Match Report
20/5/2012
London League Under 15 Championship.
Tournament 1, Sunday 20th May 2012
Whitgift School, South Croydon.
Having won the division 2 competition for this age group during the Winter months, our development squad faced a much stronger standard of opposition now that we are playing in division 1.
With teams from Croydon, Ealing, Enfield/Penguin and Watford making up the rest of the division, we all realised that this would be a significant "step up" in class. This was compounded by the draw for the competition that would see us play the two strongest teams at this opening event. Croydon were recent winners of the ASA national championship for this age group and Watford also had played well in the same competition.
These are the individual match reports:
Match 1: Worthing 2, Watford 13.
As predicted, this was tough baptism and we struggled to deal with the pace of the game and as a result we were regularly punished for giving the ball away.
We improved as the match went on and Ben Goddard scored one excellent goal with Ben Curtis also scoring with a good finish. Unfortunately we also contrived to miss several other chances, including a penalty, and if we have taken a few of these the final score might have been a fairer reflection of our efforts.
This was a tough baptism in this higher standard but all the squad had learnt a great deal as a result of playing against talented opponents.
Scorers: Ben Goddard, Ben Curtis.
Exclusions: Archy Burnell 1, Ben Goddard 1.
Match 2: Worthing 0, Croydon 20.
The first match was tough, this was even harder and made so by the exclusion of Ben Goddard during the first period of the match.
The rest of the squad battled hard and did improve as the match went on but this was a very difficult encounter against a very talented team who punished our mistakes time and again.
All of the squad worked hard and will learn a great deal from playing against talented players and I'm sure we will see the benefit in the longer term.
Scorers: None.
Exclusions: Ben Goddard 3.
Squad in Full: Gemma Coulson, Daisy Hazeldine, Ben Goddard, Jacob Nash, Ellis Bubb, Robert Scott, Lois Czaja-Rogers, Ben Curtis, Archy Burnell and Elliott Moore.
Overall, this was tough day for our boys and girls in this squad but they will have learned a great deal from the experience.
At the next tournament we play against the other two teams in the division and we would expect to have two competitive matches which should indicate how this squad is developing.
Regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
15/5/2012
Ladies London League
Tournament 1, Sunday 13th May 2012
Whitgift School, Croydon.
We have entered this summer's competition with a joint team with Basingstoke ladies which is an arrangement that has worked well in the past few years.
The standard has risen noticeably over the past few years and now three national league teams (Polytechnic, Penguin and Southampton) take part.
At this event we faced three difficult matches but all of the girls were looking forward to playing against some tough opposition.
The individual match reports are as follows:
Match 1, Worthing/Basingstoke 7, Beckenham 2.
This was a very encouraging start to the day and we controlled the match with a very disciplined defensive display that limited the opposition to a small number of opportunities.
We looked dangerous in attack and scored a number of good goals with 5 scorers. Tara scored with her first touch of the ball but it was a good all round team display.
Scorers: Rebecca Anderson 3, Claire Liggins 1, Hannah Chilton 1, Tara Osborne 1, Gina Lay 1.
Exclusions: None.
Match 2, Worthing/Basingstoke 4, Southampton 1.
Another tough match and an excellent result against a team that features players with experience of national league competition.
Once again, the backbone of the win was a really strong defensive display and we probably should have scored more goals if it hadn't been for some wasteful finishing.
Scorers: Jenny Willett 2, Claire Liggins 1, Gina Lay 1.
Exclusions: None.
Match 3, Worthing/Basingstoke 4, Penguin 11.
This was a very tough finish to the day against a really strong team that feature a number of very talented players.
We started the match well and Gina quickly scored two excellent goals but as the game went on the opposition made it very difficult to create many scoring opportunities.
We ran out of energy late on but the squad had worked really hard in all three matches and they never gave up in this tough encounter.
Scorers: Gina Lay 2, Jenny Willett 1, Claire Liggins 1.
Exclusions: Tara Osborne 1, Claire Liggins 1, Jenny Willett 1.
Squad in Full: Amy Styles (G/K), Rebecca Anderson, Jenny Willett, Tara Osborne, Harleigh Goddard, Hannah Chilton, Claire Liggins, Gina Lay, Rebecca Wolacott.
Overall this was a very encouraging event and the squad all worked really hard and we were pleased to win two of the matches.
The next tournament is on June 10th at the same venue and we will be looking to build on the progress that the squad is making.
Kind regards,
Alastair Roberts.
|
Match Report
13/5/2012
Sussex County Senior League.
Thursday 10th May 2012
Hastings 2, Worthing 17.
Quarter Scores: 4-1, 3-1, 5-0, 5-0.
The annual trip to Hastings is always an awkward affair with games played at the shallow, narrow, Summerfield's pool after the longest journey that we make in the county.
We were fortunate to be able to take a talented squad of 11 players for this fixture which included the two junior players Ben Goddard and Joe Hazeldine.
We always controlled the match even if the very shallow pool is not something that we are particularly used to. Although we were far from our best we still managed to play a good standard at times and we were particularly effective in defence where we limited the home team to a relatively small number of chances. The two goals we did concede were both slightly unfortunate but this hardly mattered in the overall result.
8 different outfield players scored goals but all the squad played a part in what was a very comfortable win.
Scorers: Nathan Hart 3, Stuart Stirling 3, Sam Abbott 3, Richard Hooper 2, Ziggy Tate 2, Ben Goddard 2, Matt White 1, Joe Hazeldine 1.
Exclusions: Alastair Roberts 1, Adrian Irbe 1, Sam Abbot 1, Joe Hazeldine 1, Stuart Stirling 1, Ben Goddard 1.
Squad in Full: Rob Osborne, Adrian Irbe, Nathan Hart, Stuart Stirling, Sam Abbott, Richard Hooper (Captain), Ziggy Tate, Ben Goddard, Matt White, Joe Hazeldine, Alastair Roberts (G/K).
Kind regards,
Alastair Roberts.
|
Match Report
22/4/2012
Sussex County League
Wednesday 18th April 2012
Worthing 20, Crawley "A" 8
Quarter Scores: 4-2, 5-4, 6-1, 5-1.
We always enjoy our trips to the excellent K2 50 metre deep water pool in Crawley where we faced the latest county league fixture against a much improved home side.
With several of our squad not available for a variety of reasons, we ended up playing with a squad of 11 including two juniors (Ben Goddard and Joe Hazeldine) as well as Alexander Cranford who was playing his first match after returning from long term injury.
After a relatively even first two quarters we took control of the match after the mid-point and we dominated the second half of the match.
With Crawley struggling to deal with the speed of our counter-attacking play, we always looked likely to score when we gained possession.
All the squad had a good amount of water time and the goals were shared around 7 of the outfield players.
Special mention should be made of Ben Alcorn who was home from the Manchester high performance centre where he trains with the national squad but had to be back for a training session at 6.00am the following morning. Leaving Crawley straight after the match, he arrived in Manchester at 2.30am and was up at 5.15am for the morning session!
Scorers: Matt White 6, Sam Abbott 4, Richard Hooper 4, Ben Alcorn 2, Alexander Cranford 2, Ben Goddard 1, Joe Hazeldine 1.
Exclusions: Richard Hooper 1, Ben Alcorn 1.
Squad in Full: Richard Hooper, Rob Osborne, Sam Abbott, Dominic Cranford, Matt White, Joe Hazeldine, Nathan Hart, Ben Alcorn, Alexander Cranford, Ben Goddard & Alastair Roberts.
Regards,
Alastair.
|
Bens' National Achievements
13/4/2012
Please click here
for details
|
Match Report
31/3/2012
Sussex County Senior League.
Prince Regent Pool, Brighton.
Friday 30th March 2012.
Brighton B 7, Worthing 10. (Quarter scores: 3-2, 2-3, 2-1, 3-1)
This was not a great advert for senior water polo in the county and the match was a bad tempered affair throughout with far too many basic errors.
Played at the very shallow and small Prince Regent pool, Brighton used this to their advantage with a physical display that resulted in 14 exclusion fouls. We, in comparison, only committed 4 exclusions but we were drawn into a game that didn't really suit our style of play.
We made life particularly difficult by missing chance after chance when seemingly it looked as though we must score and as a result the match remained close.
In the final quarter we took control and Brighton eventually ran out of players with 3 of their squad dismissed for having committed 3 exclusions. Three quick goals sealed the win but we still managed to contrive several chances when we should have added to our total.
Scorers: Matt White 3, Sam Abbott 3, Nathan Hart 2, Andy Cawdery 1, Dominic Cranford 1.
Exclusions: Matt White 2, Alastair Roberts 1, Joe Hazeldine 1.
Squad in Full: Alastair Roberts (G/K), Matt White, Nathan Hart, Rob Osborne, Dominic Cranford, Andy Cawdery, Sam Abbott & Joe Hazeldine.
Regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
20/3/2012
South-east region men's water polo championship
Basingstoke Aquadrome.
Saturday 17th March, 13.00
Worthing 19, Southampton 11.
Quarter Scores: 4-1, 5-3, 5-3, 5-4.
This was a comfortable win against a hard working Southampton team who always made things difficult for us.
The most remarkable aspect of the game were the 26 exclusions that were conceded and we made the mistake of getting involved in an over physical match dictated by the opposition.
We took a long time to get going which was probably due to the squad having not played a competitive match since before Christmas, but at times we in played a good standard of water polo.
The goals were shared around 7 of the outfield players and Matt led the scoring from the centre forward position with 6.
Overall this was a satisfactory win but all the squad realised that we would need to improve in the subsequent matches.
Scorers: Matt White 6, Richard Hooper 3, Sam Abbott 3, Alastair Hardinge 3, Nathan Hart 2, Gregg Candy-Wallace 1, Ben Alcorn 1.
Exclusions: Nathan Hart 3, Alastair Hardinge 3, Sam Abbott 2, Gregg Candy-Wallace 2, Richard Hooper 1, Rob Osborne 1, Ben Alcorn 1, Matt White 1.
Saturday 17th March, 18.15
Worthing 18, Brighton 6.
Quarter Scores: 5-3, 5-1, 5-0, 3-2.
A better performance against our Sussex rivals who are much improved over the past few years.
We knew that we would need to raise the standard of our play and we definitely looked better for the win against Southampton earlier in the day.
Once again the goals were shared around 7 of the outfield players and Ben Alcorn found the back of the net 3 times in a rare appearance as an outfield player. With Wesley in goal and making a number of good saves we looked strong in defence and this was the basis of this win that eventually was a fairly comfortable affair.
Scorers: Matt White 5, Richard Hooper 5, Ben Alcorn 3, Alastair Hardinge 2, Rob Osborne 1, Sam Abbott 1, Gregg Candy-Wallace 1.
Exclusions: Richard Hooper 3, Gregg Candy-Wallace 1, Sam Abbott 1, Alastair Hardinge 1.
Sunday 18th March, 11.15
Worthing 18, East Invicta 12.
Quarter Scores: 5-2, 6-5, 2-3, 5-2.
This was always going to be the top match of the weekend with both teams unbeaten on the Saturday. East Invicta are a composite team with players from Hythe, Folkestone, Dover and Faversham and a number of the squad have national league experience.
We knew that we had to have a sound tactical plan to nullify the opposition quality players as well as an attacking plan that would create the chances to score.
In the end this proved to be the case and we defended well in the first quarter limiting our opponents to a small number of chances. With Ben back in goal, (Wes was away at a GB training session) and Ziggy Tate available for this game, we looked sound at the back and a greater threat on the counter attack.
East Invicta always made it difficult for us and we were never able to build a lead that would make the game safe but at 13-10 at the start of the last quarter we looked to be in relative control. We conceded a couple of quick goals and at 13-12 it looked as though the game was set for an exciting climax but we scored 5 unanswered goals to secure the win and we ran the clock down late on by keeping possession.
This was a good win against a talented team who made it very difficult for us but we were the better side and thoroughly deserved the victory.
Scorers: Richard Hooper 5, Ziggy Tate 4, Sam Abbott 3, Matt White 2, Nathan Hart 2, Alastair Hardinge 1, Gregg Candy-Wallace 1.
Exclusions: Alastair Hardinge 3, Sam Abbott 1, Matt White 1.
Squad in Full: Wesley Connellan (Saturday), Gregg Candy-Wallace, Rob Osborne, Richard Hooper, Alastair Hardinge, Nathan Hart, Sam Abbott, Ben Alcorn, Matt White, Ziggy Tate (Sunday).
This was a good weekend and we were pleased to win all three games.
Although we made hard work of it at times we deserved to remain unbeaten and we did play some good water polo at times.
It was not easy playing with a small squad of only 9 on both days and we undoubtedly tired in the latter stages of games and this was the reason behind some of the mistakes made and some of the exclusions we committed.
As always, we were very grateful for the large number of friends and family who made the effort to come and support us.
Regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
13/3/2012
London Winter League Under 14 Championship.
Tournament 3.
Whitgift School, South Croydon.
Sunday 11th March 2012.
Our young development squad traveled to the familiar surroundings of the excellent deep water pool at Whitgift school for the final event of this competition.
Having only lost once at the previous two events we realised that 3 wins would secure the overall title.
These are the individual match reports:
Match 1.
Worthing 5, Croydon B 1. (H/T 2-1)
This was a satisfactory win against a decent opposition who took the lead early in the match.
We soon equalised and went on to record a comfortable victory with Ben Goddard dominating the scoring with 4 goals and Gemma Coulson netting late on with a cool finish.
The team could have scored on a number of other occasions but for some wayward finishing but this was a good start to the day for the squad.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 4, Gemma Coulson 1.
Exclusions: None.
Match 2.
Worthing 9, Chelmsford 2. (H/T 4-0)
Another good win which was particularly pleasing because we played the first half of the match without Ben Goddard outfield and the squad still managed to dominate proceedings with goals from Ellis, who scored twice, Louis and Archy.
The second half saw Ben help himself to another 3 goals and we ran out comfortable winners.
The team was now playing with a much better defensive shape and as a result we managed to score most of our goals from quick counter attacking play.
Scorers: Ellis Bubb 3, Ben Goddard 3, Milo McCardle 1, Archy Burnell 1, Louis Czaja-Rogers 1.
Exclusions: None.
Match 3.
Worthing 4, Mid-Sussex 2. (H/T 3-1)
The toughest match of the tournament was against our Sussex rivals but even though we fell behind early on when we were punished for some poor defending, we soon equalised and took control of the match.
Our defending again was the key to the win and this limited the opposition to a small number of chances.
We were again guilty of missing a number of opportunities when we probably should have scored, but we always looked the stronger team and deserved the victory.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 2, Ellis Bubb 2.
Exclusion: Louis Czaja-Rogers 1.
Squad in Full: Ben Curtis, Louis Czaja-Rogers, Daisy Hazeldine, Archy Burnell, Gemma Coulson, Elliott Moore, Milo McCardle, Jacob Nash, Ellis Bubb & Ben Goddard.
The three wins meant that we finished top of this league after the full program of games and this is an excellent result for this young group of players.
Obviously Ben Goddard is the driving force in the team and he is now part of the newly formed England Talent squad that has recently been selected for boys of this age. What is very encouraging is how quickly the rest of the squad are improving and for the majority of them these tournaments were the first competitive matches they have played.
We now look forward to summer competition for this age group and we are hoping that the squad will continue to show the same improvement.
Kind regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
26/2/2012
Attached is a report
and statistics
of this weekends inter regional boys (1997 & younger age
group) competition that was played at the new pool in
Newport, South Wales.
Worthing had four representatives
in the squad (Joe Hazeldine, Ben Goddard, Nathan
Jones and Ellis Bubb) and the team was coached by Ben Alcorn
with Dave Alcorn in the team managers role.
After a very exciting event the
south-east region won the tournament which is an
excellent result.
All the Worthing boys played well
and special mention should be made of Joe who was voted
tournament Most Valuable Player MVP by the opposition team
coaches.
Kind regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
23/1/2012
London Winter League.
Under 14 Championship (1998 & Younger)
Tournament 2, Whitgift School
Sunday 29th January 2012.
We travelled to the familiar surroundings of Whitgift School for the second tournament in the competition that has seen our youngest age group squad make its competitive debut.
The program would see the squad play three matches including a return fixture against Enfield who had narrowly beaten us at the first tournament.
These are the individual match reports:
1. Worthing 6, Enfield 4. (H/T 2-1)
A good win against the team who had beaten us at the first tournament.
Ben Goddard was unstoppable and scored 5 times but the rest of the squad worked hard and they all defended well when called upon.
This was an encouraging start and indicated that all of the squad are beginning to make progress.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 5, Jacob Nash 1.
Exclusions: Ben Goddard 2.
2. Worthing 6, Chelmsford 0. (H/T 3-0)
Another satisfactory win and another virtuoso display from Ben who scored all of our 6 goals.
A number of the squad should have added to the scorers but we missed a number of relatively simple chances.
Our defending again showed improvement and we never really looked like conceding a goal.
Scorer: Ben Goddard 6.
Exclusion: Ellis Bubb 1.
3. Worthing 11, Watford 0. (H/T 5-0)
This was a good win that again indicated that the squad is improving fast.
Ben again dominated the match with 5 goals but Ellis scored 4 times and Jacob and Gemma also found the back of the net.
Our defending was excellent and we forced the opposition to make many mistakes and we regularly scored from the resulting counter-attacks.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 5, Ellis Bubb 4, Gemma Coulson 1, Jacob Nash 1.
Exclusions: None.
Squad in full: Gemma Coulson, Daisy Hazeldine, Ben Curtis, Jacob Nash, Archy Burnell, Milo McCardle, Ellis Bubb, Robbie Scott, Louis Czaja-Rogers, Ben Goddard.
Overall this was a very encouraging tournament for our young squad. They improved match by match and I am sure that they will continue to make progress at future matches.
Kind regards,
Alastair.
|
Match Report
23/1/2012
The 2012 water polo year commenced with the latest round of the under 16 London Winter league at Queen Elizabeth's school, Barnet.
This is a report of the three matches that we played at the tournament.
London Winter League.
Under 16 Competition (Born 1996 + Younger).
Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet.
Sunday January 22nd 2012.
We have played well in the first phase of this competition and as a result we secured a place in the top six after the first round of fixtures.
The second phase will see fixtures against the other five teams and we knew that this would mean very tough matches.
Unfortunately we were without Karen Chan and Sam Wildman for this event and as a result we played with a very young squad.
These are the individual match reports.
Match 1. Enfield 8, Worthing 2 (H/T 7-1)
This was a very tough start to the day against the team who are the favorites to be the eventual winners of the competition.
We made a tentative start but the squad never gave up against a physically bigger opposition and we played really well in the second half.
Ben scored two good goals and we were guilty of missing some other chances that would have made the final result closer but it was always going to be a tough match against a talented team.
Scorer: Ben Goddard 2.
Exclusions: Ben Goddard 2, Nathan Jones 1.
Match 2. Watford 7, Worthing 3 (H/T 3-0)
Our second match was a better all-round performance and shortly after half-time we were only 2-3 behind.
The team played well against another physical team and the opposition goalkeeper produced a number of fine saves to prevent further goals.
Unfortunately we ran out of steam at the end and two late goals gave the final score a slightly miss-leading look.
Ben again scored twice and Joe also scored a good goal.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 2, Joe Hazeldine 1.
Match 3. Basildon 8, Worthing 2 (H/T 3-1)
By the time we played the final match we were beginning to look tired and although the squad never gave up, the efforts of the previous two matches started to take a toll.
We actually played reasonably well for the first half of the match but our small squad found the going tough in the second period.
The team wasn't helped by some eccentric and inconsistent refereeing but they never gave up right up to the final whistle.
Scorers: Ben Goddard 1, Joe Hazeldine 1.
Exclusions: Ben Goddard 3, Ellis Bubb 1.
Squad in Full: Henry Jackson (G/K), Ben Goddard, Joe Hazeldine, Ben Curtis, Nathan Jones, Harleigh Goddard, Ellis Bubb and Jacob Nash.
Although we lost the three matches we should take a lot of positives from this tournament.
We played with a squad of 8 with only two players at the top end of this age group and four of them will be also play in next weekends 1998 age group event.
Harleigh was the only girl playing in any of the teams and she played well against a number of bigger, aggressive boys. Jacob Nash played well on his debut in this age group and Ben Curtis, who was the youngest member of the team, also worked extremely hard.
The final tournament takes place at Whitgift school on Sunday 18th March.
Regards,
Alastair.
|
Water Polo Archive
2011 - 2010 - 2009 - 2008
-
2007
- 2006
-
2005
-
2004
|
