Hockey Report 09 (1976)

HOCKEY

Played 7 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 3 For 20 Against 13

For a side with so little experience, this was a very successful season, despite a mixture of difficult and relatively easy fixtures.

With little talent coming through from the lower sixth, only Lewin and Mountstephen making the side, newcomers had to be "blooded". Three total novices to the game were recruited and, as they gained experience, showed what latent talent has lain untapped in recent years. Lindsay Copleston proved to be a fine defender; Steve Entwistle impressed in all positions and Terry Gibson, despite his lack of height and weight, more than held his own on the wing against far larger opponents. Nowhere was this more apparent than against Merchant Taylor's 3rd XI where, with lan Christy, he was the lynchpin in an outstanding performance by the forwards in a match in which we earned a 3-1 win after both sides had missed penalties.

Burnham, our strongest opponents, hosted our best and our worst performances. At Burnham, with a side including six debutants, on a quagmire of a pitch, we collapsed to a 6-0 defeat, but at King's College Fields, with a more experienced side, we made more of a game of it. After falling behind to an unfortunate own goal in the first half we came back to equalise through a set piece short corner, before being forced back on to the defensive, where we held firm until the last minute when a magical solo goal by the Burnham captain snatched a draw from us. Vyners, unfortunately, could not provide such stem opposition. Despite never getting our game together in the two encounters, 5-1 and 8-0 wins were recorded, the latter including a much deserved first half hat trick by Neil Round, who had an outstanding season in the forward line, and will be much missed next season. Owens' were the first to sample what became our standard line-up and gave it a very stern test. Trying to build on a controversially gained lead, they were continually frustrated by some strong tackling, notably from Steve Hudson, who often gave as good as he got. The traditional closing match against the girls of St Mary's proved unfortunate in that our tactical superiority more than made up for the absence of "Monty Mountstephen, our fine goalminder.

With half of the squad of twelve leaving this year and with little to replace it, more gambles in selection will have to be made, but with a strong nucleus there is much hope for an equally successful season next year.