 2nds have unfortunately withdrawn from Division 1 of the Empresa Norfolk Women’s League. This affects our 5th and 6th teams.

f) Please see the Home Page of the website for the online club shop.