B2H Tournament 2: “Blown Away (Nearly)…”

Only the brave or the foolhardy would try to run a hockey tournament during a record breaking storm such as Ciaran. There were calls ‘early doors’ by some to cancel due to the forecast of torrential rain and high winds but our enthusiasm for the 7s Tournaments would not be extinguished so easily by a little rain, besides, this is England in the autumn and it is always going to rain. A large gazebo was erected against the forecast inclement weather to keep the off-field players mildly damp, so we pushed on.

The first game saw our old friends The Royals against our new friends from Epsom HC. The rain was lashing around pitch three but our brave B2H guest players managed to get the game rolling. The ball was also rolling around due to the high wind but mostly under the control of the players. LRHC beat EHC 2-1 in a closely contested but very damp match.

Suddenly, the hockey gods shone on us and the clouds parted, the rain stopped and the wind died down. Almost on cue for the second match, the grudge match. Last time out SHC Wolves almost beat SHC Dragons but for the dying minute skill of Daman to even the ledger and the game ended in a draw. This time around, the Wolves were out for blood! It was cagey. No one wanted to give an inch. Tackles were fair but firm, no quarter was given nor asked for and this time, thanks to Matt and Apurva, it also ended in a 1-1 draw.

Game three saw the Wolves take on The Royals. It was a proper ding dong battle with shuffles, stick tackles, back sticks and field goals flying everywhere. It was beginning to look more like an ice hockey match. Thankfully, we had umpire Andy on hand to teach us the finer points of the rules and keep us in check. Gary put a mark down early on the score sheet but Matt was having none of it and put three in the back of the net thus learning another (unwritten) rule of hockey and now owes his team a jug of beer. Sam also grabbed a goal for the Wolves and Gaston from The Royals got one past Will in goal, with the game ending 5-1 to the Wolves.

Game four saw the Dragons take on Epsom. The Dragons, after a strong pre game conflab by captain Sarah, came out of the gates in full swing. Daman, Mike and Sarah all got a goal. Not to be out done by Matt, I managed to grab four and thus, I owe a Jug too now. Emma, who was playing defence and is one of our newest members also sauntered from the back, through the midfield and found herself in front of goal. She then thought, “Well I might as well have a crack at goal too,” and that she did. The ball sailed past the goalie into the back of the net to the rapturous applause from everyone on and off the pitch! The game finally ended 8-0 to the Dragons.

Game five was the Wolves’ turn to play Epsom B2H. Louise, Christina and Sam (again) scored some lovely goals. Gary, who by his standards was having a quiet tournament thus so far, was awoken like a Japanese Anime monster and bagged a triple, thus joining in the jug party. However, not to be out done, Matt could not help himself and nailed his well-practised shuffle routine with a trio as well. Ann, the Clubhouse Manager, was in danger of running out of jugs in the bar at this point. The game ended with the Wolves victorious at 9-0.

Game six saw Will in goal, who at this stage was two and a half hours into his goalkeeping duties. He had played every game, was quite delirious and exclaimed, “Haven’t we played this game already?” Thankfully, we were able to reassure him and pointed him back towards the goal so he was ready to go again! This last game was the Dragons versus The Royals. Sarah gave the Dragons their now customary pre-game pep talk and we were off. Chris, who was having his usual solid day at centre half, joined the goalscoring party and bagged one for himself. Sarah grabbed another and because I really wanted to see how many jugs of beer Ann actually did have, I scored another triple for the team. The match ended 5-0 to the Wolves.

We all bundled back to the much drier clubhouse and were treated to a fantastic Mexican inspired lunch, thanks to the chefs at SHC.

Massive thanks must go to our umpires of Giles, Andy and Maddie without whom we would not be able to play. Thanks again, as always, to Roger for helping organise the tournaments with me and thanks to all of you, the fantastic players who braved the elements and put on some good hockey.

See you all at T3 on the 2nd of December. Hopefully somewhat drier!