U18 GIRLS HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE OF NATIONAL CUP GLORY 

After being edged out by Leicester in the last round our U18 Girls have another chance of winning the EHB Club Cup at Old Loughtonians HC on Sunday following their reinstatement after the disqualification of Leicester for fielding an ineligible player. While this decision was tough on the Leicester girls it shows how important it is that team officials follow the rules. Twelve months ago in this competition and at the same venue our team finished with the bronze medals and in the second semi-final on Sunday they have a tough task in facing Beeston (1.45) while in the other semi the host club play Isca (12.30). We have an experienced team led by skipper Sarah Brook, with ten players returning from last season, and after some good performances earlier in the competition the squad can look forward to the weekend with confidence.

The Magpies’ squad is Holly Baker, Sarah Brook (captain), Emily Brown, Amy Campbell, Phoebe Charnley (GK), Frankie Eaves, Rachel Herod, Jemima Jacobs, Elizabeth Jones, Catherine Kilbourn, Catriona MacIver, Georgie Minta, Katherine Ridley, Kira Wooltorton with Nigel Wooltorton (manager) and David Brook (coach).  Best wishes to our squad and supporters for an enjoyable and successful day.

It is difficult to call last Saturday a highly successful one for the club on what was the last day of the league season for all but three of our teams in action that day but there were some good performances and I begin with the one by the Ladies’ 1sts who, relieved of relegation play-off fears, battled to a really good draw at Weybread against second placed East Grinstead. EG took the lead on twenty four minutes against the run of play and Magpies fully deserved their late equaliser when Angie Wheelhouse deflected in a good penalty corner strike to the delight of the home crowd. This point was worth two league places for the squad leaving them two places above Ipswich on goal difference. Ipswich must have been inspired by Houdini over recent weeks having escaped the bottom two spots with, to their credit, a third successive win including victory over Old Loughtonians last Saturday thereby consigning the Essex club to relegation with the relegation play-off spot going to Chelmsford after their win over Wimbledon. Only three points from their nine away games and only 25 goals scored in contrast to 35 last season have made life difficult for the Magpies’ squad but they are to be congratulated on being able to look forward to their sixteenth successive national league season (in this spell) starting in September. This is no mean feat and it is ‘well done’ to skipper Emma Lee-Smith, manager Nick McAllen and coach Clyde Camburn and all other members of the squad.

The Development sides got the day going at Weybread with the Girls recording their eleventh win of another highly successful season beating Watton 5-1 with goals by Millie Preece 2, Maja Barnes 2 and Georgie Cantrell and they complete their season away to Norwich Dragons (10.00) on Saturday. The Boys went down 3-2 (Alex Kilbourn 2) to Norwich City after playing some promising looking hockey. Next up were the mercurial Men’s 2ndsand they were soon into the lead through Jimmy Wheeler against Long Sutton who had arrived early and left late in their mini-bus. The visitors were quickly level after a mistake in the home defence and with their accurate passes out of defence soon had the home side on the back foot. Thereafter in a highly entertaining game Long Sutton kept edging ahead whenever Magpies equalised (Blake Elliot and Jimmy Wheeler) and they sportingly acknowledged they were a little fortunate to be awarded their winning goal when Magpies looked to have secured a point they deserved.

During the EG game the news eventually came through that the Men’s 1sts had equalised against Norwich City through Chris Barber with the last touch of their incident packed game thereby condemning City to relegation. Sport can be very cruel as we all know. Magpies dominated for much of the game only for Norwich City to take the lead. Stuart Leate then equalised for Magpies before City edged ahead again at 2-1 and to the very brink of survival. Another missed stroke did not help the Magpies’ cause at the end of a ‘good but could have been even better’ sort of season. Congratulations to West Herts on their promotion to the national league. They replace St Albans last year’s East Champions!

Meanwhile the Men’s 3rds were beating Norwich City 3rds 2-1 with goals by Harry Haigh and hardworking skipper Matt Brand to be followed by the Ladies’ 7ths who went down 3-2 (Eve Barnes 2) to Pelicans 3rds at the end of their very successful inaugural season. In the clubhouse skipper Shirley McAllen, who had come out of retirement before returning there at the end of the game, was presented with a framed photograph of the team in recognition of the outstanding leadership she has given to the team this season and typical of what the club has been lucky enough to have benefited from over many years.

News gradually came in from other matches being played away including a 2-1 win for the Ladies’ 2nds against Maidstone. After falling behind after their long trip Krystal Bishop equalised before Rachel Herod got the winner in a one-sided match which saw Megan Adams in the Magpies’ goal touch the ball once in the game. The team celebrated their excellent season with plenty of singing in the mini-bus on the way home. I hope manager Nigel Wooltorton and coach David Brook have by now recovered from their ear bashing! TheLadies’ 3rds recorded their eighth successive win beating UEA 2nds 2-0 (Nicole Eaves and Izzy Knowles) and in the only game at home this Saturday (12.30) they host UEA 1sts who have won all their 21 games so far! Meanwhile the Ladies’ 5ths were going down 2-1 (Victoria Findlay) to a far more experienced Pelicans 2nds. This was only the team’s third defeat of a really good and promising season under skipper Jose Tibbenham and although they have been denied promotion with Diss and eventual champions Thetford both winning the team can be proud of what they have achieved over the past few months. The Ladies’ 6ths did their best to help the 5ths going down to the only goal of the game against Diss in their best performance of the season while the Men’s 5ths lost 8-1 away to Lowestoft Railway. The Ladies’ 4ths, who complete their programme on Saturday away to third placed Dereham 3rds (10.30), lost 8-0 at home to Dereham 2nds.

Men’s O50s v Ben Rhydding (Sunday 4 May)

Supporters who would like hotel accommodation in Nottingham on Saturday 3 May prior to this important EHB Masters Cup Final are asked to contact Tony Williams on [email protected]  if they have not already done so.

‘Magpies out on loan’ update

Last weekend Ben Wright scored four times for Cambridge City in their 8-2 win over St Albans; Jess Bloom scored for Buckingham who have again won the West Conference (will this at last be their year for promotion?); Verity Blyth scored for Doncaster; Gareth Furlong scored the opener for Sheffield Hallam who went on to beat Wimbledon 5-4 with three late goals thereby giving themselves a play-off chance of retaining their Premier Division status and Richard Alexander scored for Wimbledon. All these players should be recalled for next season!!

Good luck to our teams in action this weekend.

IceniPost.com – sponsors of www.magpies-hockey.co.uk

With kind regards

Mike Denham

[email protected]

25/3/14