LADIES
LGC (1st team) vs Durbanville: 2 – 3 loss
On a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon, we trekked through to Durbanville determined to put our recent frustrating losses behind us. We started well and made good passes and maintained possession. We then found ourselves on the back foot after Durbanville took the lead. It remained 1 – 0 until half time. We knew we were the better team and wanted to go and prove that to ourselves and our stand-in coach (thanks Jeff). Durbanville scored a goal from a freakishly impossible angle (ala Brazil in the Soccer World Cup). This was a bit of a shock to our systems and before we knew it, we were 3 – 0 down with about 15 minutes left to go. This seemed to stir up the passion and aggression inside which we knew had always been there. A brilliant break down the right from Leigh Charlton had us on attack and some slick passing and running off the ball from Stacey West and Julie Richards gave us our first goal, a great deflection into the roof of the net scored by Julie Richards. We were on attack for the remainder of the game and were rewarded with numerous short corners. We eventually converted from one of the many shorties: a nice tap in from Mel Bam (no stitches this time). Sadly, the match ended 3 – 2 and we felt we deserved a draw, but we cannot expect to win matches when we only start playing our kind of hockey in the last 20 minutes of every game. Thank you to our supporters who came to watch.
– Stacey West
Despite the rain, the Durbanville turf remained dry and sticky leading to the demise of Pinelands’s stickwork. A lapse in concentration allowed Durbanville to score two lucky goals. Poor basics and inaccurate passing ultimately saw Pinelands go three goals down in the second half. It was only with 10 minutes to go that the Pinelands ladies began play a more charteristic style of hockey and good movement off the ball saw Julie Richards score a great deflection goal. Pinelands was granted a short corner in the last five minutes of the game, allowing Mel Bam to score Pinelands’s second goal. Unfortunately, Pinelands was not able to score the equalising goal and the score was left 3 – 2 in favor of Durbanville.
– Leigh Charlton
LTC (2nd team) vs UCT: 0 – 1 loss
We knew we had to win this time against UCT, and we were sure that we had the capabilities to. UCT put the pressure on us from the get go and we defended for most of the first half. A deflected short corner goal gave UCT the lead in the middle of the first half. We knew that we could definitely still salvage at least a draw, maybe even a win if we turned the pressure on to our opposition, but we gave the ball away too often and UCT kept attacking. In the second half, we had more attacking opportunities, but failed to convert. In the last 10 minutes of the game, we played our best hockey, but couldn’t put the ball in the box and the score stayed a dissappointing 1 – 0 to UCT. Thanks to Andrew Savage for reffing.
– Helen West
L2 A (3rd team) vs Constantiaberg: 1 – 1 draw
In appalling weather conditions, we were swept across the pitch with driving rain battering us from every direction. We did, however, manage to maintain solid defensive lines until they put in a really soft goal that literally dribbled over the line. Reckon we should offer all PHC goalies in-board helmet wipers to clear their eyes. We had so much possession and so many chances that our normally placid and well-mannered coach literally “stripped her plikkies” at half time! Some MAJOR positional changes occurred and some rather startled players once again took to the rain-lashed field. This match, dedicated to Jenna Law, saw us defending some serious attacks from a very much improved Conberg side – so much so that we only recognised four of their players from the last half. Some attacking pressure by PHC eventually saw a defensive blunder with their sweeper stopping a sure goal on the line – p flick. Jerri did the honours and we drew 1 – 1. Not the result we were hoping for, but we will regroup for next week.
– Lara Valstar
L2 B (4th team) (Masters) vs Stellenbosch: 1 – 1 draw
Yes, you read correctly: we managed another draw with Stellenbosch (whoopee). I am sure Stellenbosch left the field feeling slightly dejected. We on the other hand, walked away feeling like the winners we are. The weather started off partly cloudy and looked like perfect hockey conditions. As the time drew nearer to our game, the wind came up and the sky became darker and darker. Debbie “Artic” Law must have been thinking of us. The game kicked off at a fairly brisk pace. We were unlucky not to score in the opening 10 minutes when Genee “Cricketer” Clarke dove headfirst at the ball – the goal was saved by their keeper. The aerial ball out of the left by Ade “BEE” May, allowed us to keep attacking the Stellenbosch’s defensive line. Nadya “Zoooooooooooom” Buchanan used her acceleration to leave the Stellenbosch defence behind. Careen “Cracker” Mckinnon worked hard distributing the ball on attack and mielling back in the defence when we lost possession (where does she get the energy from?). The commitment and work rate of the wings and links is commendable. Shar “Magnetic Stick” Kruger made it look so easy – I bet the Stellenbosch lighties did not realise that they were outplayed by a lady more than double their age! At half-time, neither team had been able to penetrate the other’s defence. We knew the game was there for the taking and we were hungry. A non-blow on a lifted ball outside the circle ended up with a short corner to Stellenbosch and them scoring from a well-hit shot. Stellenbosch threw everything they had at us. Michelle “Legend” Hoben and Mel “Pick-me” Grant kept Pinelands calm and gave us direction to go forward. With about 15 minutes to go, I think it was a Careen pass that found Nadya who beat two field players, before slamming the ball home past the goalie. True to form we did not lay down, we keep trying for the winning goal, but it was not to be. So, although the score said we drew, we know we were the winners. Well done ladies! WICK at Province is the next encounter, which we are looking forward to.
– Cindy Dyamond
L4 (5th team) vs Constantiaberg: 0 – 0 draw
L5 (6th team) vs Bellville B: 6 – 0 loss
Unfortunately this match was played at the Bellville Astro and our skills are obviously better tuned to playing on the Pinelands clover! We beat this team in the first round at home, but lost 6 – 0 to the same team on Saturday. Having our coach on hand also seems to make a big difference, unfortunately for us he was with the L4 team this week. We are all looking forward to the rest of our games being played at home!
– Alison Smith
MEN
MGC (1st team) vs Central: 1 – 1 draw
MTC A (2nd team) vs Somerset West: 1 – 1 draw
MTC A (2nd team) vs Stellenbosch A: no game (rain)
MTC B (3rd team) vs Stellenbosch B: 4 – 1 win
Stellies always tend to be well-drilled and full of legs, but on a raining winter’s evening they were not able to cope with our pressure that we exerted on them. They were made to look like the youngsters they are and we played 50 mins of really decent hockey. However, having got our fourth goal with about 15 mins to go, our side flicked on its “I want to go score my own goal” switch and this had a massive effect on our structure. Had we managed to play the full 70 mins properly we could have takent the game by at least another two goals. Special mention to Craig Sieben’s goal that barely managed to make the back board. However, I think Svend did well to show him how to finish properly with his diving attempt that was roofed over the charging keeper. It was a special feeling getting our first four goal bonus point. I hope we can return to that brand of hockey after our disappointing display on Sunday.
– Liam Bell
MTC B (3rd team) vs WPCC: 0 – 3 loss
Much to the delight of the Pinelands Mens 3rd team, three cheerleaders/reporters were sent to their game on Sunday afternoon with a bottle of sherry to take note of what exactly it is that they get up to on the hockey field.
It was their 2nd fixture of the weekend, and they “took on” WPCC in the pouring rain. A lot has to be said about a side that comes off second best, not only in result, but in number of players that had to leave the field for blood. The lands lads lost the scoring battle 3 – 0 AND the blood battle 3 – 0! At one stage, with WPCC 1 – 0 up, Gonzo on the sidelines with a yellow, and no sub, Wardy got a deflection to his eye and time had to be stopped, so a tissue could get shoved in his wound to stop the bleeding. Eew! Wardy rated his toughness against Club Captain Shane Clarke though, who not only got an overhead (from less than a yard away) to the head, but had to be taken to VP for “3 levels of stitches” (18). And although time still had to be stopped again for Barry’s finger incident (sorry, we missed it), the team held strong to at least draw the second half. This must have been due to the intense half-time talk by the entire team, including chirps of “you sound like girls” and “we’re playing like crap”. The team was then honoured with the late arrival of Craig Sieben, whose very “innovative” slides and dives into tackles, left a rather flustered umpire blowing the whistle for no apparent reason, or rather for (according to Craig) “being taller than the opposition”.
It must be said though, they put on quite a performance. Especially when the recounted their efforts with some rather elaborate story telling and a few beers back at the Pinelands club after the game!
– Gillian Fraser, Justine Tribe and Carla Clarke
Hmm, ball to the face, trip to Vincent Pallotti casualty, visit to a busy plastic surgeon, deep and surface stiches (and plenty of them)… Where have I heard this before? Get your own bloody story Shane!
– Marc Pelteret
M2 A (4th team) vs WPCC A: 2 – 3 loss
M2 B (5th team) vs Somerset West: 5 – 3 win
M3 (6th team) vs WPCC: 3 – 0 win
We laughed at the ladies who came off the field before us, all looking half-drowned. Unfortunately for us, the rain they played in didn’t stop for our game. After some chatter about calling off the match, we manned up and decided to go ahead. And so the first half started in the rain… and it also ended in it: it just poured down the entire half.
We played an absolutely fantastic game – everything just came together so nicely despite the weather. Good running and passing gave us lots of room to work with and we were just all over them. As always, a good-spirited game against the Pheasants. Our thanks to Petal, Indy and Jarrod for filling in, as well as Savage for reffing when no-one else would!
– Marc Pelteret
M4 (7th team) (Mighty Dodo’s) vs Langa: 2 – 1 win
After previously losing convincing to Langa on the Bishops Astro, there was skepticism amongst the team for accepting the challenge a second time round. This was compounded by the fact that a number of key defensive players were missing. Peela was absent once again in goals, forcing Petal to take the pads. We created few chances, but managed to take those that we did. Dozy scored with a great strike from a tight angle while the second saw Al Capon finish a strong team movement that he started deep in midfield. Langa were unlucky to have only scored the one goal through a deflected short corner while the Dodos soaked up pressure for the better part of the game. This was a strong team performance with a number of players playing in unfamiliar positions. Special mention must go to Petal for a number of top saves, Big Rob for directing the back and Dozy for cleaning up deep in the middle. Dodo of the Day: Indy.
– Garrick “Indy” Jones
M5 (8th team): bye
M6 (9th team) vs Belhar: 0 – 0 draw
Certainly not a game to be remembered!
– Jimmy Mills
Masters A vs Cape Town: 1 – 0 win
A good win against a strong Cape Town side. We certainly had a couple of golden opportunities to up the score (don’t worry PK, we forgive you for showing them mercy!). Some good work by John in goals prevented CT from put anything in the back of the net. He was ably supported by Haas whose masterful dribbling through a couple of opposition players brought a tear to my eye (though he nearly made me cry when he then went and passed the ball straight to the opposition!).
– Marc Pelteret
Masters B (Wynspan) vs X: bye
