Friday 15 June 2012

June Results


24th June 2012
Beckenham - Avondale I = 12 - 5
London Premier League
Not the best weekend to choose to play several waterpolo games when a EURO 12 quarter final was the highlight of the day.
Three very late pull outs and most notably without our full time keeper ,it was never going to be an easy task.
That added to our losing one of the two subs within the first five minutes of play , we did all think it would be a very long afternoon.
Steve and Greg did magnificently in goal but in the end we couldn't score enough to put any pressure on the opponents.At least we tried to take our chances which is not what you can say of some over paid Primadonnas dressed in white somewhere in East Europe.FORZA AZZURRI.






21st June 2012
Sutton - Avondale I = 14 - 15
Surrey 1
Very balanced game but the win was never in doubt.The ref didn't turn up so we shared referring duties;they didn't seem to get the point of having a non qualified official making decisions and they took their best player out to show everyone how is done.That was fine for us and we won the game.



17th June 2012
Poly - Avondale I = 11 - 9
London Premier League
Not the outcome we wanted but a very tense and level game in which the keepers made the difference(ours carrying a severe hangover but that didn't seem to show)
1st quarter was a bit of a slow start ,not just because the blue caps materialised 10 seconds before the game.
Gone 4-1 down and managed to get back into the game in the 2nd quarter , the two teams just matched each other goal after goal(actually we had several misses one on one with their keeper who seemed to save any rocket from short distance).
Still level going into the last quarter,we conceded twice and were never able to recover.
All in all a very good game.


11th June 2012
Avondale II – Croydon II = 12 – 15(tbc)
Surrey 2
Unlucky for some. Unlucky for us.No13 in Blue was super strong scoring from some rather impressive back flip reverse shots. The likes many of our players could have done maybe… oooh… 25 years ago…! Quarters 1 and 4 were bit of a letdown, but quarters 2 and 3 much better. Indeed when we took the lead in the 3rd we looked to have them on the ropes. Some standout performances from Angus and Focco being strong as ever in the pit. Another rare appearance from Steve Moorhouse trying to gain some value for money from his annual membership. I think it’s fair to say, we let this one slip through our fingers. Shame.

Friday 1 June 2012

May Results


29th May 2012
Bexley - Avondale I = 12 - 17
London premier league
Sweet victory for the first team away in the most east end of London you could imagine.
Great defensive display which just consisted of not fouling their number 5 and avoiding his powerful and more than not unstoppable shot.
Always in control of a game that we led right from the beginning and also included an awful penalty miss , a one on one from a yard that went terribly wide and a goal from the half way line with their keeper too busy with himself on the other post.

28th May 2012
Avondale II - Guilford II = 23 - 3
Surrey 2
Bit of a white wash really. First quarter was won 9-1 and apart from a second quarter of spectacular mediocrity, the goals kept on coming. Some noteworthy work from Otto and John in the pit, and a rare appearance of Stevie M showed he ain’t lost it yet. Some other dutch bloke scored 7 but can’t remember his name ;-). Brookey was EVERYWHERE. Ed finding space with some intelligent swims. We lost structure and became frantic, but a win is a win. Dissent in the ranks after the game about amount of pool time someone had. If you have an issue with the captain: take it up with him in private. Happy to discuss solutions. Keeping a squad of 24 happy and playing is going to have issues. Roll on the creation of a 3rd team! ps: does anyone know of where we could get more pool time?

21st May 2012
Avondale II - Croydon III = 16 - 6
Surrey 2
An impressive outing for a much changed side, with seemingly 2 teams playing for REAL. Great to see players like Angus on the score sheet (2). Despite playing against some younger and undoubtedly fitter players, the old boys grizzled it through. Nice. Good vibe and back slapping all round.

14th May 2012
Avondale II – Old Whits II = 12 - 10
Surrey 2
Baxter makes soup of the defence. Ed gives a master class. Majors all round. Cheers!
What a pleasant change a satisfying first half makes. After some cunning eves dropping on opposition team talks by "sir", a press was employed to great effect, snuffing out any meaningful attacks. On the return attack Dave found the referee much more understanding of what it looks like when a strong lad works hard and was making mischief, sending their team into confusion of "to drop or not to drop",, and combined with some effective positioning in attacks, the pressure turned to goals. Apart from a little wobble in the 3rd, holding onto the possession paid dividends in the final quarter, running Pete’s hourglass down until there was no way back for the opposition. Tim (remember him?!), and rather fittingly Dave’s last quarter brace settling the match. A good team were beaten. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.