Heads held high as Buccs finish fourth
Team Bath Buccaneers ladies finished fourth at the indoor Super 6s Championship Division 2 North round-robin. The ladies, who qualified by winning the South West Regional Finals, were outstanding all weekend with their efforts and can be proud of their achievement in wining two and losing three matches to the eventual qualifiers, competitive throughout. On the opening Saturday they faced a well-organised Brooklands Poynton team, who played good indoor hockey. In the first half Buccs matched them and went into half-time 2-1 up. They did well to keep their shape in the first half and deny the opposition opportunities to score. However, after the break Team Bath lost their shape and were on the receiving end of several contentious umpiring decisions. Next up came against Leeds and Buccs’ confidence entering the contest was well placed as they claimed a 5-2 triumph, Olivia Hamilton hitting a hat-trick. There were three Sunday games to contend with and, with only two players on the bench and facing larger squads, a recurring theme became apparent. Against Stourport the ladies produced a great performance and were level at 3-3 come half-time. In the 27th minute of the second half the score was 4-4, before Stourport were awarded two penalty strokes. which proved the difference. Second up was Cannock, who had struggled all weekend and were put to the sword, Team Bath running out 6-2 winners with a hattrick from Sophie Hamilton. The last game of the competition was against a strong Repton side who boasted some accomplished players including a former England international. At this stage there were some tired legs in the camp, but Buccs saved their best half of hockey for the match as they led 5-3 midway through the contest. The second half was also impressive with a 6-5 advantage on the 30-minute mark, only for Repton to score three unanswered goals in the final quarter to secure victory. A club spokersperson said: “A big thank you to all the players who were involved in both competitions and for giving their best on the court. “A special mention to Amelie Green who did all the organisation and was the drive behind giving players this opportunity. “A thank you also to Ian Cordwell who gave his time to coach the ladies. “It has been a great experience and hopefully the players can take their indoor skills into their play on the outfield pitch as leagues resume later in the month.” Buccs’ men finished bottom of the Super 6s Premier Division table with just one draw from their eight games. Team Bath picked up that point from their penultimate contest - a 4-4 tie with Canterbury - but finished the final day with a 13-5 defeat to eventual runners-up Surbiton. On the Saturday, they had lost 5-2 to East Grinstead, before a 9-4 defeat against Wimbledon in the last match of the day.
It all seemed inevitable. Exactly 25 years to the day, the Romans battled to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City in the FA Cup third round, manager Jerry Gill part of the side that held the second-tier club in their own backyard. Their previous meeting with Slough, in March 1997, finished goalless. Slough’s home, Arbour Park, has witnessed the fewest goals in National League South this season, just 22, with nine conceded the best home defence. They hadn’t scored in their last two matches, City hadn’t conceded in their last three. In the event, there were more cautions than shots on target. Six times City entered Lee Brennan’s notebook, which will result in a fine from the FA, Slough receiving two in the encounter, which wasn’t as fiery the statistics suggest. Slough started brightly, Kevin Amankwaah nearly putting through his own goal in connecting with Warren Harris’s driven cross, Ryan Clarke showing sharp reactions to block. Clarke was the first to be booked when he was adjudged to have upended Ben Harris, though replays suggest he was hugely unfortunate. Robbie Cundy, Jack Batten and Joe Raynes joined the club before the half was out. Gill changed the shape at halftime, reverting to a back four, but was thrown into a further quandary when Amankwaah pulled a muscle, with Matt Richards taking his place five minutes into the second period. The Rebels took advantage of this reshuffle, with Clarke keeping out Scott Davies’ stinging drive. City’s fitness through this hectic schedule has earned much praise from their manager, who would have been impressed with debutant Freddie Hinds’ energy levels considering his lack of game time. He created three openings for himself late on, narrowly driving wide from a difficult angle, before producing the best quality of the match, expertly controlling Cundy’s knockdown and arrowing a shot towards the top corner, but Jack Turner splendidly palmed it over. The Bristol City loanee hit the outside of the post in the dying stages to almost nick the points, but in the circumstances, a point away from home with a threadbare squad was deemed useful. It was a first 0-0 away in the league in 89 matches for the Romans, so maybe it wasn’t as predictable as stated.