Worthing Swimming Club

Water Polo

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Match Review

20/07/2008

Sussex County Senior League.

Aquarena, Wednesday 16th July 2008.

Worthing 26, Hastings 5. (Quarter scores, 7-3, 7-1, 9-1,3-0)

This was a workman like performance from our senior team who outclassed an enthusiastic opposition in the latest county league fixture.

We actually contrived to fall behind in the opening seconds of the match as a result of some comical defending but the team were soon on top and started to score goals regularly.

The match was really over as a contest at the end of the first quarter as we eased to a 7-3 advantage with many of the goals coming as a result of turnovers forced by the oppositions inability to cope with the 30 second shot clocks.

The game was notable because 12 of our squad of 13 scored and also 3 players took a turn in goal as a result of Ben Alcorn being unavailable through illness and Joel Abbott still away at the Grantham water polo academy. Matt White helped himself to 9 goals and Ed Holden struck 6 as we dominated proceedings but most of the goals were simple finishes created by good team play.

Scorers: Matt White 9, Ed Holden 6, Ziggy Tate 2, Elliott Ellison 1, Richard Hooper 1, Stuart Stirling 1, Adrian Irbe 1, Scott Orchard 1, Scott Martin 1, Jon Gray 1, Rob Osborne 1, Paul Phillpott 1.

Exclusions: Rob Osborne 2, Stuart Stirling 1, Scott Orchard 1, Jon Gray 1, Ed Holden 1.

Squad in Full: As per goal scorers + Nathan Hart.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

12/07/2008

Basingstoke Tournament.

Under 16 (Born 1993 + Younger)

Saturday 12th July 2008.

Having won this event last year we traveled to Basingstoke with a much younger and in-experienced team this year but still hopes of defending our title.

A number of our squad were playing in their first competitive water polo tournament but we were still able to include experienced players including Alexander Cranford and Sam Maloney.

The individual match reports are as follows:

1. Worthing 6, Basingstoke "A" 4.

This was a closer match than it really should have been which we dominated but we were particularly guilty of conceding a number of goals that should have been easily avoided. We always looked in control but the final margin should really have been greater.

All the boys played well and Sam Wildman made 1 excellent save on his debut in goal.

Scorers: Alexander Cranford 3, Sam Maloney 2, Peter Flynn 1.

2. Worthing 7, Winchester 5.

The second match was very similar to the first one with some poor defending costing the team a number of avoidable goals. In attack we always caused the opposition problems but we missed a number of chances that we really should have scored from.

All the squad played well but it was obvious that we would have to play better than this if we were to win the title.

Scorers: Alexander Cranford 3, Sam Maloney 3, Oliver Rainford 1.

3. Final: Worthing 3, Andover 7.

It is always disappointing to lose but we were particularly upset at the manner of the defeat because we never really played as well as we are capable of. We had a plan which was developed to deal with the strength of the opposition but unfortunately we failed to play the way we hoped and we quickly conceded 3 goals.

As a result we were always chasing the game and we never really looked as though we would get back into the match.

It was a shame that we didn't really do ourselves justice in this final but we could have no complaints because the better team had deserved to win.

Scorer: Alexander Cranford 3.

Squad in Full: Sam Wildman (G/K), Alexander Cranford, Sam Maloney, Peter Flynn, Max Felton, Kwok Ho Wan, Joe Hazeldine, Oliver Rainford.

Although we were disappointed to lose in the final we were pleased with the efforts of all of the squad and it was nice to see a number of new youngsters playing for the first time. It will be a challenge to develop these boys into good water polo players over the coming years but the potential is undoubtedly there if we all work hard. We also have a number of other youngsters (both boys and girls) who are also now playing and so the future is still encouraging for our junior squads.

Alastair Roberts.

Match Review

7/07/2008

London League

Junior Boys (Born 1990 + Younger) Championship.

Tournament 3, Whitgift School, Croydon.

Sunday 6th July 2008.

The London league has long been recognized as the premier club competition for water polo teams in the South-east.

Attracting entries from the leading clubs from this region, the competition really acts as the unofficial club championship and as a result is a highly prized title.

This years event is for boys who were born in 1990 or later and our squad is made up entirely of players born in 1991, 1992 and 1993 with the exception of Dan Gibb who is in his final year at this age group. Although we have a young team it features an exceptional number of talented athletes who are improving all the time and some of the play was of a very high standard.

At this final tournament we were faced with demanding program of 4 matches against good quality opposition and these are the individual match reports.

1. Worthing 7, Croydon Amphibians 4. (H/T 2-1)

This was a high quality match between the two leading teams in the South-east and it proved to be a highly exciting and typically competitive affair.

We played some excellent water polo at times and Croydon struggled to deal with the strength and skill of Joel Abbott who scored 6 times from the centre forward position. To score 6 of the 7 goals is a fair achievement but is even more remarkable because Joel is normally our first choice goalkeeper who plays occasionally outfield. The team worked hard to create the chances and Alexander Cranford played an excellent game in goal in what was a fine win.

Scorers: Joel Abbott 6, Ziggy Tate 1.

Exclusions: Elliott Ellison 1, Scott Martin 1.

2. Worthing 2, Croydon Amphibians 3. (H/T 1-0)

The second match against Croydon ultimately ended in disappointment as we struggled to repeat the dominance of the previous match. That said, Croydon played well in this match and we failed to take many of the chances that we created. Joel had a quieter game and a degree of indiscipline didn't help the team's efforts.

This was another good quality match which could have gone either way but we realized that we hadn't produced quite enough to deserve a win.

Scorers: Elliott Ellison 1, Sam Abbott 1.

Exclusions: Scott Martin 3, Dominic Cranford 1, Tim Brazier 1.

3. Worthing 7, West London Penguin 1. (H/T 3-0)

A match that we dominated throughout but was close until the second half because of too many missed chances.

We again played some good quality water polo and the teams defending was particularly effective in reducing the opposition to a small number of chances. Joel was again in excellent form scoring 5 times but the high quality of our play created many of the chances.

Scorers: Joel Abbott 5, Tim Brazier 1, Ziggy Tate 1.

Exclusions: Scott Martin 1.

4. Worthing 10, Beckenham 4. (H/T 2-1)

The final match of the day saw the team make a slow start which was probably due to a degree of fatigue after a busy program.

Although we led at half-time, Beckenham scored two quick goals to give them the lead but we found our game and eventually ran out comfortable winners. Once again, the quality of some of the play was of a high standard and the final score gave a fair indication of the difference between the teams.

Scorers: Joel Abbott 3, Ziggy Tate 2, Scott Martin 2, Elliott Ellison 1, Dominic Cranford 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Exclusions: Elliott Ellison 1, Rob Osborne 1.

As a result of these results we were confirmed as winners of this competition for the first time in the clubs history. The team were presented with the trophy and we should be very pleased with this outstanding achievement which is the culmination of a great deal of hard work from all of the squad. The club has backed the junior water polo development program over the past few years and the first win in this competition is an excellent achievement.

Squad in Full:

Alexander Cranford. The youngest member of the team at the final tournament, his goalkeeping was exceptional and he has great potential both in this demanding position and outfield.

Elliott Ellison. Much improved left-hander who scores important goals and is befitting from hard work in training.

Ziggy Tate. Trains at the National Academy at Grantham and improving all the time. Close to national team selection, his chances are improving all the time.

Dominic Cranford: Powerful forward who has improved hugely. Trains regularly with the senior squad and will get better and better.

Rob Osborne: Much improved defender who is beginning to show his potential.

Scott Martin: GB team member and hugely talented left-hander who is benefiting from much improved fitness as a result of a disciplined training regime.

Tim Brazier: Solid defender who is still improving but is strong in the tackle and reads the game well.

Dan Gibb: The only "1990" player. Strong and committed Dan keeps things simple and adds to the teams hard work.

Joel Abbott: Also at Grantham,a terrific presence in goal (Where he plays for GB) and out on the pitch. Still learning the game out field, he will only get better.

Sam Abbott: Joel's younger brother is greatly improved in all aspects of this demanding sport which is as a result of his hard work in training.

Alastair Hardinge: A natural swimmer and particularly sprinter, now playing some much improved water polo. Will only get better.

Stuart Stirling: Quick, strong and a good all-round team player improving all the time. Has the potential to be an excellent player.

The following boys are also part of the squad: Sam Maloney, Kevin Chan and Luke Helmer.

The squad is coached by Richard Hooper, Ben Alcorn and myself and all are now training as part of our senior squad.

Alastair Roberts.

Match Review

16/05/2008

British Army Senior Men's Tournament.

Aldershot Sports Centre.

Sunday 29th June 2008.

We always look forward to the annual Army tournament which is played in the excellent 50 metre pool at the Aldershot sports complex. It gives us a chance to play against a variety of teams who we don't regularly play against and it is always a popular fixture with our squad.

This year the standard of the competition had improved with the inclusion of teams from Weymouth & Portland and Ealing, both of whom play in the national league. Added to this were Invicta Marlins who were recently promoted to Division 2 of the national league, Basingstoke and the home team. The format split the teams into two groups of three with the top two in each league progressing to the semi-finals. We were drawn in what looked to be the harder group with Basingstoke and Ealing and these are the individual match reports.

1. Worthing 10, Basingstoke 4. (H/T 5-2)

This was a good performance against a strong opposition who were competitive in a closely contested first half. The second period saw us take control and by the end we were well on top. The opposition always struggled to cope with the speed of our counter-attacking and the power of our centre forward play from mainly Matt White and Ed Holden. A satisfactory win but the only disappointment was the unnecessary dismissal of Richard Hooper in the first half.

Scorers: Matt White 3, Richard Hooper 2, Ed Holden 2, Nathan Hart 1, Scott Martin 1, Sam Abbott 1.

Exclusions: Richard Hooper 3, Ed Holden 1, Nathan Hart 1.

2. Worthing 7, Ealing 1. (H/T 3-1)

Another exciting match against a physical and strong Ealing team. We always looked the better side but it was the oppositions indiscipline that probably cost them the match. They were constantly struggling to deal with our strong centre forward play and as a result they kept having players dismissed for committing exclusion fouls. We converted the majority of the opportunities that were presented as a result of these exclusions and we eventually ran out easy winners.

Scorers: Matt White 5, Ed Holden 1, Scott Martin 1.

Exclusions: Scott Martin 2, Jon Gray 1.

As a result of the two wins we topped the group which meant a semi-final against the runners up from the other pool.

3. (Semi-final) Worthing 16, The Army 2. (H/T 8-2)

A straightforward win against the tournament hosts who really had no answer to our all-round play.

Our pressing game successfully turned the ball over to our advantage on many occasions and this resulted in many of the goals that we scored. All of the squad played a good amount in this match which gave us the opportunity to rest some players prior to the final.

Scorers: Matt White 5, Scott Martin 5, Ed Holden 2, Richard Hooper 1, Nathan Hart 1, Paul Phillpott 1, Stuart Stirling 1.

Exclusions: Jon Gray 1.

4. (Final) Worthing 5, Invicta Marlins 2. (H/T 2-1)

An exciting climax to the competition resulted in a hard fought win against a talented Invicta Marlins team.

We went behind early on but we fought back well with two goals before the half-time break. The second period saw us score three more goals before a late goal from the opposition near the end.

The match was close and we saw Ben Alcorn in goal make a number of excellent saves at crucial times. Paul Phillpott played an excellent game marking the opposition centre forward and his contribution helped keep their scoring opportunities to a minimum.

Scorers: Matt White 2, Richard Hooper 2, Scott Martin 1.

Exclusions: Sam Abbott 1, Paul Phillpott 1.

Overall Statistics:

Squad in Full: Paul Phillpott, Ed Holden, Richard Hooper, Matt White, Jon Gray, Ben Alcorn (G/K), Scott Martin, Stuart Stirling, Rob Osborne, Nathan Hart & Sam Abbott.

Scorers: Matt White 12, Scott Martin 8, Richard Hooper 5, Ed Holden 5, Nathan Hart 2, Sam Abbott 1, Paul Phillpott 1, Stuart Stirling 1.

Exclusions: Richard Hooper 3, Scott Martin 2, Ed Holden 1, Nathan Hart 1, Jon Gray 1, Paul Phillpott 1.

This was a highly enjoyable event that we were delighted to win. The team put in consistent performances against all the opponents and all of the squad played well on the day. We were also missing a number of our senior squad players and this shows that we now have a real strength in depth.

Regards,

Alastair.

European Qualifier News

16/05/2008

This is a quick update on the progress of the GB boys youth team who are playing in the European qualifying tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The team features Worthing members Scott Martin and goalkeeper Joel Abbott and is faced with a tough group of six in which the top two qualify.

The first match on Thursday evening was a disappointment with GB falling behind 0-3 and then missing chance after chance against Belgium before losing 4-5.

Friday was always going to be tough with a match against a talented Poland team at lunchtime and then a game against the host nation in the early evening. GB had lost to Poland in a warm-up event two weeks before this tournament but on this occasion played some excellent water polo to record a 10-5 win.

The match against Bulgaria proved to be a highly physical affair in front of the home crowd but the GB boys did enough to win 11-8.

GB now face matches against the pre-tournament favorites Spain and Moldova to decide the group but they have given themselves a chance of qualification for the finals which take place in the Serbian capital Belgrade at the end of July.

Match Review

11/05/2008

Sussex Senior League.

Brighton 15, Worthing 17. (Quarter Scores: 3-1, 5-3, 6-5, 3-6)

Prince Regent Pool, Brighton. Friday 9th May 2008.

This was an exciting match that the Worthing senior team really should have won by a wider margin but a combination of factors saw the final score remain close.

We always find it difficult to play to our normal standard in the Prince Regent pool which is both shallow and narrower than we are used to. We were also not helped by some idiosyncratic refereeing which resulted in Brighton scoring a number of disputed goals.

That said, we never really played to our full potential and we were guilty of missing a large number of chances when we would have expected to score and defensively we conceded a number of goals that really should have been avoided.

On a more positive note, we played all of our squad of 13 and this included 5 junior players all who performed well. This was highlighted by an excellent goal from Rob Osborne who scored with a long range shot into the top corner of the shallow end goal during the second quarter.

The final quarter saw the opposition score a number of goals that made the final result look closer than perhaps it should have been but the Worthing team knew that this had been a slightly below par performance.

Scorers: Richard Hooper 8, Ed Holden 3, Stuart Stirling 2, Paul Phillpott 2, Rob Osborne 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Exclusions: Tony Gray 2, Rob Osborne 1, Richard Hooper 1, Adrian Irbe 1. (Brighton conceded 10 Exclusions)

Squad in Full: Ben Alcorn (G/K), Richard Hooper, Jon Gray, Paul Phillpott, Adrian Irbe, Andy Cawdary, Tony Gray, Ed Holden, Stuart Stirling, Rob Osborne, Dominic Cranford, Alastair Hardinge, Sam Abbott.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

11/05/2008

Sussex Senior League.

Wednesday 30th April 2008.

Worthing 17, Crawley 3. (Quarter Scores: 3-1, 4-0, 3-1, 7-1)

This was an entertaining fixture against a vastly improved Crawley team who had already beaten Brighton in this years competition.

We were without several of our senior squad with Nathan Hart, Matt White, Ben Brazier and Ziggy Tate away at various universities and colleges and Joel Abbott and Scott Martin away in Poland with the GB juniors training in advance of the European qualifiers.

It is testimony to our strength in depth that we were able to field a full squad of 13 still leaving out other talented senior players.

The match was of a reasonable standard but our attacking play always caused Crawley problems. Defensively we were probably not at our best and Ben Alcorn produced a number of fine saves to keep the opposition score down.

All of our squad played well and we again took the opportunity of using 5 of our current junior squad. All the boys played well and will benefit from having played in another senior match.

Scorers: Richard Hooper 6, Ed Holden 3, Andy Cawdary 2, Stuart Stirling 2, Paul Phillpott 2, Scott Orchard 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Exclusions: Scott Orchard 1, Paul Phillpott 1.

Squad in Full: Ben Alcorn (G/K), Ed Holden, Elliott Ellison, Richard Hooper, Rob Osborne, Jon Gray, Scott Orchard, Adrian Irbe, Andy Cawdary, Stuart Stirling, Dominic Cranford, Paul Phillpott & Alastair Hardinge.

Regards,

Alastair.

Picture from Slowianka Cup 2008

05/05/2008

This is a picture of the GB boys youth squad taken in Poland during a warm-up tournament for the European qualifiers which are being played at the end of May in Bulgaria.

The two Worthing members are Scott Martin (front row on the far left) and Joel Abbott (back row 5th from the right).

Match Review

05/05/2008

Sussex Senior League.

Wednesday 30th April 2008.

Worthing 17, Crawley 3. (Quarter Scores: 3-1, 4-0, 3-1, 7-1)

This was an entertaining fixture against a vastly improved Crawley team who had already beaten Brighton in this years competition.

It is testimony to our strength in depth that we were able to field a full squad of 13 still leaving out other talented senior players.

All of our squad played well and we again took the opportunity of using 5 of our current junior squad. All the boys played well and will benefit from having played in another senior match.

Scorers: Richard Hooper 6, Ed Holden 3, Andy Cawdary 2, Stuart Stirling 2, Paul Phillpott 2, Scott Orchard 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Exclusions: Scott Orchard 1, Paul Phillpott 1.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

20/04/2008

London League (Ladies Championship)

Tournament 1.

Whitgift School, South Croydon.

Sunday 27th April, 2008.

Our ladies team played two matches at the first tournament of this years championship.

Due to a number of reasons we were only able to take a squad of 8 players which is not ideal when playing demanding matches in an all deep-water pool.

All the girls who played gave 100% but a lack of any warm-up matches and a lack of preparation at the tournament proved to be significant handicaps.

The reports are as follows:

Match 1.

Worthing 1, Southampton University 5. (H/T 0-3)

A disappointing result in a match when we probably had as many scoring opportunities as our opponents but we failed to take our chances. To be fair, all aspects of our play were below our normal standard and the coaches felt that we really hadn't done ourselves justice.

We played our best water-polo at the start of the match but crucially we missed some chances which would have possibly changed the course of the match. The squad reacted well to the post-match meeting and were determined to play better in the second game.

Scorer: Rebecca Anderson.

Exclusion: Emma Piper.

Match 2.

Worthing 3, Penguin 3rds 3. (H/T 2-0)

An exciting match when we played a much better standard than the first game. All aspects of the play had improved and our defending, particularly early on, reduced the opposition to a small number of chances. Jenny Willett scored 2 good goals and we looked much more positive when attacking. With the small squad and with Rachel Piper feeling unwell we were unable to sustain the initial high standard of play and Penguin scored twice to equalize. Undaunted, we went back on the attack and Sian Fogerty gave us the lead again with a cool finish.

We were unable to hang-on and we conceded a late equalizer with almost the last shot of the match.

This had been a much better performance and all the squad played well and we were unlucky not to win.

Scorers: Jenny Willett 2, Sian Fogerty 1.

Exclusions: None.

Squad in full: Kayley Alcorn (G/K), Emily Tilzey, Vicki Sayers, Sian Fogerty, Emma Piper, Rachel Piper, Jenny Willett & Rebecca Anderson.

The second tournament is back at Whitgift on Sunday 18th May.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

20/04/2008

London League Junior Boys Competition (1990 + younger)

Tournament 1.

Whitgift School, South Croydon.

Sunday 20th April 2008.

This was the first tournament of the summer London League season played at the deep water pool at Whitgift School.

We were due to play 3 matches against Basingstoke, Beckenham and Penguin which is a demanding program but we were fortunate to have available a good squad of 10 including Ziggy Tate who was home from the water polo academy at Grantham. We were however, missing first choice goal-keeper Joel Abbott but Alexander Cranford took over this position and produced a number of fine saves in all of the matches.

The individual reports are as follows:

Match 1. Worthing 14, Basingstoke 1. (Half-time 8-1)

A satisfactory win against a team that is new to this level of competition. We were always dominating proceedings but the opposition played with a great deal of spirit and defended well throughout. We gave little away defensively and we were slightly disappointed not to keep a clean sheet.

We had 8 different goals and we scored a number of excellent goals. The final score was a good indication of the difference between the two teams.

Scorers: Ziggy Tate 3, Alastair Hardinge 3, Elliot Ellison 2, Sam Abbott 2, Scott Martin 2, Dominic Cranford 1, Stuart Stirling 1.

Exclusions: None.

Match 2. Worthing 13, Beckenham 2. (Half-time 8-1)

Another good performance against a fair standard of opposition who never came to terms with our strong defensive play and the speed of our counter-attacking.

Again, the goals were shared by a good number of players and the quality of some of our attacking play was of a really good standard.

Beckenham kept going and we had to defend well to only concede the 2 goals.

Scorers: Ziggy Tate 3, Dominic Cranford 3, Sam Abbott 2, Stuart Stirling 2, Elliott Ellison 1, Scott Martin 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Exclusions: Tim Brazier 2, Elliot Ellison 1.

Match 3. Worthing 13, West London Penguin 3. (Half-time 7-2)

The final match was against a well organized and physical Penguin team who have a number of talented players.

Once again we played some really good water-polo and some of the goals we scored were of a high standard. Our defending again limited the opposition to a small number of chances and we were slightly disappointed to finally concede 3 goals.

Scorers: Scott Martin 5, Ziggy Tate 4, Stuart Stirling 1, Dominic Cranford 1, Sam Abbott 1, Elliott Ellison 1.

Exclusions: None.

Squad in Full: Alexander Cranford (G/K), Stuart Stirling, Dominic Cranford, Rob Osborne, Ziggy Tate, Scott Martin, Sam Abbott, Alastair Hardinge, Tim Brazier & Elliott Ellison.

This was a successful first tournament and again indicated the competitiveness of our squad in this age group. All the boys played well and some of our team play was of a really high standard.

The next tournament is not until July 20th when we hope to continue our unbeaten record.

Regards,

Alastair Roberts.

Waterpolo news

19/04/2008

Link to West Sussex Gazette website where article and photo can be found

www.westsussextoday.co.uk/sport

Match Review

7/04/2008

South-East Region Men's Championships

K2 Crawley, Sunday 6th April 2008.

This was an exciting afternoon at the excellent deep water pool at Crawley with semi-finals and finals being played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd.

Worthing had qualified to play in the finals as a result of the two tournaments played at Basingstoke and in Jersey but we knew that we faced two tough matches if we were to take the title.

Our semi-final would be against Hythe from the Kent coast who were last year's winners and if successful in this match we would play the winners of Jersey and Hailsham match.

The match reports are as follows:

Semi-Final, Worthing 10, Hythe 9.

Quarter Scores: 1-1, 1-3, 4-1,4-4.

A match that could have gone either way saw the Worthing team snatch victory by the narrowest of margins.

Neither team played to their best and Hythe in particular were guilty of missing several chances to score. This was partly due to an excellent display in goal from Ben Alcorn which ultimately was the difference between the teams.

Worthing struggled throughout the match with their attacking play and were guilty of losing possession on far too many occasions.

Undoubtedly this was a match that we played poorly in but still managed to win but all the squad were aware that we would need to play a great deal better in the final to take the title.

Scorers: Richard Hooper 5, Paul Phillpott 3, Ed Holden 1, Scott Martin 1.

Exclusions: Richard Hooper 2, Scott Orchard 1.

Final, Worthing 9, Hailsham 10.

Quarter Scores: 3-4, 0-2, 4-2, 2-2.

This was another nail-biting match that saw the two teams trade goals throughout but ultimately we lost by the narrowest of margins.

As in the semi-final, we never quite played to our normal standard but once again Ben Alcorn was in fine form in goal making a number of "one on one" saves.

After a poor first two quarters we finally came to life in the third period playing our best water polo of the day. Having got back into the match it was disappointing that we didn't take a number of the chances that we created in the final period which might have given us victory.

Ultimately the squad knew that we hadn't done quite enough and although it was disappointing to lose we all realized that we hadn't really deserved to take the title.

It was no disgrace to finish runners-up to a talented Hailsham team who include 2 players who are training full time at the National High Performance centre based in Manchester.

Scorers: Scott Orchard 2, Richard Hooper 2, Ed Holden 2, Joel Abbott 2, Ziggy Tate 1.

Exclusions: Ziggy Tate 2, Scott Orchard 1.

The squad was: Ben Alcorn (GK), Richard Hooper, Paul Phillpott, Ben Brazier, Ed Holden, Scott Orchard, Scott Martin, Ziggy Tate, Stuart Stirling, Joel Abbott & Rob Osborne.

Although we were disappointed not to win we didn't quite do enough to take the title and it is still a good result to be the second best team (by a 1 goal margin!) from all of the South-East region.

We thoroughly enjoyed our participation in this competition and the two qualifying tournaments and the finals at K2 were well organized and gave us the chance to play against a number of teams that were "new" to us.

All the squad enjoyed the experience and it was good to see the number of our junior players making significant contributions to the teams performance.

Regards,

Alastair.

Worthing Boys in GB Squad

7/04/2008

Hi Guys,

Just a quick message to say that congratulations should go to Joel Abbott and Scott Martin who have been selected as part of the squad of 13 boys who will represent GB at the European Championship Qualifiers in Bulgaria in May. Ziggy Tate has been unlucky to miss out on this final selection this time but he will remain in the larger squad of 21 and hopefully he will gain selection at future events.

For the club to have 2 players in the final 13 is a remarkable achievement and we should be delighted that we have such a talented group of players in this junior age group.

A full report will follow later of today's South-east region senior finals at K2, Crawley.

In an exciting afternoon Worthing edged past Hythe in the semi-final 10-9 before losing an equally close final to Hailsham by the same score.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

30/03/2008

SOUTH-EAST & LONDON REGION WATER POLO

JUNIOR BOYS (1990 + YOUNGER) TOURNAMENT

CROWBOROUGH, SUNDAY 30TH MARCH 2008

Sussex ASA hosted this year’s junior inter-county tournament at the excellent deep-water facility at the Goldsmith’s Leisure centre, Crowborough.
Four county teams from Surrey, Middlesex, Kent and the hosts played a “round robin” of matches after a draw was made prior to the competition.
As a result Sussex played Middlesex followed by Kent and finally Surrey in what was always going to be a demanding program. The matches were 4 quarters of 5 minutes and all of the Sussex squad of 11 played a significant part in all of the games.
The match reports are as follows:

Match 1.
Sussex 12, Middlesex 5 (Quarter scores: 4-0, 1-2, 4-1, 3-2)

A satisfactory win against the weakest team in the competition indicated that we had a competitive squad but we didn’t play at our best for long periods of the match.
The first quarter saw the team dominate but we did not sustain this level and the boys were particularly disappointed by some of our set plays, particularly the man-ups, when the opposition had players excluded.
We were however, always in control, and only some poor finishing kept the final score down.

Scorers: Scott Martin 4, Dominic Cranford 3, Tim Brazier 1, Ziggy Tate 1, Tom Rooke 1, Stuart Stirling 1.
Exclusions: Stuart Stirling 1, Rob Osborne 1, Elliott Ellison 1.

Match 2
Sussex 6, Kent 2 (Quarter scores: 0-0, 2-1, 3-1, 1-0)

A really exciting match played in front of a noisy and enthusiastic crowd.
The first quarter was a tense affair with both teams defending well resulting in a minimum of chances being created. Slowly Sussex started to gain control and it was Scott Martin who began to dominate proceedings with 5 of the goals.
The Sussex defending was always good and when the opposition did create some chances Alan Benton produced a number of fine saves.
Towards the end of the match we knew that we had done enough but a spirited opposition had made the team play some of their best water polo.

Scorers: Scott Martin 5, Ziggy Tate 1.
Exclusions: Ziggy Tate 1, Tim Brazier 1, Tom Rooke 1, Dan Gibb 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Match 3
Sussex 7, Surrey 14 (Quarter scores: 2-3, 3-2, 0-4, 2-5)

Another hugely entertaining match that would decide the title as both teams had won their previous two matches.
We knew that we would have to play at our best to win and we also had the added disadvantage of having to play this match immediately after the Kent game with no rest
Both teams played an excellent standard in a fluctuating first two periods and we took the lead from an excellent “man-up” goal following a time out just before the half-time break.
Unfortunately we conceded a poor equalizer just before the end of the period and the second half of the match saw the effects of playing the two matches take its toll.
The team kept going to the end and the final score didn’t fairly reflect quite how close the match had been.

Scorers: Tim Brazier 3, Ziggy Tate 2, Tom Rooke 2.
Exclusions: Tim Brazier 1.

Sussex Squad in Full:

1.Alan Benton (G/K), Hailsham SC
2.Ziggy Tate, Worthing SC
3.Elliott Ellison, Worthing SC
4.Rob Osborne, Worthing SC
5.Tim Brazier, Worthing SC
6.Tom Rooke, Hailsham SC
7.Dominic Cranford, Worthing SC
8.Scott Martin, Worthing SC
9.Stuart Stirling, Worthing SC
10.Dan Gibb, Worthing SC
11.Alastair Hardinge, Worthing SC

The tournament ran very smoothly and the Sussex team played well to finish as runners-up to a talented Surrey squad who contained a number of players who are in the national junior squad (1989/1990 age group)
We are encouraged by this result because our squad only contained two boys (Dan Gibb and Tom Rooke) who will be too old to play in the 2009 event,

Tournament Organizer: Roger Edmondson, (Sussex ASA)
Referees: Roger Edmondson, Paul Bryan (Middlesex), Chris Martin (Surrey), Tony Murphy (Kent).
Table Officials: Trevor Hyde (Middlesex), Dave & Jill Alcorn (Sussex)

Overall, an excellent event which was enjoyed by all those involved.

Alastair Roberts
Sussex ASA Coach.

Match Review

16/03/2008

Sussex County Junior & Senior Knock-Out Finals.

Crowborough, Saturday 15th March 2008.

The two county knock-out finals were played at the deep water pool at the Crowborough leisure centre which is a neutral venue for all the teams involved.

In the junior match the Worthing youngsters played against Hailsham and the senior match saw our men's team play against Crawley. Both matches would prove to be challenging: the junior matches against Hailsham at this age group are always highly competitive and the senior match looked to be particularly difficult because of the 10 goal advantage that Crawley received as part of the handicap in this competition.

The two match reports are as follows:

1. Worthing 9, Hailsham 6 (Quarter scores, 3-2, 0-2, 4-1, 2-1)

An exciting match which was enjoyed by a large and noisy crowd who gave great support to both teams.

The first quarter was a cagey affair with both teams defending well and looking to give little away. We took an early 2 goal lead through Ziggy Tate and Joel Abbott before Hailsham scored twice to level the match. Alexander Cranford scored just before the period ended with an excellent breakaway goal to give us the narrowest of leads.

The second period saw us struggle to deal with Hailshams quality players and at the half-time break we trailed 3-4.

The third period saw the Worthing youngsters start to play some of their better water polo and after conceding again we struck back with goals from Stuart Stirling, Joel Abbott and a brace from Ziggy Tate. With a 7-5 advantage at the start of the final period against a tiring opposition we looked favorites and an early goals from Ziggy and Stuart made the game safe. Hailsham scored a late consolation but they were denied another goal when Alexander Cranford made an excellent penalty save.

All the squad played well but Sam Abbott and Alexander Cranford shared the goalkeeping and both made important saves. This tactical decision gave us the opportunity to play normal first choice goalkeeper Joel Abbott out on the pitch and he always caused the opposition problems.

Scorers: Ziggy Tate 4, Joel Abbott 2, Stuart Stirling 2, Alexander Cranford 1.

Exclusions: Joel Abbott 1, Tim Brazier 1, Alastair Hardinge 1, Sam Abbott 1.

Squad in Full: Joel Abbott, Ziggy Tate, Robert Osborne, Kevin Chan, Sam Abbott, Dominic Cranford, Tim Brazier, Stuart Stirling, Alexander Cranford, Dan Gibb & Alastair Hardinge. (Scott Martin and Elliott Ellison were unavailable).

2. Worthing 16, Crawley 14 (4 + 10 Handicap) (Quarter scores, 3-2, 2-1, 4-0, 7-1)

Another highly entertaining and exciting match which was again enjoyed by the big crowd.

We knew that over turning a 10 goal deficit would not be easy but our task was made harder by the surprising strength of the Crawley team who contained a number of new quality players.

The Worthing team was missing a number of our normal senior squad but we were able to use a number of our junior players who had played in the previous match.

The match was relatively close in the early stages but our superior fitness became evident the longer the match went on.

The first quarter saw Crawley take an early lead before Matt White, Richard Hooper and Ed Holden on his competitive Worthing debut score to give us the advantage. The second period saw Richard score twice before we conceded just before half-time. From this point we totally dominated the match with Crawley only scoring again with 15 seconds of the match left.

The third period saw goals from Paul Phillpott with Matt scoring twice and Richard grabbing his fourth of the match. This still meant that we started the final period with an aggregate score of 9-13 but we had the momentum and we knew a good quarter would probably give us victory. The team played some excellent water polo and Crawley were unable to deal with the strength of our defending and the speed of our counter-attacks. Richard found the back of the net 3 times in quick succession and goals from Ed, Ziggy, Matt and Joel completed what was a fine performance.

All the squad played well but Ben Alcorn had a fine game in goal which included a penalty save and Paul Phillpott marshaled the defence limiting the oppositions scoring opportunities.

Scorers: Richard Hooper 7, Matt White 4, Ed Holden 2, Ziggy Tate 1, Joel Abbott 1 & Paul Phillpott 1.

Exclusions: Adrian Irbe 2, Dominic Cranford 2, Paul Phillpott 2, Ed Holden 2, Richard Hooper 1.

Squad in full: Ben Alcorn (G/K), Jon Gray, Matt White, Richard Hooper, Rob Osborne, Adrian Irbe, Dominic Cranford, Ed Holden, Ziggy Tate, Stuart Stirling, Joel Abbott, Paul Phillpott & Alastair Hardinge.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

4/03/2008

London Winter League

Under 16 Championship (Born 1992 + Younger)

Tournament 3: Whitgift School, Croydon

Sunday 2nd March 2008

In an exciting climax to this years competition, the Worthing youngsters secured what is the unofficial South-east and London region championship at the deep water pool at Whitgift school.

The competition features all the leading teams from around the region and it is an excellent achievement to take the title after three hard tournaments. We are handicapped by having to travel to Croydon for all of the tournaments but all of the coaching staff are agreed that this type of competition is of great benefit to our teams development.

We knew that the final event would feature 3 tough matches against the teams who made up the top 4 of the championship and this certainly proved to be the case.

The individual reports are as follows:

Match 1. Worthing 8, Croydon Amphibians 7. (H/T 4-2)

The final score indicates that this match was closer than it really have should have been and at one stage we held a comfortable 8-4 lead. Towards the end we probably relaxed having thought the match was won and Croydon scored 3 goals without reply which made the final result look closer than it really should have been.

We played well at the start of the match and Croydon struggled to deal with the speed of our counter attack and the strength of our defending. All the squad had some water time and we knew that we would need to play to a higher standard in the 2 remaining matches.

Scorers: Scott Martin 5, Sam Abbott 2, Kevin Chan 1.

Exclusions: Alastair Hardinge 1, Kevin Chan 1.

Match 2. Worthing 10, Sutton & Cheam 2. (H/T 4-0)

An excellent win against a talented and well organized opposition who never came to terms with our all-round play. The basis of the win was some excellent defending particularly by Scott Martin and Alastair Hardinge who completely nullified the threat of the opposition centre-forward.

As in the match against Croydon, our counter attacking play caused the opposition all sorts of problems and we scored a number of excellent goals.

Scorers: Scott Martin 4, Alexander Cranford 3, Alastair Hardinge 2, Sam Abbott 1.

Exclusions: Alastair Hardinge 1.

Match 3. Worthing 1, West London Penguin 3. (H/T 0-2)

Our only defeat in 10 matches came in the final game against a physical and uncompromising opposition who played to their strengths. This was always going to be a difficult match because we had no rest after the match against Sutton but we never played at our best and missed too many chances that normally we would expect to score from.

We were slightly unfortunate to concede 2 of the 3 goals but our problem was with our attacking play which never really functioned as well as we have come to expect.

Ultimately the result didn't change the final result of the competition but all the squad was disappointed not to have won the title with an undefeated record.

Scorer: Scott Martin 1

Exclusions: Rachel Piper 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.

Squad in Full:

Alastair Hardinge: Much improved, his defending and speed on the counter are his strengths.

Alexander Cranford: Shared the goal-keeping making a number of good saves. Strong outfield scoring a number of important goals.

Sam Maloney: Strong in the tackle, plays mainly mid-pool and makes many assists in the goals scored.

Kevin Chan: Left-handed, good finisher and brave in defence. Good passer of the ball on the counter.

Sam Abbott: Shared the goal-keeping, also making good saves. Plays at centre-forward outfield and is always a threat scoring a number of goals.

Luke Helmer: Vastly improved recently, reads the game well and is an excellent passer of the ball.

Scott Martin: Probably the most talented player of his age in the UK, he is one of a handful of 1992 born players in the 1991/1992 age group GB squad. Organized the team and scored a number of vital goals at crucial times.

Rachel Piper: Our only girl in the squad, brave and strong and really quick on the break. Great attitude and never worried about playing against the boys.

Peter Flynn: Relatively new to the team, shows great promise and will have benefited from playing at this level.

Max Felton: New to the squad, making great progress and will only get better.

Kwok Wan: Also new to the squad but again showing great promise.

We were delighted to win the overall title and this again indicates that we have an exceptional group of players at both the 1991 and 1992 age group. All the squad members train hard and our overall fitness was far better than any other team in the competition and our swimming speed was the backbone of this success.

Our next competition will be the summer league for our under 18 (Born 1990 and younger) squad which starts at the end of April.

Regards,

Alastair.

Match Review

24/02/2008

South East Region Men's Championship.

Tournament 2.

Jersey, 23rd and 24th February 2008