7/5/07

Norwich Union were drawn in Pool A and began with 3 goalless draws in their first three games on grass against Bury A,Ipswich and Harleston with the defence and Robbie in goal looking comfortable.Chances were being created but the finishing touch could not be found.
Then in the teams first astro game Union beat Thetford 2-1(after a tactical change) after trailing 1-0, with the goals from a short corner strike from Trig and a close range goal from Will Kirby.This left the team needing a scoring draw or a win in our last pool game against the group leaders who had won their previous 4 games to finish runners-up in the pool.After going 1-0 down after a forwards deflection then hit Pentin's foot and went past Robbie an equaliser was scored by Mike Banham from a short corner and a 1-1 draw was secured.
In the semi the team played Market Deeping who were from a higher level and they soon went ahead 2-0 and then the game became bad tempered and though the team pressed hard the score stayed the same at the final whistle.Despite the wet weather it was good fun and an enjoyable experience for all the players.

Squad:Robbie Whiting, Mike Banham,Glenn Tobias, David Pentin, Patrick VanEerten, Clay Hamilton, Will Kirby,Tom Banham,Alan Quinton,Trig,Matt Willson,Ollie Ireland.

23/3/07

Report from Norwich City Website :

City concluded their season in nailbiting fashion and following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Union left the pitch thinking that they may have blown their chances of promotion. City went into the match as league leaders one point ahead of second placed Cranes and three points ahead of third placed Sudbury and a superior goal difference to Sudbury by six goals. In an even match both sides created chances but City failed to convert any of theirs, unusually failing from their many short corners whilst Union converted three of their chances. After the final whistle news filtered through that Gorleston had beaten second placed Cranes and that Sudbury''s opposition had failed to fulfil their fixture and that Sudbury were awarded a 3-0 win. This meant that City and Sudbury were promoted with both teams now having the same goal difference, however by virtue of scoring 87 goals to Sudburys 72 City III''s were promoted as league champions.

23/3/07

10/3/07

24/2/07

24/2/07

24/2/07

24/2/07

The early list of 14 players this week was soon whittled down so that by Friday night we were travelling with only 12 (11.5 with the sub-par health of the skipper). Special thanks to Richard Moulson for agreeing to play when he’d rather not have!

A fairly sociable 11am meet at Pinebanks was soon thrown into pandemonium as the skipper realised he’d left the shirts in Taverham. The first car was quickly filled and dispatched for a detour. It’s likely most of the other players rolled in late – the usually do – but for once it wasn’t recorded. The journey to Newport, near Saffron Walden was uneventful and the team arrived in lots of time for conversation in the dressing room and the captain’s briefing. Once the warm-up was moved from the main car-park thoroughfare it went pretty much to plan. The team arrived pitchside just as the game before ended and worked up to match pace with the infamous ‘Cross of Death’ sprint routine before passing and Jim-killing were brushed up. Union started with the wind at their backs and the captain croakily exhorting them onwards from the bench in between paroxysms of coughing.

So what went wrong? Saffron Walden played a very bold style pushing lots of players forward and then retreating en masse through the middle of the park to slow down counter-attacks. This left the wings very exposed at times. It was obvious early on why Saffron Walden have such high scoring games! Walden opened the scoring quite early on after a period of domination and soon had a second ‘goal’ disallowed after it went in off a striker’s arm (I think that was the reason). Union finally found their feet a bit but conceded again twice before finally finishing through Tom Bell.

Despite not coming on until 30 minutes in, the captain found himself on the brink of a card as union started to grumble rather too much about some of the decision, particularly at the end they were attacking. Not a smart move when that’s your end in the second half boys! Half time brought a useful discussion about Walden’s tactics and play afterwards was much better. Union had a 15 minute period of acendancy where there were plenty of chances to bring the game towards parity Chris Simmonds fired one in just wide of the post, which a defender graciously turned into his own net, but Walden managed to force a short corner in despite Jim getting a stick to it. The latter stages were marred by Union’s growing frustration. Goals weren’t forthcoming despite some good possession and the umpire at the defensive end was seeing intent in tackles that were just clumsy. Simmo finally said too much after a high ball left its mark and was dispatched to the corner. End result Saffron Walden 4 – Union 2.

17/2/07

17/2/07

17/2/07

A home game, against a struggling opposition. Should be ours to take. Was it going to be that easy?

With a squad of 13, Union looked fairly strong. The continued absence of Robbie ‘under the thumb’ Kay led to a decision by the skipper to place himself in the centre back position to leave the rest of the defence unchanged. Simmonds returned to left midfield allowing Oli Browne to go up front. The other Browne brother returned from skiing, initially bolstering the bench as did Neil ‘Spender’ Harrison.After a suitable warm-up union began the game. The opposition inexplicably chose to play into the sun and gifted us the start and the first few minutes saw pressure on the Old De Ferrian defence. A short corner flick was well saved but union looked to have the upper hand. What actually happened was union mentally wrote off their opponents and spent the rest of the half charging down the middle and hitting hopeful balls. One of these punts at the oppo finally paid off as the ball was played in smartly by Oli for Tom to take a reverse stick swipe at. Edd showed Tom how to aim the same technique at goal and we were leading. During the half ODF did manage to make a few chances but the best - a dangerous cross to the goal-hanging forward – missed everyone and Jim was equal to all the rest. A 1-0 lead at half time was probably about right.The half time talk was aimed at getting the home team to start playing some hockey and there were a few signs that things might have picked up. The ball moved wider more and runs were made into the corner or the pitch. Unfortunately, most of the chances petered out through poor touches or over-ambitious running with the ball and with ODF rarely troubling the half became rather dull (please can I play up front now). As the half progressed Alex bagged himself a goal as the ball levitated across the face and Oli added a final touch on another (unless you ask his brother who scored). Other chances were missed as a lack of incisive play and general malaise swept through the pitch with the halcyon conditions more suitable for parasols and pimms. Somewhere along the lines Simmo managed to pick up a green card. Stupid Boy! Anyway, three valuable points for Union. Two hard away games to follow and every point helps. Union are now in relegation position on goals scored, equal on points with Bedford and Witham.

10/2/07

Report from Gorleston Website - very fair & unbiased:

This was a vital game for Gorleston to win and with defeat probably goes their last chance for promotion this season. Despite fielding a strong team Gorleston never really got going until the second half and by then the game was beyond their reach.
Played in steady drizzle Gorleston's first half performance was disappointing and they seemed unable to match the visitors better organization and eye for opportunities. Penned back in defence for much of the opening quarter Norwich Union's first goal was typical - a break down the right wing was covered but when the cross came Colin Birch nipped in front of his marker to give Barney King in goal no chance at close range. Still the Gorleston forward line were unable to make an impression and tempers flared briefly before half-time when the visitors were awarded a second goal. A shot from outside the circle appeared to go through a crowd of players untouched into the net but the second umpire on the far touchline insisted Union's Richard Draeger had got a deflection on the ball inside and after a lengthy conference with his colleague a goal was awarded.

Immediately after the interval the visitors struck again with their best and the decisive goal. Cley Hamilton made a darting run into the Gorleston circle beating his two markers and although he appeared to have taken the ball wide of the goal his reverse stick shot was too quick and accurate for Barney to deal with. It was only then that Gorleston seemed to come to life playing with the style and freedom of they are well capable. The catalyst was a well-taken short corner goal which Jamie Higginbotham flashed into the top corner of the visitors net and for the rest of the game the ball rarely left their half. But Norwich Union are not the sort of team to buckle under pressure and a well drilled defensive display saw them hold out for the three points which keep them third in the Division 4 NE League table with a game in hand and a real opportunity for promotion themselves. Gorleston now drop to fifth place.

10/2/07

10/2/07

As the day wore on it became apparent that the snow wasn't going to have a long life in the UK and that there was little chance of a reprieve for the depleted Union side. News the Oli Browne had succumbed to a basketball injury and that his thumb may have gone the way of an England metatarsal necessitated the inclusions of Mr York-Smith, Wolf and as it turned out, a drunken Foxy. Already unavailable were Spender, Simmo, Alex, and Rob for a variety of reasons. Later siscovered that Oli Browne found to be injured but intact. - being 11th man brought out a feeling of heroism and he signed up

Union began fairly brightly despite a slightly curtailed warm-up. The first goal was scored by Oli Browne and all looked good. Brentwood looked to counter-attack down the flanks but managed to equalise by a spot of fortune with a loose ball that eluded the defence and fell just right for the forward. Still, Union held the centre of the pitch and they retook the lead. Luke King overlapped down the right and his first-time hit found its mark. And then it went wrong… Union had had the better of the game and seemed worth their lead. A short corner drag-flick hit the inside of the post and narrowly missed the opposite post as it pinged across the goal. Had it gone in then that might have caused Brentwood to capitulate. Instead, Brentwood one first one and then a second penalty stroke. Both were correctly awarded and ruthlessly dispatched.

At half time Union were 3-2 down despite their long periods of possession. Almost immediately after the restart another disaster occurred. Luke made an overly generous pass to the opposition who promptly took a two goal lead. Union retreated under the onslaught from a resurgent opposition and conceded a further two goals. A feisty spell saw Tom Bell earn a green card as he battled a similarly testosterone-charged foe and the last bit of spirit from the weary Union saw a shot from Mystic redirected on target by Oli. The final moments saw the centre back and sweeper pushing up like Peter Schmeichel for a late corner but to no avail. The journey home was aided by a few beers after Moulson's failure to find Wtham Tesco was retrieved by a high street off licence. PYS bought the port although cheese plans had to be abandoned. Somewhere in the final paragraph, Foxy didn't score.

10/2/07

3/2/07

3/2/07

Languishing once more in the relegation zone, Union were under pressure to regain the initiative and aim for full points. City of Peterborough meanwhile were looking to challenge for an outside chance at promotion. A close match in the first half of the season was won with a last-gasp goal by Peterborough but a strong union squad were up to redress the balance. Union started brightly (for a change), working extremely hard with the comforting sight of strength on the bench. Defence from the front was the order of the day and was continued energetically right through the team. The opening goal was to come via some well worked passing by a number of union players, Oli Browne finding his mark after a week off. Other chances fell to several players and went wide but good defending kept too many clear chances falling to the dangerous Peterborough strikers. Another goal by Oli took Union in at half time with a solid 2-0 lead

Peterborough’s interval talk clearly encouraged a more aggressive style of play as they tried to regain the initiative. Union fought hard to contain the attacks and Jim was called on to make a number of important saves. The depth on the bench was tested to the limit as players squeezed every last drop of their reserves out. Chances fell to both sides but neither looked destined to be successful. A moment of madness from Robbie Kay could have seen him taking an enforced break but the umpire showed a green card and the ball was retrieved from where it had been petulantly kicked to. The ensuing short corner, given prior to the offence was defended bravely and the loose ball cleared by Jim to great relief. With the second half ending in deadlock union were able to leave the field triumphant. Our first clean sheet was a credit to the Jim and the defence. Dave Rutherford was man of the match. In further divisional news, Witham stayed just out of reach with a narrow win but Bedford slipped up to allow Union to leave the bottom four again. We now have to play all the teams below us before the season’s end so it’s within our own hands to survive. On this week’s performance we are in with a good chance.

3/2/07

27/1/07

Hi All. Here’s time for some of my usual musings:

Early on a cool and grey Saturday morning, the Union first XI saddled up in a Moulson-driven minibus to head for darkest Essex. Witham have been Union’s bogey team for several years now but have struggled in recent months and tumbled down the table. A win for Union would put 6 points between the two sides and maintain our climb.A new pitch, in Witham itself, offered promise of a better surface than that at Braintree leisure centre although yet to be built facilities caused the team to travel changed. Despite this, a critical decision not to stop at services left several of the team warming up rather gingerly in a ‘John Wayne’ style of movement. The pitch itself proved to be slow and rather bouncy which undoubtably had something to do with the number of missed stops and failed skills to come. The match started and immediately the men in pink (the ones with whistles) made a crucial impact on the outcome. A strong early challenge by Rich Smith just inside Union’s 25 was penalised with a short corner and a still day-dreaming defence failed to clear a dangerous ball wide of Giles’ left post. One-nil down before working up a sweat. The half proceded in a very uniform manner; Witham banged the ball hard down their right flank to a forward who tried repeatedly taking on Rich Smith. Most tackles by Smith and also by Chris Simmonds were penalised despite the hammering everyone else seemed to take in 50-50 challenges. Union failed to gel up front and created few chances and no short corners. To cap a miserable 35 minutes, Witham scored again just before half time after a well worked short corner dragged everyone out of position and Giles was unable to keep it out.Two is never enough – we’ve seen that many times before and so hope remained.

At least, until the whistle blew and the match restarted. The second half was pretty much as turgid as the first and even when Witham went down to 10 men after a fairly innocuous challenge things didn’t really look like changing. A few short corners were won but didn’t realise anything. With a few minutes to go some fancy footwork and a 70 yard pass put a striker through one on one with Giles and he found his mark. Had Union been so clinical then things might have been different.So what now? We know we can play better than that so it’s time to mark that as a never-to-be-repeated low. A few missing players return to bolster the side and the short corner practice which was put off due to the lack of a training session will surely become a priority. Union have played some very impressive hockey at times this season but it needs to happen every week.

27/1/07

20/1/07

Time for more waffle from the first team – a match with lots to talk about!

The first post-Christmas league match was against high-flying Cambridgeshire Nomads, who had convincingly beaten Union at home. This was a very different side though and confidence was high.An earnest team talk was followed by a comprehensive warm-up on the pitch and for a change, Union looked ready to play from the off. A tactical error by the captain saw us facing into the low sun, having taken the ball. Union held on to it fairly well and the opening exchanges were quite even.It took a short corner for things to go wrong, A change of angle from the striker opened up a clear shot which thumped into the backboard. A further short corner was awarded after a clearance kick deflected up to give Luke a cut forehead. The argument as to whether Jim had raised the ball progressed until a green card was shown and Nomads added insult to injury by hammering home again.Two is never enough. Thus spake the Wolfe many seasons past and so it proved to be.

The introduction of the short-tressed homunculus Tom Bell saw immediate rewards after some unselfish play set him up on the back post. With almost his next touch he was able to muscle through the defence to equalise. Union momentum was to be lost soon after when Jim lost control at the umpire again and was shown a yellow card. Goalkeeping rules have changed. Did anyone else know that? You don’t need to have anyone kitted up and so various options were toyed with and rejected. Thanks to Gary for offering his services but not being on the team-sheet it seemed unwise. Oli Browne offered to stick on a lid and take his chances. Nutter! In the end Luke put on the kit – perhaps still suffering from his bruised pate. The short corner was successfully defended but just before half time another short was bundled over for a well finished hat-trick. 2-3 at half time.Jim returned to the fray for the second half and Union revelled in the return to full strength. Goals from Edd Smith and Rob Kay, both from broken down short corners, gave union the lead although mad substitutions (sorry guys, lost track) perhaps caused havoc.

The win was not to come however as a fourth goal, same guy and another short gave Nomads a point they probably deserved.Good results below leave union in 8th and with a chance to climb next week.

20/1/07

20/1/07

13/1/07

Another grey day, another derby match. When will the season restart? Union started with a promising team. No Oli Browne but the bench was bolstered by the keenness of Spender and the experience of Phil York-Smith. Glen ‘Twitcher’ Richardson saw his chance to escape and went off to watch birds in some far-flung place. Still, 13 is always a luxury. The enthusiasm of the team was immediately apparent as only three players arrived on time. Yes, that’s GMT chaps. Richard Moulson might well have made it but for Robbie ‘I never actually read my email properly’ Kay not noticing the slightly early start time and keeping him waiting. Apologetic texts started to arrive…

The team talk was uninspirational. That was officially voted on after the match so it must be true. The warm up was limp. Then the problems started. Only one umpire? Well, he’s with City so who is ours? Ah, we don’t have an umpire? Frantic phone calls uncovered the unfortunate truth. Thankfully an umpire from the game before agreed to double up and we escaped having two City umpires! (there were both City peeps Rupert). City started very quickly as union struggled to get out of first gear. Playing with three forwards and their defensive line pushed right up to the half way, city were able to apply lots of pressure and it looked like working immediately. Union passes went astray with alarming regularity and a combination of lax marking and rash missed tackles kept Jim on his toes. After a few near-misses a goal was inevitable. Was it the back post tap-in or the short corner first? I’m quite sure I can’t remember! Anyway, at 2-0 down, union found their balls and started to put up a fight. A badly executed short corner (one of several) fell for the skipper to shunt the ball optimistically goalwards. The defender on the line was unlikely to be beaten until up popped substitute ‘Spender’ and rammed it home to bring us back into the game. His attempt to get substituted was greeted from the sideline by the encouraging "when you score another one" and so on he stayed. Another outbreak of foot in mouth disease was starting to spread amongst the union players as they fought for control and a few decisions seemed to lack the hoped-for consistency between umpires. Robbie Kay suffered a full blown attack of the disease and his tourette-style should of "You idiot" right in the umpires face allowed him a well earned sick leave. Half time and out came the Christmas jelly babies. Out too came a whinge from the captain which was lightened towards the end as ‘Mystic’ Edd accentuated the positive. Quickly seizing on this, Snelling said a few jolly things and sent the boys back on their way.

The second half was a close affair. Union had found some confidence on the ball and passing ability which had otherwise eluded them. Sadly it was City who took the initiative when a well used third party (surely not) set up a reverse shot which was nicely slotted away. Union protestations grew until the captain quelled them with a ‘time-out’ which was criticised at the time but which settled the side for the rest of the game. Union made some good raids as City tired (union tired too but that’s not the point) and Ben Miles was able to weave some magic to score and bring the game close again. A typical last five saw union looking dangerous but the game stayed tantalisingly out of reach and ended Union 2 – City 3. Next week sees us back into league action against Cambridge Nomads. We lost this one badly last time but that was a long time ago and a surprise might be in store if they don’t take us seriously.

13/1/07

6/1/07

16/12/06

16/12/06

11am in Spalding. The day after the drinking session. What’s wrong with that picture?

Well, we managed to turn up at Pinebanks with the last arrival about 15 minutes late. Spalding insisted that 11 was the only slot they could get and the league forced the game to go ahead despite a meet time of 8.45. The patisseries provided by Dave Rutherford were much appreciated – bananas being spurned for the sugar rush and we set off. A few minor detours later and we arrived to the duck infested realms of Gleed Boys School. The Spalding team were already out on the pitch and warming up and the umpires soon started the game despite Union having only ten minutes to shake off the journey.

Union started with some woeful displays of passing ceding possession repeatedly, although Spalding’s long ball strategy soon returned it. A sky-scraping aerial down the left wing was narrowly missed behind the opposition defence as the crapulent team in white started to gain the ascendancy. After an imaginatively saved short corner failed to open the skipper’s account the union side finally broke through for Alex Browne to score with a cheeky reverse effort.

Half time saw a tactical swap as Oli Browne’s (non alcoholic) illness started to take hold. Oli moved to the forward line with his brother to hide from the game.With Alex rampaging amongst the maroon defenders, union grew over-confident and chances started to appear at both ends. Oli proved quickest to the ball twice to outscore his sibling but union also conceded a couple of soft goals that on another day might have been negated. With three minutes to go, Ben Miles went to the corner with the ball. The rest is history.

Team for next week. Santa, Rudolf, Dancer, Prancer, Donner, Blitzen, Some elves. Oh who cares? UNION ARE OUT OF THE BOTTOM FOUR!!!

Merry Christmas to you all.

9/12/06

St Neots are flying high above in Division 1, having won 9 of their 11 first half league games. With a bare 11, union went in determined to play some good hockey and make the ball do the work. The absence of Mystic Edd in the middle was countered by the return to the team of Ben Miles after his ‘wilderness years’ in New Zealand. Gary joined the team in the forward line, brimming with desire to show his old club a thing or two.

Union made a terrific start, playing the ball around effectively and making raids into the opposition area. After a couple of sighters including a backhand shot, Ben put himself firmly back into the union affections by seizing on a loose ball to beat the keeper.

St Neots reorganised and started making some worrying breaks with their pacy forwards who included a member of the Lion King cast. A well worked move overwhelmed the cover and Jim was left stranded as the ball was efficiently dispatched into the goal. Soon afterwards, a speculative free hit in towards the post found the stick of Alex Browne who having previously dented the post, tipped it in to regain the lead.

Both teams continued to show they were out for the points and the umpires copped most of the resulting flak. A green card was awarded to a St Neots for chat although in a strange decision a Greg Louganis impression by the Saints striker resulted in an attacking free hit but no card. I don’t think anyone got that one…

The captains were called over at half time to calm down the back-chat and for Union it seemed to work. They soaked up the inevitable pressure and made a series of breaks which finally forced Saints onto the back foot. A raid down the left put Alex through with only the keeper to beat but things went a tad wrong (jug avoidance?) and a move by Gary was forcibly stopped just outside the 25 to produce a rather obvious yellow card.

A lapse in defence allowed Saints to equalise as two defenders were beaten and Dave’s stick struggled like an eel to escape his clutch. The goal was well taken at the near post. Union continued to press and a cross ‘d’ ball to Luke gave him time to pick his spot (and I think he took enough time to pick some flowers too) so hammer home his first Union goal.

Another call to the captains, with the umpire blaming the players for ruining the game for him and there were ninety seconds left. The skipper called for a cynical run into the corner and Ben obliged.

After about 3 minutes of the ninety seconds, with surely no time remaining, the union captain mysteriously put the ball across the area to push for a late extra goal. Surely there was no time left to get down the other end? This moment of madness, which cost heavily in the fines session, gave Saints one last chance although I think limbs would have been lost before they were allowed to take it.

Man of the match was a three way tie although paper-scissors-stone proved Alex to be most worthy. The other two, Ben and Luke get honourable mentions in Dispatches. Frankly, we should all get medals!

9/12/06

2/12/06

25/11/06

18/11/06

A very early start picking up the minibus to make a 9am meet time left me and a few other players looking decidedly bleary-eyed but we made good time with Simmo at the wheel and arrived in Tring to the music of Top Gun and with a growing feeling of enthusiasm creeping in.A quick change and car-park warm-up ensued with us taking the pitch as soon as it was clear and cracking on with the ballwork. The decidedly slow and bouncy pitch taking a bit of getting used to. Another successful coin toss (4 in a row I think) and I chose to play with the sun at our backs and downwind.Before the match I was briefed by one of our reacquired players (he turned down the offer of a trip) on Berko's way of playing hockey. 'Physical, long ball and watch out for the fat, grey haired guy up front - let him talk himself off the pitch as he's capable of it'.The game started with Berko piling forward, hitting long and aiming at the fat, grey haired guy up front and they we were slow to respond with a rather changed side. A few corners went Berko's way (though several breakaways nearly went ours) and they put one in with a ball tipped in on the Jim's left.At this point the final part of the prophecy came true. Number 10, the corpulent, grizzle tressed striker made a comment of "where was the advantage" which the umpire managed to mangle into "you blind B*st*rd!" A yellow card was awarded, which even the union players argued against.At this point the game changed. Union started to get things together. Rich Phillis stepped up to the pace of div one and we started to chuck around some better passes. After several chances going begging, Olly Browne finished crisply from a loose ball in the 'D'.Garnett made his cameo appearance on the pitch and showed that he is still a quality player despite the reduction in his once-searing pace. By halftime we were in the ascendancy and the mood was confident.

After even more chances had not quite found the Berko net, a disaster occurred. A cross found a Berko foot, looped up into the air over Jim and was put away in confusion. The umpire missed the foot and the goal stood.The game was slightly shaky for a while but union settled again and Berko tempers began to fray. Another yellow card was produced and suddenly the game shifted back to the good guys. A top-spin short corner strike from Olly Browne at the top position hit the keeper and somehow jumped over him into the net. Union losing now would have been a travesty and with five minutes to go the keeper failed to stop Alex Browne getting passed him without a desperate lunge. The resulting penalty was converted confidently (Snelling) (after a discussion about the position of the spot relative to the goal - the ball was placed about a foot from the mark to be central).Beer, service stations and singing all featured in the next few hours. Job done.

I think the team deserve real credit for the way they played. This was the antithesis of the Cambridge University game - stifling, smothering tackles with play constantly broken down and long hits predominating. It took ten or fifteen minutes for us to adjust but we did so brilliantly and finished as by far the stronger team. Rich Phillis stepped up very well in difficult circumstances and Garnett showed his class. Edd Smith was man of the match but with three people only a vote behind and three getting a mention, it was very tight.

18/10/06

18/11/06

18/11/06

11/11/06

11/11/06

11/11/06

4/11/06

4/11/06

28/10/06

Pre-match shenanigans led to us accepting a non-pool umpire at one end (the missing man was in New York?). This gave us trouble at one end all game.

Once we started we went quickly a goal down before the game had settled into any rhythm. A foul on Robbie in the area should have been penalised and instead the ball found its way over the line. A second goal came against the improving run of play although we weren’t rattled for too long this time. One of a procession of poor short corners was tipped in by Edd to take us to 2-1 at half time.

We started the second half brightly with some good raids down the middle by Luke and solid defending. Several more short corners went unconverted before we were 3-1 down to a sucker-punch goal. A second Edd Smith goal gave us hope, especially as ODF were reduced to 10 after one too many stick tackles but the overload was poorly used with lots of over-ambitious long balls played (captain also sadly culpable). Despite perhaps being the better side we were unable to find the net again and slipped to 11th of 12. A sick Edd Smith was man of the match with good contributions from Jason Wolfe and very unselfish cover from Neil Shorten when we really needed him. Two home games on the trot now.

28/10/06

28/10/06

28/10/06

21/10/06

21/10/06

21/10/06

14/10/06

14/10/06

14/10/06

14/10/06

7/10/06

7/10/06

7/10/06

So what happened? We started out with a strong-looking team with bench cover to boot and all looked bright. Once again our defence looked excellent, turning over the ball repeatedly. Where things went wrong was with getting over the half-way line and putting Witham under pressure.

After 10 minutes of being a bit under pressure we started to gain a period of ascendancy and after about 20 minutes we created an open goal chance which was unfortunately missed. A couple of further chances went begging but we went into half-time once again at 0-0. This lasted for about 10 minutes before a ball got through and the forward put it in through the rushing Jim’s legs. Two more goals rattled in over the space of about 7 minutes and the game was pretty much over. Despite settling the ship it rarely looked as though Union would actually score. End result 0-3.

30/9/06

A good warm-up and positive attitude meant we started with a good level of confidence. A few formational issues had been talked through and we seemed more more clued up than before. As the game got underway it was clear that we were going to be much more competitive than last week.

So what happened? There were just too many silly mistakes made. Too many runs straight into defender’s sticks and a whole host of passes going astray. Cambridge did far better at taking their chances although Tom showed good persistence to take us into half time at 1-1. Things deteriorated in the second half with a number of instances of indiscipline compounding our problems. Cambridge took the score to 4-1 and heads dropped. A well hit short corner from Olly Browne brought us back into things a bit with ten to go, but the rest of the game played out instalemate. Union are now bottom of the table although only two teams have more than 3 points. There are still lots of positives in the way we defended but we have to hold the ball better.

30/9/06

23/9/06

30/9/06

23/9/06

30/9/06

A good warm-up and positive attitude meant we started with a good level of confidence. A few formational issues had been talked through and we seemed more more clued up than before. As the game got underway it was clear that we were going to be much more competitive than last week.

So what happened? There were just too many silly mistakes made. Too many runs straight into defender’s sticks and a whole host of passes going astray. Cambridge did far better at taking their chances although Tom showed good persistence to take us into half time at 1-1. Things deteriorated in the second half with a number of instances of indiscipline compounding our problems. Cambridge took the score to 4-1 and heads dropped. A well hit short corner from Olly Browne brought us back into things a bit with ten to go, but the rest of the game played out instalemate. Union are now bottom of the table although only two teams have more than 3 points. There are still lots of positives in the way we defended but we have to hold the ball better.

23/9/06

23/9/06

16/9/06