Men's 1s -vs- Isca
3 October 2009
6 - 3
Saturday the 3rd of October saw the old guard of Cheltenham Men's 1st XI travel down to Exeter to play a potential banana skin in Isca. The morning, although over-cast promised much with the eagerly anticipated return of Thomas Sebastian Rufus Humperdinck Cole from his recent stint in Cheltenham General Hospital. The lads where still on a high following their recent winning streak and started the days proceedings with a vigorous warm up, lead by Alex 'The Gazell' Hay. The Exeter water base presented a few initial problems with certain players being more accustomed to the even bounce of a sand based astro. However, the team soon got into the flow of things following the wise words of wisdom from Tom Ward; 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks, so we may as well just get on with it.'
The match commenced with a Chetenham push back, with Hay being told to 'go himself' from the start by our tactical maestro Lee Robson. So, in typical bounding fashion Alex took on the four Isca players directly infornt of him only to be dispossessed by the first one. What happened next could not have been predicted (except by 'Half-Pint' Pierce) as Isca counter attacked, slotting the ball calmly past Pod to make it 1-0 within the first 30 seconds. This seemed to rally the team together and within a minute of the restart the score-line read 1-1 as James Astley latched onto a bouncing pass from Simon 'The Holy Spirit' Paddly with cat like reactions to tuck the ball under the sprawling Isca goal-keeper. Now the preverbel kettle was boiling as Cheltenham kicked it up a gear, counter attacking at will through the Isca's ranks, resulting in a Brazilian style one-two between Duffy and Hay, which wheelded a penelty stroke. With 'Pang Pang' Penny off the pitch up stepped a defiant Astley to guide the ball deceptively past the keepers right. This was followed by a Fateh rocket making the score 3-1.
A momentary lapse in concentration let Isca react first to a short corner, smashing the ball past Pod. A further mistake before the end of the half saw 'Spice Rack' Giles Rooke nutmegged, giving Isca a glimpse of hope as the two teams retired for oranges and light refreshments; 3-3 half time.
Cheltenham started the second half with renewed gusto winning a short corner within the opening minutes. With Cheltenham's top goal scorer off the pitch, the job of drag flicking fell to 'Pang Pang' Penny, only to be denied his opportunity at fame by a miss-directed push out. However, the ball was fired back into the penalty circle with pristine accuracy to James 'Lumber-Jack' Foster waiting on the back post to nervously fumble the ball across the line. The game then took a more familiar routine with Cheltenham winning 6-3 following Alex Fateh firing another two drag flicks past the helpless Isca goalkeeper, taking his goal tally to six in two games.
Special mention must be made to Lee Robson's cunning substitution tactics as well as the 1st team debut for James Dunstan who had a steady game at the back along side Gareth 'you'll have to go round me' Lewis. The 1XI are looking strong this season with both a large and experienced squad starting to gel together. The forthcoming match against Robinson H.C will be another good test for the team and any support would be much appreciated.
Goal Scorers: James Astley (2), Alex Fateh (3), James Foster
Men's Castlers -vs- Wotton under Edge
3 October 2009
1 - 2
The Cheltenham Castlers started off the match well. Graham, in his second game for Cheltenham, tapped in the first goal. The second half started well with some good hockey in the centre of midfield. However, Wotton managed to score two goals in quick succession putting them into the lead. Cheltenham continued to have several chances to score, with a near miss from Adam Napier. Overall Cheltenham were unlucky not to win.
Goal Scorers: Graham
Ladies 2s -vs- Chippenham
3 October 2009
2 - 0
Cheltenham, as positive as ever, started well against Chippenham. The players adapted well to new positions settled into their roles perfectly. Penetrating play from Cheltenham led to a short corner which was hammered home by Karen Keating from a first-time strike. Patience and possession kept Cheltenham always in control, and strong defending from Angie Pearce, Daisy Noble, Simone Williams and newcomer Holly Hill, denied Chippenham the chance of scoring. The second half saw Karen Keating receive the ball from Daisy Noble on the half way line and weave her way through the Chippenham defense, beating the goalkeeper, to slot the ball home in dynamic fashion. Manager Chris Jowett encouraged his team to the bitter end and Cheltenham Goalkeeper, Corrie Farrell, had a faultless game. A great team effort.
Goal Scorers: Karen Keating (2)
Player of the Match: Karen Keating
Ladies 3s -vs- Lansdown 3s
3 October 2009
0 - 1
With only 5 of the same players from last season, a new and younger side emerged for the first league match of the season. With coach Cartmell on the side lines for the first half, giving valuable positional information, the side was on top of the opposition and camped in their half for most of the time. However the first half ended honours even, at noughts each, with Cheltenham having several attempts on goal, to no avail. Jemma Jones proved yet again to be strong in midfield, offering much needed speed and agility to keep the team in contention. Kelly Morris, playing left defense, made a fantastic run in the second half, to enter the opposition's D and get a great strike on target. Unfortunately the Lansdown keeper made a good save and held Cheltenham to 0-0. A penalty corner was given away and Landsdown finally slotted a goal past the Cheltenham keeper. Overall everyone worked hard and with more practice and confidence the team should settle in to have a fantastic season.
Player of the Match: Kelly Morris
