Pride of place this week has to go to the Men’s 1sts for their splendid win over Sevenoaks last Sunday to mark their return to the national league after an absence of eight long years. A crowd of nearly 200 people were present to see the team make a flying start with Duncan Graves (the son of Stephen the former Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City player) scoring five minutes into his first competitive match for the club and soon afterwards it was 2-0 with Andy Hipwell finishing off the move of the match to sweep the ball past the opposing goalkeeper. Thereafter we saw the team less as an attacking force with Sevenoaks putting our sound defence under considerable pressure despite some relieving aerials by Mark Wheelhouse on his debut. Sevenoaks’ goal three minutes from time caused a few concerns in the crowd as an equaliser would have left us feeling we had lost the match. This was a fine squad effort and this Saturday (2.00) the squad travel to play Southgate buoyed by three early season points.

The Ladies’ 1st also take on Southgate this Saturday (at home 12.30) and they will hope for better luck than last Saturday when, losing 1–0 away to Sevenoaks, Anna Toulson had to go off early in the game after taking a nasty blow over her left eye which required four stitches. Hopefully Anna will be fit to play this weekend as the squad will need her stick skills and goal scoring to help get their season up and running.

Two of our other teams began their league campaigns last Saturday with the Ladies’ 2nds getting a good 1-1 draw away to Long Sutton and the Ladies’ 6ths obtaining an excellent 2-0 away win over Norwich City 4ths. This Saturday the Ladies’ 2nds have a tough game when they entertain Bury St Edmunds (2.15) while the 6ths have a week off. Meantime with the exception of the Men’s Vets our other teams are in league action for the first time with the Men’s 2nds, after their promotion at the end of last season and their 6-0 win over Norwich City last week, away to Pelicans and the Men’s 3rds, who narrowly missed promotion, away to Ipswich 4ths. Both teams will look to get their seasons off to a good start as will our other teams including the Ladies’ 4ths who are away to Reepham at 5.30 (!) and the very young Ladies’ 5ths who are away to Norwich City 3rds.

Good luck to all our teams this weekend. If I haven’t mentioned your team this week I promise to do so in the future as all our teams are important to the club.

News and comments in brief
· It was good to see Andy Bedwell and Tom French at the club last Sunday. They are back in the UK for a couple of weeks half way through their world tour during which they are, allegedly, being helpful to mankind! They intend to be back playing for the club in January – if selected!
· Rugby Union has had its ‘Bloodgate’ and F1 is currently suffering the trauma of the deliberate crash in the Singapore GP last year. Sadly hockey has not been free of the allegations of cheating with a highly dubious game in the 1996 Men’s Qualifier in Barcelona for the Atlanta Olympics (after the GB management speedily rejected an invitation to be involved) and the convenient 0-0 draw between hosts Germany and Korea (the only shot of the game occurring in the first few seconds) at the 2006 Men’s World Cup in Monchengladbach, which I witnessed, and which ensured the elimination of Holland. Shamefully the FIH took no action in either case.
· Last weekend the European Cup, won so thrilling by the England men’s squad in Amsterdam at the end of August, begun its tour of the men’s premier division grounds at Reading HC. It will also be on display at key England Hockey events later in the year and into 2010.
· England’s National Indoor Championships are moving in January 2010 from the NIA in Birmingham, where the club’s U16 Girls triumphed so splendidly last season, to the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham.
· Date for your diary please – Curry-Oke Night in the clubhouse at 7.30pm on Saturday 24 October; further details to be announced.

With kind regards and best wishes

Mike Denham 01603 506925 [email protected] 22/9/09