City of Peterborough Hockey Club News Articles

Report from the U16 Boys Indoor National Finals

David Heald — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 10:04:17 +0000

The City of Peterborough boys travelled to Aldersley Leisure Centre, Wolverhampton to compete in a tough group including champions from the West and South, who are traditionally the strongest regions in this form of hockey.

The full group was:

Ashmoor (West Champions)
Cannock (Midlands runner-up)
Canterbury (South Champions)
City of Peterborough (East runner-up)
City of York (North runner-up)

CoP v Ashmoor
First up on Saturday were Ashmoor HC, from Devon. They were expected to be strong, with their whole squad being part of the South Dartmoor school team, who were semi-finalists in the National School Indoor held the previous weekend.
A fast start and quick break from City of Peterborough caught Ashmoor a little cold and it was only a sharp save from the Ashmoor keeper that stopped Ben Newman giving CoP a lead in the first thirty seconds. From that point on though Ashmoor took control and CoP were pushed back into defence but were soon behind after an impressive Ashmoor short corner routine made it 1-0. More attacks and penalty corners from Ashmoor followed but CoP managed to hold out until half time battling hard, but with little penetration going forward themselves.
The second half continued as the first, with pressure building and CoP in the end having conceded and defended 13 short corners in the whole game, but only conceding a further 2 short corner goals, plus a penalty stroke when Ben Newman was adjudged to have accidently stopped the ball with his foot on the goal line.
The final few minutes of the game though showed promise for the rest of the tournament as Cameron Heald and Sam Barlow linked to win a short corner where David Fisher deflected in to leave the final score a more respectable 4-1.
The boys left the pitch frustrated that they felt they had not played well, but the support team reminded them that they had been outplayed but never gave up and showed great resilience in defence for the whole game.
(CoP 1 - Ashmoor 4)

CoP v City of York
Having all mulled over the good and bad points from the previous game, the CoP boys were focused and ready for City of York.
They immediately ripped through the York defence with slick passing off the boards and a cool finish from David Fisher. This fast flowing hockey continued throughout the game, with CoP picking balls off from the back and threatening to cut the York defence wide open at every opportunity.
David Fisher added a second, Cameron Heald scored a short corner goal and Ben Newman got one, before David completed his super hat-trick with a fine finish to make five. York managed a couple of goals in response, but never looked able to keep up with the assured display from back to front by the City of Peterborough boys. The score 5-2 showed the gulf in the two sides.
This fine win tied CoP at the end of the first day in second place in the group, with 3 points level with Cannock and Canterbury who they were due to play on the Sunday.
(CoP 5 - City of York 2)

CoP v Canterbury
Canterbury had started the day by putting seven goals past City of York, leaving them just needing a win against CoP to qualify for the semi-finals alongside Ashmoor (who eventually won all four of their group games, semi-final and only lost).
The South champions though were shocked by an early Ben Newman goal, but quickly replied with a high drag flick short corner to make it 1-1. The first half continued with good resilient defence being turned into attack by both sides, but a late yellow card for Ben Newman after he played the ball while on the floor put CoP under massive pressure at the start of the second half.
The resolute five man CoP team incredibly managed to stall the Canterbury six for the full two minute suspension, but this effort took too a lot out of them. As the second half continued the class of the back two from Canterbury showed as they kept control of the ball and were rarely forced into mistakes and their distribution put the Canterbury forwards right in the heart of the CoP defence on many occasions. This pressure led to a short corner goal and one from open play, but at 3-1 down, CoP rallied again and forced a nailbiting finish with a Cameron Heald short corner flick.
CoP had given Canterbury, the South champions and the eventual winners of the tournament a great game and a draw would probably have been the fairest result from the neutrals view.
(CoP 2 - Canterbury 3)

CoP v Cannock
This final game for both teams was in effect a play off for 3rd place in a very tough group (the eventual winner Canterbury and runner up Ashmoor coming from their pool). With a better goal difference the CoP management knew a draw was good enough for them, but sent out the team to win and finish the tournament on a high.
An early Ben Newman goal finished another CoP slick passing move, when he slid the ball under the advancing keeper to make it 1-0. Cannock soon equalised with a deflection off a ball fired into the CoP, that Michal Kowalski could do little to see, let alone save. CoP again pushed forward and deservedly took the lead back with another goal from David Fisher. It was not long though before a second Cannock goal tied the scores just before half-time at 2-2.
The second half was much tighter, but the best chances falling to the CoP boys who played the passing game, while Cannock were again and again forced into trying to force the ball at speed into the CoP defence or just run into the tough CoP defence who soaked up everything. In the last two minutes chance fell to City of Peterborough with Euan Gilmour missing by inches after some neat attack play and both Ben and David Fisher giving everything to get the winning goal only to be thwarted by good saves from the Cannock keeper. The game finished with Ben Newman having the last play and a final shot well saved with seconds on the clock.
The result didn't tell the story of the game, but the 3rd place finish in the toughest group showed how well CoP had played.
(CoP 2 - Cannock 2)

The whole squad should be proud of their performance and were a credit to the club, both on and off the pitch.

Captain Cameron Heald worked tirelessly in the midfield with little to no rest. He stifled the middle and broke forward at every opportunity.
Ben Newman ran and ran until near exhaustion in every game and was a threat up front throughout.
David Fisher scored five goals including a great hat-trick, but also harried defenders constantly into mistakes.
Chris Pepper played in all positions and gave problems for defender when switched to play as a forward as the tournament progressed.
Michal Kowalski made strings of saves and gave an almost faultless performance in over 90 minutes of intense hockey.
Scott Howard was assured and cool in defence, and his passing out from the back was controlled setting defence into attack time after time.
Ainsley Augustine was a rock at the back in every minute he played. Never bullied by stronger forwards he constantly game out with the ball from tackle after tackle.
Sam Biccarino made some superb timed tackles to deny goal scoring opportunities and played a big part in the rotating defence.
Sam Barlow and Euan Gilmour didn't just provide respite for the hard working first choice forward line, but caused problems of their own and both deserved goals for their effort.

The City of Peterborough squad were:

Cameron Heald (Captain)
Scott Howard (Vice Captain)
Michal Kowalski (Goalkeeper)
Chris Pepper
Ainsley Augustine
David Fisher
Ben Newman
Sam Barlow
Sam Biccarino
Euan Gilmour

They were supported by Rob Fisher (coach), David Heald (team manager) & Hannah Dallender-Jones (physio).

Olympic Hockey Tickets for CoP Members!

Jane Wilson — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:23:01 +0000

City of Peterborough Hockey Club has received notification of its allocation of tickets to purchase for Olympic Hockey qualifying games.

The club has received an allocation of 28 tickets at £20 each, which we are allowed to sell to our members at face value only.

Obviously way more than 28 members are going to want these - so the Committee will be coming up with some form of ballot or raffle to allow everyone the same opportunity to purchase them.

There is no guarantee of which game the tickets will be for, but they will be for one session of 2 pool matches between 29th July and 7th August. All the tickets will be allocated to the same session to allow club members to sit together.

Watch this space for more details!

Boys U16 & U18 EH games - Sun 6th March 2011

Jane Wilson — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:46:55 +0000

Sunday 6th March sees both U16 boys and U18 boys in action in the quarter finals of their respective competitions

The U16 Boys play away against top Northern side Ben Rhydding, based near Bradford, in a game where the winner will reach the finals weekend of the EH Boys U16 Cup. In the last round, CoP U16 defeated a Harleston Magpies side in the last round fielding 2 England U16 players, and whom Harleston viewed as their best team for several years, so the spirit amongst the Peterborough boys is very high.

The U18 Boys have a home tie against Southgate U18s in the last 8 of the EH Boys U18 Plate. Southgate HC is one of the founder members of the England Hockey League with their juniors coached by former GB player Jon Shaw so a cracking game is in prospect at Bretton Gate on Sunday afternoon.

Supporters will be very welcome!

Newest member of CoP finally arrives

Jane Wilson — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:20:44 +0000

Baby Aiden Green arrived this evening 19.58

Weighing in at a comfortable 7.7lbs.

Mother and baby doing well. Fully expect to see Iain turning out for the 5th XI tomorrow now he has nothing else to do...

Congratulations to both from everyone at CoPHC!

City of Peterborough Under 16 Boys – Lost on the Moors

David Heald — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:12:30 +0000

City of Peterborough 1 – 1 Ben Rhydding (Ben Rhydding won 4 – 3 after penalty strokes)

(Scorer: Cameron Heald – P.C.)

Coach Mike Yeoman couldn’t really have asked for more from the squad in way they had trained and prepared for this crucial match. The almost perfect build up over the weekend delivered the boys fuelled, fresh and focused to the foot of Ilkley Moor, where Ben Rhydding Hockey Club sits. Ultimately, though after leading in the game, they were very unlucky to lose out to a disputed umpiring decision and eventually to the lottery of a Penalty Strokes shootout.

In front of a large Ben Rhydding crowd, the City of Peterborough defence retained the ball well in the first few minutes with the Ben Rhydding boys employing a half court press. Eventually, this cover was sprung and the first early attack came to City, but ended without them managing to achieve a clear cut chance. Ben Rhydding also moved the ball around competently at the back, but in contrast, the City of Peterborough front two chased constantly trying to force a mistake.

This was the pattern of much of the first half, with neither team creating real openings or chances to score apart from the occasional short corner, where Ben Rhydding shaded the count. At one of these short corners, Michal Kowalski, in the City goal, made a fine double save to keep out Ben Rhydding, but others came to nothing.

The half time team talk from Mike Yeoman focused on the balance of the game and the need to be patient. However, the City boys had other ideas and shot out at Ben Rhydding straight from the whistle. Soon, they had forced a mistake in the midfield and broke into the D, winning an early short corner. The injection to Cameron Heald was pushed right to Ben Newman, who slipped the ball back to Cameron who then beat a defender and coolly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper into the corner.

Ben Rhydding jumped back at City straight from the restart, but pressure was soaked up and the defence coped with much that was taken to them. The pattern of the game changed for a period at this time, opening up, but it was City of Peterborough that created the clearest chances. The first when a ball fired across into the D, beat defenders and keeper, but with Ben Newman arriving late from his left wing the ball agonisingly hit his foot before he could sweep it into the goal. Next, Grady Wing was put though, and he glided across the front of goal, but unfortunately couldn’t get enough on a reverse stick flick to beat the keeper. The third and eventually the final opportunity for City fell to Leo Davies who turned and shot from near to the top of the D, but didn’t quite get enough power and the Ben Rhydding keeper dived to get a stick to the ball and push it wide.

After failing to capitalise on this period of pressure, Peterborough were pushed back by some strong running on the ball down both flanks from Ben Rhydding. These resulted in a few half chances and a number of short corners, but despite this it didn’t look like the hard working defence and midfield would be breached.

In the end, the game changing moment started from a mixture of confusion and crowd coercion. A sideline ball for Ben Rhydding was taken, then the umpire called for it to be retaken from a different place further forward inside the ’25. As the player moved the ball up, Chris Pepper obviously not realising the hit was to be retaken, stepped forward to challenge, but was blown up by the umpire for delaying the restart. Confused, he moved away, with the umpire signalling for another free hit, but a “third umpire” in the crowd called for the upgrade to a short corner. After reconsidering the point, the umpire changed his decision signalling a short corner to the amazement of the City of Peterborough boys.

At the subsequent short corner, a low hard shot was seen to have struck Scott Howard’s foot on the line and the umpire signalled a penalty stroke. This was well dispatched by the Ben Rhydding forward, who gave Michal Kowalski little chance.

With the feeling of injustice still fresh in mind, the focus for some of the City of Peterborough boys was lost. The remaining minutes of the game passed though without Ben Rhydding looking likely to convert the pressure into another goal, but with City of Peterborough not making much progress forward at all. The whistle went for full time and into Penalty Strokes without any further incident, but still with some players upset.

The Penalty Stroke competition went as follows:

Matthew Anderson was up first, but had his stroke saved. Kowalski got a pad to Ben Rhydding’s first stroke but it still found the net (0 – 1).
Cameron Heald placed his stroke into the right hand side netting (1 – 1). A second stroke from Rhydding again had a Kowalski hand half on it before going in (1 – 2).
Third up, David Fisher had his stroke superbly saved by the Ben Rhydding keeper, diving low and deflecting wide with his stick. Michal Kowalski then did what he had threatened to do and saved well to keep Peterborough in it.
Ben Newman, still stoked up from the game, fired his high into the net (2 – 2). Kowalski then repeated the save to keep the scores even after four strokes.
Grady Wing, put a fine flick coolly away to pile the pressure back onto Ben Rhydding for the first time in the competition (3 – 2). Ben Rhydding, then scored the final flick to take the competition to “sudden death” (3 – 3)
Captain, Cameron Heald stepped up for City of Peterborough, but had his stroke saved before Ben Rhydding finally won the strokes competition and tie with the final stroke (3 – 4)

The two teams were closely matched and in many ways on the balance of play and skill shown by both, a draw was the fair result. It is a pity that there had to be a loser in this way, but heads should be held high. All of the boys in the squad should be immensely proud of their performance today. Their hard work turned in week after week in training built a team, without doubt good enough to be at the National Finals, but just lacking on luck today.

The City of Peterborough Squad were:

Michal Kowlaski (GK)
Cameron Heald (captain)
Matthew Anderson (vice-captain)
Jack Miller
Scott Howard
Sam Biccarino
Ainsley Augustine
Ben Newman
Chris Pepper
David Fisher
Grady Wing
Ashfat Abdulwahid
Leo Davies
Sam Barlow
Joe Phillips

U18 Boys destroy Southgate to march on to Finals Day

Jane Wilson — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:21:34 +0000

With Paul Hillsdon having already intimidated the opposition just by standing still ("have you seen their coach - he's enormous!" was the quote from the Southgate camp before the game), the CoP U18s took to the pitch knowing that they had not yet turned in the kind of performance of which they were really capable.

Fielding a full strength team despite a week of intense hockey games, they found themselves on the back foot for the first 10 minutes. Looking a little nervous, with their traditional slow start, the Southgate midfield were allowed to dictate the play and the CoP D had to withstand alot of pressure; fortunately Callum Rigby in goal made a couple of smart saves to settle them down. Ironically it was after CoP began to make inroads at the other end that Southgate won a short corner which they duly dispatched to lead 1-0after 15 minutes. CoP then began to build their play, and a re-arrangement of the defence when James Fisher turned his ankle and had to go off for a rest, saw Joel Gilmour move to the centre of the back line from where he commanded the troops highly effectively for the rest of the game.

Despite plenty of flowing hockey from both teams, it took until the 26th minute for CoP to equalise, when Marcus Howard drilled a short corner strike onto a Soutgate foot, and the ball deflected up and past the wrong-footed keeper. Less then 2 minutes later, Adam Wilson gave CoP the lead with the first of his goals - a lovely through ball from midfield bypassed the entire Southgate defence; Adam collected the ball just outside the D, and having made the keeper commit, calmly rounded him and slotted the ball into the net. 6 minutes later it was 3-1 as a change of short-corner routine saw Marcus slip the ball back to Adam who flicked it high on the narrow angle from the injectors position past the keeper's shoulder.

CoP were now looking much more confident and turning defence regularly into attack, although Fernie and Ghandi in midfield for Southgate were still demonstrating some great skills and making Marcus and Chris Clarkson work hard to keep their shape, Callum continued to clear the ball with confidence whenever he was called upon and 3-1 up at half-time was a good situation for the team.

Coach Hillsdon's half time talk clearly told them to keep doing what they were doing, and Southgate were not helped when one of the their players took an early rest on a yellow following 2 heavy stick-tackles in quick succession. Adam took full advantage of the extra man shortly afterward, with a trademark reverse-stick effort hard and low into the far corner of the net to mark his hat-trick. Southgate stubbornly refused to let their heads drop, but were finding it harder and harder to break down the excellent defense of CoP where Matt Porter and Joel continued to mop up pretty much everything which cam their way. Another couple of outstanding saves from Callum preserved the lead, and up front, Nathan Foad's tireless running was continuing to cause the Southgate defense difficulties and several more short corners came and went without scoring. On 51 minutes, Marcus notched his second of the game from open play to effectively remove any lingering doubts about the result. A few minutes later it was 6-1 as Adam sent a cross over from a narrow angle for Ross Ambler to tap in.

5 minutes from time, Southgate finally found the net for the second time with another short corner goal, but it was no more than a minor consolation. To rub salt into the wound, CoP won yet another short corner right on the final whistle, and 3 more short corners later, Matt Porter buried the ball to cap a fine individual performance.

This was after the nervy start a fine team performance, with Callum Rigby in goal producing his best game of the season with a number of excellent saves at key moments, which earned him the Man of the Match award. In truth however you could probably have given it to any number of players!

The boys now make the trek north to Bowdon HC (Manchester) on Sunday 10th April where they have been drawn against Deeside Ramblers in the semi-final. Ironically, Deeside are last years' runners up in the same competition, and are the only team in the whole competition to have actually won a match in the Cup competition from which teams qualify! The other 2 semi-finalists are Woking and Stourport.

EHL Hockey back at the Gate for 2011

Jane Wilson — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:51:06 +0000

2-0 was enough to see off Havering and put the title out of reach of Bedford HC. The game was far from a classic with both teams missing key players, but ultimately CoP were able to find the net leaving Havering to rue some appalling finishing in the D.

Captain Gareth Andrew came on for a couple of cameo appearances, to save further damage to his injured ankle, and ended up collecting 2 more goals to add to his tally for the season. The first was a low drag flick from a short corner which collected a Havering knee en-route into the net in the first half, and the second was a deft touch to tuck a gentle cross in from Ric Corbett behind the keeper's kickers.

The result means that the team can relax and enjoy their final 2 games, although they will be seeking revenge on Bedford next week as they are the only team who have defeated CoP this season.

Club AGM and Presentation Evening : Dates for the Diary

Jane Wilson — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:11:07 +0000

AGM

The AGM for the City of Peterborough Hockey Club will take place on Wednesday 13th April 2011 at the Bretton Gate clubhouse. This will be held to hear short reports on the playing success (or otherwise) of all the teams (men’s x 9, Ladies’ x 4 plus all age group cup campaigns) PLUS the election of officers for next season.

PRESENTATION EVENING

Additionally, for the first time, there will be a Presentation Evening to be held on Friday 13th May 2011 at Esporta, Thorpe Wood. There will be a basic two course meal curry (vegetarian alternative available) + dessert. The presentation of awards will be followed by a disco.

The traditional men’s and ladies' awards will be supplemented by a Captain’s player of the year award for each team.

Tickets should be available very soon. Price £15 each for seniors (parents welcome) and £12 for juniors (U18s and full time students).

The chairman will donate a few prizes to the holders of lucky entranceticket numbers and there may be a raffle for club funds.

Help your club - raise funds the EASY way!

Iain Green — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:24:48 +0000

Click here to find out more details

Vets make the Final!

Jane Wilson — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 22:41:43 +0100

Mens Vets today beat Bournemouth with a last-gasp winner to reach the Final of the EH Masters Over 40 Plate!

Shayne Andrews coolly converted a flick awarded in the last minute of the game following a heavy stick tackle from behind when it seemed the game was destined to go to a stroke competition to decide the winner. Earlier, Jon Short had made some outstanding saves to keep the team in the game as Bournemouth had much more of the attacking play, and without Mike Yeoman and Richard Herbage, and with Shayne nursing a groin injury, things looked grim when the team went one nil down after about 10 minutes. However, the equaliser came towards the end of the first half when a magical move saw the ball played from the 16 by Pete Hings directly to Shayne just over the half way line (dubiously high but not called by the umpire), followed by a second long diagonal pass to Ian Kennedy at the top of the D and Ian calmly slotted the ball past the advancing keeper - end to end with just 3 touches!

The 2-1 victory puts the Vets into the final against Worcester to be played at Tonbridge School, Kent. The only fly in the ointment is that the game is on the Sunday of the Brummitt on 17th April, so several Brummitt teams will be decimated that day!

Superheroes party raises £450 for Kidney Research

Jane Wilson — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:46:47 +0100

Simon Roberts' wife Dawn is running the London Marathon in April, and on Saturday evening she hosted an end-of-season party at the club which raised over £450 for her chosen cause, Kidney Research.

With the men's 2nd XI using the occasion to send their fines money, the bar takings were guaranteed a boost, and there were players, partners and kids there from all teams, with many taking up the challenge of appearing as a Superhero or Villain. The sight of Duncan Seaton and Darren Griffiths strutting around as Spidermen will remain long in the memory,......as will Tina Hings' stunning little black number alongside Dawn's own very fetching Robin outfit (no prizes for working out that Simon was her Batman!).Tom Wadsworth's luminous orange morphsuit, closely rivalled but less glowing by Adam Wilson's blue one, caused equal amounts of hilarity.

With the alcohol flowing and the 1st XI also in celebratory mood, there was a wonderful atmosphere and plenty of photos on Facebook to prove it.

Point to note from the evening is that James Fisher needs some lessons in how to take part in a boat race....

Well done to everyone who contributed to a great evening and a fantastic total for Dawn's cause.

Goal Keeper training with Simon Mason

Iain Green — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 19:16:16 +0100

Train With A Great!

The 12th annual Dereham Hockey Club Goalkeeping Day is taking place on Sunday the 4th of Setember.

All levels of Goalkeepers are welcome however places are limited so please make sure you apply before the 5th of August!

To be one of the lucky one's please fill in the this form.

Ladies enjoy a great finale!

Jane Wilson — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:24:02 +0100

Whilst other clubs had clearly decided that the season was already over, CoP Ladies kept going to the very end and were rewarded in the best possible fashion.

Leading the way were the ladies 1st XI, who faced on paper a tricky trip to Cambs Univ to face the students 2nd XI, knowing that a win was needed to seal promotion. Having lost the reverse game 0-1 earlier in the season, and with Long Sutton hard on their heels, there was no room for error. However, even the most optimistic of the team were stunned to come away with not only a victory - but an absolute thrashing. The final scoreline of 13-0 was the biggest win in the memory of most in the ladies section, and it would appears that the students had already left for home at the end of term. The result moves the ladies back up to East League Div 1 North next season.

In addition, the ladies seconds scored a great 2-1 victory over Shefford & Sandy who had already been crowned champions of Div 2NW, and perhaps assumed that victory today would be a formality. They reckoned without the CoP ladies fighting spirit, and the victory ensured a last-gasp escape from the relegation zone at the expense of Newmarket on goal difference.

With the 3rd XI finishing runners up in their Cambs League division, and the 4ths a respectable mid-table, it has been a great season for the ladies all round.

Boys represent Cambs with distinction

Jane Wilson — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:49:24 +0100

Both Cambs U16 Boys and Cambs u17 Boys were crowned East Champions this afternoon as a whole host of boys from City of Peterborough turned out to represent their county.

The U17 won for the 4th year running as a team. Having first won the East title as U11s way back in 2004/05, the boys had a couple of years off before storming back to win as U14, then U15, U16 and now in their final year at U17. The core of that team has been unchanged, with 4 of the team going on to HiPac/Futures Cup and in one case (Tim Clarke) England caps. The number of boys from the club has steadily grown - the original team included Marcus Howard, Joe Houghton and Adam Wilson but over the years the roster has grown, and now also lists Jordan Heald, Nathan Foad, Callum Rigby, Alex Vardaro and the newest kid on the block this year, Brian Yau. Following a routine 7-1 demolition of Herts a few weeks ago, and after the withdrawal of Lincs (due to a lack of players), the boys today were left to face Suffolk, and their oldest rivals of all, Essex. After a slow start against Suffolk, on a bizarre water-based pitch at Chelmsford which was a marsh in both 23s, and completely dry inbetween (no central water cannons!), the boys finally found their stride turning pressure into goals as Adam Wilson found the back of the net twice, either side of half time. Callum Rigby made some outstanding saves to thwart a lively Suffolk team who never gave up, and who finally did break their duck but too late to make a difference, leaving Cambs to win 2-1. Essex as usual attacked hard and fast from the start and forced some excellent defending from the Cambs team, but finally found a way through towards the end of the first half to lead 1-0 at half time. The second half saw some reshuffling of the team and concerted pressure on the Essex goal with a couple of shots narrowly wide, and Perry Foster having to be at his very best to make a series of outstanding saves from the Cambs forwards. Eventually Tim Clarke smashed a short corner strike past him to level the scores, and with just under 5 minutes left on the clock, Robert Radcliffe capped an outstanding game in defence with a great final touch to score the winner to huge cheers from the Cambs parents. It was a great final win after so many years, and great to see all the City of Peterborough players playing their part.

The U16s were somewhat more surprised at their victory, having lost badly to Essex in an early weekend. However they stuck at their task and beat both Suffolk and Norfolk to add to their earlier victory over Herts. With Essex having already dropped points against Suffolk, they could not find the pair of wins today which they needed leaving the Cambs boys to pick up the trophy as U16 East Champs. Cameron Heald led the way as captain, with Matt Anderson and Chris Pepper also playing in all 4 games. Additionally, David Fisher, Ben Newman & Sam Biccarino played against Hertfordshire and Esse whilst. Simon King and Ainsley Augustine played against Norfolk and Suffolk today.

So all in all a pretty good weekend for the boys!

The U15s and several girls teams were also playing today so more information will follow when I have it.

City of Peterborough Under 18 Boys – Plate Finals Report

David Heald — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 00:11:47 +0100

England Hockey Under 18 Boys Plate Semi-Final

City of Peterborough 2 – 2 Deeside Ramblers (Deeside won 5 – 4 after penalty strokes)

Scorers: Joe Houghton (PC) & Adam Wilson (free)

The boys did their club proud with a great all round performance, including a tremendous comeback against a strong Deeside Ramblers team, but were gutted to lose cruelly on penalty strokes.

On paper, Deeside had looked the toughest draw for City of Peterborough out of the final four. In their number they had two or three players with National League experience this season, plus a number of other top young players in the North.

The Ramblers settled best on the water based pitch threatening early on to string together their passes and open up City, but some strong defence kept the scores level. Occasionally, Joel’s high aerials from the back caused problems for Deeside, but the usual City passing patterns were missing as the midfield struggled to control the ball.

The first goal for Deeside came after a ball seemingly was running dead in the area, but a diving reverse stick cross retrieved the ball from deep for another Deeside forward to stab home. Later in the half, Callum Rigby in the City goal made a high diving save from a Penalty Corner drag flick to keep the scores at 1-nil at half time.

The speed of the running from Deeside continued at the start of the second half and City of Peterborough were soon 2 down after conceding a slightly sloppy goal following a swift attack down the right. At this stage, all looked lost but the fight was not over and the City of Peterborough boys rallied themselves.

The comeback was sparked when Peterborough started to get hold of the ball and drive forward through Chris Clarkson, Joe Houghton and Marcus Howard. This drew some over-physical challenges from Deeside, eventually resulting in a suspension for one of their players. With the extra man, City pressed and forced a rare short corner, which after a mis-control at the top of the D, ended up with the ball being injected back to Joe Houghton inside the area who slapped strongly home to pull back to 2-1.

From this point on, Deeside back to 11 men again, were on the back foot. Soon, it was 2-all when after a good move through the middle the ball was only half cleared by the keeper and it fell to the reverse stick side of Adam Wilson, who did what we all expected on his “strong side” and put the chance away before the keeper could recover.

With maybe just 10 minutes to go, it looked like there could only be one winner. Deeside were clearly rattled and City started to open them up regularly. In this last period, Alessandro Vardaro was unlucky not to deflect the ball past the keeper with a good deflection from a ball hit hard into the area. Ross Ambler also created a great chance for Adam Wilson to win it in the last few minutes, but his deflection just finished narrowly wide of the post. As the umpires blew for the end of the game, it was a relieved Deeside Ramblers team that regrouped for the Penalty Strokes competition.

The Penalty Stroke competition went as follows:

Adam Wilson was up first, his flick being buried high in the top left. Callum left with no chance (1 – 1).
Chris Clarkson put his into the right hand side netting. Again, a good flick from the Deeside player to even the scores (2 – 2).
Third up, Nathan Foad simply pushed the ball hard and low into the corner. The Deeside stroke was saved by Callum (3 – 2).
Joel Gilmour was up next, but he didn’t get the contact he wanted and the flick was saved. The Deeside player seized his chance to even up the score, with a well taken finish (3 – 3).
With all the pressure back onto City, Captain Marcus Howard coolly slotted the final flick of the first series, but Deeside finished well to take it to sudden death (4 – 4).

With the sequence reversed for sudden death, Deeside put their first away. Adam Wilson then stepped forward, but fired high over the bar to leave City of Peterborough gutted (4 – 5).

This City of Peterborough team should be so proud of their achievements this season. There were clearly no better teams in this plate competition and their effort and consistent performance just wasn’t rewarded this year. There are some of the squad that will not play junior hockey again, but many of the boys will be one year quicker, stronger and more experienced next season and will be a match for most in the main competition next time, let alone the plate.

The City of Peterborough squad for the finals were:

Callum Rigby (GK)
Joe Houghton
James Fisher
Matt Porter
Joel Gilmour
Marcus Howard
Adam Wilson
Ross Ambler
Nathan Foad
Chris Clarkson
Jordan Heald
Kyle Doyle
Alessandro Vardaro
Ed Fitch
Nathan Stephenson (GK)

They were supported by:

Mike Yeoman (coach)
Paul Hillsdon (assistant coach)
Andrea Howard
David Heald
Dr Rob Houghton

CoP Veterans are National Champions!

Jane Wilson — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:08:11 +0100

CITY of Peterborough’s successful season got even better when their veterans secured the club’s first national title.

Goals from Shayne Andrews and Wayne Humphreys secured a 2-1 victory over Worcester in the EHB Men’s Masters Over 40 Plate Final.

The men’s firsts and thirds, as well as the women’s firsts, clinched promotion this year and this national success has made a great season even better.

City, skippered by Aggi Milner, started brightly and Welsh veteran international Mike Yeoman almost created an opening with a fine dribble into the area but the breakthrough finally came on 20 minutes when Andrews netted from an acute angle.

A couple of short corners nearly produced a second goal but with Peter Hings and Paul Day solid at the back and Milner covering his usual many miles in midfield, City reached the break looking comfortable.

The second period began with a spell of pressure from Worcester but 10 minutes into the half City grabbed a second when a tremendous dribble and run down the left touchline from Martin Hill, helped by some good running off the ball by others, created the space for a square ball to Humphreys who expertly buried his shot into the far corner.

At 2-0 City seemed to have the game where they wanted it but within five minutes Worcester pulled one back and they then went close to an equaliser on a couple of occasions.

Some substitutions to replace tiring legs steadied City, who continued to look dangerous on the break but could not find the third goal to make the game safe. A mixture of good and desperate defending plus some vital saves and interventions from Welsh veteran international keeper Jon Short got City to the final whistle.

There were fine performances all round with Hill and Ian Martin doing a fine job down the left and James Knight producing a fine marking job at centre-back. Andrews did a great job up front, always drawing two defenders to mark him.

City of Peterborough: Jon Short, Peter Hings, Paul Day, Martin Hill, James Knight, Neil Collcott, Graham Finding, Aggi Milner, Mike Yeoman, Rob Fisher, Ian Martin, Shayne Andrews, Richard Herbage, Wayne Humphreys, Alastair Bradley and Ian Kennedy.

Summer Fitness Training

Iain Green — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:52:58 +0100

Summer fitness training circuit style boot camp, starts sat 7th may 10 am at the club . All are welcome, run by top fitness trainers.

Club members pay reduced rate £2.50 a session. Will run weekly

Contact Lisa for info or just turn up.

148 attend the hugely successful inaugural Presentation evening!

Jane Wilson — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:06:41 +0100

Just 6 weeks ago, not a ticket had been sold. On Friday night, 148 people from the club came together to celebrate the club's achievements and pick out individuals from the Veterans to the Juniors for playing their part in one of the club's most successful seasons for years.

Off the pitch, this year marked the first as a truly united club, with the ladies and mens' sections coming together to form a single entity during the close season. On the pitch, teams celebrated this landmark in spectacular style: both 1st XIs were promoted with the men regaining their National League status for an unprecendented 4th time. Not to be outdone, the mens' 3rd XI were also promoted, and then at the awards we learned that the ladies 3rd XI had completed the symmetry by also being promoted within the Cambs league. Add to this the Veterans winning the club's first ever National Trophy as they lifted the Masters Plate title, and the juniors shining with both U16 and U18 indoor teams reaching national finals indoors, U16 outdoors losing on strokes in the quarter finals of the U16 Boys Cup, and the U18 outdoor side suffering the same fate at the semi-final stage of the U18 Boys Plate - and it has been a wonderful season.

To celebrate, every captain was asked to select their Player of the Season. With so many people contributing both on and off the pitch this year, many captains asked if they could give an award to their whole team - although with 42 players having played for the 7th XI, that would have covered quite alot of the club! After much thought, these were the players they chose to single out:

```
Veterans  XI       Alastair Bradley
```
```
Men 1st XI         Dave Appleton
```
```
Ladies 1st XI      Fran Houghton
```
```
Men 2nd XI         Andrew Cave
```
```
Ladies 2nd XI      Georgia Harrison
```
```
Men 3rd XI         Neil Lake
```
```
Men 4th XI         Scott Howard
```
```
Ladies 3rd XI      Katherine Amps
```
```
Men 5th XI         Leo Davies
```
```
Men 6th XI         Dave Simpson
```
```
Ladies 4th XI      Emily Fisher
```
```
Men 7th XI         Declan Shepherd
```

Men 8th XI         Chris Neal
(RU – Simon Custance & Top Scorer Tom Seaton)

The club also traditionally awards some prestigious trophies to individuals who have shone across the whole club. These awards were made to :

Men’s Top Scorer Steve Gregory Cup                      
Gareth Andrew

Ron Ballantyne Trophy, Boys’ Junior Player of the Year  
Cameron Heald

Girls’ Junior Player of the Year                        
Anne-Marie Ash

Men’s Young Player of the Year                          
Joe Paul

Ted Belton Cup - Senior Male Player of the Year         
Carl Daniels

Senior Ladies’ Player of the Year                       
Lisa Cave

Clubman of the Year                                     
Paul Evans

The unexpected presence of special guest former club coach, Steve Jackson, on a short visit from his home in Australia was welcomed by many old friends. Club sponsors Adrian Woolley and Stephen Pinning, from the Fane Orthotics clinic were also present and enjoyed the whole occasion. Comedy value was provided by Vice-Chairman Jane Wilson tripping over the microphone cord and narrowly failing to land inelegantly on the floor.

To a man (or woman!) everyone present voted the evening a huge success - and the club is already beginning to plan for next year's event!

Huge thanks go to all those involved in the organisation, especially Colin Lake, Sue MacNaughton, Amanda Ayres and the captains who sold tickets; and for assistance on the night from Tim Davies as doorman.

Help Chris for a good cause

Iain Green — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:10:33 +0100

Here is Chris's reasoning for jumping out of a perfectly good plane...

On June 11th I will be making my first ever tandem skydive at Sibson Airfield. I'm joining forces with Jane, Paula & Mary who play in the all-female "Boobs & Brass" brass band (www.boobsandbrass.com) which has raised nearly £60,000 for the Breast Cancer Campaign since their first concert in 2006.

All the money I collect will be donated direct to Breast Cancer Campaign in memory of my grandma who died of this disease in 2004.

http://www.justgiving.com/chris-vine/

CoPHCs 29th Annual Festival 7’s

Iain Green — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:15:31 +0100

2010 saw a record entry of 14 teams on each day, we hope that you will once again be able to join us this year.

Amongst those sides already confirmed are the Trust Packaging side from UAE, who will again be touring England over the summer, and back to defend their men’s title.

Closing date for entries will be Monday the 20th June, with sides being confirmed on a first come first served basis.

Download your enty form here

City youngsters help Cambs take East title

Iain Green — Tue, 24 May 2011 18:40:15 +0100

Five members of City of Peterborough helped Cambridgeshire Under 13s complete an unbeaten season and clinch the East Region title.

Euan Gilmour, Oscar Sadikot, Archie Spears, Nick Reddy and Brendon Andrews helped them come out on top at Bedford.

After a 0-0 draw with Essex, Cambs raised their play with five successive victories.

A 2-0 win over Suffolk was followed by an impressive 4-0 success against Norfolk and Bedfordshire were next to be seen off with a resounding 5-1 win. A 3-0 victory over Lincolnshire left them needing to beat Hertfordshire to secure the title and they did so in style with a 4-0 success.

Gilmour scored the second, his ninth goal of the festival, in the final while Spears (3) and Sadikot had also found the target during the tournament.

Credit to the Evening Telegraph for the write up.

City Juniors invited to Regional Performance Centres

David Heald — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 11:19:13 +0100

The City of Peterborough Juniors are well represented in the invitations to attend Junior Regional Performance Centre training over the summer.

A total of 16 boys and 4 girls have been asked to attend six days of training over the summer, all at the JRPC centre based in Bury St Edmunds.

The selections are based on the juniors' performances in County (JAC) training sessions, and in the East Tournament held during March, April and May. Criteria used for this assessment are

Winning Mentality
Speed
Agility
Endurance
Comfort on Ball
Hit
Decision Making
Passing
Elimination
Attacking Circle Work
Defending
Mental Toughness
Game Intellect

Boys Selected for JRPC

Under 15 Boys (1997 Birthdays)	Under 16 Boys (1996 Birthdays)	Under 17 Boys (1995 Birthdays)	Under 18 Boys (1994 Birthdays
Bob Cliffe Euan Gilmour	Leo Davies Scott Howard Joe Phillips Grady Wing	Matt Anderson Cameron Heald Chris Pepper	Nathan Foad Jordan Heald Joe Houghton Marcus Howard Callum Rigby Alex Vardaro Adam Wilson

Under 15 Boys
(1997 Birthdays)

Under 16 Boys
(1996 Birthdays)

Under 17 Boys
(1995 Birthdays)

Under 18 Boys
(1994 Birthdays

Bob Cliffe

Euan Gilmour

Leo Davies

Scott Howard

Joe Phillips

Grady Wing

Matt Anderson

Cameron Heald

Chris Pepper

Nathan Foad

Jordan Heald

Joe Houghton

Marcus Howard

Callum Rigby

Alex Vardaro

Adam Wilson

See http://www.east-hockey2.co.uk/youth/invites-2011-bseboys.htm for full list.

Girls Selected for JRPC

Under 15 Girls (1997 Birthdays)	Under 16 Girls (1996 Birthdays)	Under 17 Girls (1995 Birthdays)	Under 18 Girls (1994 Birthdays)
Katherine Amps Georgia Harrison	Fran Houghton		Lotti Boreham Pam Jacobs

Under 15 Girls
(1997 Birthdays)

Under 16 Girls
(1996 Birthdays)

Under 17 Girls
(1995 Birthdays)

Under 18 Girls
(1994 Birthdays)

Katherine Amps

Georgia Harrison

Fran Houghton

Lotti Boreham

Pam Jacobs

See http://www.east-hockey2.co.uk/youth/invites-2011bsegirls.htm for full list.

What is a Junior Regional Performance Centre?

A Junior Regional Performance Centre (JRPC) is a training centre for the Under 15, 16, 17 and 18 age groups, open to anyone who has successfully come through assessment from a Junior Academy Centre (the county representative level).

What happens at a JRPC?

JRPCs provide six days of training over the summer, where players will receive high level coaching on the core skills of hockey from JRPC coaches, with additional input from England Hockey’s Centrally Contracted Coaches.

Following the training sessions, a squad of players will be selected to play in the "Tier 1" JRPC tournament over two days, where the Bury St Edmunds JRPC team (Bury Tigers), play against the nearest JRPC centres (Tonbridge & Northwood).

The combination of training and competition allows players to develop in a variety of situations and ensures that they are assessed in more than just the competition environment.

East League publish provisional divisions for new season

David Heald — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:13:33 +0100

The East League Committee have today published the provisional league divisions for the next season.

East Men's League

With three of the teams relegated from Division 2N being from our quadrant (the NW), this meant more relegations in Division 3 downwards. Also, with Bourne and Market Deeping merged during summer to form a new club - "Bourne Deeping", this has affected the league make up too.

PREMIER B

Blueharts 1
Cambridge University 2
City of Peterborough 2
Colchester 1
Crostyx 1
Harleston Magpies 2
Harpenden 1
Letchworth 1
Long Sutton 1
Ramgarhia 1
St Ives 1
Wisbech Town 1

DIVISION 1

Bedford 2
Broxbourne 1
Cambridge City 2
Cambridge Nomads 1
City of Peterborough 3
Felixstowe 1
Ford 1
Ipswich 2
March Town 1
Pelicans 1
Upminster 1
Waltham Forest 1

DIVISION 3NW

Bourne Deeping 1
Cambridge City 4
Cambridge South 1
Cambridge South 2
City of Peterborough 4
Ely City 2
Rutland 2
Spalding 1
St Ives 2
St Neots 1
Wisbech Town 2
Wisbech Town 3

DIVISION 4NW

Alford & District 1
Boston 1
Bourne Deeping 2
City of Peterborough 5
City of Peterborough 6
Horncastle 1
Long Sutton 2
March Town 2
Newmarket 1
Spalding 2
St Ives 3
St Neots 2

DIVISION 5NW

Bourne Deeping 3
Bourne Deeping 4
Cambridge City 5
Cambridge Nomads 3
City of Peterborough 7
Ely City 3
Louth 1
March Town 3
Rutland 3
Spalding 3
St Ives 4
Wisbech Town 4

DIVISION 6NW(S)

Bourne Deeping 5
Cambridge South 3
Cambridge South 4
City of Peterborough 8
Ely City 4
March Town 4
Newmarket 2
Rutland 4
St Ives 5
St Neots 3
St Neots 4

East Women's League

Again, as with the Men's league, the Bourne and Deeping merger has affected numbers, but these are the proposed divisions for our top two ladies teams.

The Cambs Ladies league has yet to publish their leagues yet.

Div 1 South

Bury St Edmunds 1
Carlton Park 1
City of Peterborough 1
Lincoln 1
Norwich City 1
Norwich Dragons 1
Pelicans 1
Saffron Walden 1
Shefford & Sandy 1
St Ives 1
Sudbury 1
Watton 1

Div 2 NW

Bourne Deeping 1
Cambridge City 2
Cambridge City 3
Cambridge Nomads 1
Cambridge University 2
City of Peterborough 2
Ely City 1
Horncastle 1
Long Sutton 1
Louth 1
St Neots 1
Sudbury 2

League dates 2011-12

East Men's League: 24 Sept - 10 Dec, 14 Jan - 17 Mar
East Women's League: 17 Sept - 10 Dec, 14 Jan - 4 Feb, 25 Feb - 24 Mar

East Champions receive trophy

Iain Green — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:16:30 +0100

1st Team Captain Simon receiving the East Champions Trophy from Sheila George, East President. Presentation Event took place at Redbridge Sports Centre on the 7th of June.

Congratulations to all the first team for a great seasons performance.

Tough start to National League Campaign

David Heald — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 21:55:49 +0100

The England Hockey League Fixtures for the new season have been released today.

The first weekend seeing City of Peterborough hosting Canterbury HC at Bretton Gate on Sunday 18 September.

Canterbury were one of the sides relegated from the National League Premier Division last season, so a tough test and good benchmark to see how City will measure up.

The full list of fixtures and dates for City of Peterborough are below:

Sunday 18 September 2011: City of Peterborough v Canterbury
Saturday 24 September 2011: City of Peterborough v Harleston Magpies
Saturday 1 October 2011: Old Loughtonians v City of Peterborough
Sunday 9 October 2011: City of Peterborough v Wimbledon
Sunday 16 October 2011: Teddington v City of Peterborough
Sunday 23 October 2011: City of Peterborough v Indian Gymkhana
Sunday 6 November 2011: Holcombe v City of Peterborough
Sunday 13 November 2011: City of Peterborough v Bromley & Beckenham
Saturday 19 November 2011: Oxted v City of Peterborough
Sunday 27 November 2011: Harleston Magpies v City of Peterborough
Saturday 4 February 2012: City of Peterborough v Old Loughtonians
Sunday 12 February 2012: Wimbledon v City of Peterborough
Sunday 19 February 2012: City of Peterborough v Teddington
Sunday 26 February 2012: Indian Gymkhana v City of Peterborough
Sunday 4 March 2012: City of Peterborough v Holcombe
Sunday 11 March 2012: Bromley & Beckenham v City of Peterborough
Saturday 17 March 2012: City of Peterborough v Oxted
Sunday 25 March 2012: Canterbury v City of Peterborough

The full set of fixtures have just been published on the England Hockey Website

James needs your help

Iain Green — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:58:29 +0100

On the 11th of July along with 6 friends I will be starting a 150mile cross country bike challenge for charity.

We're raising money for the British heart foundation who help fund research into heart disease and attacks, which unfortunately was the cause of the late Mr Matt Ward's death.

Mr Matt Ward was an inspirational teacher for me and everyone he taught in Science and DofE schemes.

Please help our cause by donating anything you can spare, you can do this by following this link

I will also have sponsorship forms on me for the training sessions (Thursdays) leading up to the 11th. If you have any queries or questions please don't hesitate to ask me via facebook or e-mail me.

City of Peterborough Under 12's in action

Iain Green — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:43:55 +0100

CoP HC started off this 7 a side competition at Bretton Gate wanting to have fun and possibly sneak a win.

The first game saw CoP HC playing the eventual winners Rutland. A strong start from Rutland was quoshed by the commanding defence led by Sam Maryniak & Kunal Patel. Peterborough started to pass the ball around wisely, with pace and passion, which eventually lead to a mazy run from Daniel Mees who slipped the ball through to Ivar van der Schans to put the ball in the back of the net and gain the high fives from his team mates. The game then stalled a bit with both sides playing some nice Hockey, as time ran out CoP HC would have the upper hand and come away with a 1 - 0 results, a very good start to the tournament.

This would be the theme of the day with the team getting 1 - 0 & 2 - 0 wins thanks to some excellent keeping from Ieuan Williams, and the dogged running from Finlay Richardson & Milo Fitzpatrick with both getting vital goals to progress CoP HC to the Semi Finals against a much bigger and older TDA team.

The game started nervously from both sides with the smaller CoP HC thwarting TDA's attackers. Jordan Griffiths, making his debut appearance after joining the club 3 weeks ago, made some excellent tackles and playing the ball down the line for Ivar to constantly cause the TDA defence to panic.

Unfortunately the size and physical strength of TDA started to show through and they managed to pinch an untidy goal, as after some chopping went unpunished, TDA managed to get the ball across to the top of the D and slip it past the advancing Ieuan Williams to make the score 0 - 1. CoP HC then pulled up their sleeves and with Daniel masterfully ripping apart the midfield he managed to get a strong shot on target only for the keeper to clear his lines and set up TDA's next attack, with CoP HC chasing back TDA managed to drag the ball into the bottom left corner for 0 - 2.

Two minutes to go and COPHC got a bit of luck they needed, following a missed tackle from TDA the ball slipped through for Ivar to slide the ball under the keepers foot to make it 1 - 2.
The whistle for full time came too soon for a spirited CoP HC to claw another goal back and TDA advanced to the Final with CoP HC playing for 3rd Place against Spalding.

The game started brightly with the ball being past around well by both sides. Strong tackling again from Kunal & Sam meant their wall would not be broken,so it was up to the midfield and front men to win this one for CoP HC and that's exactly what they did with Finlay Richardson running strongly down the left and firing the ball past the hapless keeper for 1 - 0.

The next 5 minutes the game was all about who wanted it more. The CoP HC boys didn't stop tackling, running and passing the whole game, causing Spalding all kinds of problems, Milo narrowly missed the post, Ivar hitting the keeper and Jordan htting the near post.

CoP HC won the game 1 - 0 and claimed 3rd place with Rutland winners and TDA second. This was a great day for COPHC, all coaches were over the moon at the skills and prowess being shown by a bunch of under 12's playing a game they loved.

The future of this club is in safe hands.

Team on the Day

Ieuan Williams - GK
Jordan Griffiths - Defender
Kunal Patel - Defender
Sam Maryniak - Defender
Milo Fitzpatrick - Midfield
Finlay Richardson - Midfield
Daniel Mees - Midfield
Ivar van der Schans - Attack

Coaches

Darren Griffiths
Gwyn Williams
Steve Maryniak

2011/12 Season Subs

Iain Green — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:28:43 +0100

There have been some changes to the prices for next seasons Subs, please use the link to download and/or print off the 2011/12 Membership Subscription form.

A few notes from the form...

Please ensure that your subscriptions are paid on time.

Further categories of subscription may be added at the discretion of Management Council.

Staged payment is available and may be spread over a 3 month period.

If this facility is used the initial payment must be made or the standing order set-up in the first month of your subscription year. The preferred system is that you give the Manager one current cheque and two post dated for the second and third months of your subscription year.

Credit/Debit card facilities are available. Please note there is a surcharge of £1 on sums up to £50 and £2 on sums of £50 and over.

A permanent link can be found on the site here.

Olympic Hockey Tickets - applications invited!

Jane Wilson — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:54:45 +0100

The club has 28 tickets for one of the preliminary hockey
sessions at the Olympics.
Each session includes 2 games - could be mens or women but not
both - and all 28 tickets will be allocated to sit together at
the same session.

We won't know until the schedules are published which games the
tickets will be for but let's face it - this is Olympic hockey we
are talking about so the standard is going to be pretty awesome
whatever we end up with.
Every club in England has been allocated tickets, so the session
are likely to be full of our hockey family which will make for a
great atmosphere.

The tickets are £20 and we are not permitted to charge more than
that so we cannot auction them to the highest bidders - everyone
who gets a ticket will know exactly how much they have to pay at
the outset.

In order to work out how to allocate tickets, we need to gauge
demand - if we have requests for 28 tickets, that's easy. If we
have more, some kind of raffle system will be needed (whilst
ensuring that juniors also have a ticket for an adult to
accompany them!).

If therefore you are interested (no commitment) in one or more
tickets, please can you email me on aj2wilson@btinternet.com
letting me know how many you might want, and we can start
planning. Please also indicate how many tickets would be for club
members and how many for friends/relatives etc.

The aim is to have the process completed by the end of September.

Please pass this on to anyone at the club who is not yet a member
of the website (and tell them to sign up!). A notice will be put
up at the club and message via facebook group as well to try to
make sure that no-one misses out!

I know lots of us already have tickets for various sessions
through our own applications, but this is a great opportunity to
see hockey surrounded by true hockey fans and people you know.

Any questions, just drop me an email

Jane Wilson

Want to be a Level 1 Umpire?

Iain Green — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 22:38:26 +0100

Richard Munns, will be running a level 1 umpiring course on Sunday 25 September.

Venue:- March Town Cricket club, Burrowmoor Road, March

Time:- 09.30 - 4.30 pm - this includes time for written exam & Richard to mark them

Cost:- £40 - this pays for cost of course + exam + room hire

Details:- access to kettle for tea & coffee - best to bring sandwiches for lunch

Those interested please e-mail me.

Website Editor - volunteer needed

Iain Green — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:06:23 +0100

WANTED - The website is looking for a volunteer to be an editor, ideally a student who is studying journalism. We have some stories we would like for someone to pick up and publish on the site but we are also looking for fresh ideas.

If your interested please get in contact.

Olympic Reward

Iain Green — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:00:10 +0100

From now to 16th September the club will be asking members to nominate people who they consider should get a ticket to attend a session at the Games. Nominations should take the following format:

100-150 words on how the individual (who is 18-26) already ‘live’ one or more of the Olympic Values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.

Nominations can be posted via this link.

On or by 16th September the club will pick a number of winners (based on guidance which will be dependent on the number of tickets we receive from the BOA) and submit to EHB a copy of the Games Nomination, along with the nominees’ contact details. Provision of contact details will be for the purposes of announcing the successful nominees, distribution purposes and is also a condition laid down by the Terms and Conditions

The final decision on the successful nominees rests with EHB, who will ratify the decision. Please bear in mind that each winner gets ONE ticket and must use the ticket themselves (non transferable). The club will also ensure that the individual meets the criteria of being a member of the club and is between 18 and 26 years old. As you continue with the process above, the BOA will be getting past Olympians on board to join these young adults at the games. The successful nominees will be announced in early 2012 and distributed soon thereafter to the winners. All of the tickets are free and include transport within London zones. Transport outside of London and accommodation must be paid for by the individual.

Training Time Changed

Iain Green — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:46:23 +0100

New times are as follows:

Tuesdays 8-9 2nds/3rds; 9-10 1sts
Thursdays 6-7 Juniors playing 7ths/8ths; 7-8:15 4ths to 8ths (+2nds/3rds if feasible); 8:15-10 1sts.

Notes:

So it's unchanged for most of the teams (Thursday evening 7-8:15), the main differences are for the 1sts, 2nds and 3rds.

2nds/3rds attendance at Club training (7-8:15) will depend on the number of players already attending that session. It may be too crowded, Mike will advise. Suggest you try to attend as far as possible.

Adults playing 7ths/8th should continue to train 7-8:15, junior players at this level will be by invitation from Mike.

Hope that's clear, any comments / questions / problems let me, Gaz, Simon, Shorty or Hills know.

The training page has been update to refelct these changes click here to see the updates

An Invitation To All Club Coaches

Iain Green — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:06:13 +0100

AN INVITATION TO ALL COACHES

3 SEPTEMBER 2011

Helen Birch and Gareth Andrew will lead an informal session commencing at
4.30 p.m.

Although attendance is totally voluntary the Club would like to see as many as
possible .

The main purpose of this coaching/briefing , is to bring all up to date on the
current coaching techniques and thinking around the Single System.

Gareth and Helen will demonstrate the latest skills being coached by England
Hockey, followed by a practical session for all.

It is viewed by the Club as essential that all Coaches are fully up to date and
that being aware of what is being coached in the Single System from the very
beginning of Junior Development Centres, is cascaded throughout the Club on
all coaching and training sessions.

There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss this afterwards in the Bar whilst
sharing a BBQ which will be provided by the Club.

Please reply to Colin Lake by 31 August in order to supply the necessary food
etc.

Many thanks to all.

Colin Lake

Chairman

National Under 16 Boys Competition Draw

David Heald — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 22:45:58 +0100

The draw is out!

EH National U16 Boys Championship

City of Peterborough HC have been drawn in the Midlands Pool (League/Section 1).

The group is:

City of Peterborough
Harleston Magpies
Norwich City
Pelicans
Rutland
Spalding

To qualify for the next stages, we need to finish 1st or 2nd in the group.

See

http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/competitions.asp?section=192&sectionTitle=Boys+U16+Championship

The format is explained as follows:

Boy's U16 Championship

In 2011/12, the format of the U16 Cup will be changing to a league format from the Knock Out format which has been running since 2002/03. The format will be the same as the U14 Championship which began in 2009/10.

The competition is played in three tiers.

1. Six clubs form a Tier 1 league, however this can be smaller or larger depending on the number of teams within travelling distance. Tier 1 leagues are put into four cluster areas which will be approximately based on JRPC geographical areas. In each of the four cluster areas eight teams qualify from the Tier 1 leagues for the Tier 2 competition. Two or three teams qualify from each Tier 1 league depending on the number of entries in each league.

2. Tier 2 has eight teams per cluster and they are placed in two pools. One pool is played at a venue on one day with all four teams playing each other. The top two teams in the pool qualify for the National Finals (Tier 3) where eight teams participate.

3. The eight finalists are split into two pools with the top two teams in each pool playing off for the title of National Champions. There is also cross over matches for 3rd, 5th and 7th places. The National Finals are played at one venue over two days.

Other groups in the Midlands Pool are as follows:

Midlands League 2 – Beeston, Belper, Cannock, Lichfield, West Bridgford Monarchs
Midlands League 3 – Coventry & N.W., Edgbaston, Olton & West Warwicks, Shrewsbury, West Bromwich, Worcester
Midlands League 4 – Aylesbury, Banbury, Northampton Saints, Oxford Hawks, Oxford, Witney

We expect fixtures on the following dates:

Sunday 2nd October 2011
Sunday 13th November 2011
Sunday 27th November 2011
Sunday 12th February 2012
Sunday 4th March 2012
Saturday 31st March 2012 & Sunday 1st April 2011 (National Finals)

We await the schedule from EH, but believe we will probably play two matches on each game day.

Eligibility is boys in year 10 or year 11, or more strictly players must be aged 15 or under on 31 August 2011.

The Under 16 Boys training starts with Mike Yeoman on Thursday 8 September, 6pm at the Hockey Club (Bretton Gate).

We’d like to see all the under 16 squad there every week if at all possible, so everyone can train together regularly. We will also probably look to have a practice match in some form or another, prior to the first matches.

Team selections for the matches will take place about 7 to 10 days before.

Hopefully this will be another good season for the Under 16s, we reached the last 8 of this National Competition last year and a similar performance this year will mean qualification for a National Final. Whatever happens, the boys should get a lot of competitive age group hockey, all in addition to the men’s hockey which most are regularly involved in too (league starts Saturday 24 September).

EH Hockey returns to The Gate this weekend

Jane Wilson — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 10:46:04 +0100

The club holds the record for the number of times they have regained a place in the England hockey league - this makes it 4 by my reckoning. Most clubs who drop out of the league drift around their regional leagues and lack the vision to make the move back again, but City of Peterborough has never changed its position from wanting to play in the EH league at every possible opportunity.

After being relegated at the end of the 2008/09 season, 2009/10 was a tough year as players retired or moved away, but last season, Gareth Andrew returned to the club as player coach and formed a 2-year plan to return the team to the EH league . It says much for the determination of the team that they threw this plan out of the window and achieved it at the first time of asking. Once again they find themselves in the East conference, despite being geographically much better placed to play in the North (and bizarrely being a good deal further north than some of the teams who are in that league). The East conference is by some way the toughest of the 3 regional conferences, encompassing all the clubs in and around London, but the club thrives on a challenge!

First up on Sunday 18th Sept is Canterbury - our advantage is that they are used to playing their home games on a water-based surface and may take a little while to adapt to our unique sand-based pitch. Kiwi Nathaniel Joy heads the list of new players brought in by Canterbury following their relegation at the end of last season, and David Mathews returns along with a number of Holcombe players in the usual close-season equivalent of football's transfer windown merry-go-round.

Meanwhile CoP have sadly lost the services of Mark Burchett, who has moved to Olton & West Warwick due to work commitments and goes with our best wishes and thanks for a great season last year. However, inbound are some familiar faces as Joe Finding and Neil Evans return as their studies have now ended, and the new face on the team is Ross Booth, also fresh from finishing uni at Loughborough. Making the step up from last year's 2nd XI as the youngest member of the squad is talented all-rounder Marcus Howard. Marcus turned down the option of JRPC training over the summer, preferring to concentrate on cricket at both club and county level, and training with the 1st XI hockey squad. Watching the club's talented juniors developing into top flight players is a source a great pride for all those invvolved in the junior section of the club and there is a great pipeline of potential talent to work with over the coming seasons.

Whatever the result on Sunday, it is great to have EHL hockey back at the Gate and a big crowd will undoubtedly lift the team. At just £1 for adults, 50p for U18s and U11s free it is great value - the bar will be open and a great atmosphere is guaranteed. The opportunity for juniors to watch and learn is also one only available to 40 clubs in England so grab it with both hands!

Pushback is 1.00pm so put the roast in the oven for later and come on down to support the boys.

CoP Men reach last 16 of the EH Cup without lifting a stick

Jane Wilson — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:50:30 +0100

Scheduled to play on Sunday with no EH league game this weekend due to Futures Cup games, CoP were looking forward to meeting Lewes in the "round of 32".

Lewes were surprise conquerors of CoP's EH East Conference rivals, Indian Gymkhana in the last round, whilst CoP thrashed the only team to beat them in East Prem A last season, Bedford.

However, late on Friday, Lewes cried off the game, citing injuries and Futures Cup (well actually they said HiPac but that was 2 weeks ago!) as reasons for having insufficient players.

Pity that they couldn't replace the 2 players at Cannock, even if one of them is England junior keeper Sam Brookes, but this means that CoP will take their place in the last 16 and are still hoping for a home draw against one of the EH Premiership ties.

The draw will take place on Monday - watch this space.

Lisa Deacon and her London Marathon

Iain Green — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:08:53 +0000

Hi everyone, I got a place in the London Marathon today! Really keen to raise some money for a good cause and glad that I have a new reason for eating cake…. Need to keep my energy levels up! Please sponsor me and Children with cancer here.

Cup draws provide fixture headache at the Gate

Jane Wilson — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:42:43 +0000

A home fixture pile-up is in store on Sunday 27th November at the Gate so it's a good job that the men's 1st XI are away at Harleston that day!

The Boys U14 host one of their East league round robin with Harleston, Norwich City and Pelicans the visitors.

The Boys U18 have drawn Saffron Walden U18 in round 3 of the EH Boys Cup - a tie which they will fancy gives them a good chance of progressing to the last 16 as long as they play to their full potential.

And the Ladies 1st are due to host Basingstoke in round 2 of the EH Women's Vase after being handed a bye in the first round.

However the fixtures stack up, it will be a busy day at the club and all supporters will be most welcome!

Juniors vs Parents - Sunday Session

Iain Green — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:27:20 +0000

On 18th of December the Mini Hockey session is for all including Mum's and Dad's! Fun and games for all and a Christmas Buffet in the Club House afterwords including Mince Pies and non alcoholic mulled wine.

All are welcome. Come and have a game of Mum's and Dad's versus the rest!!

November in Waitrose a great success

Jane Wilson — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:47:38 +0000

Following Amanda Ayres' great work in making us one of their causes of the month, members of all sections of the Sports Club did some shopping in Waitrose during November - and many also persuaded parents, siblings, children, and a few grandparents, friends and general relations to follow suit.

The result is a cheque for a whopping £255 which will be coming the way of Peterborough Town Sports Club - fantastic effort all round everyone!

The Only Way is (through) Essex!

Iain Green — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:48:48 +0000

City of Peterborough Under 16 Boys travelled to the University of Essex in Colchester on Saturday 10th December for the East Indoor Hockey Championships. Their opponents were Harleston Magpies (last years Under 16 East Champions), Old Loughtonians from Essex (who have been regulars at National Indoor Finals in all age groups) and Rutland, who were somewhat an unknown entity with not much indoor playing experience.

The under 16 team had been well prepared by their coach Mike Yeoman. Regular training, plus a number of practice matches had honed the small squad into a useful team, who had disposed of Saffron Walden 13-5 to win the Cambridgeshire Championship three weeks earlier. Some of the squad (Cameron Heald and Scott Howard) were “veterans” at this age group, with this now being their third East Finals Competition, but most were novices to the indoor competition and had only started playing the indoor variant in September this year.

City of Peterborough had finished 2nd in the last two seasons in this under 16 East competition. At the start of the season Mike Yeoman had described this as a rebuilding year, as many of the older and experienced boys from the last two seasons had moved up to the under 18 age group.

All in all though, hopes were high for at least the runners up spot, which would again mean qualification for the National Indoor Hockey Finals in January 2012.

City of Peterborough 7 – Rutland 1

Cameron Heald 4, Bob Cliffe 2, Sam Biccarino

City started confidently against Rutland. Captain Cameron Heald settled any early nerves firing a short corner low and past the Rutland keeper in the 3rd minute, then a few minutes later Heald set up Sam Biccarino to deflect home the 2nd from another well-rehearsed corner. It was another deflected goal, this time from Bob Cliffe popping up in the right place to make the score 3-0 at halftime.

The next goal was a real all round effort in the planning, with the support team on the side line (coach Mike Yeoman and manager David Heald) spotting an opportunity at the restart that Cameron Heald swiftly and expertly converted.

With Rutland clearly set up ready to push forward and pressure from the restart, coach Yeoman signalled to his Captain, who dummied the pushback then turned and dribbled directly at the Rutland goal. There was some dispute amongst the team later, but the consensus was that it only took him two and a half seconds to beat five surprised tacklers and slot the ball past the keeper to make it 4-nil.

This had effectively sealed the result and extinguished any Rutland comeback hopes. Minutes later Heald had 4 goals and it was 6-nil in the game, following a high short corner drag flick and a second penetrating dribble and clinically placed shot.

The City of Peterborough scoring (their seventh) was finished with another late Bob Cliffe deflected goal (a copy of his first). Rutland then got a deserved goal back in the last minute from a break, with a goal slipped past the young Peterborough keeper Cameron Goodey. The match though ended in a bit of confusion with Leo Davies and one umpire thinking that a shot right on the buzzer had gone in before the end of the game, but the second umpire and the tournament table overruling as they believed the “B of the Buzz” had beaten the last second shot.

In the end, a 7-1 win for City of Peterborough was a clear reflection of their dominance in all parts of the pitch. There were some areas to improve on, but a great start all in all.

City of Peterborough 6 – Old Loughtonians 5

Cameron Heald 2, Grady Wing 2, Sam Biccarino 2

With Old Loughtonians beating Harleston in their first game, this was set to be the crucial game in the tournament. City of Peterborough were straight back on, so coach Mike Yeoman had a few wise words on focusing on doing the right things and improving on some key parts of the game needed to get a result against a talented Old Loughtonians team.

A dream start for City of Peterborough came in the opening five minutes. First, Grady Wing pounced and intercepted an early cross field pass then ran through to slot the ball past the Loughts’ keeper. Minutes later, Sam Biccarino got the second for City with another deflected finish into the net at a short corner.

Old Loughtonians then started to get back into the game and their pressure forced a short corner, which their captain finished with a superb drag flick high into the corner. Cameron Heald though was not to be outdone in the drag flicking contest. He put his next short corner opportunity away high into the net to make the score 3-1 to City after ten minutes, but the Loughts’ penalty corner expert replied, firing high past a helpless Cameron Goodey to reduce the deficit to a single goal again. Importantly though, City captain Cameron Heald was able to grab an important fourth just before half time from an individual run and shot.

Being 4-2 up at halftime, Mike Yeoman reminded the Peterborough Boys how close they were to making the National Finals. He urged them to give everything for the cause and not throw away the position that they had rightly earned.

It was however the Old Loughtonians captain again that scored next, with his third short corner drag flick of the game. The score then remained at 4-3 for some time, with both teams defending well and City keeping a good shape in a defensive press frustrating many of the Old Loughtonians efforts to break them down. A number of short corners from Old Loughtonians were also thwarted by Cameron Goodey who decided to run first at the shorts and on a couple of occasions he ran down the dangerous drag flicker and stifled the shots before they flew towards the goal.

With five minutes to go though, another Lought’s penalty corner was charged down this time by Cameron Heald who stole the ball on the top of the City “D” and sprinted down field 1 on 1 with the keeper. All thought he would calmly score, but the Old Lought’s keeper made a good save, only for Grady Wing to pick up the loose ball and drive it into the goal to put City of Peterborough 5-3 up.

The next action was all from the umpire (actually a well-known Essex umpire with strong ties to Old Loughtonians). The captain of the Old Loughtonians Team was yellow carded for his second (or probably third) obvious drilling offence. Immediately after, at the frustration of dropping two goals behind again and losing his most dangerous player, the old Loughtonians coach appeared to make some ill-judged comments to the umpire and was asked to leave the bench and hall.

The two minute suspension went without City being able to capitalise. However, almost straight after Old Loughtonians were returned to full strength, they managed to score their fourth goal from a penalty corner, this time after slipping the ball quickly away from the advancing Goodey and shooting past the remaining City defenders. Old Loughtonians then scored again in the 28th minute from free play to tie the game at 5-5.

With City of Peterborough now desperate only to not lose the game that they had led throughout, the boys were solid and exemplary in their defence all round. Special mention should go to Simon King, not a natural forward, but he was asked to run and run up front to pressure the Lought’s defence for the last few minutes which he did.

This had been a fantastic game of indoor hockey, end to end, with great skill in attack and resolution in defence shown from all players. The last minute goal that settled the game though was definitely a fitting end to this great game. It started as Sam Biccarino won a crucial tackle just outside the Peterborough “D” and then stepped through the midfield on the left hand side, then switched and drifted strongly right. Now, instead of slipping the ball into the opposition “D” from outside he took the decision to beat another player, drive into the “D” and against all odds he fired the ball into the corner of the goal to effectively win the game for Peterborough.

This result left City of Peterborough in “Position A” with 6 points from their two games, and one foot in the National Finals.

City of Peterborough 4 – Harleston Magpies 4

Cameron Heald 3, Grady Wing

Surprisingly, City went into the final game knowing that they still needed a result from the final game to win the tournament and even that they could still possibly not finish as runners up, if they had a poor result. The obvious position was that a draw was good enough to win the championship, but the statisticians in the City of Peterborough supporters had also worked out that City would be second if they lost, but even worse could still finish third if they lost by three or more goals to Harleston Magpies.

With the carrot of the possible qualification for the Nationals, the Harleston Magpies team pushed City from the start of the game, and it was only some good saves from Cameron Goodey that kept the scores level through the first five minutes. It was however Harleston that scored a low drag flick penalty corner to go 1-up.

Cameron Heald responded with a fine individual goal from free play to tie the scores at 1-1 in the seventh minute, but some sloppy defending in the next few minutes and persistence from the Magpies team put them 3-1 up already with only 10 minutes gone on the clock.

At this point, City of Peterborough were not only losing the championship, but they were now just one more goal from missing their ticket to the National Finals. It fell then to the City captain Heald to pull it back. He scored one short corner goal with a high drag flick finish before half time to go into the break 2-3 down.

There was no panic at half time, but all were focused on the goal not just to qualify for Nationals, but to win the tournament. A seemingly endless period of pressure from the whole City team resulted in a series of short corners being awarded. All the City attempts were blocked, mainly by brave defence from Magpies who put bodies in front of at least four drag flicks from Cameron Heald and took the bruises for it. Eventually, with five minutes to go Heald managed to slam the ball into the goal from a slipped short corner to tie the game. A minute later, Grady Wing scored a good goal from free play to put City ahead for the first time at 4-3 in the game and effectively into the National Finals.

They were however left with a nervous last two minutes, as Simon King got a yellow card suspension after his desperate last man tackle was judged to be a foul and a penalty flick. Harleston scored from the stroke (4-all) to set up 90 seconds of City of Peterborough needing to hold on to draw the game and win the Championship.

This was however seen off without too many concerns. Sam Biccarino made two excellent tackles, and then Cameron Heald took control and kept the ball for what seemed an age, until Harleston were forced to dive in and foul him. As the ball rolled away from the foul, the final seconds ticked away and City of Peterborough knew that they had not only qualified for the National Finals, but they had won the Championship.

City of Peterborough Squad

Cameron Heald (captain)
Cameron Goodey (GK)
Bob Cliffe
Grady Wing
Leo Davies
Sam Biccarino
Scott Howard
Simon King

Left to Right Back Row – David Heald (team manager), Simon King, Grady Wing, Sam Biccarino, Bob Cliffe, Mike Yeoman (coach)

Middle Row – Scott Howard, Cameron Heald (captain), Leo Davies

Front (laying) – Cameron Goodey (GK)

Review of the Season (so far)

Iain Green — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:46:07 +0000

CoP are experiencing perhaps their best season ever in terms of results and league positions so far. Based on the recruitment of a few players at first team level and therefore a record number of players being regularly available, competition for places is high and all teams are able to field squads of 14 for most fixtures. Time will tell if this can be translated in the remainder of the season into a number of promotions within the leagues thereby further enhancing the standard of hockey available.

Men

Team League League position

1st XI East Conference – National league 5th of 10

2nd XI East - Premier B 2nd

3rd XI East - Div 1 1st

4th XI East - Div 3NW 2nd

5th XI East - Div 4NW 2nd

6th XI East - Div 4NW 8th

7th XI East - Div 5NW 2nd

8th XI East - Div 6NW(S) 4th

Vets XI East Veterans League 4th

Ladies

Team League League position

1st XI East – Div 1N 7th

2nd XI East – Div 2NW 8th

3rd XI Cambs – Premier 8th

4th XI Cambs - Div 2 1st

MEN’S

1st XI - This as been an excellent first half of the season for the 1st XI on their return to the National League in what is accepted as the toughest of the regional sections in the second tier of the system. Under the guidance and drive of player coach Gareth Andrew, City have become a difficult side to beat. Although conceding more goals than they would like, City have the ability to score from several areas of the pitch as well as some from set pieces. There has only been one loss by any margin and that was in the first game to the probable winners of this division, Canterbury.

With only 8 games to go and only three of those at home, City seem very capable of obtaining the three wins they need to maintain their status and thereby build for the next season.

2nd XI – After several weeks at the top of the division, City have only relinquished this place after the last match of the pre-Christmas period when they achieved a fine draw away at Ramgarhia (the third place side). Their only sub-standard performance was away against Blueharts, the new leaders. The return match will therefore be all important and manager Paul Evans remains optimistic that a promotion place can be achieved in what has become a three horse race at the top. City have played some excellent flowing hockey so far and as long as they can eliminate the defensive errors that have shown up in one or two games they should achieve their goal. The return of skipper Paul Hillsdon to full fitness after a broken thumb will be important as will be a higher conversion rate for attacking short corners.

3rd XI – Despite a shock home defeat to Pelicans in the last game before the break, City still head the division and are well placed to clinch a second successive promotion under the leadership of evergreen Aggi Milner. His tireless running and skills in midfield along with fellow veteran Shayne Andrews’ goals up front have proved a vital contribution to their current elevated position which surpasses most people’s expectations for the season for the 3rd XI. The combination of youth and experience is most evident in this side and is proving to be something most opposition cannot cope with. Manager Martin Collcott feels sure that his team will be there or there abouts for a promotion place at the end of the season.

4th XI - The combination of new captain Danny Needham’s unique brand of will to win with the experience and single mindedness of Mike Yeoman have driven the 4th XI to a close up second place in this division. Their attempts to give all players a chance in a bid to find the best combination to meet the requirements of this level of hockey have not been to the detriment of results and perhaps with a more settled side after the Christmas break they can maintain their form and clinch a promotion spot. Bourne Deeping 1st XI should be the favourites but City and Spalding 1st XI will be chasing them all the way.

5th XI – Neil Webb’s team have benefitted from the number of players available and his team now includes several who have featured at a higher level for the club. After a stuttering start his side has developed a fine run of results which has seen them rise to an impressive second place in the table. Newmarket will be difficult to catch but City have the talent to obtain the other promotion place.

6th XI – In the same league as the 5th XI, City have competed well and often with a near-veterans team have been unlucky not to gain more points in several games. Skipper Graham Finding remains confident of an improved showing in the second half of the season that could see them rise 2 or 3 places up the table.

7th XI -- The performance of this side under the guidance of skipper Rob Houghton and the drive of Nigel Foad at the back is almost the surprise of the season so far. The second place which they deservedly occupy on results achieved thus far greatly exceeds any predictions for them before the season started. The goal scoring ability of Ross Haddaway and Declan Shepherd has served them well and they have given themselves a great chance of occupying a promotion spot at the end of the season.

8th XI – Some of the most impressive performances of the season have come from the 8th team where often only Duncan Seaton in defence is over 15 years old. Manager/captain Peter Leaton finds it extremely difficult to justify giving himself pitch time as the latest crop of youngsters show their skills to great effect in matches which are often against full men’s teams. A measure of their progress is that twice in recent weeks they have held the current leaders of the division to draws and come away disappointed that their greater possession did not produce the wins they thought they deserved. In some matches the only thing missing is that extra physical strength that will eventually come to match the opposition.

Vets XI – This has been a disappointing season so far for the Vets as the East Veterans League seems to be losing a few of the competing teams and therefore despite some friendly fixtures City have only completed 4 league games. Entry into the Vintage Cup for over 50s helped provide two more matches and the over 40s team is still going strong in the Veterans Cup and now face a home fixture Vs Reading on February 19th 2012 in the 4th round.

LADIES

1st XI - Under the coaching guidance of Helen Birch, City Ladies have acquitted themselves very well after last season’s promotion. The only problem is a certain amount of inconsistency in performance, reaching great heights one week only to disappoint the next. The side is a good combination of experience and talented youth who grow stronger game by game. The feeling is that if the team only believed in itself more and their ability to play a high tempo game they would deal much more comfortably with the lesser teams in this division. However, this a promising first half of the season and if they can find a few more goals a top half finish is likely.

2nd XI – With Lynn Tancred having her first taste of captaincy, City have competed well and are comfortably clear of any relegation worries. The commitment of the senior players Sue McNaughton and Jane Bunney sets an example to the youngsters and they can all look forward to a productive and enjoyable second half of the season and a respectable final league position.

3rd XI – This is one side in the whole club which faces a hard fight against relegation. They are finding it tough to compete in the Cambs Premier Division after a somewhat unexpected promotion last season. An injury to skipper Andrea Howard has not helped but they are still not far behind the two teams just above them and good performances against those teams could mean a much needed rise up the table.

4th XI – Much to the pleasure of captain Mary Gregory-Smith and her faithful lieutenant Sue Drake, this nearly new set of youngsters have taken this division by storm and are clear leaders having only been held to a draw in one game so far. As long as call ups to the 3rd XI do not affect their line up too much, they would appear to be very strong favourites to take the title.

Cup Competitions

The Men’s 1st XI reached the last 16 before losing an away tie at Bromley & Beckenham with a below strength team and the Ladies found Basingstoke Ladies too strong in a home tie.

As stated above the Vets over 40 team are still going strong after their triumph in the Plate competition last season and now face a Reading side in the 4th round of unknown quality as they have received two byes so far.

The U14 and U16 boys’ teams still hold high hopes of further progress with games still to come on a “round robin” basis during the early stages.

Indoors both the Boys U16 and U18 sides have performed magnificently to emerge as East Champions ands face the national rounds in January which will stretch our playing resources with league games scheduled for those weekends.

CoP Under 18s – Unflappable, unbeatable, unstoppable!

Iain Green — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:12:43 +0000

The City of Peterborough Boys travelled to the University of Essex in Colchester on Sunday 18th December for the East Indoor Hockey Championships.

Their opponents were:

Old Loughtonians	East Under 18 Champions for the last two years and previous National Club Champions at this age
Harleston Magpies	Last years Under 16 East Champions (all moving up)
St Albans	Hertfordshire Champions
Sudbury	Suffolk Champions
Rutland	Lincolnshire entrants

City of Peterborough 5 – Rutland 1

Marcus Howard 3, David Fisher 1, Nathan Foad 1

City of Peterborough started solidly against Rutland and rarely looked threatened throughout the game.

Marcus Howard slotted an early short corner away with a low shot to settle the nerves, but it was not until the eighth minute that the City boys’ superior skills and indoor experience were turned into more goals. It was then that the pressure and running of the starting front two was turned into goals. Three times in just over a minute City managed to intercept or steal balls in the Rutland half and finished the half chances with goals from David Fisher,

Howard again and Nathan Foad. At 4-nil up, the game was then effectively won at half time.

The second half was more even, but Rutland rarely looked likely to open up the City of Peterborough defence. It took a good high drag flick from Rutland at a penalty corner to give them slim hopes of a comeback, but with a minute to go Marcus Howard fired in another low penalty corner shot.

A confident start from the Peterborough boys, with all the squad getting some early pitch time, but knowing there were tougher tests to come.

City of Peterborough 6 – Old Loughtonians 4

Marcus Howard 2, David Fisher 2, Chris Pepper, Jordan Heald

A cracking game, made all the more exciting in fact by umpiring that both teams and benches were unhappy at different times in the match.

Old Loughtonians started well, moving the ball around at high pace around the back, but without much joy in getting through the always solid Peterborough defence. They opened the scoring though on five minutes, after a rare lapse of concentration allowed the ball to be drilled unchallenged straight into the area for the Lought’s striker to deflect into the goal.

This stung the City boys into action though and within a couple of minutes, Chris Pepper had put them back level after being fed in by Marcus Howard. A minute later, and before Old Loughtonians had really recovered, David Fisher made it 2-1 to City after stealing the ball up front and finishing well. Next, Howard picked up a ball in his own half, danced through the midfield, into the area and shot low past the keeper to make it 3-1 at half time with Old Loughtonians absolutely shell-shocked.

The second half started just as well for City, as Captain Jordan Heald found David Fisher in the area with a long accurate pass from the back. As the Old Loughtonian defender smashed into the back of Fisher, the umpires pointed for a short corner, but David just turned and drove the ball low under the keeper. At 4-1 up now, City of Peterborough were cruising and the next couple of minutes went by without too much incident.

With five minutes to go though, it appeared that the umpires decided to even up the match and increase the excitement for the large band of supporters from Essex. Jordan Heald was adjudged to foul an Old Lought’s forward just before he went into the area, and inexplicably the umpire decided not only to upgrade to a penalty corner, but to give a yellow to the City Captain. From the resultant corner, Nathan Stephenson made a good save from the first

shot, but from the rebound a cheeky lob fell into the goal to make the score 4-2. In the next one and a half minutes, Peterborough had another three penalty corners awarded against them, with two of these being expertly dragged into the goal to even the scores at 4-all.

With the scores level, the suspension for Heald ran out and he stepped back onto the pitch, but with Porter and Houghton already on the pitch and at the back, coach Mike Yeoman directed his captain to have a run up front. With numbers level again, it was not so easy for Old Loughtonians to penetrate the City defence, but with a solid defender in Heald also harrowing them at the back, everything suddenly became more difficult. A poor decision from the Old Loughtonian left defender to try to take Heald on down his strong side resulted in a strong tackle from him in the midfield, then Heald played round the player off the board and ran towards the goal, shooting low into the corner with a strikers’ finish.

At 5-4 up, City with Heald moving back to defence, were resolute in defence and kept the ball well when in possession. As time ticked away Loughts didn’t look like equalising, but Peterborough won a late penalty corner. This was slipped to Marcus Howard, who slung the ball low into the goal to effectively end the game at 6-4.

The Old Loughtonian team clearly felt they were close to getting a result, but City knew that with the exception of the 2 minutes when Captain Jordan Heald was suspended, City had won this game 6-1, and felt it was a deserved win.

City of Peterborough 6 – Sudbury 1

Marcus Howard 2, Nathan Foad, Alessandro Vardaro, Chris Pepper, David Fisher

Sudbury came into this game without having a point from their first two games. City of Peterborough had two wins from two games, and were therefore confident of making it three out of three.

It was not long before pressure from the City forwards and midfield had caused Sudbury to turn over the ball to them. Marcus Howard picked up the intercepted ball, drove into the area and finished coolly with a shot into the corner. With all the forwards rotating, running hard and getting into good positions, the next two goals came from excellent team indoor hockey. The ball was moved at speed from the back to the midfield, then crosses fired wide of the keeper were finished at the far post, first by Nathan Foad, then by Alessandro Vardaro for the third.

City were 3-nil up at half time and all players in the large squad had been on the pitch. More of the same was needed for the second half and the squad didn’t disappoint. Within a couple of minutes of the restart, another ball had been poached in the midfield and Chris Pepper shot Peterborough 4-0 ahead.

The next goal came from the first and almost only piece of sloppy play all day from the City team. The always reliable Ainsley Augustine, under pressure at the back slipped the ball across the Peterborough “D”, rather than pushing the ball safely down the boards. Unfortunately, the Sudbury forward intercepted and pushed the ball quickly past Nathan Stephenson in the City goal.

As they had done on numerous occasions during the day though, Peterborough reacted in the best possible way and hit back immediately after conceding. David Fisher got the reward for all his running and added a goal from free play to make it 5-1. Minutes later, another Marcus Howard low shot from a short corner finished the game at 6-1.

City of Peterborough 2 – Harleston Magpies 0

Marcus Howard 2

Both teams went into this game with three wins, knowing that one more win from either of their two remaining games was enough to qualify for the National Finals. Harleston before the match seemed happy to take a draw, but City of Peterborough knew this was the game where they wanted to prove just how good they were, so a win and a clear win was what they were after.

The pattern of this game was long periods of pressure from Harleston Magpies, but without ever really getting into dangerous positions. Matt Porter was rock solid at the back and Jordan Heald was cool as ice on the ball and in the tackle. With Marcus Howard giving an extra level of protection in front, everything was soaked up by City at the back, and occasionally they were able to create their own half chances to score at the other end.

On eight minutes, Marcus Howard found space in the middle from a pass from Heald, dribbled past a couple of players, cut into the area and fired the ball into the goal. This was no more than City deserved and with the score 1-0 at half time, with no chances given away, coach Mike Yeoman urged more of the same discipline and effort for the second half.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Incredibly, Harleston in the whole game never even looked like winning a short corner, and Nathan Stephenson was only occasionally called upon to make a half save. The defensive pairing of Porter and Heald were a class act and never under pressure. As Magpies became more desperate to try to open the defence, the full team held out, working tirelessly in all areas of the pitch.

With all threats nullified, it was City through Adam Wilson late in the second half that looked likely to spring something. With less than a minute to go, Adam was urged from the bench to retain the ball and he jinked across the pitch, drawing defenders, then spotted Howard free in the area. A nicely slotted pass was then collected by Howard, who drilled the ball past the keeper to the loud cheers of all the supporters watching from the balcony.

This 2-nil result was enough to mean City were through to the Nationals again, but probably needed another point to win the title.

City of Peterborough 5 – St Albans 1

Adam Wilson 2, Marcus Howard, Joe Houghton, Nathan Foad

Results in the preceding games had gone City of Peterborough’s way entirely. With Harleston Magpies drawing their final game and Old Loughtonians dropping more points, they took to the pitch knowing that they had already won the title. The goal for the squad though was to go through unbeaten and with a 100% record, winning all their games.

It was not long before Marcus Howard had planted another short corner goal, this time with a high finish in the third minute. To the credit of St Albans though they fought back and a couple of minutes later had equalised with their own short corner goal. As they had done so many times in the day, conceding a goal just pushed Peterborough into a rapid response. City went straight down the other end, won a short corner and Nathan Foad deflected the ball high into the goal.

With the score 2-1 at half time the squad knew the job was partly done, but they had to just concentrate on all the things they had done so well all day. Straight from the restart, City had intercepted a pass and Adam Wilson got his first goal of the day, slamming the ball hard past the advancing keeper. Joe Houghton next got a deserved short corner goal, firing the ball high into the net for City to lead 4-1.

At this stage, it was not clear what had happened, but the St Albans keeper clearly had a significant disagreement with the umpires that resulted in him being suspended for a couple of minutes. With no substitute goalkeeper, St Albans played on with just the five outfield players, but Adam Wilson was soon set free again and was able to push the ball into an empty goal to make it 5-1.

The keeper soon returned and the remaining minutes ebbed away without too many chances, but as the final buzzer went City of Peterborough knew they had gone through the whole competition winning five out of five and played some sparkling indoor hockey.

City of Peterborough Squad

Nathan Stephenson (GK)
Jordan Heald (Captain)
Adam Wilson
Ainsley Augustine
Alessandro Vardaro
Chris Pepper
David Fisher
Joe Houghton
Marcus Howard
Matt Porter
Nathan Foad

City of Peterborough can be seen in their brand new shirts provided by sponsors Magic Lamp Studios*.

Back Row (Left to Right) – Alessandro Vardaro, Chris Pepper, Ainsley Augustine, Nathan Foad, Marcus Howard, Mike Yeoman (coach)

Front Row (Left to Right) – Jordan Heald (Captain), David Fisher, Matt Porter, Nathan Stephenson, Joe Houghton,Adam Wilson

* Magic Lamp Studios owner Angelo Bod has kindly provided funds to enable the City of Peterborough Junior Section to buy four full sets of hockey shirts to be used for all junior boys’ teams aged from 11 to 18. This is a significant asset now for the club and ensures that all the junior boys’ teams will be smartly kitted out for a number of seasons.

CoP Face the busiest Saturday of the season

Jane Wilson — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:17:23 +0000

Once again CoP will demonstrate the depth of its playing squads this weekend as 8 of its mens sides have East League fixtures, whilst 20 of their most talented juniors who would usually be playing in these sides (apart from the Veterans!) are away on indoor duty.

The boys U18 and boys U16 indoor teams both qualified once more for the National Indoor Club Finals from their respective East Indoor Club championships back in December.

The U18s return to Whitgift, where 10 of the 11 players represented Thomas Deacon Academy last weekend in the School's equivalent champs. For half the squad, this is their last ever junior tournament for the Club as they will no longer be U18 next season, so it is something of a bittersweet weekend. Many of them are in the finals for the 3rd consecutive year for the club - and when you consider most of them had not picked up an indoor stick until just over 2 years ago that is a pretty impressive achievement.

They will face Havant, Isca, Doncaster and Cannock in their 4 group matches -all sides littered with junior outood internationals and all of whom will present a stern tests. However, as coach Mike Yeoman commented, "to be the best you have to beat the best" and the boys are promising that nothing will be left on the pitch after each game.

The squad is: Nathan Stephenson, Michael Kowalski, Matt Porter, Jordan Heald, Marcus Howard, Nathan Foad, Adam Wilson, Ben Newman, David Fisher, Joe Houghton, Chris Pepper

The U16s find themselves in salubrious surroundings of Wolverhamton for the second year running for their tournament - and Cam Heald and Scott Howard are astonishingly playing for the 3rd year in a row in the U16 finals. This is a squad which had to be rebuilt after half moved up to U18 after last year's tournament so their progress is all the more remarkable. Andrea Howard will be taking the coaching duties as Mike Yeoman's many talents do not include the ability to be in 2 places 150 miles apart at the same time.

Their opposition includes Beeston, Ashmoor, Havant and Ben Rhydding - all formidable clubs, but the one the boys have their eyes on most are Ben Rhdding: last year CoP were controversially knocked out in the quarter finals of the EH U16 Cup by Ben Rhyddding and revenge is in their sights.

The squad is:Cameron Goodey, Cameron Heald, Bob Cliffe, Grady Wing, Leo Davies, Ross Hadaway, Sam Biccarino, Scott Howard, Simon King.

The Club wishes both squads good luck in their endeavours this weekend - and looks forward to welcoming them back into the league teams next week.

All the men's team captains are also grateful for the support of all the players this weekend which enable CoP to continue to play at the highest local levels whilst their juniors are representing the club with distinction on the national stage.

U18 suffer heartbreak at Whitgift

Jane Wilson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:53:19 +0000

City of Peterborough 1 - Havant 4

(Marcus Howard)

Despite Havant having 4 England players in their squad City lads competed extremely well.

It was however two early goals in each half gave Havant a 4 nil lead, before Marcus Howard scored a consolation short corner.

Missed chances by City gave Havant a more flattering scoreline than they deserved.

City of Peterborough 6 - Isca 2

(Marcus Howard 5, Adam Wilson)

Isca had beaten Cannock in their first game so City knew a positive result was needed. A few changes to personnel and a slightly different formation with half court being played tightened up the performance.

After 2 minutes though, City were 1 down, before Marcus Howard scored his first from a short corner 4 minutes in. Adam Wilson scored just before half time to give City a 2-1 lead at half time. Michal Kowalski was also pulling off some good saves to give his defence confidence.

Two more open play goals from Marcus Howard in the 2nd & 3rd minutes of the second half saw a 4-1 lead before Isca pulled one back in the 4th minute.

Marcus Howard then scored in the 6th & 8th minutes to complete his FIVER.

City of Peterborough 6 - Doncaster 2

(Marcus Howard 4, David Fisher, Adam Wilson)

A must win game became more difficult when City allowed Doncaster a 2 goal head start in the 2nd & 5th minute of the game.

Marcus Howard started the comeback in the 6th minute with his first of 4. David Fisher scored in the 7th minute and Marcus right at the end of the half to give a 3-2 city lead.

Adam Wilson scored in the 2nd minute of the 2nd half before 2 more from Marcus Howard in the 6th & 8th minute completed the rout.

City of Peterborough 2 - Cannock 3

(Adam Wilson, Nathan Foad)

A must win for the City side in the last game of a very open league with all to play for. City had lost 11-1 in the same fixture last year.

City opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a well worked open play goal finished off by Adam Wilson. Cannock pulled one back from the flick spot 3 minutes before half time so 1-1 at the break.

A good short corner routine saw City take the lead in the 2nd minute with Nathan Foad slotting at the near post. Michael Kowalski then saved a flick before a second one was awarded and put in by Cannock with 4 minutes left.

The game then flowed from end to end with the City lads pushing hard for the winner. City then won a short corner in the last minute only for everyone in the building to see it except the umpires, worse still Cannock got the ball to the other end of the pitch and won a short corner at the end of the game which was saved twice before they scored on their second attempt leaving the city side no time to recover.

Summary of the tournament was City played four won 2, lost 2, so 6 points and 3rd in the league. The best result so far at this level by any City side. A bit more 'rub of the green' in the final game could have seen them through.

A very very respectable 5th place in the country. Let's not forget that 12 months ago the results were 6-9, 2-9 and 1-11 losses so a measure of how far the boys have come.

The City of Peterborough Squad for the National Finals were:

Michael Kowalski (GK)
Jordan Heald (Captain)
Marcus Howard (Vice Captain)
Matt Porter
Joe Houghton
Nathan Foad
David Fisher
Ben Newman
Adam Wilson
Nathan Stephenson (GK)
Chris Pepper

Under 16 Boys have tough weekend away at National Indoor Finals

David Heald — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:49:18 +0000

The boys’ efforts pretty much went unrewarded, as they came up against tough opposition in the National Indoor Finals, held at the Aldersley Leisure Centre, Wolverhampton.

They were in a really difficult group, including last years under 16 outdoor champions Beeston, National School champions Ashmoor (South Dartmoor College) and class act Havant, who were coached by England Hockey Head of Performance, David Faulkner. Both finalists eventually came from their group, with Havant beating Ashmoor in the final 2-1.

In the main City were just not strong enough in depth, coming up against opposition squads of 11 or 12. In every game City matched the opposition for significant periods, but didn’t have enough to keep this going for the full game.

Game 1: City of Peterborough 3 – Beeston 3

Cameron Heald (2 PC), Grady Wing

A fast start for the Peterborough Boys created an early short corner in the 2nd minute. Grady Wing slipped this left for Cameron Heald, who drove the ball low past the keeper. Beeston, who had already played their first game earlier and understandably looked sharper for it, hit back straight away though with a short corner goal of their own to tie the game at 1-1.

Beeston took the lead next as the goal came from a quickly taken free hit which caught most of the Peterborough team cold, and the Beeston forward finished well. City’s boys were not to be outdone though as Grady Wing was put through, he beat a player, drew the keeper wide, took the ball round him and lifted it into the goal for 2-all.

Cameron Goodey in the City of Peterborough goal, who remarkably is still only 13 years old, next made a vital smothering double save from two attackers, after City had lost the ball in the tackle in the middle. It was another mistake though that led to the next goal with City trying too hard to beat players rather than pass patiently, leaving Beeston 3-2 up at half time.

The second half was a different matter though. City had lots of pressure, with Beeston hardly managing to mount an attack. Pressure was upgraded to short corners, but unfortunately City were unable to convert any of these until the last few minutes. The equalising goal came from Skipper Cameron Heald though who found his mark firing a short corner down the middle that a defender on the line could only deflect up and into the goal.

The game ended with City frustrated that they had only finished with the draw, as they felt that they were the better team and should have taken their opportunities.

Game 2: City of Peterborough 2 – Havant 6

Cameron Heald (PC), Leo Davies

City of Peterborough knew that they were going to be up against “it” in this game as Havant had comfortably won their first game earlier in the day, beating Ashmoor (whose squad was made up of the National U16 School Indoor Champions – South Dartmoor College).

The worst of all possible starts though was conceding in the first 30 seconds, as City lost a ball in the middle and were punished with a well taken finish. Next was more bad luck as the very dependable Sam Biccarino took a knee to the face in making a tackle and had to come off for treatment for a couple of minutes. Simon King filled in at the back, with City holding off the pressure of fast movement and passing from a constantly rotating Havant team.

Against the run of play though, Leo Davies picked up a pass into the area, and managed to squeeze the ball under the Havant keeper into the goal from a very tight angle.

At 1-1 though, with City of Peterborough competing well with what certainly looked the best overall team in the competition, there was more bad luck as Captain Cameron Heald pulled up with a calf strain. This was to really test the small CoP squad. Scott Howard and Sam Biccarino (back on after icing his cheek) though held things tight at the back and Grady Wing moved into the middle, but City were then short of attacking options going forward and were mainly left to hold on. Unfortunately, just on half-time Havant got their second goal to go in at 2-1 up.

After the restart, this pattern continued, but as City tired, Havant’s passing, running off the ball and clever angles opened them up regularly. It was soon 6-1 to Havant with a penalty corner goal and three other well worked team goals and City had let in five goals in 10 minutes.

Although, not being able to run properly, skipper Cameron Heald asked to return, to at least try to shore things up a bit at the back for the last few minutes. Sam Biccarino moved to the middle, and managed to force a late short corner. This went straight to the hobbling Captain, who brilliantly planted the drag flick high into the corner of the goal to finish the scoring 6-2.

Havant’s coach for the weekend, David Faulkner (who is England Hockey’s Director of Performance – there’s no-one higher!), came over after the game to say that he thought that City of Peterborough had a few very talented players, in fact individually better than his squad, but we were out done by Havant’s overall numbers, strength and better patterns of play.

Game 3: City of Peterborough 1 – Ben Rhydding 3

Cameron Heald (PC)

City of Peterborough arrived in good spirits for the second day of competition. Ben Rhydding were yet to win a game too, so both teams knew that this was a crucial game, if they wanted to progress in the tournament.

Captain Cameron Heald was fit to play again after treatment and strapping on his calf from Hannah Dallender-Jones (who had travelled with the squad as physio for the weekend). The team started confidently and created an early chance for Leo Davies that went narrowly wide, but it took until the 6th minute before Heald scored a short corner drag flick to put City 1-0 up.

Few other clear opportunities were created by either side, until Ben Rhydding won a short corner as time ran out on the half. A good flicked finish from their captain, past the advancing Goodey in goal tied the scores at 1-all, and City’s heads dropped.

The second half though was mostly one way, with City not playing well in trying to go forward, but working hard in defence. As Ben Rhydding’s play improved though, the pressure led to a sequence of short corners and half chances. Unfortunately, this eventually led to two goals in the last 5 minutes, both coming from smart short corner finishes.

With the match finishing at 3-1 to Ben Rhydding, City were down and out knowing they were unable to progress to the semi-finals, but actually most upset that they had just played so much better the day before against much better teams.

Game 4: City of Peterborough 2 – Ashmoor 4

Grady Wing, Bob Cliffe

This was a game with nothing but pride to play for in City’s case, but a semi-final place on the line for Ashmoor. However, knowing that they were up against National School Champions, the Peterborough boys were determined to put in a better final performance and they certainly did that.

Again, City of Peterborough started well and were put 1-0 up by Grady Wing, who slotted the ball into an empty goal, after Cameron Heald’s mazy dribble and pass eliminated the defence and keeper. A nice turn and flick in the area from Ashmoor’s smallest forward tied the scores though at 1-1 in the third minute.

Two more good goals from Ashmoor in free play put them 3-1 up at half time, but City still felt that they were in with a chance of a big upset.

It was in this last half that City of Peterborough probably played their best half of indoor hockey of the whole tournament. The ball was consistently passed round at pace from all players. The whole squad played their part, with Ross Hadaway going close with one shot, and both Simon King and Bob Cliffe pushing the Ashmoor team hard all round.

It was unfortunate that the next goal came from Ashmoor and it was a controversial one. City were adamant that an Ashmoor forward had blocked the City defence from tackling a runner on the edge of the area (a third party offence), before he peeled and fired the ball into the goal. Captain Cameron Heald made his feelings known too vociferously to the umpire, who told him to calm down had gave him a green card (his second of the day for similar reasons).

Next, a poor decision to run the ball through players from Biccarino, left Heald as the last defender against two forwards and he mistimed his final tackle badly, where the umpire quickly signalled for a stroke and a yellow card for Heald. To his credit though, young Goodey in the Peterborough goal stood up well and covered the flick that went just wide.

Even with four players now, City held Ashmoor with the solid defence of Biccarino and Scott Howard, and Bob Cliffe running tirelessly in the middle and a rotation of single forwards up front. They even managed to win a short corner, just as Heald’s two minute suspension was completed. This was pushed out to the Captain, who flung the ball at pace across the face of the goal and Cliffe running in agilely deflected the ball into the goal to make the score 4-2.

The last few minutes had City on top and really competing well in all parts with Ashmoor. At the final whistle, City didn’t have the result they wanted, but most certainly they had done themselves a great deal of credit.

The City of Peterborough Squad for the National Finals were:

Cameron Goodey (GK)
Cameron Heald (Captain)
Scott Howard (Vice Captain)
Sam Biccarino
Grady Wing
Leo Davies
Simon King
Bob Cliffe
Ross Hadaway

They were supported by Andrea Howard (Coach), David Heald (Manager) and Hannah Dallender-Jones (Physio).

Hockey4U Camp

Iain Green — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:52:26 +0000

Gareth Andrew is holding two hockey camp sessions over half term click here to find out more details.

Sat 11th February - Social gathering

Jane Wilson — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:16:29 +0000

SO FAR - Mens Vets, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th 7th and 8th XI plus ladies 3rd CI games all cancelled.

Although the official/final decisions have not yet been made all our opposition, it looks increasingly likely that all the games will be cancelled.

HOWEVER, the club bar will be open from 12.30 hrs and for those who cannot survive without their weekly dose of Bretton Gate, it would be great to see you for a social gathering.

The TV agenda would be :- Manchester United Vs Liverpool at 12.45 hrs KO

To be followed by :- Italy Vs England - in the Six Nations Rugby at 15.45 hrs

In days of yore, we would have staged an impromptu football match in the snow (on the grass) in between these events but I am not sure the younger ones these days are so willing or perhaps carefree to take part in such activities.

I hope to see a lot of you down there. Captains please pass this message on to your teams!

Big weekend at the Gate

Jane Wilson — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:31:23 +0000

With the ladies either on their half term break or playing an away fixture (the unbeaten ladies 4th XI are at Kimbolton trying to preserve their record), it's a men-only weekend at the Gate.

The 8ths, 2nds, 6th and 4th take centre stage on Saturday with the odd-numbered teams having away games. The 1st XI are playing their rearranged game on the Smurf-turf at Old Loughts so it will be interesting to get reports on the pitch. Although with all the money they have spent you would have thought they could have managed to put 5-metre marks round the D at both ends of the pitch rather than just one...how much does a splash of paint actually cost?!

Then on Sunday, the EHL finally comes back to the Club after a 3-month absence - it feels like a whole new season. Teddington make their first ever visit - and anyone over 15 will recognise instantly the name Calum Giles who is now their director of hockey, and still presumable graces their short-corner routines!

And as if that wasn't enough, the Vets take on Reading in the last 16 of the Over 40s EH Masters Cup. Reading had walkovers in both the last 2 rounds which tell us nothing about their form, whilst our lads squeezed past Luton on flicks.

As always a bumper crowd to support both games on Sunday can prove the extra pair of legs on the pitch for the home team so get down and get supporting. A mere £1 entry for both games and a free EH programme thrown in - what more could you want on a bright winter Sunday? Oh yes of course - the bar - well it goes without saying that will be open!

Last SUNDAY EH game this season - 4th March

Jane Wilson — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:34:34 +0000

Last chance to watch the men's 1st XI in EH action on a Sunday for this season as they take on Holcombe who sit one place above them in the table at 1.00pm on Sunday 4th March.

The boys are searching for just 3 more points to make sure of EH hockey next season, although other results may make that academic over the next couple of weeks. They are also looking to avenge a narrow 3-2 loss in the reverse fixture from before Christmas.

Holcombe's coach this season is Julian Halls who is well known to many of the senior CoP players from his days with Old Loughts.

The final home game is Saturday 17th March so this weekend is a must for those who will be occupied with their own game that day.

Good luck to the U16 Boys on Sunday 4th March

Jane Wilson — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:38:41 +0000

A trip to Belper to face Olton & West Warwick, Oxford and Belper is the reward for the CoP U16 Boys domination of their local group in the first qualifying round of the EH U16 Cup.

On Sunday 4th March they travel to Belper to play the other 3 teams in a winner-takes-all format as only the team which wins the group will qualify for the National Finals.

There are 8 groups in all - 2 in each of the Single System regions - and CoP boys find themselves somewhat bizarrely in a Midlands group. Avoiding Cannock (who are in the other group) has to be a major bonus and the boys have a great chance of making it into the last 8 for a weekend of hockey on 31st March in the Finals weekend.

The best wishes of the Club go with the boys and coach Mike Yeoman for success this Sunday.

Match report for CoP Boys at U16 Regional Finals

Iain Green — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:04:16 +0000

City of Peterborough Under 16 Boys travelled to Repton School, home of hosts Belper HC for the Midlands Regional Finals on Sunday 4th March.

They had qualified with a perfect record as winners of their local group, having seen off Harleston, Rutland, Norwich and Pelicans scoring 30 goals on the way over the four matches. The opposition in their four team Regional Finals Pool were Olton & West Warwicks, Oxford and Belper (playing on their home pitch). The format was winner takes all, with only one team from the group qualifying for the National Finals at the end of March.

The schedule for the day looked tough before the boys travelled, but a late change to the schedule meant all the matches were to be played on the water based pitch, an unfamiliar surface to almost all of the City boys. In addition, City of Peterborough were to finish with a “back to back” game against hosts Belper, who had a good spread of fixtures for the day.

Taking all that into account though, Peterborough were still confident that they could carry on their impressive run in the competition and push for a place at the National Finals.

City of Peterborough 2 – Oxford 1

(Cameron Heald – PC, Grady Wing – PC)

City started well, pressing with forwards Ashfat Abdulwahid and Ross Hadaway causing a couple of mistakes from the Oxford back four, but without creating a clear cut chance. Grady Wing linked well with Cameron Heald in the midfield and eventually a couple of short corners were won by the pair, however the excellent Oxford keeper made some good saves to keep the scores level.

Oxford began to get into the game as a few mistakes at the back brought pressure onto the Peterborough defence. Jonathan Lee made a good save when a misplaced pass put Oxford through, but couldn’t do anything to stop an attack a couple of minutes later and City went into the break at 1-nil down.

At the half time team talk, coach Mike Yeoman encouraged the boys to sharpen up all round again and take the game forward, as they had in the first few minutes of the game. This they did, creating a number of good chances with mazy dribbling from Heald and Wing through the midfield, which Oxford struggled to cope with giving away a serious of short corners. Unfortunately, none of these were put away, as a combination of the Oxford keeper and some poor execution left City still trailing.

In the end, the pressure from Peterborough though did get converted into goals. The equaliser came from skipper Cameron Heald who was first to pounce after a short corner save was not cleared away, and he slapped the ball past the keeper.

With less than five minutes on the clock to go, an excellent passing move involving Tom Seaton down the right put Ross Hadaway through into the area, where his stick was tackled before he could cross the ball. Feeling the pressure building and a certain inevitability of what was to come, Oxford’s players and coach were not happy, but neither umpire could see anything other than a short corner to be the correct decision. Unfortunately, their mood was not improved as at the resulting short corner, the first shot from Heald was blocked, but it fell to Grady Wing who smashed the ball into the corner of the goal and put City 2-1 up.

The final few minutes of the game were safely seen off by City, who had deserved the result overall, being the team who created their own chances from good play.

City of Peterborough 2 – Olton & West Warwicks 1

(Cameron Heald – PS, Ross Hadaway – F)

Second game up, City were matched against Olton & West Warwicks who had narrowly lost to Belper in the first game of the day.

It was Olton who started best, causing problems in the City defence with a number of high balls lifted over that City struggled to deal with. They appeared much more comfortable on the water based pitch and took the lead after about 10 minutes, where a good shot beat Jonathan Lee.

Again though, City dug deep and fought back into the game. They started to soak up pressure from Olton at the back and create their own openings going forward. A few minutes before half time, a short corner was won, half cleared but forced back in for Ashfat to deflect the ball towards the goal only for it to hit a defender on the line. Cameron Heald stepped forward as captain to take responsibility for the penalty stroke, and calmly slotted the ball in the corner sending the keeper the wrong way. A few more half chances came to both sides, but 1-1 was the score at half time.

The second half was tight all round, with City of Peterborough having slightly the better chances. It was however a scrappy goal from City that settled it in the last 10 minutes. A short corner was struck towards the goal, half cleared, then hit an Olton foot when the ball looked to be heading over the line. Advantage was played though, and Ross Hadaway reacted first to jab the ball over the line to put City 2-1 ahead.

Peterborough had chances to increase their lead in the final minutes, but were happy to come off again as winners, having come from behind for the second time in the day.

City of Peterborough 0 – Belper 6

City of Peterborough had a quick turnaround to play next up after only a short break from the end of their match against Olton. By contrast, hosts Belper had a longer rest, playing first, third and fifth games on the day. Both teams had won their first two games, and this match was therefore the decider to see the winner on the day and who would qualify for the National Finals. A combination though of some unfortunate injuries, tired legs and fast attacking hockey from Belper settled this game early on.

Chris Neal, who had been solid and dependable at left back throughout the first two games, was injured even before the game started. A ball in the warm up hit him hard on the knee and then bounced up on the side of his face, so he was unable to start. Worse still, Belper scored in the first minute following an attack down the right to go 1-0 up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, skipper Heald pulled up in the second minute, succumbing to the groin injury that he had been carrying all day, but compounded with a hamstring tweak all at the same time. The worst of all first halves was finished as Belper seemed able to score at will, and went into the break 4-0 up, with goals flying in from all angles and at all heights from open play. Injuries to City of Peterborough were running close to the Belper goals tally by half time as the team’s third injury occurred when Sam Biccarino limped off, after being hit on the knee.

At half time, City knew that the game was all but over, but the remaining fit players were determined to keep going. There was nothing to play for but pride, but to the credit of the players, they stuck to their task, tried to play hockey and battled well. It was not long though before the injury list was added to. Ashfat Abdulwahid twisted his ankle and had to come off, so Sam Biccarino returned to the game. Finally the injury tally made five, as a reverse stick shot hit Simon King hard on the shoulder and he felt his shoulder pop out of the socket, then back in(!). Clearly, Simon couldn’t continue, so Mike Yeoman looked to who he had on his bench to step in as cover and Chris Neal to his immense credit took off the ice pack from his knee and ran on to cover at the back again.

In the midst of all the injuries, the whole team and particularly some of the less experienced players (Simon Custance, Tom Astle, Chris Neal and Tom Seaton in particular) stepped up their games. Even with 15 players in the squad, with so many injuries there was no cover available on the bench, so the least injured eleven had to see out the game. Two goals were conceded in the second half, with the final score 0-6, but Jonathan Lee made some good saves and excellent clearances when called on.

The coaching and management team though were so proud of the spirit shown all round in the game. The team came up a little short in the end, but they should all be commended for what they have achieved this season and there is no disgrace in losing to a good team like Belper, who will have a good chance of winning the National Finals when they are played at Cannock at the end of the month.

City of Peterborough Under 16 Team

· Jonathan Lee (GK)

· Cameron Heald (Captain)

· Scott Howard (Vice Captain)

· Ashfat Abdulwahid

· Bob Cliffe

· Chris Neal

· Grady Wing

· Joe Phillips

· Leo Davies

· Ross Hadaway

· Sam Biccarino

· Simon Custance

· Simon King

· Tom Astle

· Tom Seaton

· Mike Yeoman (coach)

· Andrea Howard (assistant coach)

· David Heald (manager)

Ramgarhia v Cambridge

Iain Green — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:21:43 +0000

It is with great sadness that we report on Saturday the Ramgarhia v Cambridge Uni game had to be abandoned because one of the Ramgarhia players had a heart attack during the warm up. Sadly, we can report the player did not recover and has passed away.

City of Peterborough Hockey club players, members and supporters wish to pass on our sincere condolences to Ramgarhia Hockey Club for their great loss. We also pass on our thoughts and prayers to the player’s family and friends during these sad times.

The CoPHC 7's

Iain Green — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:51:36 +0100

CITY OF PETERBOROUGH HC FESTIVAL 7’s And REAL-ALE FESTIVAL– 2012

Saturday 16th June – Mens / Veterans

Sunday 17th June – Mixed

The 30th Consecutive Festival 7’s will be hosted by City of Peterborough Hockey Club at Peterborough Town Sports Club on the weekend of the 16th and 17th June. This has always comprised a relaxing weekend of fun hockey, socializing and more than a few ales, more so as this year it will be combined with our first ever Beer Festival, with 18 Real Ales and Live Music on the Friday and Saturday evenings. We hope you are able to join us.

The format is slightly changed this year – bigger and better we hope. The Mens on the Saturday will for the first time be split in two sections, “Open” (any age) and “Veterans”. The Mixed event Sunday will remain unchanged. All teams are guaranteed at least 90 mins of hockey, with minimum of 5 group games, followed by semi-finals and finals.

Teams to comprise 6 outfield players plus goalkeeper (mixed to be 3 ladies, 3 men outfield, plus keeper)

Mens Veterans will be classed as over 35. Teams will be allowed to include a maximum of 2 “underage” players in their squad, but at a “handicap” of 1 goal per game for 30 to 35’s and 2 goals per game for under 30’s. (You can have an “underage” keeper at no penalty)

No limit on squad size
All matches on half size Astroturf
On site Catering with selection of hot foods
Full On Site Bar Facilities – 18 Real Ales
Live Bands on Friday and Saturday Night
Play commences 10am both days

Location: Peterborough Town Sports Club, Bretton Gate, Westwood, Peterborough, PE3 9UZ

Entry fee - £50 per team for 1 day, £90 per team for 2 days.

Entries will be accepted on a first returned basis, and are requested on or before Monday 28th May. To secure your place please complete the enclosed form, and return with a cheque for the full entry fee made payable to “PTSC” to:

Festival 7's c/o

Graham Finding

35 Rudyard Grove

Gunthorpe

Peterborough

PE4 7UJ

Entry Form CoPHC 7's

Gareth & Laura tie the knot

Jane Wilson — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:13:55 +0100

Gareth Andrew and Laura Smith will be tying the knot in Laura's family home in North Wales this Easter weekend.

A club wedding is always a lovely event and to have our 1st XI coach marrying our 1st XI captain is about as good as it gets.

The whole club sends their best wishes both for a fabulous wedding day, and for much happiness in the months and years to come.

We expect to see some true hockey photos from the day (well the ones which can be published without breaching any laws!!)

City 3rd XI wins Promotion without Playing.

Iain Green — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:37:47 +0100

Although City had no league matches to complete, the final match in Division 1 was critical in determining whether CoP 3rd XI would retain their 2nd place and therefore achieve promotion to Premier B of the East League.

This match was between Felixstowe 1st XI and Broxbourne 1st XI and was staged on Saturday 7th at the Henley Road Astroturf pitch normally used by Ipswich HC, as Felixstowe’s normal home venue at a school was unavailable due to the Easter holiday. Felixstowe were safely in the middle of the table but Broxbourne needed to win to wrest the final promotion place away from CoP 3rd XI.

A small party of CoP club members went to see the game and that fair play was done. In the event, Felixstowe were very much more motivated for the game than Broxbourne as they were intent on achieving the best possible finish to the season and therefore had many more spectators present than their opposition. Felixstowe opened at pace and stretched the Broxbourne defence before on 4 minutes a quick break resulted in a blind pass which fell fortunately for their right winger to drive home with the keeper out of position. Long spells of possession play were interspersed with an odd short corner at both ends but Felixstowe always attacked with more purpose and defended well especially when putting pressure on the opposing defence in possession. With half time approaching Felixstowe scored a vital second goal following a switched short corner move and the body language of the two sides at half time was hopeful from a CoP point of view as Broxbourne’s team talk was very restrained.

Another smart finish 10 minutes into the second period gave Felixstowe a winning 3 – 0 lead after a better spell from Broxbourne and the game was virtually over as a contest. The Felixstowe keeper was called upon to make 3 good saves in the remaining playing period but there were also chances narrowly missed at the other end.

At the final whistle the CoP contingent gave a polite clap or three, thanked a few of the Felixstowe players who were aware of their presence and proceeded to communicate the good news via various modern techniques to the many parts of the UK where club members happened to be at this holiday weekend. This was an amazingly tight league and the 3rd XI have to be praised for keeping their cool when others faded with the recent 6 – 0 away win at Cambridge City 2nd XI being the absolutely pivotal result that gave them the chance of promotion which just proved sufficient. City 3rd’s under the captaincy of Aggi Milner and management of Martin Collcott have now achieved two successive promotions and will become the first ever 3rd XI side from any club to compete in the Premier B division. As the target at the beginning of the season was survival in this 2 up 4 down “league of death”, this is an astounding achievement.

This final result concludes a tremendous season for the City men’s hockey teams with 5 out of 8 league sides winning promotion. This coupled with the 1st XI’s achievement in retaining their National League status and the superb performances of the age group teams in the cup competitions adds up to a wonderful season, believed to be unmatched in the Club’s history.

Oxfam Trailwalker Obsidian Carp Trailwalker Team

Iain Green — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:22:24 +0100

On 14/15th July 2012, myself, Chris Vine and 2 others are trekking 100km across the South Downs. We must complete this within 30hours on limited stops and no sleep.

This is the Oxfam Trailwalker with all the money going to Oxfam and the Gurkhas Charity.

All your support is extremely welcome with every penny going to 2 great causes. Please give as much or as little as you can afford and tell everyone you know about our plans!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/obsidiancarp

Thanks for your support,

Obsidian Carp Trailwalker Team

Annual Dinner & Presentation Evening

Jane Wilson — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:54:57 +0100

Friday 11th May 2012 is the date in the diary for 200 CoP members, partners and parents as the Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening takes place.

The event is being held at the Solstice, Peterborough in their upstairs room, starting at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm sit down.

Dress code is anything from formal evening wear to smart casual - please no tatty or torn jeans, t-shirts with dodgy slogans etc.

Tickets for those who do not have them will be in named envelopes on the door; if you have not yet paid please bring the correct cash or a cheque payable to Peterborough Town Sports Club if you cannot get the money to us in advance (we will continue to take it at training next Thursday or by post if you wish). If you have committed and do not turn up we will still expect payment!

We have a raffle with fantastic prizes including a stick signed by the entire GB Ladies Olympic hockey team and 50% of the monies raised will go towards club member Ed Walker's charity - about which a little more on the night.

We will also be holding the draw for Olympic tickets for those who have recorded their wish to be included.

Not to mention of course all the prize giving for all the teams plus the annual club awards - over 30 trophies to give out!

With beer at just £2.50 a pint for the whole evening, and Andy Cave acting as Master of Ceremonies we are all set for a wonderful night.

If you have confirmed a ticket and suddenly find you cannot attend please contact Jane Wilson as we do have a waiting list and someone will almost certainly be able to fill your place. Please do NOT turn up on the night hoping to get a ticket for the meal as you will be turned away without a confirmed ticket. We are checking with the venue to see if those who are working and have asked about coming in later (9.30 onwards) are OK to do so and will advise when we have checked.

The Solstice is on Northminster, opposite the multi-storey car park - map here if needed

If you have any questions or issues please contact Jane Wilson on aj2wilson@btinternet.com or message me on facebook as soon as possible.

Men's Hockey Masters Divisional Tournament

Iain Green — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:15:44 +0100

5 prominent local players were chosen to represent the East in this over 40s divisional tournament. Playing a total of 5 games, the East qualified for the semi-final stage where they beat the South and then won the title by beating the Midlands 2 – 1 in the final.

Following this, 5 of the East side were selected to take part in the England trial from which a squad will be picked to compete at the forthcoming Masters World Cup at Canterbury HC from 14th to 24th August this year. Of the five, three are local being Adam Drake (City of Peterborough) plus Bradley Apted and James Sheppard of Wisbech

Annual Dinner a resounding success

Jane Wilson — Sun, 13 May 2012 12:21:01 +0100

The Solstice was buzzing until the early hours of the morning as so many members and their partners, parents and siblings came together for a wonderful night of celebration - City of Peterborough HC clearly knows how to throw a party!

MC'd by the inimitable Andy Cave, there were a whole host of winners from every one of the club's 13 teams, with the ladies 4th XI also carrying off the new "Team of the Year" award - which led to Busby leading the celebrations on the stage which was an experience in itself!

The club gave Peter Lambert a standing ovation when he came to award two of the trophies, and hope his recovery continues.

Life membership was awarded to Mick Ward for the unique achievement of 50 consecutive seasons of playing for the Club - probably something we will not the see the likes of again.

Allan Riddick was recognised as Club Umpire of the Year for his ongoing commitment to umpiring every week.

Neil Evans took the Ted Belton Trophy for Men's Senior Player of the year, and Nikki Harris the Ladies' equivalent.

The 3 prestigious junior trophies went to Chris Porter for Young Player, Scott Howard for Junior Men's Player, and Georgia Harrison for Junior Ladies Player.

Clubman of the Year went to retiring 1st XI manager, Jon Short.

Top goalscorers trophies were won by Wayne Humphreys and Emily Waddell (the latter with a remarkable 31 goals!)

A whole host of players won their team Player's Player, Captain's choice or Manager's Player of the Season and a full list of winners will be published here soon.

13 lucky members also came away with a pair of tickets to the Olympic hockey event.

The club however also rememeber those less fortunate than themselves and raised over £150 for Ed Walker's charitly http://hopeintoaction.org.uk/ to help local homeless people.

Everyone voted the evening a wonderful success, and thanks are due (in no particular order!) Colin Lake, Georgina Wilson, Andy Cave. Simon Roberts, Amanda Ayres, Sue MacNaughton, Tim Davis, John Anderson, Mick Daykin and Jane Wilson for both organising and making sure the whole evening ran like clockwork.

We will be back next year !

Boys U14 Beeston7 Success

Iain Green — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:26:43 +0100

Earlier in the day the U14 team competed in a round robin event in which they won 5 and drew one of their games to be crowned champions.

They Beat Beeston Bees with some scintillating passing hockey 5-0 with goals form Ben Lomas and two apiece from Oscar Sadicot and Brendan Andrews.

Match 2 proved to be bigger challenge and after surviving 3 hits against the post and some great saves from keeper Cameron Goodey they forced a breakaway and a well taken goal from Oscar Sadicot winning 1-0

The next game against West Bridgeford Monarchs saw some great keeping again from Cameron Goodey and a Brendan Andrews strike sealing the points.

Beeston Swarm followed and this was the crunch game with Beeston also being unbeaten to this point. A fast and flowing game saw each side have chnaces but the defence particularly from Sam Anderson held firm and a great passing movement from the back saw Ben Lomas take the ball and cleverly round the Beeston keeper and finish well to win 1-0.

Rutland followed and after a nervy start a goal from Ben Lomas and a hat trick from Brendan Andrews saw an easy 4-0 victory. This meant that a draw or a win against Belper would secure the trophy.

Belper went ahead but the CoHP team never allowed their heads to drop and playing the open brand of play they adopted throughout soon saw them equalise via Oscar Sadicot. Further pressing saw Manish Patel finish another fine flowing move but a rare lapse at the back allowed Belper to score. The team continued to press but the winner failed to materialise, but with the final whistle the trophy had been secured with a two all draw.

The whole team played some fantastic hockey and many observers commenting on the great hockey played by the lads and that the win was thoroughly deserved. Everyone played their part but a joint Man of the tournament went to Cameron Goodey for some excellent saves and a great all round performance and Sam Anderson whose defensive and forward style of play was of the highest order.

In all this was a great end to the season for the u14 team.

Team - BenLomas (c) Oscar Sadicot (vc) Cameron Goodey (gk) Manish Patel, Sam Anderson, Brendan Andrews, Archie Spears, Nicky Reddy, Kunal Patel,

Captain and Vice Captain Ben Lomas and Oscar Sadicot

Boys U12 Beeston7

Iain Green — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:39:55 +0100

The under 12 team which consisted of 4 players under 11 gave a very good account of themselves finished 4th. They lost to a very good Leicester side 5-0 but recovered well to beat their next two opponents Beeston Bees (3-2) and Belper (2-0) with goals from Brendan Andres (3), Keegan Yeoman and Matt Jennings to qualify for the Semi-final where they came up against a strong Beeston Swarm side and lost 5-0.

The 3rd/4th place play off ended in a 2-0 defeat but this young team showed tremendous spirit against older and bigger opposition which shows the strength of the youngsters at the club.

Weekend of Beer & Hockey

Iain Green — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 23:20:52 +0100

A fantastic weekend of Beer & of course Hockey is happing this weekend, along with a Band on Friday night and Saturday.

And just in cae the football is on at the club also on friday night!

Check out all the detials here!

Men's 1st/2nd Squad - Pre-Season Training

Paul Evans — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:06:25 +0100

The summer is almost over!...

Pre-season training will start on Thursday 5th July, 7pm-9pm for the Men's 1st/2nd team squad. This will continue throughout July. From Thursday 2nd August, the normal training days / times will resume (Thursdays 8pm-10pm and Tuesdays 8pm-9pm).

Please try to attend as much as possible, and let Paul Evans know if you can't make it on one one or more dates.

Club BBQ & Fun Day

Iain Green — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:48:14 +0100

The club will be holding a BBQ and Funday on the 5th of August, to celebrate the Olympics.

Barbecue will cost.

£5 for Audlts
£2.50 for Children

We will also be showing the Olmpic Mens's hockey Match @ 19:00.

Great Britain v Australia

World Cup Masters

Iain Green — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 22:07:34 +0100

Drake / Short make Masters World Cup Squads

City of Peterborough HC's Jonathan Short (Wales O40) and Adam Drake (England O40) have been selected for the inaugural FIH / IMHA Masters Hockey World Cup. Shayne Andrews just misses out on England O45 final squad selection after playing in the Home Nations in June.

The Masters World Cup is being held in Canterbury, Kent from the 14th to the 24th August, with 13 nations and 45 teams taking part across a number of age groups.

England and Wales have been drawn in the same qualification group along with Australia and South Africa.

Both sides are in the final stages of their preparation before their meet each other in the opening game of the World Cup, following the opening ceremony.

Group games: -

14th August - England v Wales 11:50

15th August – Wales v Australia 13:45 & England v South Africa 15:10

17th August – South Africa v Australia 15:10

18th August – England v Australia 16:50

21st August – Wales v South Africa 08:30

Cross over games, semi's and final are to be held on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th August.

Further details on www.hockeymastersworldcup.org

20% off at G&L Sports

Iain Green — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 22:26:23 +0100

G&L Sports will be holding a 20% off two day event on the 5th and 6th of September.

Openning times are 10 am till 10 pm both nights

A thank you to our sponsors

Iain Green — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:19:00 +0100

Thank you for your support over the past year and to update you on the success of our Teams as we enter the start of the new hockey season.

Your kind donation has been well invested in a combination of ways to include, our youth development scheme, sports coaching, and improvements to our facilities; our Cricket wicket has been improved, we have a new roof on our Squash courts, and improved changing room facilities.

We had a very successful 2011-12 Hockey season, our teams have had a record Season throughout all levels.

The Men’s 1st team have maintained their National League status (the highest level in Hockey), and are very strong going into this season with a large volume of youth within the team who will continue to improve.

The Men’s 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th X1 have all achieved promotion in their respective leagues. The 2nd X1 will be playing in the Premier A league which is the highest level a 2nd X1 is able to play. The 3rd X1 are now the first 3rd X1 side from any Club to ever compete in the Premier B league.

The Ladies section had a less successful 2011-12 Season but we will work hard to fight back this Season.

However, we have a great future, the 4th X1 which is predominantly a youth team won their League and were unbeaten all Season, the only Team in the whole Club last Season to boast this which secured them “Team of the Year” at our “End of Season Awards Dinner”.

The Cricket section have had a very successful 2012 season. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams have all won their respective leagues. Dan Soar is the Squash County Champion.

None of the above would be possible without your continued support for which we all thank you very much. We have great future plans and we hope you will be able to join us on our journey of success.

If you are not already, and would also like to advertise on our new hockey website please send your company logo to webmaster@cityofpeterboroughhockeyclub.co.uk.

There is a match day programme for our Men’s National League Hockey home matches, again if you are not already and wish to be included please send your company logo and message to Jane Wilson – aj2wilson@btinternet.com.

Thank you again from the Management and Members of the Peterborough Town Sports Club.

Regards

Amanda Ayres

Sponsorship Secretary

Money Raised In Honour of Peter

Iain Green — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 21:33:37 +0000

The Club are pleased to announce that £950 was raised at the Crematorium which is to be donated to Sue Ryder.

Sports Quiz Night

Iain Green — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:45:39 +0000

Dear All,

Please note that the above important event will take place on:

FRIDAY 23rd November 2012 – start 19.30 hrs at the Bretton Gate clubhouse.

Entries from teams of 4 are invited - The cost per player is £6 which includes a significant contribution to some of Mick Daykin’s finest fare so you will not need to have eaten before you come out.

It would be good if the hockey section could provide say 3 teams.

So far Neil Lake has expressed an interest and is looking for some colleagues to make up his team. In addition an old umpires’ team of Bill Taylor, Tony Bond, Tim Martin and I will be competing.

Please let me know if you are interested in taking part.

Please also note the following events at the Sports Club for your diaries:-

Friday 14/12/12 100 Club Draw with buffet - 20.00 hrs
Saturday 15/12/12 Club Christmas Party from 19.30 hrs
Monday 24/12/12 Christmas Eve drinks with your friends - 11 .00hrs to 15.00 hrs approx.
Saturday 29/12/12 Vets Golf day at Thorpe Wood – further details from the undersigned on request.

Best regards,

Colin

Level 1 Coaching courses

Iain Green — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:53:19 +0000

Bookings for the hockey Level 1 coaching course, being held at Uppingham School, Rutland, Leicestershire on

Sunday 24th February, Sunday 3rd and 10th March 2013.

We are currently piloting a new booking system for candidates to book and pay directly online. The address for this is

http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/courses.asp?section=369&sectionTitle=Find+a+Level+1+Course

Just as a reminder - all candidates wishing to complete the course must be aged 16 or over on the first date of the course.

When booking onto the course, candidates need to pay the course fee of £160.00 by credit/debit card as part of the process.

If anyone has any queries please do not hesitate to contact the Midlands office on 01509 228676.

Best wishes.

Laura Swanston

Relationship Manager - Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire

Brummitt 2013

Iain Green — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:30:18 +0000

Following on from last year’s very successful tournament, the organising committee of Brummitt 2013 (formerly the Roger Brummitt Mixed Hockey Tournament), on behalf of City of Peterborough Hockey Club, have great pleasure in offering you and your club the opportunity to join us for a great weekend of fun and hockey at our Mixed Hockey Tournament, which will be held on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April 2013.

Entries are restricted to 16 teams and all teams will play a minimum of 6 games over the weekend.

The entry fee remains at £260 per team, approximately £16.50 per person for a squad of 16 players.

This includes the following:

• 2 days of hockey, playing in the Cup or Plate competition depending on progress in Saturday games

• Playing on both grass and the synthetic pitches (teams should bring the appropriate footwear)

• 16 tickets for the evening entertainment programme for Saturday night, including curry and local band (fancy dress is optional but encouraged as prizes will be awarded for the most imaginative ideas)

• Free camping with facilities – either tents or caravans (advanced notice is required so that space may be left)

• All day bar, plus all day hot and cold food

• On-site hockey shop

• Raffle

• Tug of War

If you would like to enter the 2013 tournament please complete the entry form and send it to Sue McNaughton,

(1 Fairmead Way, Peterborough, PE3 6AE) with a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of £50 by return post (cheques are

non-refundable and should be made payable to City of Peterborough Sports Club).

Closing date for entries: Friday 18th January 2013.

The remaining fee of £210 will be requested 6 weeks before the event (Saturday 8th March 2013).

If you require further information, please do not hesitate to contact Sue McNaughton on 07725 735380 or Neil Lake on 07855 365093.

We look forward to welcoming your Team to the City of Peterborough Hockey Tournament.

Yours faithfully

The Brummitt Committee

ALSO CHECK OUT THE FACEBOOK EVENT FOR UPDATES

Summer Training

Iain Green — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:40:57 +0000

Training for the under 16s on Thursdays betrween 6pm and 7pm will continue up to the brummitt.

After the Brummitt training we will revert to Summer Training this will mean the U16 sessions and the general club training (7pm - 8pm ish!) will merge into one session running from 7pm till 8pm.

Ladies are also more than welcome to attend.

AGM

Iain Green — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:06:47 +0100

A reminder to all hockey members the AGM is on Wednesday the 1st of May. Please note the start time is at 19:30, remember seats will be take quickly so arrive promptly.

Boys U18 Indoor team reach new heights

Jane Wilson — Sat, 04 May 2013 17:44:44 +0100

After gradually improving over the last 3 years, and despite losing their talisman captain Marcus Howard to a broken thumb in the week before, this team made the breakthrough to qualify from their group, through the semi-final and pushed the eventual champions, Beeston, all the way in the final.

The squad was Daniel Barkworth (GK), Sam Barlow, Sam Biccarino, David Fisher, Cameron Heald (Captain), Scott Howard, Jacob Marshall-Grint, Ben Newman (Vice Captain), Chris Pepper and Grady Wing.

With the format shortened to fit into a single day, which played into the club's hands as shorter games worked well for them, the boys beat Havant (4-1) and Bowdon (4-0) and drew with Belper (0-0) and Ashmoor (1-1) to qualify for a semi-final against old East adversaries, Harleston Magpies.

Harleston were duly despatched in comfortable style, as the boys won 2-0, and were then faced with the awesome task of overcoming Beeston in the final. Beeston U18s count no less than 5 junior internationals in their team, and their skipper plays outdoors in the EH Premier league. Another familiar face was Henry Ricketts, who plays his school hockey with many of the City of Peterborough boys.

City of Peterborough though were not overawed by the occasion, or the opposition. They continued to play the same controlled hockey that had seen them only concede 2 goals in five games on the day, but also caused plenty of problems for Beeston at the other end. The Beeston keeper was forced into making a series of saves, as City shaded the early part of the game on chances. On about 6 minutes though, City opened the scoring after Cameron Heald and Ben Newman combined to create a chance for David Fisher to finish well. At 1-nil down, Beeston pushed on and had more chances but Dan Barkworth in the City goal made some good stops at corners and in free play to keep City ahead. With 4 minutes to go though, a short corner from Beeston hit a City player just outside the post and deflected in. Soon after, Beeston managed to score a second and then sat back trying to retain the ball and kill the game for the last few minutes. A couple of half chances fell to City, but were well saved and there was one late shout for a short corner, but time ran out with Beeston jubilant on winning their first junior indoor title.

Goal scorers for the day were Cam Heald - 5, David Fisher 4, Ben Newman 2 and Grady Wing 1.

The City boys may have finished runners up but in the process have done their club and city proud.

Full report and Team phoo can be found at cophc.blogspot.co.uk

Club Dinner and Presentation Night

Jane Wilson — Sat, 04 May 2013 17:54:40 +0100

Yet another season with so much to celebrate right around the teams will culminate in our annual Dinner and Presentation night on Friday 10th May at the Solstice, Peterborough.

Around 200 members will congregate to see who will receive awards for their playing, scoring and goalkeeping exploits. The coveted Young Player of the Year, Senior Players and Junior Players will be awarded, as well as a new trophy this year. The Peter Lambert Memorial Trophy, sponsored the Fane Clinic, will be presented to the Goalkeeper of the Year - sure to be a hotly contested award. And of course, the Team of the Year with several contenders in the running.

Andy Cave is once again Master of Ceremonies so expect to be royally entertained, with Aussie Dave in charge of the musical technology....that could be interesting!

There will be a raffle with lots of good prizes on offer, and half the monies raised will be going to the Multiple Sclerosis Society with the blessing of our long serving club umpire Nigel Smith, who has recently been diadnosed with MS himself.

Dress code is smart casual - anything from black tie & ball gowns to chinos and shirts is fine. The beer and wine will be flowing, as no doubt will the speeches, so we are looking forward to another wonderful evening. Doors open 7 for 7.30 seating

Minis so close to double success at Beeston

Jane Wilson — Tue, 07 May 2013 18:46:48 +0100

CoPHC sent an U14 boys and an U12 mixed team to Beeston yesterday (6th May) with the U14s defending the trophy they lifted for the first time last year. They won all their group games without conceding a goal beating Rutland 4-0, Wakfield 2-0 Beeston Swarm 7-0 and Leicester A 5-0 with goals from Nicky Reddy, Brendan Andrews, Archie Waddell and Daniel Mees. The Semi Final saw them play West Bridgford Monarchs and again they came out on top 5-0 with goals from Reddy, Andrews and Kunal Patel.

The final was against Beeston Bees and for the first time the team started slowly compared to the other games and a great reverse stick finish saw Beeston take the lead. The game was end to end but two defensive mistakes (probably the only two during the whole tournemant for the boys) saw Beeston take advantage and move into a 3-0 lead. CoPHC attacked hard and earned a number of short corners with two being stopped on the line before an Andrews' conversion made it 3-;1 continual pressure was put on the Beeston defence but they held out resulting in 2nd place this year for CoPHC. A great effort from the team who drew great compliments from coaches and umpires alike for the way the hockey was played and the spirtit of fair play.

The U12s were up next in the afternoon with the challenge to go one better than the their older clubmates, and in a round robin tournament they duly delivered the goods - going through all their games undefeated. This was all the more remarkable as the team consisted of a number of 10 year olds. Special mention also for Georgie Richardson (clearly a chip off her father's old block!) who was one of the few girls playing and gave as good as she got - often outplaying the lads in front of her. And also to Luke Barkworth who deputised in goal for Rutland as a favour to them as their keeper failed to show up.

All in all another great advert for the younger end of the youth section of the Club - watch out for these guys in league teams over the next few years!

Thanks also to Gwyn Williams for organising and managing the teams.

CoPHC Summer 7s - 2013

Iain Green — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:49:20 +0100

Saturday 29th June – Mens / Veterans

Sunday 30th June – Mixed

The 31st Consecutive Festival 7’s will be hosted by City of Peterborough Hockey Club at Peterborough Town Sports Club on the weekend of the 29th and 30th June. This has always comprised a relaxing weekend of fun hockey, socializing and more than a few ales, combined with our 2nd annual Beer Festival, with Real Ales and Live Music on the Friday and Saturday evenings. We hope you are able to join us.

Check out the Summers 7 page for all the details on this years tournament.

Click this link to take you there!

Another amazing Annual Dinner and Awards night

Jane Wilson — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:26:05 +0100

189 players young, middle and older with partners, parents, grandparents and siblings gathered for our 3rd Annual Dinner and Awards night and it was once again just the most wonderful evening.

A full list of those who picked up an award will appear soon, but the headline winners were

Clubman of the Year - Andrea Howard
Senior Mens player - Jonny Appleton
Senior Ladies player - Lauren Finding
U21 Boys player - Marcus Howard
U21 Girls player - Jodie Abraham
Junior Boys player - Oskar Sadikot
Junior Girls player - Emily Waddell
Mens top goalscorer - Luke Baxter
Ladies top goalscorer - Lyn Tancred
Peter Lambert Memorial Award for top Goalkeeper - Charlie Exton

There were many more and every captain could have awarded many more trophies to players who have given so much to the club this season. It is such a great club to be a part of and we are already working on being bigger and better next season.

Thanks in particular to Sue Macnaughton & Tim Davies, Amanda Ayres, Andy Cave & Aussie Dave, Georgina Wilson, Paul Evans and Colin Lake for their help before and during the night to make the whole thing once again run so smoothly.

Match Reports from the U14 Girls

Iain Green — Tue, 14 May 2013 08:22:38 +0100

Match Reports can be found on the CoPHC Blog.