Mens News

This weekend was the renewal of the old rivalry between Oundle and Northampton Saints 3s. With Oundle being the visitors for the first meeting between the two sides for almost 2 years. Another week and another strong Oundle squad with 16 players making the short trip over to Moulton College. This week saw Oundle travel with only one recognised striker, thankfully it was the man in red hot form, flying rhino fan, John Pickstone. Oundles most recent signing Harvey Ratcliffe, also made his debut this week filling in up front, in a game which would give him a baptism of fire. The Saints team looked to be bringing through the next generation, featuring a number of younger players. With a pushback time making Oundles start time look late, the game began with both teams having a go at each other, Saints appeared to be slightly coming out on top in the early exchanges. Saints trying to break the Oundle press. One break was quickly snuffed out by ole McJimmy, who doesn’t have a farm, but was most certainly up for the game celebrating his last ditch tackle like a goal. Despite a good press from Oundle, they struggled to hold onto the ball and gave away a couple of early chances to Saints, the only clear cut chance when the ball found a Saints player from point blank range but luckily fired the ball straight at Youngy. Despite the early pressure from Saints, they were unable to break down the resolute Oundle defence. With Saints playing similar to Oundle by pressing high, it was going to take a moment of magic to break the press. Jimmy Moore was on hand to provide this with a pass straight through to Brenners, with the pass going from 23 to 23. Brenners was left 1 on 1 with his defender, Brenners rolled his man and placed the ball home beyond the onrushing Saints Keeper. This goal appeared to settle any lingering Oundle nerves and they started to enjoy themselves, making some nice passes. One constant throughout the game was all of the Oundle players wanted the ball. Albi saw a lot of the ball throughout the game, providing an option for an easy pass from every Oundle 16. Oundle had a number of chances throughout the half but were unable to convert. The 2nd half started how the first ended with Oundle on top and Saints penned back into their own half and unable to cope. Oundles wide players, A.Scott, P.Wilson and R.Cunningham found a lot of joy down the wings throughout the game, and gave the Saints full back a tough day at the office. Saints defended well though and limited Oundle not giving away any clear cut chances. Oundle stuck at their task however and eventually were able to make the breakthrough midway through the 2nd half. Brenners picked the ball up deep inside the Saints half and drove at their defence, Brenners beat his man and squared the ball to find his strike partner, John Pickstone, who did his best to fall over while tapping home from close range. More rewards followed for Oundle who were awarded a number of short corners in short succession. Vice Captain Millan had a drag flick well saved, strong and stable Peter Allett saw his strike cleared off of the line by the postman. In fact it was the short corner which didn’t go to plan, where Oundle scored. The injection took a bobble on its way through, but managed to find Gareth Watt on the edge of the D, Gareth playing a square ball to Albi, who with all the time in the world, picked his spot and fired home. Oundle had the opportunity to be out of sight, when Brenners, who had previously found the net, received the ball in the middle of the D with just the keeper to beat. It was a shame that Brenners had thought we had switched to Rugby at some point through the half and proceeded to fire high for what would have been a decent conversion. Saints weren’t without a threat throughout the half however, and looked to hit Oundle on the counter, trying their luck down the wings. Saints played a few dangerous balls across Oundles D but didn’t have anyone to tap home. But they were rewarded shortly after Oundle had scored their 3rd. The Saints winger beat 2 Oundle defenders down Oundles left, played the ball into the D which found a free Saints player who took the early shot into the bottom corner reducing the deficit back to 2. With the game approaching its final minutes Oundle looked stretched and Saints tails were up after scoring their goal. Oundle had given everything throughout the game and the youth of Saints came into their own and won their first short corner of the game which didn’t come to anything. Albi was in the wars this game, catching first an elbow, then a stick to the face which drew blood. Oundle ran out 3-1 winners with a win which sees them 5th on goal difference but share 12 points with 4 other teams in the league. The good spirits were raised when it was revealed that one of their players had been caught speeding twice in the same day, by the same van no less! Next week Oundle face a tough challenge when one of those 4 teams visits Pavilion Drive, Towcester 1s which will be the first league meeting between the two sides. HWTL.

With some confusion over a slightly rearranged pushback time, Oundle were up long before the sun to travel to Rugby, to play Rugby & East Warwickshire 4s. Last week’s disappointing result had not dismayed Oundle who once again travelled with a strong full squad, debuts being handed to Oundle Cricket former captain; Tommy Simeons, and Alex Scott, who is the son of Oundle Hockey club legend and one of its founding members; Simon Scott. Captain Ben Edis had clearly not woken up as he announced the formation with both Brenners and Willow slotting in at left back! As the sun rose over Rugby’s fresh pitch the match started and despite the half the Oundle team still being asleep they started well which seems to have become a trademark of this season. Oundle were calm in possession, transitioning the ball well, looking for an opening. One ball which proved to be effective in the early stages was Jimmy Moore, playing the long ball through to George Martin who was able to spin his man but unlucky not to provide the finishing touches. Despite the early pressure a mistake at the back by Oundle was capitalised on by Rugby, Oundle lost possession on their 23, the Rugby through ball found their striker who was able to get there first and lift it over the onrushing Youngy in goal. Oundle were not dismayed however and continued with their game. Moments later Oundle thought they had their equaliser; the ball coming from the right, flicked up off of a Rugby stick into the path of Monty Drewett, who slotted home, only for the umpires to rule it out and award Oundle a short corner instead. Oundles 2nd chance came with the shot beating the goalkeeper, just not the covering Old Dan Phillips on the line who showed superb reflexes to block the shot and keep Rugby in the lead. Completely against the run of play on the break, Rugby won their first short corner of the game, a straight strike found the bottom corner nutmegging the postman on the way through. Half time bought Oundle some reprieve with Rugby on top. The management opting to go for the hairdryer treatment. This seemed to work as Oundle started the 2nd half very strong, not allowing Rugby outside their half, relentlessly pressing to win the ball back. The Rugby keeper was in inspired form to keep Oundle out. With the midway point of the half approaching, Oundle looked out of ideas and Rugby were gaining confidence, looking to hit Oundle on the break wherever possible. At this time one debutant Alex Scott, stood up and with his Dad watching on from the dugout with both pride at his son, and disgust that Oundle being 2-0 down ‘would never have happened in his day.’  Alex ran down the right wing beating numerous Rugby players and getting into the D, his cross found Monty Drewett who, wiping out Tristan Ashby in the process hit home to reduce Oundles deficit to 1. Shortly after this, the game became stretched, both teams had some opportunities but were unable to convert. Both teams could also be considered lucky to not be reduced to 10 men, The Rugby keeper taking out George Martin who was through 1-on-1 and Jimmy Moore who did something similar. With the game entering its final stages, Oundle were again pushing for an equaliser, with even the kitchen sink was thrown at the goal, Rugby stood firm. But playing for Oundle there is a man, a man few can understand, a man who is at one with the flying Rhinoceros of his native South Africa. Up step John Pickstone, he controlled the ball, cut inside his man onto his reverse and proceeded to hit the ball the cleanly. The ball flew into the bottom right corner, an unstoppable shot that no keeper in the world would have saved, even saying that doesn’t do the goal justice. With the game entering its final moments, Oundle tails were up and Rugby were under the cosh, and if it wasn’t for the superb reflexes of their keeper, Oundle would have been out of site. In the dying minutes of the game, after peppering their goalkeeper, going close with a short corner and a point blank strike, George Martin finally made the breakthrough for Oundle nutmegging the keeper with a vicious strike. Oundle were in the lead for the first time in the game and only had to defend their lead for a couple of minutes. Despite some late Rugby pressure Oundle held out to claim the win 3-2 after being 2-0 down at half time! It was a superb win which sees Oundle stay 3 points of top of the league heading into the break. Oundle are away again after the break against old rivals Saints 3! HWTL.

Oundle returned to HQ after a well deserved win last week. Today’s opponents were another team that Oundle know well, having come down from the league above with Oundle last season. Rugby and East Warwickshire 3s. Rugby have become a bit of a bogey team for Oundle, with the hosts only winning 1 of the previous 4 meetings between the 2 sides while losing the other 3. Oundle had a full squad of 16 players available, with the highly anticipated return (By the umpires) of old Dan Phillips. Meanwhile there was also space for Gareth Watt, who was making his 2nd appearance of the season, doubling his tally from the previous 2 years. Dalley and former skipper Tristan were both out with injuries. The game started with a blue sky which had opened up in between the rain showers which had plagued the morning. Oundle started with pushback and on the front foot. Pushing high up the pitch and penning Rugby back. It took a good counter attack from Rugby to win them the first short corner of the match. This was fired straight at Youngy and saved. With Rugby growing into the game, Oundles relentless press was working, George Martin picking the ball up in his own half, and playing an aerial pass to striking partner Brendan ‘Brenners’ Sullivan who proceeded to show off his hockey skills, beating 3 players before playing a 1-2 with the 4th and final Rugby defender, firing a shot low into the bottom corner from close range for his first goal of the season. Oundle thought they had doubled their lead not long after, with Old Dan Phillips playing a sublime cross field pass to a completely free Gareth Watt on the right, Gareth crossing the ball back into the D… The first shot was well saved by the Rugby keeper, who parried the ball out to Ollie Bogg, who must have thought he had his 2nd goal in as many games; but it was not to be as John Pickstone was in the way before firing home himself. The nearside umpire originally gave the goal, but this was overruled by the far side umpire. Ollie was later quoted as saying ‘It’s hard to score when they have 2 goalkeepers.’ After the relief of Oundles 2nd goal being disallowed, Rugby grew into the game more and more, their wide players showing their skill, and reaching the latter stages of the half, they found their reward, winning a free hit inside Oundles 23 working the ball well into the box (after a deflection or 2) the Rugby forward fired home from close range through the legs of Youngy. After this goal, Rugby continued with their pressure and nearly added a 2nd from a drag flick which was saved by Youngy, who also got to the rebound, this was carried out the D by Strong and Stable Peter Allett. Oundle finished the half strong, with Rugby again pinned in to their own half and not given the space to breathe. With the start of the 2nd half Rugby nearly had a chance straight from pushback, with the through ball just too far in front of the forward. The early stages of the 2nd half were cagey with both sides trying to figure out the best way to break the opposition defences. The game started to become stretched, both teams having opportunities, Rugby having a shot which Youngy saved onto Jimmy Moore, the resulting short corner came to nothing. Oundle had a couple of opportunities, with Flying Rhino Pickstone well tackled by the Rugby keeper after being played through. Brenners would have assisted utility man Al Simpson up for an open goal if it wasn’t for the timely intervention of a Rugby defender. But with the game being stretched, Rugby again won a free hit inside Oundles 23 after Oundle gave the ball away. The Rugby winger rolled his defender before playing the ball across the D, for the forward to tap home at the 2nd time of asking. There was a brief flare up of tempers between Phillips and a Rugby player who had hooked Phillips stick. Phillips flinging away the Rugby players stick halfway back up the A14. The excitement caused Brenners voice to break at some point during the match, attracting all the local dogs in a 2 mile radius. With the game entering its final minutes and Rugby adopting a policy of anywhere will do, Oundle won a short corner with just 2 minutes to go, the Rugby defence charged out and managed to get a foot on the shot. The 2nd short corner was injected, again going to George ‘Schoffel’ Martin, whose 2nd shot was just agonisingly the wrong side of the post for Oundle. It was Oundles first loss of the season after a very close game with Rugby, a game which Oundle will feel they could have walked away with either the 1 point or all 3. The result leaves Oundle in 5th place but only 3 points off the top in the early stages of the season. Oundle hit the road again next week against Rugby & East Warwickshire 4s. HWTL.

After last week’s win, Oundle were back on the road for their first away game of the season. Today’s opponents came in the form of Loughborough Town 3s. A team that were relegated from the league above with Oundle last season. This exact game last season finished with a 1-1 draw. A strong 14 players turned out for Oundle, numbers unheard of under the previous administration. The players included  ‘Full Monty’ Drewett who was making his debut and the return of ‘strong and stable’ Peter Allett. The long time centre back partnership of Vice Captain Millan and Farmer Jimmy ‘Bobby’ Moore at the back also returned for the first time this season. Unfortunately though, Joint top scorer for the season, ‘Flying Rhino’ Pickstone was unavailable for today’s game, with his son having a surprise birthday which he had forgotten about. In Pickstones own words, he was worried that forward partner Martin would struggle without his creativity and tireless running. The game began after a swap of sides and an Oundle pushback. Oundle pushed high up the pitch in their new style, putting Loughborough under pressure and forcing mistakes from the opposition. Although this perhaps came from the bright green running shoes worn by Vice Captain Millan who had forgotten his astros. For once Oundle made a fast start, their pressure paying almost instant rewards when they were awarded the first short corner of the game. This was swiftly dispatched with an unstoppable straight strike from George Martin, into the keeper’s bottom left hand corner. Oundle’s fast start didn’t last for long however and Loughborough quickly regained their composure and the game became quite open with both sides having opportunities. The defences of both sides having to work overtime. Loughborough’s pressure was paying them dividends as they were awarded a couple of short corners and had some chances to score, the first short corner was saved by the stick of Youngy, with Jimmy and Allett showing Oundle what they had missed last week in defence. Despite Loughborough coming back into the game and testing Youngy in goal, Oundle were not without their own chances, George Martin causing havoc for the Loughborough back line, narrowly shooting wide from a 1 on 1. Loughborough left a man extremely high at all times, causing problems for the Oundle defence who didn’t want to leave him free. At half time Oundle were given the hairdryer treatment, with the defence told they were too far back, allowing the Loughborough forwards to play extremely high. The 2nd half began in much the same fashion as the 1st ended, Loughborough on the front foot and creating chances. Culminating with Youngy making a double save, using his right hand for the first, and throwing his left at the second. With Loughborough’s pressure it was only a matter of time before they were rewarded, midway through the 2nd half a drag flick from a penalty corner caught The left postman who wanted to prove how tough he is, let the ball strike him on the arm. The resulting flick was scored down the middle, tying up the scores. It is an old cliche that you are the most vulnerable when you have just scored, and Loughborough proved this to be true when an Oundle aerial found an onrushing Martin who rounded his man and squared the ball to Ollie Bogg, taking note of Pickstones calmness last week, Ollie slotted home, underneath the onrushing keeper to restore Oundles lead.  With the game entering its final moments, Loughborough turned up the pressure one last time but were unable to break down a robust Oundle defensive display. Oundle picked up a hard fought 2-1 win away from home. Equalling the total number of away wins for the entirety of last season! Oundle return to home next week against the current league leaders Rugby and East Warwickshire 3s, a team Oundle know well from the previous 2 seasons. HWTL.

The first league game of the new season was finally upon us. Despite spending all of pre-season on Pitch 1, the game was to be played on Pitch 2, with Oundle School deciding that Pitch 2 will be Oundle’s new home until further notice. The hallowed Astro of Pitch 2 was where Oundle previously made their home ground a fortress, with teams not relishing a trip to Pavilion Drive. Oundle have not had the best of luck recently on the first day of the season, losing their last 2 opening fixtures with an aggregate score of 7-1. Warwick Uni were the visiting side today, boasting a full squad of 15 players. Oundle, prepared for life without previous stalwarts John Brown and Peter Ellis, whose combined experience of 1000 years was sure to be a big miss. Oundle were also able to boast a full squad of players, handing debuts to Ollie Bogg and George ‘Juan’ Kerr. In what was a youthful (for Oundle) line up. Other notable absences included Farmer Jimmy Moore, Dan ‘Baldilocks’ Phillips, Pete ‘Strong and Stable’ Allett and Tristan Ashby, who was out with a broken nail. Unusually Oundle were playing from left to right as viewed from the capacity crowd of 6 supporters. This was as requested during the coin toss by Warwick Uni, this however put the sun in their keepers eyes for the first half.  Oundle started the new season with pushback and immediately started playing the ball around. Pushing Warwick Uni back and penning them in their own half. Oundles pressure told almost immediately, with Pickstone finding himself with a free shot at the top of D, dragging his shot narrowly wide. Oundles pressure was constant, forcing turnovers and errors high up the pitch. Warwick defended well, not giving Oundle anything, and as the half went on, Warwick grew into the game, breaking the Oundle press and getting higher up the pitch. Warwicks main threat came from a number of short corners which they were able to win, forcing Youngy into action to keep the scores level. Despite the short corners, Warwick were limited to only 2 clear chances, the first from a cross across the box which was saved low to Youngys right and a rebound. The 2nd came from a scramble in the D. Oundles defence stood strong, allowing nothing. With the game in the balance, both sides having a good go at each other, debutant Ollie Bogg found himself free in the middle and found Schoffel model George Martin on the right hand side with a precise pass. Martin drove at the defence and played a splitting pass across the D, to find an open John Pickstone. Pickstones shot hit the Warwick defender on the line giving Oundle a penalty flick. The flick was calmly dispatched low to the keepers right by George Martin, opening his account for the season.  Half time came at the right time for Oundle, with Warwick slightly on top. But Oundle were ahead where it counted on the scoreboard with George Martin’s flick the difference between the two sides. Throughout the first half Oundles transfers between the defenders and movement causing real problems for the Warwick defence. The 2nd half started and Warwick picked up from where they left off, putting Oundle under pressure. Oundles transfers still caused problems for Warwick, but Oundle were unable to make anything stick. It was now Oundle’s turn to defend, with again the defence only giving up short corners which Warwick were unable to convert. Oundles defence and Youngy again allowed nothing. The main threat came from a deflection which Youngy managed to get a stick to, low to his right by the post.  With Oundle under the cosh, their shape getting ever more ragged, a clearance found George Martin on the halfway line who beat his man and was promptly fouled, giving Oundle a respite. Or so the defence thought! A quick-thinking through ball from George No 2, (Kerr) found his namesake who drove up the pitch. The ball was played to the left to find a completely free Pickstone, who calmly took a touch and slotted past the Warwick keeper, doubling Oundles advantage completely against the run of play. With the game entering the latter stages, Warwick Uni turned up the pressure, with Oundle unable to break out of their own half. Warwick were able to win a couple of penalty corners and turned to their drag flickers, after a couple of narrow misses, Warwick thought they had found a way back into the game with a drag flick which hit the roof of the net. It was the umpire’s whistle that saved Oundle on this occasion who deemed the flick to have come from outside the D. Warwick did not contest the decision. Disaster struck for Oundle shortly after as debutant George Kerr touched the ball on a Warwick free hit and was promptly shown a yellow card, forcing a beleaguered Oundle to finish the game with 10 men.  Neil, who was so used to seeing Oundle concede goals last season, could not believe they had kept a clean sheet and insisted the score was 2-1 to much laughter and merriment from Oundle before realising his mistake!  The final whistle went soon after, with Oundle breaking their opening day curse with a 2-0 win, which briefly put them at the top of the table. Next week Oundle hit the road for their first away game, against a team which they know well from last season, a team that came down with Oundle, Loughborough Town 3s.  HWTL.

After a long and challenging season, it was time for Oundle to hit the road one last time, travelling to Nottingham to face Nottingham University 5s. The game marked the end of an era, with 2 regulars playing their final games before enjoying their retirements. John ‘JB’ Brown and Peter ‘Coach’ Ellis. Both being able to boast long and successful careers they thought it was time to hang up their astros and move on to pastures new. JB to the south of France and Coach Ellis to the golf course. But before they can enjoy, they had one final game to play. Oundle lined up with a strong team with Peter Allett returning. George Martin however was unable to make the game. There was also a rare appearance for uni student Brandon Ingle who for once was ON TIME. Oundle started the game with push back and kept a passing accuracy of 100%… for about 2 seconds before the ball was put off the sideline. Thankfully the gents at the uni side repaid the favour straight away. The early stages of the game were relatively quiet, both sides trying to get a feel for the game, as is so often the tale of the season it was the opposition who managed to get ahead, resulting from a short corner that was cruelly deflected to the right of Youngy. Unlike the rest of the season, Oundle were able to hit straight back, a long ball forward found John Pickstone free on the right hand side, who delivered and inch perfect pass into the D, finding Brenners at the back post, who had the composure to 1st stop the ball, 2nd pick his spot, 3rd make a cup of tea and drink it, 4th read a book, and 5th and finally put the ball in the net to level the scores up. Strangely enough, it was not long before Oundle were ahead, a long crash ball from Eliis, found an onrushing John Pickstone who had slipped his marker and deflected the ball into the roof of the net, leaving the keeper no chance, and leaving his team mates wondering ‘How has he done that?’  A shell shocked Nottingham team did not know what had hit them, especially scorer Pickstone, who was causing absolute havoc for the Nottingham defenders. The right hand side proved to be especially problematic. Another cross from deep on the right hand side found an unmarked Dan Phillips at the back post who gleefully tapped home his first goal of the season. Phillips was especially happy as all 3 of Oundles goals had so far come from passes to the left. Nottingham were left blown away and unsure of what to do, they had come up against an inspired Oundle side who were playing of how they were capable. Nottingham did manage to win a couple of short corners and have a few shots during the first half forcing Youngy to make a couple of saves, one rebound nearly finding one of their heads, but mostly they were unable to break Oundle down. The whistle was blown for halftime and the relief on Nottingham faces was palpable, as they finally had a chance to regroup. Oundle were hungry for more goals and that was the halftime team talk, keep working hard, and let’s get some more goals. The 2nd half started with the break having the desired effect for the Nottingham players, as they were able to get onto the front foot, putting Oundle under pressure. Oundle however are no strangers to being put under pressure and held firm. With Oundle working hard, they started to tire which allowed more space for the Nottingham players. With the game stretched they found themselves on a counter attack, and 1 on 1 with the Oundle defenders, a ball forward was so nearly intercepted by the Oundle defender whose attempt only succeeded in teeing up the forward perfectly to slot home. Despite the majority of Nottingham’s short corners not resulting in anything, they had a plan and stuck to it, the ball would be injected to the player at the ‘10’ position, who would fire across aiming for the far post, and unfortunately late in the 2nd half it worked. With the ball evading the outstretched boot of Youngy, and finding the stick of the left postman, who deflected home with a very tidy finish into the back of his own net! With the scores now level, Oundle composed themselves and began to attack again, the game becoming end to end. It was at this point that Allan Simpson who had missed a large part of the season earlier with a broken toenail, found himself in acres of space, 1 on 1 with the Notts keeper. Taking his time and going for the cool and collected finish he calmly slotted the ball between the onrushing keeper’s legs to put Oundle back in front making it 4-3. Oundles joy was not to last too long however, as Nottingham hit back from a drag flick, from their next short corner. Both Youngy and the right hand postman were unlucky to not get a touch.  With the game entering its final stages, Nottingham again won a short corner, another drag flick which was saved by Youngy, off of the inside of his pad, Captain Ben Edis scrambling to get out the way. The resulting long corner again resulted with Youngy being tested and making a save, with one of the Nottigham forwards running a screen to block his line of sight. This was blown up by the umpires and Oundle were given a reprieve. The game finished at 4-4 in what has been described by pundits as a ‘thriller’ and a ‘classic’. With Oundle scoring a total of 6! As the curtain came down on a long and challenging season, Oundle found themselves 3rd bottom in the league and now nervously await confirmation from the league about whether they will be relegated or not. 

The penultimate game of the season and the last home game of the season for Oundle saw a Nottingham Trent Uni 3s side visit. This meeting was the first fixture between these two sides with Oundle having to forfeit the reverse fixture after it was rearranged approx a million times.  This week saw the long awaited return of vice captain Adrian Millan whose dose of man up pills appears to have finally kicked in. In the words of Farmer Moore ‘Reunited and it feels so good’. It was a sentimental game with striker George Martin turning 30, which puts him at about a tenth of the age of veteran John Brown. It was also sentimental for John Brown, being his last home game before enjoying a long overdue retirement. But Oundle will hope to wheel him and fellow retiree Peter Ellis out one last time next week, to give them both a well deserved send off. A quick special mention should go to skipper Ben Edis who valiantly decided to umpire instead of play. Even though he was injured. The game started with a NTU3s pushback, and putting Oundle under expected pressure immediately, despite this Oundle kept it tight at the back, refusing to give anything away. Oundle, not rolling over as I imagine the uni students expected, were taken by surprise, both by the excellent defensive work of the team, and the swiftness of the counter attacks that Oundle were able to mount. Oundle were even able to have the first meaningful shot of the game, with George Martin taking 2 bites of the cherry forcing NTU3s keeper into 2 very good reaction saves. The nerves of NTU could be seen, they clearly weren’t expecting this kind of resistance from the 3rd bottom side. Also helping was outspoken left winger, who did a fantastic job of rattling NTU3s, with both words, and let’s say some… interesting tackles. Despite one of the NTU3s player thinking a particular tackle made Phillips week, it actually made his year. Halfway through the first half and NTU3s were finally starting to grow into the game, they won their first short corner of the game. This was dispatched very well, low and to the left, Youngy getting a touch which was unfortunate to take it over the stick of JB on the post. Despite this setback Oundle were not dismayed and stuck to their tasks well. Despite increased pressure from a now ascendant NTU team. Youngy was well protected in goal, only being called into action a couple of times to make some routine saves. It was during a short corner that newly returned skipper for the day Adrian Millan had to ask fellow CB Farmer Moore to tie his shoe laces due to him forgetting how to tie an knot and nothing to do with his dodgy thumb. 1-0 at half time was the score with Oundle positive that they could keep it together. Unfortunately early on an unlucky and cruel deflection off of Brenners landed at the feet of a NTU3s forward by the right hand post who gleefully tapped in from a yard out past the diving Youngy. Not satisfied with his assist, Brenners later on tried to score with a deflection from a cross but this was saved by the trailing leg of Youngy. Youngy was called into action numerous times over the half, making one save which John Brown graciously admitted that he had ‘Every faith Youngy would save it’ anyways, he let the NTU player turn and shoot from the penalty spot with Youngy making what was described by the opposition an ‘Outrageous save’ high to his left to keep the score at 2-0. However with continuous pressure from the young NTU3s side it began to tell and a 3rd goal became inevitable. This time a high drag flick found the roof of the net. With the 3rd goal and some tired Oundle legs, discipline started to slip again, Oundle receiving 2 green cards for some bad tackles, the first going to ex skipper Tristan Ashby and the 2nd going to forward George Martin. Although the latter was convinced that the umpire missed retaliation from the NTU3s player. It was during one of these periods where Oundle were down to 10 men that NTU3s again found the net from a short corner, the first shot was blocked before the 2nd found the left side of the goal. A quick shout from veteran John Brown of ‘How high’ convinced the umpire to chalk off the goal. With the game winding down and entering its final stages. NTU3s did find the net again with a solo goal which was okay. Beating multiple members of the Oundle back line before finding the roof of the net. Throughout the game it became apparent that even though NTU3s were extremely proficient at winning short corners, they weren’t quite as good at converting them. With numerous miss traps and fantastic running from the short corners. A 4-0 loss was the result which, Oundle agreed they would have more than happily taken before the game had begun. It is this result however that confirms their relegation to the 6th tier of Midlands hockey. We go again one final time next week, away to the actual Nottingham University 5th team. HWTL.

After last week’s hard fought victory over Melton, Oundle were looking to make it back to back wins for the first time this season. Oundle returned to HQ this week, with the visitors being Rugby and East Warwickshire 3s, the team sitting directly above Oundle in the table. The two sides separated by a single point. The reverse fixture earlier this season produced a 4-2 win for Rugby. Rugby travelled with a  strong squad, bringing with them a full complement of players. Oundle could also boast a strong squad of players, with Jonny Crittell available to make his first appearance of the season. Oundle were however lacking some firepower with forwards Goal a game Dalley and flying rhino Pickstone both unavailable for today’s game. Defensive midfield maestro Peter Allett also decided that he would rather be skiing so did not want to play. Rugby started the game with pushback and signalled their intentions early going straight on the attack, Brenners, having faith in the players behind him, decided that after the whistle was blown was a good time to start tying his laces. Rugby had also brought a large following of fans with them who were intent on clapping every 2 yard pass the Rugby made. The clappers however were silenced when, strangely enough for Oundle, they started quickly, putting Rugby under pressure and immediately made that pressure tell, Martin finding some space in the D and hitting a sweet reverse strike low to the keepers right.  Oundle kept the pressure up throughout the early stages of the half and were unlucky not to score another, with the final ball just lacking. Rugby however were not without their chances, the first shot on the Oundle goal was saved by Youngy, the save going high into Jimmy who had to take evasive manoeuvres. This was enough for the umpire to award Rugby with the first penalty corner of the match. The first short corner caught an Oundle foot and was subsequently cleared by Youngy, the 2nd one was well cleared. Rugby grew more and more into the game, with Oundle pinned in. Rugby soon made this pressure tell when a cross from the Oundle left found an unmarked player at the back post who had the simplest of jobs, tapping home into the empty net. Moments later it appeared that Oundle had not learned their lesson, when another attack from Oundles left produced the same result with Oundle unable to clear their lines. After this quick double from Rugby, the game settled down, with both teams keeping the ball and transferring the ball round the back. Rugby appeared to prefer to sit on the counter, letting the pace of their forwards cause the issues. Despite this, there were no further goals in the half.  The 2nd half started with an Oundle pushback, although it appeared no one wanted the ball! Going through the midfield before being collected by the defence, who then decided that they would be sporting fellows and pass the ball back to the Rugby forwards. Thankfully this attack amounted to nothing, however Rugby continued to ride their luck and Oundles discipline started to collapse, the first being P.Wilson (Phil) who received a green card for an awful tackle. Just after Phil had returned to the pitch, Phillips won a free hit in the Oundle 23 and was given a yellow card for looking funny at the umpire, personally I think it’s because he’s bald. Things went from bad to worse from Oundle when John Brown decided that he wanted to take out one of their players, and not for a nice meal. The tangle left the Rugby player on the floor, he tried to break his fall with his face which didn’t end well. The umpire gave a short corner which was well charged down by Farmer Jimmy. Unfortunately forgetting which end of the pitch he was at, he deflected the ball straight past Youngy in goal increasing Rugby’s lead to 3-1. It was at this point in the game that Jimmy decided, enough was enough, and it was time for his solo run of the week. Picking the ball up on the Oundle 23 line, he ran.. In a near enough straight line, with the Rugby players unable to get near him! Jimmy’s eyes lit up with the thought of doubling his goal tally in an Oundle shirt. Unfortunately while daydreaming about the back pages of the Peterborough Evening Telegraph, and his Oundle teammates breaking into a rendition of ‘Old McJimmy had a Farm’ this allowed one of the Rugby players to catch up and push Jimmy in back, causing him to lose the ball, Jimmy was too honest and refused to go down as easily as Bruno Fernandes to try and buy a penalty. Oundle stuck to their game and were rewarded with a number of penalty corners, the first of these was narrowly drag flicked wide by Peter Ellis. The 2nd penalty corner again went to the self proclaimed ‘Hockey God.’ Ellis used all of his divine might to smash home to the keeper’s left, reducing the deficit to 1. The last of these short corners again went to Ellis who decided to try his famous lob. This was unlucky not to find the goal with the Rugby keeper scrambling to keep it out. With Oundle pushing for an equaliser the game became very stretched and end to end. Rugby stuck to their game plan and was not long before they hit Oundle on the break, with an Oundle defender’s stick unlucky not to stop the resulting shot from creeping in the left hand post. The game finished repeating the score line from the reverse fixture, a 4-2 win for Rugby. The result leaves Oundle 3rd bottom 4 points from safety with 2 teams in the top half of the table to play. All seems lost, but stranger things have happened. We go again next week for the final home game of the season

Before I start this week’s match report, I have been remiss. With a lack of match reports due to illness and holiday. Also last week, star forward John Pickstone scored 2 worldies and I had no idea how to describe them. Pickstones version of events went something like this: ‘South Africa, South Africa, 4 world cups, South Africa.’ After over a month of home games, Oundle were finally back on the road again, travelling to one of the closer away games in fellow strugglers Melton 2s. Oundle sat 7 points from safety after the 2 recent fixtures against Loughborough and Saints 2s. With fate now out of their hands Oundle travelled with a strong 15 players to face bottom of the league Melton.  This week marked the return of forward George Martin, who scared of Pickstones new found form, knew he had to score to keep his top gun dream alive. A little bit of extra incentive was added to the game when an old face showed up. Yes John Brown was there however it was a different old face, with ex player Macca in the lineup for Melton. The offer of a beer came from the Melton backline if any of the Oundle players could give Macca a good kicking. The game started with Oundle adopting the now standard half court press. Inviting the other team to try and break them down. Melton accepted the invitation and started brightly putting pressure on the Oundle backline. Oundles resolve was not broken however, limiting Melton to just the one shot which was off target. Oundle meanwhile looked dangerous on the counter attack, Dalley looking to get his goal for the game, taking a swing and a miss in the Melton D. As Oundle grew into the game they started pressing higher and higher up the pitch, which started causing more and more problems for the Melton team, with errors starting to take their toll. Oundle soon won the first short corner of the game, the injection went to castle 1 where George Martin showed Oundle what they were missing without him as he gleefully planted a strike into the bottom left corner of the Melton goal. The Melton defender was unlucky not to get a touch. Oundle were buoyed by this goal were unlucky not to add another goal in quick succession, with Dalley shooting narrowly wide from a tight angle. It was then that disaster struck, taking this shot caused Dalley to fall over badly, getting injured in the process. Despite being one striker down, Oundle were not dismayed, standing firm for the rest of the half. Oundle enjoyed large spells of possession in something that has not been seen much this season, playing the ball around the back and working the space. The 2nd half started much the same as the first, both sides being content with possession and finding their feet playing it around the back. Any Melton attacks were quickly snuffed out. Despite Maccas boasting of his goal scoring prowess prior to the game, he was not given a sniff. It was early on when an Oundle counter attack was stopped by a Melton player who decided that he would rather be playing football, which resulted in the first card of the game being branded Oundle did have some good chances which they failed to take advantage of, the first being another strike from George which was well saved by the keeper. A 1 on 1 followed with again the Melton keeper coming out on top. Being the wily old striker that he is, Martin even picked a ball from a Melton 16, having an initial shot and the rebound but still unable to find the back of the net. As the 2nd half wore on both sides started to show signs of fatigue, becoming leggy and stretching the game. Oundles back line again held firm and despite a 5 minute spell where they couldn’t get the ball out of their own half, Youngy was left with nothing to do in goal, keeping only his 2nd clean sheet of the season. Oundles defence did not conceding any short corners for the 2nd time in 3 matches. The game finished with Oundle running out 1-0 victors. Unusually for Oundle they did also not receive any cards. With this win Oundle now find themselves 4 points from safety with 3 games left, including 2 of the uni sides. Oundle are very much staring into the Abyss, next week being a massive game at home vs Rugby 3s. If we’re going down, we’re gonna go down swinging. HWTL.

Oundle returned to HQ for the 2nd of 4 straight home games. Today they were facing mid table Nottingham 1s. The previous feisty affair had resulted in a 2-1 win for Nottingham, scoring in the dying seconds of the game. Despite notable absentees such as both the Captain, Vice Captain, and P.Wilson (Phil), Oundle were able to boast a strong squad, with 15 players being available. Today’s game also saw the return of rogue winger R.Cunningham who decided that enough time had now passed since his beloved Sunderland were thrashed by the mighty Toon. Nottingham travelled with a bare 11, which after a quick chat with their captain revealed they had had some late drop outs. The game began with an Oundle push back, and strangely for Oundle they started quickly, putting pressure on the Nottingham back line. Dalley managed to fire off a couple of early shots which the Nottingham keeper was equal to. Nottingham sat back and soaked up the early Oundle pressure, hoping to catch them on the counter attack. And that is just what Nottingham did, one of their counter attacks finding an Oundle foot in their D. The short corner was a well worked passing routine and it found the back of The Oundle net. This was also their first shot on target. With this goal, Nottingham started to grow into the game and Oundle became more reserved creating a more even game. Nottingham came close to adding a 2nd goal from another counter attack, with Nottingham picking the ball up deep and running at the Oundle defence. A cross into the D found a Nottingham stick for a deflection but the forward was not able to get the best contact resulting in an easy clearance for Youngy. The previous game with Nottingham proved to be a physical affair and today was no different with several collisions occurring, the first being a Nottingham player colliding the one P.Wilson who was playing (Willow), sending the Oundle winger to the ground, and the second when the Nottingham forward found out just how strong and stable Albi was with the collision sending the Nottingham player down and throwing out his hip in the process bringing the Nottingham team down to 10.5 players. The rest of the half fizzled out without too much incident with neither goalie being particularly busy, both teams headed into the break, with Nottingham still up by 1-0. The 2nd half started with Nottingham on the front foot, with Oundle unable to get out of their own half. This pressure began to tell for Nottingham as they won a series of short corners in quick succession with one short corner resulting in another short corner. Oundle were unable to clear their lines, the ball consistently finding an Oundle foot in the D. Youngy was called into action on numerous occasions, even going through the back of one of Nottingham’s wingers, which caused outrage, with Nottingham players begging for a flick. This caused the 2nd half’s first flare up with a Nottingham forward making a motion of swinging his stick towards Youngy who was on the floor, Youngy reacted and needed to be restrained as he started forward. Oundles very own enforcer, a mountain of a man in peak physical condition (sort of) decided that enough was enough. He took on the Nottingham player who was responsible for the majority of the collisions in the first half. Phil Rowbotham, stood his ground, the Nottingham player smashing into him with such force it stunned every single player on the pitch. At the end of it all, Phil was the only one left standing, looking down at his conquered foe with a look of utter contempt. With no substitutions Nottingham appeared to start to tire as the half wore on, and they started to sit deeper and deeper in their own half. This allowed Oundle space to push up and start to pressure the Nottingham goal. With the Nottingham players deeply compacted in their defensive formation, Oundle were unable to find a way through. Coach Ellis was up from centre back and fired in a crash ball which took a deflection and found its way to the back of Nottingham’s net! Out of nowhere Oundle were level, serial dubious goal claimer Dalley again claiming the final touch but VAR is still making up its mind. With the final whistle fast approaching and both sides feeling the effects of a closely fought encounter, the game became end to end with the spectators thinking they were at Wimbledon instead of a hockey match. Both sides were stretched but cometh the hour cometh the man, Jimmy Moore doing what he does best ran forward beating Nottingham players left and right and moments later he found himself on the edge of the Nottingham D. He took the ball to the back line before firing in a cross… just narrowly wide of the incoming Dalley who was looking to add his first proper goal of the game. In scenes which mirrored the end of the reverse fixture, there were again handbags after the game, with Oundles coach Ellis taking exception with one of the more physical Nottingham players, apparently the Nottingham player didn’t know who he was… Never one to back down, Ellis had some very choice words to say, cooler heads eventually prevailed and separated the two players. We go again next week, at home for the 3rd game in a row for the rearranged fixture vs Loughborough Town 3s in a MUST WIN GAME for Oundle. As a very wise man once said – ‘Up The O’s.’ HWTL.