LADIES
LGC (1st team) vs WPCC B: 1 – 0 win
There was a strange calmness that befell the team after this, our dramatic second win of the season. Maybe it was the tiredness from all that running and scramble defending. Maybe it was the mental exhaustion from concentrating for a full 70 minutes. Whatever it was, it was a good feeling. A fantastic win made possible by some rock-solid defending and what must be the goal of the season by Julie “Andrews” Richards with an amazing deflection into the top of the net. A well deserved victory – woohoo!
– Kate Bester
LTC (2nd team) vs Milnerton: 3 – 1 win
In danger of being relegated, we knew we had to win this one. After a very successful week of practices, we went into our game against unpredictable Milnerton determined to walk away with four points at least. The game didn’t start off so well, only having 10 players, but Lara raced from her game to help us out and we are so grateful that she did! Unfortunately, Milnerton managed to get a goal in while our numbers were down. We held our defence very well and Milnerton struggled to penetrate into the circle. We took a while to get our game plan in action, but when we finally did, we were stringing passes together beautifully and giving Milnerton a lot to worry about. Half-time came and went, and we made a few positional changes which really seemed to help. For the first ten minutes of the second half, we put Milnerton under a lot of pressure and eventually it paid off with a very well worked goal between the forwards eventually put in by Dani Espadeiro. With the scores level and still about 20 minutes to play, we knew we could win this one. the forwards and links applied great pressure and we got a lot of shorties. After about ten different variations, Helen West finally slotted one. 2 – 1. Not two minutes later, Tarryn Gilchrist made it 3 – 1 with a textbook deflection from the post. We kept the Milnerton attack at bay for the remainder pf the game and walked away deserved winners. This week is Mutual CPUT and another win! Thanks very much to Michelle Hoben for umpiring and, once again, to Lara Valstar for stepping in for us.
– Helen West
L2 A (3rd team) vs WPCC B: 1 – 2 loss
Somewhat depleted with a couple of players being sick, we took to the field against the WPCC “Masters” team. We knew they would come down the middle and that our team would have to pull wide and try to split their defence with high hanging forwards. However, the board talk really did prove a lot easier than putting it all into practice! We went into the half-time break with a 1 – 0 deficit but the last 20 minutes of the first half had territorially belong to to us, with snappy passes and major pressure on attack. Early in the second half, Chloe the “miggie” snagged a long ball, passed out wide, received on the p-spot, was unmarked and slotted home our equaliser! Then we held them until they got a shortie and an unlucky deflection off a defenders’ stick saw them claim their second game. Seriously though, the match was ours and we were robbed! Well done team – keep the flag flying as I wing my way across to the States. See you all on the rebound!
– Lara Valstar
L2 B (4th team) (Masters) vs WPCC A: 4 – 0 win
This week we were down to 12, so we asked KT Belman to fill in for us – which she gladly agreed to do. We also had Sandi Smith as the manageress and the Paul West on umpire duty – thanks! The day started out a bit of a shambles with half the team arriving late for the team talk and one player, Sharlene “Oh-my-gosh” Kruger, still packing her kit out when she got a call at 13h00 to say, where are you, is everything ok? The WPCC side looked like a new team with a couple of experienced players in the team. After 10 minutes of WPCC camping in our half, we knew we were in for a good game. The big five, ooops I mean the back five, managed to soak up the pressure and not allow WPCC to score. WPCC were unable to convert a short corner opportunity and Pinelands passed the ball quickly and accurately to force a short corner. Michelle “Legend” Hoben took a straight shot and Molly “Cruiser” Roach was there to pick the ball up off the goalie’s pads for our first goal (against the run of play). Our next goal was courtesy of Nadya “Zoooooom” Buchanan running the baseline and pushing the ball to p-spot for Careen “Cracker” Mckinon to slot. The third goal was a classic Nadya “Zooooooooom” Buchanan goal – Nadya received the ball just over the half way line and managed to dribble and dodge her way past the WPCC defence to cheekily reverse flick the ball over the goalie’s boot. The bonus point came at the end of play… Short corner whistle followed by end of game whistle. How many players does it take to score a short-corner goal? … Five… Nadya, MH, Careen, Molly, Dale! A victorious bonus point win. The team played really well – everyone stuck to the game-plane and worked really hard to play our structured, simple hockey. I am glad I did not have to choose the player of the match. Next stop Northlink at Hartleyvale A at 13h30. See you there!
– Cindy Dyamond
L4 (5th team) vs WPCC: 2 – 1 win
The ladies L4 side has come a long way from the first half of the season where they won one game in nine starts. Already this half they have won three, drawn two and lost only one. The win on Saturday coming against a plucky WPCC side who did not have a keeper but a sweeper who was, freakishly, probably better than any keeper they could have supplied. The girls controlled the game from the start and I think they should be suitably happy with their win. I look forward to the final two games they have and I am hoping we can finish the second half of the season with five wins and only one loss to complete a fantastic turnaround in their season!
– X
L5 (6th team) vs Fish Hoek: 0 – 5 loss
The L5 team had a disappointing weekend, losing 5 – 0 to Fish Hoek at home. We seem to put in far better performances when our coach is on the sideline having a slight heart attack, unfortunately he had to be with the L4 team who were playing away at the same time (which he might have chosen to do for health reasons). We still have two more games this season, so hope to sneak up on a few teams who are only a few points above us.
– Alison Smith
MEN
MGC (1st team): no game
MTC A (2nd team) vs Fish Hoek: 2 – 5 loss
MTC A (2nd team) vs Stellenbosch A: 2 – 2 draw
MTC B (3rd team) vs Constantiaberg: 0 – 1 loss
Terrible game, we were lethargic and cold not string three passes together. That being said, neither team deserved to win this diabolical affair.
– Liam Bell
MTC B (3rd team) vs Stellenbosch B: 6 – 4 win
A fantastic win to end the weekend for the weary legs in the team. Shane and Wardy were in a battle for top scorer in the match that Wardy threw away after scoring his two goals in the first half. Shane went on to complete his hat-trick in the dying seconds of the game. Barry made a notable addition to the scorers list with a gritty finish to a goalmouth scramble. If only we could get Barry and Gonzo off of our cards issued list.
– Liam Bell
M2 A (4th team) vs WPCC B: 3 – 3 draw
M2 B (5th team) vs Durbanville: 2 – 1 win
M2 B (5th team) vs WPCC A: 3 – 4 loss
M3 (6th team) vs Fish Hoek: 0 – 6 win
Not a good game from our side – it felt like we were continuously under attack, though several goals should have been stopped. But with a couple of key players missing and half the team being half of another team, it’s tough to get things together, especially against a well-drilled team like Fish Hoek. Our thanks to the Dodos for filling in – next time we’ll make sure there’s some of your special Black Label juice, that which gives you your powers! And thanks to Luke for reffing.
– Marc Pelteret
M4 (7th team) (Mighty Dodo’s) vs Mutual CPUT A: Pinelands conceded
M5 (8th team) vs Paarl: 0 – 0 draw
M6 (9th team) vs Mutual CPUT B: 2 – 4 loss
Masters A vs Mutual CPUT: 0 – 2 loss
Masters B (Wynspan) vs WPCC G: ?
