Bromley & Beckenham Womens match reports

Match reports 6th March 2010

2010-03-09T13:46:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Cambridge University, league, away, Saturday 6th March 2010
Won: 2-1
Scorers: Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies

On Saturday BromBeck edged a close encounter with Cambridge University to get the three points and retain their fifth place in the league. Having beaten the bottom-of-the-table team 9-0 in the first round of matches, BromBeck were keen to repeat that performance but this time they were met with a much stronger opposition than before.

There may have been a certain element of complacency heading in to the match and when the students completely dominated the opening twenty minutes or so, BromBeck didn’t know what had hit them. Cambridge were playing some lovely hockey whilst BromBeck struggled to string more than two passes together, and it was to no-one’s surprise when Cambridge took the lead. This fortunately seemed to wake BromBeck from their reverie somewhat and they began to play some better hockey and began to create issues for the Cambridge defence. Shortly before half time then BromBeck capitalised on their improved play with a hard fought equaliser. Liz Hawkins had ventured forward from the centre of defence and was found by Sophie Mitchell just inside the attacking twenty five. Hawkins looked up and then played a beautiful ball in to the D where Emma Greenway stepped in front of her player and deflected past the keeper.

The second half saw BromBeck lift their game somewhat and even though it still wasn’t pretty at times, it was a much better performance than in the first half. They attacked with increased intent and defended doggedly. Alison Fox in goal and Jo Reed at left back were having particularly good games and shared the man of the match award for a couple of excellent saves and some superb tackles respectively. As the students began to tire, BromBeck drove forward and won another short corner. This time it was converted courtesy of an excellent ball from Mitchell that Charlotte Davies deflected in to the roof of the net for a brilliant finish. This seemed to take the wind out of Cambridge’s sails and from then on they never really looked like scoring again. It was BromBeck who had the best chance of increasing their tally when they were awarded a penalty flick after a Cambridge defender stopped the ball with her foot on the goal line. Mitchell bravely strode forward to take it but unfortunately hit the post. Thankfully this didn’t have any impact on the final result and BromBeck saw the remainder of the game out with relative ease to finish with a two one victory.

Not the team’s best performance it has to be said but a win nonetheless and it’s a good sign that they can still get the three points despite not playing to their full potential.

Man of the match: Ali Fox and Jo Reed shared it this week. Fox for making a couple of excellent saves at important times in the game. Reed for being consistently strong in the tackle and for thwarting several attacks by their quick forwards.

Dick of the day: Jo Reed – for having a momentary lapse and passing it straight to the Cambridge centre forward to leave her one-on-one with Ali!

Squad: Ali Fox (GK), Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Jo Reed, Tara Woodward, Katie Burr, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sophie Mitchell, Louise Fox, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies, Natasia Wisniewska

Ladies 2's v Canterbury won 3-0

Ladies 3's v Cliftonville won 2-1

Ladies 4's v Sevenoaks lost 4-0

Ladies 5's v New Beccs won 2-1

As seems to be the norm now, the 5s got into the game straight away, and so did New Beccs. There were attacking moves from both sides, but New Beccs managed to score in the first half from a shot that went into the goal at head height. In the second half our game stepped up a level, and we made a number of attacks on their goal. In due course, a pass was made from the right of the D to Alex Bezant waiting near the left hand post which she slotted in safely. A short while later, we were awarded a penalty flick which Sue Scott took, and scored our second. For the last 20 minutes, both sides tried to score again, but neither team managed to do so, making the final result 2 – 1 to Bromley & Beckenham.

Joint MOM – Angie Wild & Alex Bezant

Match Reports 27th Feb 2010

2010-03-02T17:39:00.002Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs West Herts, league, home, Saturday 27th February
Won: 2-0

Scorers: Charlotte Davies x2

The battle for league positions continued on Saturday as sixth placed Bromley and Beckenham took on fifth placed West Herts. BromBeck were eager to get revenge for a narrow defeat to them earlier in the season and knew that a win would see them leap frog their opponents and regain the fifth spot.

BromBeck started strongly with several advances in to the West Herts D but it was the travelling side who forced the newly recruited England Under 45 keeper, Alison Fox, in to making an awesome diving save to her left. From then on however, it was BromBeck who were in command. Man of the match, Sophie Mitchell, controlled the game from the centre of midfield with some driving runs and lovely through balls, helped by some excellent support from captain, Lucy Shepherd. It wasn’t long before BromBeck took the lead as Mitchell drove towards goal before slipping to Charlotte Davies who was on hand to put the ball in to the back of an empty net from a yard out. The lead was then doubled soon after with almost a carbon copy of the first goal. This time Mitchell’s intended pass ricocheted off of a West Herts defender and landed at Davies’ feet for her to once again put the ball in from close range.

Even with a two nil lead going in to the second half then BromBeck knew that they couldn’t be complacent. It was important that they continued to dominate the game straight from the re-start and not let West Herts have a sniff of a goal. And fortunately they did just that. It perhaps wasn’t as smoothly done as in the first half but ultimately West Herts very rarely looked like scoring. BromBeck had the lion’s share of the half chances and also had several short corners that they were disappointed not to convert. Shepherd and Mitchell continued to control the centre of the pitch and Davies continued to run the defence ragged up front. When the final whistle blew then BromBeck had gained a deserved two-nil victory and regained fifth place in the league.

Man of the match: Sophie Mitchell – controlled the centre of the pitch from start to finish

Dick of the day: Tara Woodward – for bringing a rat dog to the game

Squad: Fox A (GK), Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, Read, McNeill, Shepherd, (Capt), Mitchell, Fox, Greenway, Davies, Burr, Wiskow, Wisniewska,

Ladies 2's v Sevenoaks lost 1-0

Ladies 3's v Maidstone won 4-1

Ladies 4's v Herne Bay lost 3-0

Ladies 5's no game

Match Reports 27th Feb 2010

2010-02-24T19:37:00.000Z

Ladies 1's v Dereham lost 2-0
On a cold and frosty Saturday morning a bunch of us headed on a 3 hour trip to the dark depths of Norfolk to play one of the top teams in our league. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and a warm welcome by the Dereham ladies.

Going into the game we knew it was going to be a tense and tough one to win. For the first 15 minutes we were mostly on the back foot with pressure coming mainly from a quick and skillful centre half that they had. We soon re-arranged our format to mark her out of the game, which seemed to help us settle into our stride and start to push forward with some attacks into their D. But before the break Dereham had scored a well rehearsed short corner and we were going into the half-time team talk 1-0 down.

Now in the second half the game was even and there was some good plays from both sides, with some excellent and text book defending from our own Jo Read, Liz Hawkins, and brilliant saving from (England) Ali Fox, we kept them at bay. Up the other end we also had some good attacking runs from Charlotte Davies and Emma greenway, but were unable to penetrate their goal with an equaliser. With 15 minutes remaining a decision for a 16 yard hitout was overturned, which resulted in a shortcorner against us. With another conversion it was now 2-0. Even with some late chances we were still unable to get back into the game and unfortunately came away with a loss.

It was an unlucky result for us as it was a long way to go, but we put in a reasonable fight and stuck in till the very end. It was a good team effort and we go into next week with even more fire in our bellies for a showdown with infamous West Herts who we are desperately looking forward to giving a good thrashing to.

MOM - Ali Fox and Jo Read
DOD - Liz Hawkins

Ladies 2's v BBHC won 3-2
Ladies 3's v New Beccs lost 2-0
Ladies 4's no game
Ladies 5's v Remnants lost 1-0

The 5s played Remnants at Eltham College. It took some of us a little while to find the entrance to the car park, and Keren was slightly late for unconnected reasons. Sam Gillett went in goal for the first few minutes until Keren arrived, and then the game was stopped while they changed over. We had some chances in the first half, and Charlotte had one saved by the corner post. Brombecks again showed a lot of good passing and there were good runs by the forwards. We gained some short corners, but were unable to score. Remnants also had some chances, but Keren and the defence worked well and the score remained at 0 – 0 until the last quarter of the game. Remnants were awarded a penalty flick (wrongly in our opinion and that of some of their players). The ball went in the net, but was disallowed (again wrongly in our opinion). With a few minutes remaining, Remnants managed to score, and despite Brombecks winning another penalty corner on the final whistle, we were unable to reply.

Final score 0 – 1 to Remnants.

MOM – Angie Wild followed by Keren and Sue Scott.

Match reports 13th Feb 10

2010-02-16T18:39:00.001Z

Ladies 1's No game

Ladies 2's won 3-1

Ladies 3's v T Wells won 5-0

Ladies 4's v New Beccs lost 4-2

It was very cold! Definitely 2 pairs of gloves and thermals required!
True to form it took us the first 15 minutes to settle down - that
unfortunately was when they scored a couple of goals! A further goal
in the first half took us 3-0 down at half time. (all sounding very
familiar...). A team talk and a couple of tactical changes in the
second half saw us ready for action. Juliet was complaining she was a
little cold so decided to warm up by running up the left wing all the
way up the pitch crossing the ball into the D which Charlotte
converted. New Becs scored a further goal but that didn't put us
off. Inspired,we played a better second half and Ellie managed to
score a second goal on the whistle from a short corner.
Man of the match: Juliet Underwood
Scorers: Ellie Ferguson & Charlotte Walker-Jones

Ladies 5's v Anchs won 2-0

Despite the cold, we started well, and had most of the possession, but could not convert this into goals in the first half. After the half time talk from Sue Scott, we began to attack their goal more and gained some short corners. After a while, Emily Dodds managed to touch the ball in from the left hand post. A little later, Mandy Hoad scored another goal by getting the final touch on a shot from Eleanor Smith. Although Anchorians did manage some attacks, with Keren making some good saves, they were unable to score. Another good game from the 5s who are really playing as a team. The final result was a 2 – 0 win for Brombecks, which was sweet revenge for the 1-2 loss away.

As a further demonstration that it was a team effort, MOM was shared by four players who each received the same number of votes – Eleanor Smith, Mandy Hoad, Angie Wild and Helen Arnold.

Match reports 6th Feb 10

2010-02-09T12:50:00.001Z

Ladies 1's v Thurrock won 6-1

Ladies 2's v Basildon lost 3-2

Ladies 3's v Ladies 4's won 3-0
Match report from the 3's:-

The time had arrived for the game both teams dread the 3’s Vs the 4’s. We started well from the whistle, quickly getting into our stride and playing a great passing game. It wasn’t long before it paid off with a cross from Jo and a tidy flick into the net from Amanda. Daisy despite having starved herself for three days in order to enjoy a slap up meal after the game was full of beans (quite literally) energetically running up and down the pitch. It eventually paid off with a thundering shot at goal which almost shattered the back board. Jo was to make it three shortly after, carefully positioned at the post to flick in a cross and beat their excellent goal keeper who had saved some great shots at goal. We were unable to capitalize on the score in the second half and despite a very open passing game the score remained at 3-0. Another great game from Tina, Alison and Alex down the middle and the defense held back all attacks with great confidence. Special credit goes to the youngsters on both sides (no not Gail and Jo) who put in great performances and have a great hockey future ahead of them.

Match report from the 4's:-

The first 15 minutes sped by at a rate of knots so details are a bit sketchy. The last 20 of the first half the 4s really pulled together and several attacks transpired but alas we were unable to finish it off. Second half was lively really, great play by us & the opposition and a very friendly enjoyable game to play. Charlotte & Stacey attacked the ball fantastically & Alice created some superb chances up the right wing. Keren made lots of brilliant saves at the back earning herself man of the match & without her we would have let quite a few in. As it was we drew the second half and if it wasn't for a
few early goals we might have got a point!!! Final score: 3-0 to the 3s.

Ladies 5's v T Wells lost 3-0
In spite of the early start (10.00 am) we all arrived wide awake in good time and the sun even put in a short appearance. We started strongly, but T. Wells also had a strong side out which meant the defence had a lot of work to do. Although we passed well and made some attacks in their half, they were good at getting the ball back and spent a lot of time in our half of the pitch which resulted in them scoring one goal in the first half. After the half time talk from Sue Scott, we were able to attack more and gained some short corners. Their defence had to be warned several times about coming out early, and one person was awarded a yellow card. We thought we should have had a p.flick! However, we could not stop their forwards from continuing to attack, and they scored two more goals from wide on the right hand side. The whole team worked really hard throughout the game; the mids and forwards trying to score, while the defence, especially Keren, trying to stop T. Wells from scoring any more.

Final result 0 – 3. MOM Keren, followed by Angie Wild and Helen Arnold

Match reports 30th Jan 2010

2010-02-02T12:39:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Maidstone 1s, league, home, Saturday 30th January 2010
Lost 0-1
Saturday’s game saw Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s drop points for the first time in six games, with a one nil loss to Maidstone 1s. Both sides started hesitantly but it was BromBeck who had the first real chance of the game. A good through ball gave Charlotte Davies a one-on-one with the keeper but her well struck shot went agonisingly wide. It was however a game where play was mainly focussed in the middle of the pitch and both sides struggled to create many clear cut chances. Man of the match, Liz Hawkins, was having an outstanding game in the centre of defence with excellent support from Tara Woodward and Jo Read. Any forays by Maidstone in to BromBeck’s defensive twenty five, were dealt with efficiently and by half time the game remained a stalemate.

The second half continued in pretty much the same vein but once again it was BromBeck who came closest to breaking the deadlock first. This time Davies and Emma Greenway used their pace to break through Maidstone’s defence but Greenway’s final shot hit the post and the rebound was scrambled clear. As the play returned to the middle of the pitch, BromBeck’s midfield quartet of Lou Fox, Lucy Shepherd, Chris McNeill and Katie Burr were having to work increasingly hard and did extremely well to contain Maidstone. Unfortunately though it was the visiting side who eventually made the breakthrough, courtesy of an unstoppable short corner strike by their captain. Shortly after then Maidstone thought they had doubled their lead with another well struck short corner but it was dubiously disallowed for being too high. This seemed to boost BromBeck a little and they pushed everyone forward in a bid to get the equaliser. Time was not on their side though and when the final whistle blew it was Maidstone who walked away with the three points.

Man of the match: Liz Hawkins – some brilliant tackles to keep Maidstone’s attempts on goal to a minimum, as well as a goal line clearance.

Dick of the day: Lou Fox – going out with Maidstone in Maidstone for the evening instead of coming to Liz’s birthday drinks!!

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Jo Read, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Lou Fox, Charlotte Davies, Emma Greenway, Natasia Wiszniewska, Sophie Mitchell, Katie Burr, Charlotte Ridout

Ladies 2's v Maidstone won 3-1

Ladies 3's v Sevenaoks 4's won 2-0

On a bitterly cold afternoon we had fielded a team of 13 to play Sevenoaks - a young and fit attacking team. They were up at our half very quickly from the off, but we soon got in our stride and it became an end to end battle from start to finish. Alex and Alison both had strong games in the middle and fought hard to get the ball up the field to the forwards. After the first fifteen minutes the hard work paid off. Amanda ran almost the entire length of the pitch before passing the ball across to Jo who smacked in a great goal at an acute angle into the back of the net.

Rose, Kim, Lauren and Jess worked liked Trojans at the back halting and frustrating the opposition from making their numerous attacks count. Jo was on fire up front and got another touch to a cross to make it 2-0, where the score remained. We were sure she could have made it a hat trick if she hadn’t needed to leave the game slightly early. Our thanks go to Sue Scott for ignoring her hyperthermia symptoms setting in to help with the substitutions. Another great result for a cold and frosty winter’s day.

Ladies 4's v Canterbury conceded so 4-0 walkover to Canterbury

Ladies 5's Edenbridge lost 3-1

After all the hassle during the week, we started the game with spare players, courtesy of the 4s who had to cancel. There were some apologies made to the 3s players who had agreed to double up. After discussions with the umpires, it was agreed we would play, but there was some snow lying on one corner of the pitch, so Debbie found the groundsman and got a couple of brooms so it could be cleared. After I got my head around the revised team, we started fairly well, but top of the league, Edenbridge, made lots of attacks and scored two goals in the first half. After a team talk from Sue Scott (seconded from the 4s and who played most of the game!), our play stepped up a level. We managed to attack their goal on a number of occasions and gained some short corners. There was some very good passing play, which eventually resulted in a goal scored by Mandy Hoad. However, Edenbridge managed to score another and we were unable to reply. There was some excellent work from the defence, and very good saves from Keren in goal which denied them any more, but the final result was a loss of 3 – 1. MOM was Keren, with Rachel and Debbie as runners up.

Match reports 23rd Jan 2010

2010-01-28T14:30:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Wapping 1s, league, away, Saturday 23rd January 2010
Won: 4-2
Scorers: Charlotte Ridout, Katie Burr, Julia Wiskow, Emma Greenway

After a six week break, courtesy of Christmas and postponements due to the snow, Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s were raring to go in their game against Wapping. With Wapping one place and four points behind BromBeck in the league, the travelling side were eager to resume the season as they had finished it and extend the gap between themselves and the bottom half of the league.

With Wapping winning a short corner straight from their push back, BromBeck knew that they were going to be in for a tough game. The defence were awake though and cleared the early threat convincingly, allowing the team to then settle in to the game and begin to dominate. There was some beautiful inter-linking play between the midfield and the forwards and this soon resulted in a short corner. After the initial strike was saved, the rebound found Charlotte Davies who in turn found Charlotte Ridout unmarked and in a good position. ‘The Bullet’ Ridout doesn’t miss an opportunity from there and swept coolly across the keeper and in to the far corner, to give BromBeck an early lead. For the next ten minutes it was completely one-way traffic with BromBeck utilising their pace and skills to devastating effect. Wapping really didn’t know what had hit them and it wasn’t long before BromBeck had doubled their lead. This time a powerful short corner strike by Liz Hawkins was stopped on the line by a Wapping defender but Katie Burr was on hand to pounce upon the half clearance and bundled the ball over the line from close range. A few minutes later things were to get even worse for Wapping as Davies was crudely brought down by a defender, having been clear through on goal. Julia Wiskow stepped up to take the resulting penalty flick and slotted the ball calmly in to the far corner. Three nil up and the game should have been in the bag but as we know from the first half of the season, BromBeck for some reason never seem to like to make it easy for themselves! I don’t know if they became complacent or Wapping just lifted their game a lot but the remainder of the half belonged to Wapping. They began to use their strong pivot player to good effect and when they won two short corners in quick succession, they converted both with strong finishes to leave the game on a knife’s edge going in to the second half.

The thirty five minutes that followed were rather fiery to say the least. Three yellow cards were brandished to Wapping and one green to BromBeck. Despite the tempestuous nature of the game, both sides continued to play some good hockey in patches and it was an exciting game for the neutral to watch with play continuously yo yo-ing back and forth. Half chances came and went at each end but both sides defended well and even when Wapping went down to nine players, BromBeck were unable to find the break through that would give them a two goal cushion. As time wore on it began to look like any further goals were going to evade both sides and that BromBeck would walk away with the three points. In the end then the latter was correct but not before they had scored their fourth with the final touch of the game. Again this was the result of a short corner, with a practiced routine working beautifully as Sophie Mitchell swept strongly for Emma Greenway to deflect in to the roof of the net. Final score 4-2 to BromBeck.

A super result, and an extremely promising performance for BromBeck to resume the season with. They are now lying in 6th place with 7th placed Wapping now seven points behind and fifth placed West Herts just two points ahead. Next week they are at home to 4th placed Maidstone, where three points would put them in an excellent position to push forward and look for a top four finish. 2pm push back at Langley – all supporters more than welcome as always!

Man of the Match – seven different players got votes for this this week which shows what a great team effort it was. However, the joint winners in the end were Charlotte Ridout, Charlotte Davies and Emma Greenway who all got three votes each for their hard work and problems that they caused the Wapping defence.

Dick of the Day – Lucy Shepherd for the sock incident prior to the game… Shep ‘loses’ sock… Everyone has a little look but no sign of it…
Burr: ‘You haven’t put both socks on the same foot have you?’
Shep: ‘Oh yeah, so I have…!!’
BLONDE!!!

Finally, many thanks to Graham Butler who was designated coach for the day and once again did a sterling job.

Squad: Ali Fox (GK), Jo Read, Liz Hawkins, Vikki Taylor, Katie Burr, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sophie Mitchell, Lou Fox, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Ridout, Charlotte Davies, Tara Woodward, Chris McNeill, Julia Wiskow

Ladies 2's v Wapping lost 3-2

Ladies 3's v Herne Bay drew 1-1

Ladies 4's v Cliftonville lost 6-0
We were all a little apprehensive at the begining of the game against Cliftonville, not only because they were top of the league table and we were at the bottom, but also because some of our key plyayers were either playing for other teams this weekend or unable to play. However we played probably the best we have all season, despite going 1 -0 down within the first 5 mins, we were all over them. In fact so much so that they started to argue amongst themselves. We showed some brilliant man to man marking and some supurb passing between ourselves but unfortunately could not get back on terms. The second half started again with the oppo. scoring quickly but again we played some good hockey until the last 5 or so minutes when they scored a further 4 goals in very quick succession. Despite the score we had a good game and played some very good hockey. Final score 0-6.

Ladies 5's v Faversham won 3-0

We all arrived with plenty of time to spare (except for one!) and began well with lots of attacking play. However, there were a number of near misses, until Delyth managed to score our first goal towards the end of the first half after having her earlier goal disallowed. Faversham did manage to counter attack on a number of occasions, but the defence worked really hard, and Charlotte in goal made several good saves. In the second half, we continued to press their goal and were rewarded with a further goal from Alex Bezant, and another from Delyth. Although Faversham had several more attempts on goal, Charlotte and the rest of the defence managed to deny them. The final result was 3 – 0 to BromBecks. MOM was Angie Wild.

Match Reports 16th Jan 2010

2010-01-18T17:54:00.001Z

Ladies 2's v Upminster Won 2-1

Upminster started the day at the top of the league but were not going to finish the day there.

After weeks of cancelled games/training and Christmas/new year indulgencies Brom & becs turned up a little apprehensive to face Upminster. The game started as expected with Upminster pressing hard on goal for the first 10 but the defence stood strong, and fast breaks started to emerge and we converted are second short corner against the run of play with a trade mark strike from charlotte ridout. The rest of the second half saw more of the same with the teams looking more evenly matched.

The second half saw Upminster fined another gear but Brom and becks energy never dwindled. At times the passing was of the highest class and saw the Upminster defence ripped apart which resulted in the second goal on the reverse from ridout. Upminster got frustrated as they just could not get past Claire Vivian in goal and the team effort that was only broken 5min from time buy a looping flick that popped in the goal. Brom and becks finished happy they had robbed the 3 points from top of the league on their own pitch to prove they should be there.

2 – 1 to Brombeck - RESULT

Girl of the game Claire (the wall) Vivian

Dick of the day Susie (where’s the ball) Ramsay for the ball coming of her own stick and landing on hear head

Card: Green Tara

Supporter of match: Hannah Cole ear muffs and all

Ladies 5's v Blackheath won 1-0

With the snow gone, the game was on. I had numerous texts on Saturday morning asking if we would be playing as it was raining!!

By the time we started the rain had stopped, and remained dry for the game. It looked like it was going to be a dry game for goals as well. The first half was fairly even, with both sides having chances, although Blackheath probably had more shots but these were saved by Keren who made some fantastic saves throughout the game. Part way through the second half, Alice made a run into the D, slipped the ball to Alex who managed to score the only goal of the game. Everyone played really well considering we had not played since the 5th December, and it was a good result for us to win, having lost to Blackheath at home earlier in the season.

The final score was 1 – 0 to Brombecks. Joint MOM went to Keren McFarlane and Alex Bezant.

Match reports 12th Dec 09

2009-12-14T16:47:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Colchester 1s, league, away, Saturday 12th December 2009
Won: 5-1Scorers: Sophie Mitchell x2, Charlotte Davies, Charlotte Ridout, Louise Fox

BromBeck finished the first half of the season in style with a convincing five one victory over Colchester.

The visitors controlled the game almost from start to finish and scored a goal every ten minutes to give them a three nil lead going in to half time. Charlotte Davies opened the scoring as she finished a superb run with a shot/pass from a seemingly impossible angle that somehow found the back of the net! Sophie Mitchell scored the second as she pounced upon a half clearance from a short corner and finished from close range. Davies then turned provider for the third with another storming drive before slipping to Charlotte Ridout in the D. Ridout remained calm under pressure to side-step the advancing defender and keeper and passed the ball in to the far corner for a fantastic finish.

The second half began in much the same fashion as man-of-the-match Mitchell got her second. She found Emma Greenway on the half way line who then drove quickly towards goal. Mitchell continued her run and Greenway lifted the ball over the final defender’s stick in to Mitchell’s path who then rounded the keeper beautifully and placed the ball in to the back of an empty net. For the next fifteen minutes or so then Colchester lifted themselves and had their best period of the game. BromBeck became a little unsettled for the first time, especially once the home side had pulled a goal back. Alison Fox in goal then made some excellent saves in quick succession as Colchester found their feet and Liz Hawkins cleared a shot off the line. However, once the pressure had been absorbed by BromBeck, they then settled any nerves that may have been lingering with a fifth goal. This time Mitchell provided Louise Fox with a well placed pass on the right hand side of the D. Fox then had no hesitation in launching an unstoppable strike across the keeper and in to the far left hand corner. The wind was well and truly knocked out of Colchester’s sails, and the final ten minutes or so were played out without any danger for BromBeck. Final score five one to BromBeck.

Another great result for BromBeck and one that sees them consolidate their sixth place and puts them in an excellent position for their target of a top four or five finish in the second half of the season. In the meantime then I hope you all have a very happy Christmas and New Year and see you in 2010.

Man of the match: Sophie Mitchell – controlled the game from the centre of midfield and capped an excellent all round display with two well taken and deserved goals.

Dick of the day: This was shared this week between Katie Burr for her green card and Lucy Shepherd for her non-matching trainers!

Squad: Ali Fox (GK), Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Jo Read, Katie Burr, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sophie Mitchell, Louise Fox, Sarah Bentley, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies, Charlotte Ridout

Ladies 2's v Blackheath lost 2-1

BromBecks had drawn with Blackheath earlier in the season but both turned up to Langley with changed teams. The start of the game we where put on the back foot and under pressure in the D and conceded an early short corner but the defence whisked the ball away to counter attack but to no avail. The first half consisted of their defend and counter attack, with both teams evenly matched but Blackheath having more shots on target but the half ended 0-0.

Brom becks came out in full attack in the second half passing the ball around and some damaging cross D hits that weren’t converted but won a short corner which had hit the back board before the keeper had moved, scored by Jenny Allen. This unfortunately woke the Blackheath team up and they counter attacked with 5 or 6 short corners including a brilliant save from Claire Vivian smashing in to the grill of her helmet and a large number of stars being seen! But 3 more short corners later and Blackheath converted one. And the fight was on, Jules was flattened by the keeper and had to be carried off to play no further part in the game. Both teams had opportunities then an audacious aerial! Landed in front of the centre forward in the D and left the Vivian to beat but scored. For the remaining 10 minutes we where throwing everything we had at them and camped out attacking D but the final whistle went as Blackheath played out time.

Ladies 3's v Maidstone won 4-2

The Ladies 3's had a great game against Maidstone that was kicked off to an encouraging start by a superb goal from Nicky Fraser (but don't ask her to talk you through it, as she didn't even realise that she had scored!). Jo then got another goal for us, then I believe Maidstone managed to scramble one back. We then got awarded a p flick which Helen bravely stepped up to take, while the rest of us tied shoe laces and found interesting things to look at at the other end of the pitch .... Unfortunately the Maidstone keeper made a great save and denied us the goal. Helen then went on a mission to make up for things and expertly flicked (yes flicked!) the ball in to score goal number 3. Maidstone managed to pull another goal back, and then Jo scored a goal that Beckham would have been proud of, but after the goal was given, graciously owned up to her footballing skills! However, after a great build up by Amanda, Jo scooped in her 2nd proper goal to make the final score 4-2. It was a great game to play with great team work and performances by everyone, and some great saves by Sam in goal. Big thanks to Sue who managed our substitutions brilliantly and gave some great advice as usual.

Match reports 5th December 09

2009-12-08T11:26:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Chelmsford 2s, league, away, Saturday 5th December 2009
Won: 2-1Scorers: Julia Wiskow x2,

BromBeck’s excellent run of form continued with a hard fought victory over Chelmsford.

With Chelmsford ones on their winter break for indoor, BromBeck thought that Chelmsford were likely to be stronger than their current league position belies, and they weren’t wrong. Despite this, BromBeck started the game more confidently and with a lot more passion than Chelmsford. They completely dominated the opening passage of play and were soon rewarded with a well-deserved goal. A Charlotte Davies shot was saved by the keeper only for the rebound to fall to Julia Wiskow who wasted no time in executing a powerful lifted push in to the back of the net. The rest of the half continued in pretty much the same vein with BromBeck playing some sensational hockey at times. Man of the match Louise Fox, was having a particularly outstanding game at right mid and was well supported by Chris McNeill who pushed up well from right back and used her silky skills to cause havoc for the Chelmsford defence. Despite their superiority, BromBeck were unable to extend their lead and were soon made to temporarily pay for that in the second half.

The home side must have had a right royal talking to at half time as they returned after the break with seemingly a lot more fire in their bellies. The defensive trio of McNeill, Liz Hawkins and Jo Read as well as goalkeeper Alison Fox, were immediately called in to action and were all extremely impressive as they coped with the overload in numbers well and cleared the initial threats. Unfortunately there was only so much pressure that they could absorb and it wasn’t long before Chelmsford got the equaliser. In spite of the initial pounding, BromBeck quickly began to find their feet again and began to play themselves back in to the game. The centre of the pitch was the main area of play for the next ten minutes or so but BromBeck eventually managed to break the deadlock by winning a short corner and converted well to regain their lead. Wiskow was the scorer again with an unstoppable inch-perfect strike from the top of the D that left the diving Chelmsford keeper with no chance. The remainder of the game was mainly focused in and around BromBeck’s defensive twenty five as Chelmsford threw everything forward in a bid to get the equaliser. However, BromBeck’s defence were exceptional and the midfielders and forwards also worked extremely hard to get back and help them out when needed. As the final whistle blew, Chelmsford were controversially awarded a short corner, and then another, and then another…. But BromBeck were rock solid and there was no way through for the Essex side. Final score two one to BromBeck.

A very impressive team display by BromBeck. They still haven’t mastered the art of playing at one hundred percent for the whole seventy minutes but they battled extremely hard to get the three points from this game and it was an excellent team effort.

In the final league game before Christmas they face Colchester away and if they can get three more points here, they look well placed to push on and look for a top four or five finish in the second half of the season.

Man of the match: Louise Fox – worked tirelessly throughout, winning several free hits in dangerous areas as well as tracking back and carrying out her defensive duties with aplomb.

Dick of the day: This was shared this week between Louise Fox for managing to get covered from head to toe in the horrid algae that was covering the pitch and Sophie Mitchell for her huge strop at herself after mistiming a strike on goal!

Squad: Ali Fox (GK), Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Jo Read, Katie Burr, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sophie Mitchell, Louise Fox, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies, Julia Wiskow, Charlotte Ridout

Ladies 2's v Gillingham Anchorians lost 1-0.

We had an off-putting start to our game this Saturday watching one of our men’s 2's being driven away from Langley in an ambulance which not only caused delays to the start time but was rather unnerving making us loose our focus. From the whistle we were not quite on the ball and our usual quick sticks and firm passes were not to be seen but the opposition failed to take advantage of this. Although it was scrappy we were clearly dominant in the first half but despite winning a short the score stood at 0-0 at half time. The game was tense, we successfully defended a couple of their shorts and again seemed to be more dominant in the second half with most of the play in their end. But frustration was building as the conversions were not coming and the umpiring was as usual far from ideal! Sadly we failed to keep our cool and Miss J Allen displayed the team’s opinions of the umpires a little less subtly than usual resulting in a yellow card! We pulled Jules back from up front to cover and defended hard however with a lot of luck and determination (aka barging) Gillingham put one in the back or our goal bringing the score to 0-1. Despite a lot of hard work and battling back this remained the score at the final whistle. A disappointing result but a game we will all learn from and I have no doubt we’ll come fighting back.

DOD: Jenni Allen
MOM: Emily Beaumont

Ladies 4's v T Wells lost 7-0

This week was against a tough opposition who had one or two talented players but we still went out very keen and ready to give them a good game. We started off strong but unfortunately a few goals went in; no fault of our defence or our goalie Jess (who was playing bravely with broken fingers)
In the second half we came back stronger and put them under pressure but unfortunately we couldn't get the ball into the back of the net. Our whole team played amazingly throughout the whole game with the constant encouragement of our captain Elizabeth. Well done to all the team and thank you to all our coach Scotty and as always our loyal supporters.

Man of the Match - Juliet Underwood

Ladies 5's v T Wells Lost 2-0

We had 11 players early in the week, and when the 3s were cancelled, were given another player, making 12. However, I lost one late on Friday night, taking us back to 11 which was still OK. Just before the game, one player sent a text saying she was delayed due to train cancellations. Two others were feeling under the weather, so when we did start, we were only 10, and a bit disorganised. The first half went to Tunbridge Wells 5s, who had quite a lot of the play and managed to score two goals. Having regrouped at half time, the players did much better, had more possession, gained some short corners and had several shots at goal. Although we managed to deny Tunbridge Wells any more goals, we failed to score at all, making the final result 0 – 2.

Man of the match – Rachel Barnett

Happy Christmas to all from the 5s.

Match reports 28th Novemeber 09

2009-12-01T11:23:00.000Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs. Saffron Walden, league, home, Saturday 29th November 2009
Wonn: 4-0Scorers: Emma Greenway x 2, Sophie Mitchell, Lucy Shepherd

Following on from last week resounding win, BromBeck continued their winning run by beating lowly Saffron Walden by four goals to nil.

A good start by the home team saw a number of shots going just wide until, only four minutes into the match, the deadlock was broken. A good drive by Charlotte Davies into the D took her past two players before a reverse stick pass found Emma Greenway who slotted home coolly from close range. However, Saffron Walden responded well to the goal and, after making good use of the self-pass rule, won a short corner which Ali Fox in goal dived well to save with her stick.

Three goals in quick succession then gave Brombeck some breathing space. The first came from a short corner after a cynical tackle by a Saffron Walden defender on Charlotte Davies. The ball was slipped right to Emma Greenway whose ball to the right post was crossed into the path of Sophie Mitchell, Mitchell finishing well with a hard push into the goal. A few minutes after the restart a marauding Vicky Taylor burst into the D from the right back position and was unlucky not to score, the keeper saving her goalbound shot. However, BromBeck captain Lucy Shepherd was on hand to follow up and put away the rebound. A minute later and BromBeck were four nil up after a good drive from Sophie Mitchell and pass to the left found Emma Greenway lurking to score her second goal of the game. Despite the scoreline, Saffron Walden did not lose heart and Ali Fox was forced to save after a quick counter-attack. Brombeck had chances to make it five nil, a goal by Charlotte Davies ruled out after the umpire wrongly adjudged the ball to have hit a foot. Then a lovely build up of six passes culminated in Charlotte Davies winning a short corner, which Brom Beck failed to convert.

An inability to convert short corners was the story of the second half with a number of chances going begging. BromBeck poured forward in the hope of adding to the goal tally and some strong running from man-of-the-match Sarah Bentley deserved better reward. With the D becoming increasingly crowded, clear-cut chances were at a premium and the closest BromBeck came to scoring was a number of goalmouth scrambles forcing Saffron Walden into goal line clearances. At the final whistle the score remained four-nil and a feeling of disappointment ran through the team.

However there were a number of positives to take from the game including a great first-half performance and another clean sheet. This means that, at the halfway point of the season, BromBeck have moved into the top half of the table by goal difference and will be looking to consolidate this position away at Chelmsford next Saturday.

Man of the match: Sarah Bentley – strong running drove forward the attack and made some excellent tackles to dispossess Saffron Walden players

Dick of the day: Ben Alberry – for waiting until almost December to witness a BromBeck win and for a really shameful performance at pub golf.

Ladies 2's v T Wells won 3-2

Ladies 3's v Canterbury draw 2-2
Bromley & Beckenham started strongly against a fired up Canterbury side. We had no reserves and in spite of welcoming Suzie Cole onto the pitch just after the start of the game, we started the first half with some lovely team hockey. Alison Rockhill belted home a short corner into the bottom right hand side of the goal and we were 1-0 up. Play continued in our favour and before long Suzie Cole scored a great goal after a super build up from our forwards, putting us 2-0 up and we all forgave Suzie for her lateness! Things were looking good until Canterbury scored just before half time. Unfortunately, the second half was very frustrating and we seemed to loose all momentum and although there were flashes of good hockey, we allowed Canterbury to take control and before long they had scored another goal. Final score was 2-2.

Ladies 4's v Gravesend draw 2-2
It was very cold and everyone was complaining. We started off well and then Izzy scored a really good goal. Stacey came to the game straight from work, arrived a bit late but came on as our sub, played for 5 minutes then had a really big, bad fall in our defensive D and had to go off (when they scored a goal bringing the score to 1 all for half time.) Gravesend then scored another goal at the beginning of the second half. We fought back hard and Ellie Ferguson managed to equalise with 7 minutes to go! After the game the Gravesend team all abandoned us and left us to try and find the teas in the crowded rugby clubhouse where we asked to move from where we were sitting by many people!! Made to feel very unwelcome!

Good game though - yay!

Man of the match - Ellie Ferguson
Scorers - Izzy and Ellie

Ladies 5's v Gravesend won 7-0
With 3 goalkeepers, two on pitch, and one in goal, it could have been a defensive game, but Amy was happy to play a mid and Sam Gillett moved up to right wing in the second half. The 5s took control of the game from the start with some good passing and most of the play. Alex Bezant opened the scoring, followed by more goals from Eleanor, Sophie and then Eleanor again, to give us a 4 – 0 lead at half time. Although we kept up the pressure in the second half, we eased up slightly, and only scored 3 more – Sophie got one, and Eleanor, as left wing scored another 2.

Result – Win 7 – 0. Scorers – Eleanor Smith 4, Sophie Day 2 and Alex Bezant 1. Man of the match was Eleanor Smith.

Match reports 21st Nov 09

2009-11-24T10:08:00.000Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Cambridge University, league, home, Saturday 21st November 2009
Won: 9-0Scorers: Charlotte Davies x2, Julia Wiskow x2, Charlotte Ridout x2, Emma Greenway x1, Sophie Mitchell x1, Katie Burr x1

After last week’s disappointing loss, BromBeck were keen to get a win under their belt and after only a few minutes they started as they meant to go on. A quickly taken through ball found Charlotte Davies out wide who drove down the right wing before putting in a cross to the p-spot. Here Julia Wiskow was on hand for a simple push to ‘nutmeg’ the keeper and the first goal of many was in the bag. The second was scored soon after as BromBeck kept up the pace and a well drilled short corner resulted in a push across the D for Charlotte Davies to jab past the keeper’s left foot. This second goal seemed to wake Cambridge up and they had a few good attacks down their right wing but BromBeck’s defence were alert and the travelling side struggled to get into the BromBeck D. The third goal, much like the first, came from a strong drive down the right hand side to the base line from the eventual man of the match, Charlotte Davies. Her cross missed two attackers but was pounced on by Katie Burr who seemingly came from nowhere to put the ball away. Despite their best efforts, Cambridge had little chance to ease the pressure, with BromBeck maintaining possession and securing a short corner just before the whistle for half time. Unfortunately for BromBeck a well struck strike from Julia Wiskow was just millimetres above the back board and was correctly disallowed for being too high.

A confident BromBeck went into the second half hoping to improve on their three nil lead. With some inch perfect passing all round they secured another penalty corner which although not quite as crisp as earlier, resulted in a goal mouth scramble and Davies got her second goal of the game. BromBeck continued to keep the ball in their opponents defensive twenty five and their fifth goal came courtesy of some hard work by Lucy Shepherd who found her supporting centre midfield player Sophie Mitchell in acres of space. Mitchell then drove the ball into the D and her fierce shot on target was well saved by the keeper but the rebound was pounced on by Charlotte Ridout who snaffled her first goal of the game.

Five nil up and twenty minutes to go and everyone wanted to be on the score sheet as Cambridge struggled to get any possession. Some superb inter-linking player between the newly formed partnership of Mitchell and Ridout led to a flick being awarded for another stick tackle in the D. Greenway bravely stepped up but the keeper saved well and she was unable to add to the goal tally. The BromBeck defence quickly regained the ball from the re-start and some quick one-twos between Greenway and Ridout finished with Ridout scoring her second goal in ten minutes. BromBeck were really enjoying themselves now and some excellent team possession of six or seven sharp passes, in particular between Sarah Bentley and Mitchell, led to Mitchell slipping the ball to the p-spot where Greenway was keen and able to make amends for the earlier missed flick by lifting the ball over the keeper to get herself on the score sheet. Despite the time ticking away, BromBeck were not finished yet and another flick was awarded, this time for a back of stick in the D. Sophie Mitchell stepped up and was clinical in conversion, to score her first goal of the game. Davies was instrumental again in the set up for BromBeck’s ninth and final goal of the game as her silky skills won BromBeck one final short corner. This time a powerful strike from Wiskow left their hapless keeper with no chance. With hardly any time left on the clock, the students went looking for a consolation goal and fought hard to win a short corner. However, it wasn’t to be and the BromBeck defence who had had little to do all game, showed excellent concentration levels to avert the danger. Final score nine-nil to BromBeck.

Obviously a superb result for BromBeck and a much needed three points that should give them the confidence to push forward and look for a full quota of points in the three remaining matches before the Christmas break.

Next week they face newly promoted Saffron Walden who currently lay second from bottom in the table. It’s a 2pm push back at Langley so all supporters more than welcome as always!

Man of the match: Charlotte Davies – won numerous amounts of short corners and caused havoc for the Cambridge defenders whenever she had the ball

Dick of the day: Julia Wiskow – for hitting the ball directly at the Cambridge defenders when asked to test it by the umpire!

Squad: Ali Fox (GK), Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Katie Burr, Sarah Bentley, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sophie Mitchell, Louise Fox, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies, Julia Wiskow, Charlotte Ridout

Ladies 2's v Canterbury drew 1-1
The day didn’t begin so well as we found out that Sian was ill and so on very short notice Daisy had to be called to the rescue. Thankfully she turned up not only wide awake but with the aim in mind to score 5 goals allowing her to overtake Charlotte on the score sheet.
Eventually we arrived at Canterbury all excited/nervous about playing on the water based pitch. It didn’t start as planned with Jules leaving her jumper to get soaked by the sprinklers and us going down an undeserved one nil in the first half.
However during the second half with some excellent all round play and great defending we managed to pull one back with Hannah Cole scoring a great goal! We were all fighting hard for a second but for some reason (due to the loss of two strikers) the ball just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net.
Just as the seconds had started ticking to the end and we all thought that we would have to settle for a draw, the opposition were on the attack with at least three on just one of our players. That one was Camilla who amazingly managed to get hold of the ball and beat the 2 Canterbury players skilfully and pass out wide.
The final whistle went and as we shook hands we could see the look of fatigue in Canterbury’s eyes and knew that the next time we faced them at HOME we’ll definitely (well hopefully) come out on top!!

Goal scorer: Hannah Cole
MOM: Kelly
DOD: Hannah

Ladies 3's v Cliftonville lost 2-0

A trip to the seaside was what had been promised to the players heading to play against Cliftonville. This game was no holiday. Currently top of the league the opposition were well organized and relentless in their attacking play. We held them off well in the first ten minutes even almost scoring early on, but we soon lost our way and had to play a very defensive game thereafter.

Rose, Ali, Kim and Lauren worked very hard at the back to keep them at bay, but they eventually scored in the first half. The second half continued in the same vein and we were down another goal after twenty minutes. Encouragingly in the last fifteen minutes we started passing more and playing as a team but could not capitalize on the our forward breaks at goal. The score remained at 2-0 thanks to some great saves by our goalkeeper. Thanks go to some of the 4’s players who stepped in to make the long journey out East and to the drivers. Eggs, bacon, sausage and beans were a welcome sight in the club house after the game and set us up for the long journey home.

Ladies 4's v Sevenoaks 4's won 1-0

Well what can we say? Highlights:
1. Fab team line-up, lovely mixture of juniors and slightly more senior ladies
2. Fab team talk beforehand by Scotty
3. Jelly Babies making a re-appearance (and some oranges at half time)
4. Stacy making fab double save on the line
5. Us scoring a fantastic goal with incredible cross to set up!!
6. Opposition scoring no, that is ...NO goals!!
7. Midfield running around like troopers
8. Defence well organised by the fantastic Jess
9. Forwards getting free and attacking brilliantly
10. Fab teas and bottle of champers to celebrate first win of the season!!

Thanks to all our supporters watching us in the pouring rain.
Man of the match - Debbie
Scorer - Elizabeth

Ladies 5's v New Beccs drew 1-1

The game was fairly even, with both sides making attacks, but failing to score. Charlotte had a good shot deflected off the post, and Keren made some excellent saves in our goal. Just before half time, a ball was deflected up into the nose of Mandy Hoad, which meant a short break in play while we dealt with the nosebleed and cut. After patching up the cut at half time, she bravely rejoined the game. Brombecks managed to score a goal with a fine solo run from Alice Gallop but a while later, New Beccs managed to equalize. Two players had to leave part way through the second half leaving us with only 10, but we managed to deny New Beccs any more goals, making the result a 1 – 1 draw.

Man of the match – Mandy Hoad, who played really well before and after her injury, with Sam Gillett in second place, and Keren third.

Match reports 14th Nov 09

2009-11-17T11:38:00.001Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs West Herts, league, away, Saturday 14th November 2009
Lost: 2-3Scorer: Emma Greenway, Julia Wiskow

This was by far the most disappointing result of the season so far for BromBeck as they lost three goals to two to a very beatable West Herts side.

BromBeck were the much superior side for the entire first half and capitalised on their domination with two early goals. Firstly Emma Greenway finished from close range, nut-megging the keeper, after an excellent run from Charlotte Davies and inch perfect cross found her lurking around the p-spot. Davies was also instrumental in the second goal with herself and Sophie Mitchell playing some superb one-twos around the defence before Julia Wiskow scrambled Mitchell’s initial shot over the line. BromBeck should then have gone on to put the game out of West Herts reach with chance after chance going begging, the most clear-cut of a which was a poorly taken penalty flick straight at the keeper.

BromBeck were a little frustrated not to be further ahead at the half time interval but that was nothing compared to the dismay they felt when the final whistle went thirty five minutes later. They continued to outplay the home team for the opening ten minutes of the second half but once again failed to convert. I am still somewhat bemused as to what happened but having played some amazing hockey, BromBeck then seemed to completely switch off. West Herts went down to ten men as one of their players was sin-binned for a crunching tackle, and instead of taking advantage of having an extra player, BromBeck succumbed to some good play by the West Herts attack and suddenly found that the scores were level. The final ten minutes or so were played in a frantic fashion and with both teams now back to their full quote of players, it was BromBeck who found themselves on the back foot. With just two minutes left on the clock, BromBeck hearts were broken as West Herts converted a short corner. With time not on their side, BromBeck knew they had to throw everything forward and they won a short corner just as the final whistle went. Despite finding the back of the net, the strike was too high and subsequently disallowed. Final score three two to West Herts.

Everyone was absolutely gutted but we now have to put this behind us, train hard this week and make sure that we bounce straight back and get the three points against Cambridge University on Saturday.

Man of the match: Vicky Taylor – awesome first thirty five minutes with some excellent attacking runs in to the D from the right back position.

Dick of the day: Tara Woodward – tripped over her own feet five minutes in to the game, landed on her wrist and subsequently couldn’t play of the match!

Squad: Fox A (GK), Allen, Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, McNeill, Shepherd, (Capt), Mitchell, Greenway, Davies, Burr, Wiskow, Ridout C, Beaumont

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Burnt Ash, Kent Cup, home, Sunday 15th November
Won: 7-0Scorer: Julia Wiskow x3, Katie Burr x2, Emma Greenway, Sophie Mitchell

After Saturday’s disappointing result, it was important that BromBeck put in a good performance against Burnt Ash in the first round of the Kent Cup on Sunday and they managed to do just that!

Julia Wiskow set the scene with an amazing hat-trick in the first six minutes, which surely must be some kind of club record?! Despite around ninety percent of the play being in the attacking twenty five for the rest of the half, BromBeck didn’t increase their goal tally until play had resumed after the break. The match continued in the same vein with BromBeck in total control and it wasn’t long before Katie Burr had got her name on the score sheet with a lovely deflection in to the roof of the net. Despite some excellent defending by Burnt Ash and some outstanding saves by their keeper, they were unable to prevent further goals with Burr adding another and Emma Greenway and Sophie Mitchell also finding the back of the net. Final score 7-0 to BromBeck.

An enjoyable game that was played in a positive spirit by both sides and well done to Burnt Ash who fought right to the end.

Man of the match: Julia Wiskow – hat-trick hero!

Dick of the day: Lou Fox – funny fall thing!

Squad: Fox A (GK), Allen, McNeill, Beaumont, Shepherd, (Capt), Mitchell, Fox L, Greenway, Burr, Wiskow, Ridout C, Jones, Cole H

Match reports 7th Nov 09

2009-11-10T11:45:00.002Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Dereham, league, home, Saturday 7th November 2009
Lost: 2-5Scorer: Emma Greenway, Katie Burr

In complete contrast to last week’s performance, BromBeck played some of their best hockey so far this season. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to prevent a five two defeat to top-of-the-league Dereham but a lot of positives can be taken from how well they played.

In the opening period of the match, BromBeck were by far the strongest team, making a mockery of both team’s current league positions. Their passing was insightful and everyone was working extremely hard to close down Dereham whenever they got the ball. Dereham didn’t know what had hit them and it was only some good clearances by their defence and some in-effective short corners by BromBeck that prevented the home side taking the league. With about twenty minutes gone then Dereham won their first short corner of the game and somehow managed to scramble the ball across the line to give them the lead completely against the run of play. At this stage then BromBeck’s heads could have easily gone down but they came back fighting straight from the re-start. Dereham’s lead only lasted a couple of minutes as an excellent pass from Julia Wiskow found Emma Greenway who drove forward before passing to Charlotte Davies. Davies stormed in to the D and played a superb reverse stick pass to Greenway who finished from close range. With the scores level again, the game became more contained with a lot of play occurring in the middle of the field and few chances were to be had at either end. Just before half time, an unfortunate error by a BromBeck defender resulted in Dereham’s dangerous centre forward finding herself one-on-one with Alison Fox in goal, and she duly converted to give Dereham the lead at the midway stage.

Dereham started the second half with a steely glint of determination in their eyes and BromBeck saw glimpses of why their opponents have not yet lost a game this season. Despite this, BromBeck continued to hold their own and even when they went three one down to a well-taken penalty flick, they bounced straight back. This time Greenway turned provider as a perfect pass from Sarah Bentley enabled her to drive down the right wing before crossing to Katie Burr, who made no mistake in sweeping the ball first time in to the back of the net. With only a one goal deficit then BromBeck were now back in the game and changed formation in a bid to push forward and get the equaliser. This resulted in a few half chances that went begging but also left them vulnerable to counter-attacks that Dereham made the most of. Firstly a second penalty flick of the game was awarded and again, calmly converted and they managed to score their fifth shortly before the end as tired BromBeck legs began to show. The final score was five-two to Dereham but a score-line that does not fully reflect the balance of the game. One of the Dereham players said at the end that it was the best game they’ve had this season and BromBeck can take a lot of confidence from how they played for around fifty five minutes of the game. If they can take this in to the next few games and learn to play like this for the full seventy minutes then they should soon be climbing the table.

Man of the match: Emma Greenway – scored one and got an assist on the other. Also tracked back well and even made a legitimate tackle at one point!

Dick of the day: Liz Hawkins – pin-point-perfect pass to their centre forward from a hit-out who unfortunately made no mistake in converting!

Squad: Fox A (GK), Read, Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, McNeill, Shepherd, (Capt), Bentley, Mitchell, Fox L, Greenway, Davies, Burr, Wiskow,

BROMBECK 2s vs Big Butts HC away
'OH! Just remembered something..... I've forgotten my shirt..!' - Kelly. Skills. DOD choices were piling up this week, involving driving skills (driving over cones or stalling about 7 times!!) Other then that we were gearing ourselves up to whip the second from bottom team. As standard at Erith matches we had about five minutes pitch time before pushback! The sun was low and blaring and clever BBHC chose the wrong side to start and meant that we got push back too.

We started off well and soon made it our game, I dont think BBHC knew about the flicking over the stick move so using flat strong sticks were pretty much winning it every time. Not gonna lie, our first goal was SICK lol!! No modesty here peeps, we got a long corner I self passed got to the stop of the D gave it a whollop and the ball some how squeezed passed the goalies glove and post no room to spare and hit the netting. Everyone was high fiving and I did at one point yelled 'touch me' and the standard AAAMmmmaaziinngg. Breaking the goal seal we pushed for a second goal which came from winning a short. I told hannah and Charlotte to please use the slip left as informed by Dalan this time otherwise he will hit me (as hey had ignored previous orders). So obediently Charlotte slipped to Sian who after about an eternity struck the ball straight into the opposite corner. Two nil. Skills.

Half time came and the big butts suddenly had a rocket up their arses and came back with vengeance and the smell of toast wofted over the ground which was putting me off as I was starving, unfortunately for them this snuffed out after so long and we managed to regroup, calm the game down and break through their new high, aggressive press. Again we got a useful long corner which I took and drove into the D on the back line (luckily for me the girl who was marking me was shite) so I ploughed through and 'checked out' to the p spot hoping someone was there (of course my observations had been made and I knew Sian was there...) She as well as two defenders and a goalie piled at it and it went in. A third into the second half their goalie lost a strap and took 5 minutes to sort it out in the mean time we got cold... spoke high end tactics and then did a little dance to warm up. This break seemed totally detrimental to the big bums and favoured charlotte ridiculously as her previous worries of having a dry patch on goals were dispelled and she soon got her 10th goal of the season with a cheeky reverse stick pass the goalie. After this I felt there was no time for celebrations lol and that we should get on with banging more in! Charlotte quickly came through again, open play, back of the net, sorted. Then a bit later smacked in another one (cant really remember but all good)! 6 - 0 wham bam thank you mam.

DOD - Clare, getting lost, nearly killing susie with a clearance.
MOM - JENNIALLEN (all one word)

All i can say is we came through and got the result we should have done which is awesome and we will be doing the same for the rest of the season. Sexy hockey people. AMEN
(DISCLAIMER: these events recorded above are subject exaggeration and even may be completely wrong)

Ladies 3’s v Tun Wells 3’s 7th Nov
Eventually we had the whole team at the pitch with about 10 minutes to spare and the first half pretty much reflected the poor preparation. T Wells started the better side and looked dominant for most of the first half. Suzy managed to p lay the whole game one-handed after getting hit on her wrist in the first 5 minutes and refused to come off (even after knee and elbow injuries to add to her collection!). Second half started 1-1 and we started much better, passing the ball around and working hard for each other. Some lovely runs by Niamh into the oppos D kept them on their toes. Two goals from Daisy and one from Suzy earnt us the lead and Jess kept us in the game by making some great saves. Final score 3-2 and a well fought win for the 3’s well done.

Ladies 4's v New Beccs lost 6-0
Weather report - no gloves required! There were lots of supporters and 'no waiting' signs near the ravensbourne pitch and hugh roaring crowds but sadly they weren't for us - they had come to see the Bromley football match nearby! Never mind - the cheers for 'BROMLEY BROMLEY' sounded good! Anyway, onto the hockey - Elizabeth was still in football mode and headed the ball after about 10 minutes. Luckily we had lots of new juniors on the side this week so Elizabeth could stagger off the pitch to have a blond (definitely not ginger) moment. We were in a bit of disarray for most of the first half and went 3-0 down. However after a half time pep talk from Long John Silver (aka Sue Scott) communication improved and we played better as a team. Unfortunately New Becs scored 3 more goals in the second half - although they did have to work harder for them this time! Well played everyone and thank you to the new youngsters helping the old codgers out! Thanks to all our supporters (actal hockey supporters and not the football lot)
Man of the match - Gail Arnott

Ladies 5's v Remnants lost 3-2
Surprisingly, the 5s had a squad of fourteen players this week, but as a couple of players were not feeling 100%, this was no bad thing. We were up against Remnants who were near the top of the league, and are known to be a difficult side to play. Although everyone had arrived in good time, we were not fully prepared when we started. As a result, we took a little time to settle. Remnants were a strong, fairly skillful side, and made a number of attacks on our goal. Despite the best efforts of Keren in goal, they managed to score two goals. However, once the team had settled, there was again some excellent passing and strong attacking moves by our forwards and mids which resulted in one goal from Juliet, followed a little while after by another one from Alex. We maintained the pressure, trying to score the winning goal, with Remnants down to ten players following the award of a yellow card. In the dying minutes of the game, Remnants won a short corner, and after passing it around, found the back of our net making the final result 3 – 2 to Remnants.

Match reports 31st Oct 09

2009-11-03T16:40:00.002Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Canterbury 2s, league, away, Saturday 31st October 2009
Lost: 1-5
Scorer: Julia Wiskow
Saturday saw Bromley and Beckenham on the wrong side of a five-one score line as they lost out to high-flying Canterbury.

Having lost six nil to the same opposition on the opening game of the season, BromBeck knew that it was going to be a tough game but were determined that they could get something from it. Unfortunately the best laid plans didn’t materialise and in the first half then BromBeck conceded three sloppy goals that left them with an uphill struggle if they were going to take away points. It wasn’t entirely one-way traffic and man-of-the-match, Charlotte Davies, worked tirelessly up front to win several short corners. The routines worked well but some excellent saves by the Canterbury keeper and some solid clearances by the defence, ensured that Canterbury went in to the break with their three nil lead intact.

If BromBeck were going to have a chance of getting back in to the game then it was important that they scored early in the second half and didn’t concede. However, once again the plans went pear-shaped as Canterbury increased their lead through a well taken goal early in the half. There was now a mountain to climb for BromBeck and one that proved to be impossible, as Canterbury further increased their lead and Julia Wiskow’s late goal for BromBeck was merely a consolation. Final score five one to Canterbury.

A disgruntling display from BromBeck, especially after such a brilliant one the previous week. They will need to work hard in training this week to ensure that they bounce straight back against top-of-the-league Dereham on Saturday. 2pm push back at Langley – all supporters extremely welcome!

Man of the match: Charlotte Davies – won several short corners and tracked back on numerous occasions to help with the defensive duties as well.

Dick of the day: Lou Fox – own goal. Finished beautifully to wrong foot the keeper but unfortunately at the wrong end!

Squad: Fox A (GK), Read, Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, Shepherd, (Capt), Bentley, Mitchell, Fox L, Greenway, Davies, Burr, Wiskow, Wiszniewska

Ladies 2's v Gravesend drew 2-2
Well we were off to a rubbish start...still waking up from the well over heated langley changing rooms and also had no balls....!

After 7 or so minutes Gravesend scored from open play, a sloppy start where we were still trying to find our feet and basics were lacking! Soon we were able to get some shorts, one in which I managed to head butt the ball...so after a few more minutes of blood trickling in my eye I thought I'd better sub myself off...then as soon as I went back on I got twatted on the knee and came back off.....! For most of the rest of the first half they seemed to be more in our half but not able to get a short or goal...thank the lord. We were struggling to pass it to each other instead of the opposition and at last the first half whistle went.

Everyone knew what had to be done and that the 2s had scored 3 goals before in the second half so we knew it could be done. We started off much better and seemed to have remembered how to play hockey again! But.....conceeded a short and the buggers got it in. Luckily Gravesend seemed to have big feet in the second half so we were aiming for them in the D and got a few shorts. So we left it till the last 12 minutes to get 2 goals in beautifully scored by Ridout and has the last few minutes ticked on we managed to get another short from a cross into the D which bounced over two sticks and then hit a foot. Unlucky for us the strike went wide of the post and the 3rd goal wasnt to be.

Lisa f*ed and blinded alot. One girl just ploughed into Tracy in the D in the middle of a short corner knocking her over, which i found quite amusing. Umpires where AMMMMMMMAZZZINNNGGG (oh dear lord)! Emily had another very steady game at the back sweeping, a position she had to take over from Vicky as she has got the swine flu!!! And I think we managed to break a girls foot at the end, not sure when that happened tho....!

MOM - Jenni and Kelly
DOD - Emily

Ladies 5's v Gillingham lost 2-1
There was rain and mist on the way to Gillingham, but it had stopped when we arrived and remained that way for the whole of the game. In our blue (Royal Mail!) away strip, we started well and had the majority of play throughout the game. There was some excellent passing and attacking moves by the mids and forwards leading to a number of shots, but some went wide and others were intercepted by their defence who packed the D. Against the run of play, Anchorians scored a goal, which we thought should have been disallowed for a foul beforehand. We also wondered about a number of umpiring decisions against us, but played on with more determination. BromBecks managed to score with a deflection into the corner by Emily Dodds, and we continued to press their goal hard. Anchorians managed to get another one in which made the final result 2 – 1 to Anchorians. Man of the match – Lauren Green with newcomer Ellie Ferguson as runner-up.

Match reports 24th Oct 09

2009-10-27T16:25:00.002Z

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Thurrock 1s, league, home, Saturday 24th October 2009
Won: 5-1
Scorers: Sarah Bentley x2, Emma Greenway, Julia Wiskow, Charlotte Davies

Bromley and Beckenham ladies produced a convincing performance on Saturday to win 5-1 and secure a valuable three points.

BromBeck started the game with pace and finesse and the first ten minutes saw several promising attacks, forcing Thurrock’s keeper into action. After insightful leading from the forwards, Charlotte Davies was crudely fouled in the circle and BromBeck were duly awarded a penalty stroke. Amongst the clamour of players willing to take the penalty, Emma Greenway strode forward and beat the keeper with a superb low flick to put BromBeck in the lead. BromBeck retained their composure for the rest of the half with the defence soaking up the limited pressure from Thurrock and the attack pressuring the Thurrock defence. BromBeck won several corners before Sarah Bentley out foxed a defender to fire precisely into the bottom corner with a dipping shot. Julia Wiskow then increased the lead to three with a fearsome strike right on the stroke of half time.

The second half followed a similar pattern with Bentley scoring her second of the game after being given enough time by the defence to pick her spot with another powerful dipping shot. Despite the goal festival BromBeck were still required to defend with Vicky Taylor putting in some fantastic challenges and debutant Clare Vivian making some quality saves in goal when required. Although BromBeck restricted Thurrock to three short corners in the entire game, Thurrock successfully converted one with ten minutes remaining. However, BromBeck were keen to regain their four goal lead and in the final minute won yet another short corner and Davies deflected well from a Wiskow strike to ensure a well-deserved victory. An excellent result and performance, and one that sees us climb two places up the table.

Man of the match: Vicky Taylor – defended brilliantly when called upon as well as driving forward and using some silky skills!

Dick of the day: Claire Vivian – attempting to make the most of the new self pass rule – maybe not the wisest thing for a goalkeeper to do?!

Squad: Vivian (GK), Read, Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, McNeil, Shepherd, (Capt), Bentley, Mitchell, Fox, Greenway, Davies, Burr, Wiskow

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Trojans 1s, National Cup, home, Sunday 25th October
Lost: 0-3

BromBeck played National Premier side, Trojans, in the national cup and despite losing 0-3, they played their best game of the season proving to themselves and their opposition that they can compete at this level.

Initially the two league and sixteen league places between the teams was not noticeable and BromBeck passed the ball with pace and precision to ensure the match was played at a high tempo. As both teams settled in to the game BromBeck tried to stretch the play and forced the Trojans defence into making several crunching tackles. Possession remained evenly shared throughout the first half with Trojans utilising several aerial attacks that were easily cut out by the BromBeck defence. Trojans looked most likely to score after a succession of penalty corners, however these were kept out by yet another excellent display by keeper Claire Vivian. Unfortunately though, two minutes before half time Trojans used a long ball to good effect to pick out an unmarked player to and scored their first goal.

BromBeck came out fighting in the second half, winning the ball all over the pitch but conceded a slightly sloppy penalty corner early in the half to leave the visitors two nil up. Heavy vocal support from the large crowd encouraged BromBeck to continue to press forward to good effect and they were rewarded with two short corners. However, Trojans defended resolutely and BromBeck were unable to convert. Trojans finished the game with a final goal after a mazy run by their forwards and struck well to leave left Vivian with no change.

BromBeck can be extremely proud of their performance and if they can take this performance into the league next week then they should look for three points at Canterbury on Saturday.

Man of the match: Sophie Mitchell – superb work rate in the centre of midfield, made some excellent tackles and was instrumental in driving the team forward as well.

Dick of the day: Tara Woodward

Team From: Vivian, Read, Woodward, Hawkins, Taylor, McNeil, Shepherd, (Capt), Mitchell, Fox, E Greenway, Wiskow, Ridout, Jones, L Greenway, Cole, McCarthy

Ladies 2's v Basildon won 3-1
An amazing game for the 2s this saturday looking sharp and back on our usual good form. We faced a very physical team on sat with over half the team ending up being pushed to the floor. However we fought back hard winning a great goal midway through the first half from Charlotte Ridouts stunning short corner strike, Basildon then responded with a quick goal letting us know this wasn't going to be an easy game. Even still we dominated the play and were up in their half for the majority. After a couple of unsuccessful short corners we converted one into a goal; Lydia Greenway having spent most of the game on the floor diving for tackles managed dive this time to deflect the ball mid air into the goal, now that's commitment, and a great end to the first half!
The second half was equally tense, with frustration building with every poor decision by the umpires (of which there were of course many)!! But we held strong, successfully defending two short corners and towards the end of the game converting one more short corner beautifully taken by Tracey Pitcher on right slip followed soon after by the final whistle. A solid performance by all and we're really starting to see the benefits of our improved training attendance.
DOD - Hannah Cole MOM - Emily Beaumont

Ladies 3's v Ladies 4's won 7-1
Always a difficult game against the 4’s. The 4’s definitely started the stronger side and the 3’s took a while to get their pattern together, after about 15-20 mins there was some lovely passing from the 3’s with great moves down the right hand side. The 3’s dominated the remaining of the first half going into half time 6-0 up. The 3’s took their foot of the pedal in the 2nd half allowing the 4’s to play some really nice hockey and score a well deserved goal, however the 3’s managed to score another goal. Final score 7-1. Particular mention to Jo for scoring a fantastic hat-trick, goals from Ali, Amanda, Hayley and (it doesn’t happen very often )a superb solo run and goal from Tina Hamilton (happy to talk about it to anyone who wants to listen!). Also well done to Amy in goal who made some good saves-well done everyone great team performance. Man of match Tina Hamilton.

Ladies 4's v Ladies 3's
We had a slightly iffy first half which went by in a flash and culminated in us being slightly behind the threes at half time. Manager Scotty gave a fantastic half time talk, changing the structure of the team to give us more attacking strength. The change clearly shocked a slightly subdued opposition and the 4s dominated play for much of the second half. Elizabeth battled hard in the middle and Lauren threaded plenty of dangerous forward passes through. The defence worked well as a unit and about halfway through the half the hard work paid off with a fantastic hit into the D deflected by Izzy straight into the goal. Unfortunately the 3s scored a goal slightly against the run of play so the second half resulted in a draw. Thanks go to the supporters Carol, Scotty, Alex and Tony and of course Kathy for the fab teas afterwards. Final score 1 - 7 to the 3s.

Ladies 5's v Tun Wells won 3-0
After another difficult week getting players, with some late additions we actually had 14 on the team sheet, two of whom were players from the 4s doubling up for half a game each. T. Wells arrived in good time wearing white shirts as well, so they had to change into a mixture of colours. BromBecks started strongly and there was a lot of good passing. The forwards and mids made a lot of attacking runs and there were numerous shots, but quite a few failed to find the target. Tunbridge Wells broke away on quite a few occasions, but the defence stood firm and new goalie, Keren, made some excellent saves. By half time, we were leading 2 – 0. Although we continued to attack in the second half, only one more shot found their goal, which made the final result a 3 – 0 win. Goal Scorers – Charlotte, Alice and Juliet. Keren and Juliet were voted joint ‘man of the match’ with Alice following close behind.

Match Reports 17th Oct 09

2009-10-20T12:48:00.002+01:00

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Maidstone 1s, league, away, Saturday 17th October 2009
Drew: 0-0

With match statistics of three yellow cards and two penalty flicks then one would think a final score of nil-nil would be extremely unlikely. However, this proved to be the case in a scrappy encounter between two sides who struggled from the start to impose themselves on the game.
The first half was very much a stop-start affair with the majority of the play in the middle of the pitch and only a few half chances in front of goal, which neither side capitalised on. With some perhaps overly officious umpiring, it was incredibly difficult to get any kind of momentum going and the teams began to get frustrated. Maidstone were the first to be temporarily reduced to ten men with a yellow card early in the second half. BromBeck used their one man advantage to press high and create more half chances but nothing clear cut. Almost as soon as Maidstone were back to eleven players then BromBeck were shown a yellow and for the next period of play, Maidstone were the team to dominate. A final yellow to Maidstone should have given BromBeck the impetus to press forward but Maidstone held their own and by the time the game trickled in to the final ten minutes then both sides were back to a full contingency of players. The remaining period was extremely fraught with Maidstone throwing everything forward in a bid to get the three points. They were awarded two penalty flicks in quick succession, the first of which hit the post and the second of which was brilliantly saved by Alison Fox in goal. A final flourish of attacking play by Maidstone resulted in several short corners but a combination of poor execution and some superb defending by BromBeck, ensured that both teams came away with a point.
Man of the match: Alison Fox – for pulling off a cracking save for the second penalty flick as well as some quality saves throughout the game.
Dick of the day: Sarah Bentley – for forgetting her wallet and having to go back for it as needed petrol, resulting in her being late. Also for continuing to ‘play’ with no stick, after losing it in a tackle!
Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Vicky Taylor, Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Jo Read, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sarah Bentley, Lou Fox, Charlotte Davies, Emma Greenway, Natasia Wiszniewska, Sophie Mitchell, Katie Burr

Ladies 2's won 4-2

Ladies 3's v Sevenoaks 3's drew 0-0
With a great team effort with help from some of the 4’s this friendly game against Sevenoaks (who are in the division above the 3’s) ended in a draw. After a shaky beginning we soon got in our stride playing some beautiful passing hockey in the later stages of the game. Our defense was strong and needed to be, as they were constantly bombarded by the opposition forwards attacking play. Debbie had a great game and was very cool under pressure with her superb tackling and clearances. Camilla‘s strong confident hit outs kept the opposition at bay. The forwards Michaela, Jo and Hayley got into their stride in the second half and showed great skill in their build up play but unfortunately failed to score. Jess in goal had a fantastic and very energetic game and saved numerous shots at goal. We lost count in the end. Frustrating the opposition at every turn she deservedly won man of the match.

Ladies 4's v Burnt Ash
We started off with a weather forecast from Gail to let us know it was definitely 'one glove weather' and after sorting that out we got onto the task of having to actually run around for 70 minutes and win, which is difficult to do when you turn up with 6 defenders and 2 goalkeers. We went 1-0 down but equalised with beautiful play from Ronaldo (aka Daisy). Unfortunately the opposition managed to end the first half in front. After the break there was some more beautiful play and a strike from Daisy was gathered by the keeper and after a tussle it was put into the roof of the net by Stacy. The last of our three goals was scored by either Gail or Daisy - this is still being contested! Man of the match was quite rightly given to me (Stacy). P.S I think Burnt Ash may have scored 6 goals altogether - beating us 6-3.

Match reports 10th Oct 09

2009-10-13T10:38:00.002+01:00

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Wapping 1s, league, home, Saturday 10th October 2009
Drew: 2-2
Scorers: Tara Woodward, Julia Wiskow

In a hard-fought battle typical of a mid-table clash, BromBeck and Wapping ended with a share of the spoils. BromBeck started the game impressively and were by far the stronger side for the opening 15 minutes, winning short corner after short corner, but failing to convert. Wapping did well to soak up the pressure and punished BromBeck for their lack of ruthlessness by scoring from their first short corner of the game. Their lead was doubled a few minutes later as BromBeck failed to clear a short corner again and the ball found the back of the net. BromBeck went in to the half time break with a two goal deficit and one that was completely against the run of play.

As the second half got underway, Wapping dominated the opening ten minutes and were the better team for the first time in the game. The BromBeck defence did well to hold firm and made some great tackles and clearances at dangerous times, with Alison Fox in goal also being called in to action and making a couple of classy saves. Once the initial attack had been dealt with, BromBeck began to get back to playing some silky hockey again. However, time was not on BromBeck’s side as the minutes continued to tick away and a sense of urgency started to creep in. With just under ten minutes left, they finally found the back of the net. Wapping failed to clear a short corner strike fully and the rebound found Tara Woodward lurking at the top of the D. Woodward hesitated only momentarily before unleashing an excellent strike in to the bottom right hand corner. The impetus was now with BromBeck and quickly after, they were level. Natasia Wisniewska finished off a superb driving run from the right back position, with a firm cross in to the D. With lots of bodies from both sides in there, the ball ping-ponged around for a moment before Julia Wiskow found the space to bundle the ball over the line. With the scores equal and only a few minutes left on the clock, BromBeck threw everything forward in a bid to get the three points. Short corners were won, routines finally started to work and it was only due to some excellent reflex saves by the Wapping goalkeeper that meant the final score remained at two all.

Man of the match: Liz Hawkins – had a very solid game in defence, tackling strongly and kept her head well under pressure.
Dick of the day: Louise Fox – asking to come off for a break, being declined, then getting a yellow card 2 mins later – lo and behold, a break! Chuckle chuckle!

Finally, many thanks to Graeme Barnett for once again giving up his time to come and coach / manage us for the day – brilliant job.

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Vicky Taylor, Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Jo Read, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sarah Bentley, Lou Fox, Charlotte Davies, Julia Wiskow, Emma Greenway, Natasia Wisniewska, Sophie Mitchell

Ladies 2's v Wapping lost 3-0

Ladies 3's
Another great win for the Ladies 3's! We had an early away start against Sevenoaks 4's and had an amazing game winning 6-0. We played some beautiful passing hockey with great team work. Alex scored, followed by 2 goals from Jo, who had a cracking game, and a well deserved hat trick from Suzie Cole (goals not necessarily in that order, but I was carried away with the euphoria of such a satisfying win and can't remember things too clearly!) Amanda had a brilliant game and should have got onto the score sheet as well. Nicki had a terrific game, and our defence were outstanding. Jess in goal saved some cracking shots and kept us with a well needed clean sheet. Keren (who normally plays in goal) did a good job at sweeper and provided some entertinment in the 2nd half getting a green card. All in all, everyone clicked together really well and it was a great game to play and more importantly win!

Ladies 4's
On an uncharacteristically sunny October afternoon, the 4s took on a very scary Canterbury team. The first goal came early on in the first half from Canterbury. Brombecks fought back with our usual grit and determination to take the lead 2-1. The first Brombeck goal was won by Amanda and Helen who passed the ball up the pitch, (where were Canterbury - who cares) before Amanda drew the keeper to her - slipping the ball to Helen who calmly scored the equaliser. Brombecks went ahead 2-1 with their second goal - where Daisy intercepted the ball on her 25 and then sprinted up the pitch beating all 11 Canterbury players twice before passing (at last) the ball to Elizabeth who's shot at goal was going wide before Izzy slotted it in at the far post. Unfortunately a couple of lapses of concentration from Brombecks who were topping up their suntans resulted in a couple of lucky goals from Canterbury. 3-2 down but well played girls.

Ladies 5's v Edenbridge lost 7-1

2009-10-05T16:01:00.002+01:00

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Holcombe 1s, league, away, Saturday 3rd October 2009
Lost: 4-2
Scorers: Emma Greenway, Charlotte Davies

Saturday’s game against Holcombe was a tale of two halves and short corners. In the opening 20 minutes of the game then the home side were in control and took full advantage by converting 3 slick short corner routines. Jenny Hoyte scored their first to make it 300 league goals in 4 seasons at Holcombe – not a bad effort! We knew before the game that Hoyte was their most prolific goal-scorer and it was testament to Liz Hawkins who was man-marking her that she didn’t score any through open play. Anyway… once Holcombe were 3-0 up, we could easily have let our heads go down but we didn’t. We began to fight for every ball, pressing well and were eventually rewarded with a couple of short corners of our own, the 2nd of which was converted by Emma Greenway who got a deft touch on a well placed ball from Jo Reed. Just before the break then Holcombe converted their 4th short corner to regain their 3 goal lead. Despite this, we knew we’d been playing some good hockey and we emerged for the 2nd half full of confidence that the game was within our reach and that we could get something from it.

For the next 35minutes then BromBeck played some of the best hockey that we’ve played so far this season. We were rewarded for our persistence early on when Charlotte Davies reacted well on the far post to tuck the ball in to the back of the net following another short corner strike. We continued to push forward, forcing Holcombe in to making unnecessary errors and had several half chances which were well saved and cleared by their goalkeeper and defence. Captain, Lucy Shepherd, was particularly instrumental in driving the team forward and keeping everyone positive. We really were playing some super hockey and times, which was great to see. However, despite our best efforts, it just wasn’t to be our day and Holcombe’s defence held firm to deny us any further goals. Final score 4-2 to Holcombe.

Overall then with our second half performance, we were disappointed not to come away with something from the game. It is important not to be too despondent though because as stand-in coach, Graeme Barnett, pointed out, if we can play that well against a team who are top-of-the-table then we really should be able to compete in this league. We just need to make sure we switch on straight away and do it for the full 70minutes! Next week we have Wapping at home, 2pm push back at Langley – all support more than welcome as always.

Man of the match: Lucy Shepherd – led by example, working her socks off throughout and making some excellent tackles in dangerous areas.
Dick of the day: Emma Greenway – for attempting a jab tackle and getting a green card for my efforts!

Finally, many thanks to Graeme for giving up his time to come and coach / manage us for the day – brilliant job.

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Vicky Taylor, Chris McNeill, Liz Hawkins, Jo Read, Lucy Shepherd (capt), Sarah Bentley, Lou Fox, Charlotte Davies, Julia Wiskow, Emma Greenway, Natasia Wisniewska, Katie Burr

Ladies 2's

Ladies 3's

The Ladies 3's had a difficult but well deserved win against Herne Bay. Herne Bay scored a lucky goal half way through the first half, then with less than a minute to go, Alison Rockhill thumped home a short corner leveling the score. The 2nd half saw some great team work from Brom Becks and Hayley Kennedy scored a great goal, followed by 2 amazing individual goals from Suzie Cole. Final score was 4-1.

Ladies 4's

On a very windy Saturday afternoon at the seaside, Brombeck fielded a mixture of players against Cliftonville. With a team that had never before played together Brombeck battled through the first half with Cliftonville scoring twice, one right on the half time whistle. Starting the second half 2-0 down it was going to be a struggle to beat a very aggressive team but Brombeck kept battling, playing some very good hockey and dominating the possession. Cliftonville managed to score another 2 goals, both on the break, when Niamh scored a superb mid air volley to gain a consolation goal. At 4-1 down Brombeck kept their heads up and were looking very strong but Cliftonville struck again on the whistle (much to the surprise of everyone as the ball looked like it was going wide) to finish the game 5-1.

Ladies 5's

The 5s had a bit of a mix of players this week, but played very well as a team with excellent passing and attacking moves. Although we scored first, Faversham managed to equalise and the score at half time was 1 – 1. In the second half Faversham has some chances, but Claire in goal made some excellent saves. We continued to attack and scored three more goals, making the result a 4 – 1 win.

2009-09-28T14:18:00.004+01:00

Ladies 1s vs Colchester 1s, Saturday 26th September 2009
Won: 3-2
Scorers: Louise Fox, Julia Wiskow, Natasia Wisniewska

BromBeck bounced back from their disappointing start last week to grab 3 points in a tense 3-2 win over Colchester. Despite going 0-1 down mid way through the first half, BromBeck were level almost immediately. Emma Greenway made the most of the new self-pass rule and found Natasia Wisniewska in the D. Wisniewska then slipped to Lou Fox who rounded the keeper and kept her composure to slot home.
The scores remained level at half time but soon after the re-start BromBeck capitalised on their dominance. This time Julia Wiskow bustled the ball over the line, following a good strike from the hard-working Charlotte Davies. Two minutes later and the lead was extended, with Wisniewska slotting home the re-bound after a Sarah Bentley shot was well saved by the keeper. At 3-1 up, BromBeck looked comfortable, were playing some beautiful hockey and didn’t look in any danger – famous last words! With a few minutes left on the clock Colchester seized upon an extremely rare defensive lapse and pulled it back to 3-2. This set the tone for a frantic finale and hearts were in mouths when Colchester won a short corner as the final whistle blew. However, the impressive Vicky Taylor was cheetah-like in getting to the ball just as they were about to shoot and the ball was deflected over the bar to signal the end of the game. 3 points in the bag means that BromBeck have climbed up the table and are now 6th. Bring on top-of- the-league Holcombe next week!
Man of the Match: Lou Fox for working tirelessly throughout and topping it off with a beautifully taken goal.
Dick of the Day: Natasia Wisniewska (Wiz) for her random fall (I think!)
Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward (capt), Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Chris Mcneill, Jo Read, Louise Fox, Sarah Bentley, Lucy Shepherd, Natasia Wisniewska, Charlotte Davies, Emma Greenway, Julia Wiskow
Finally, many thanks to those who came to support us, and also to Graham Butler who stood in as coach for the day.

Ladies 2's v Blackheath 1's

Drew 2-2

Ladies 3’s v New Beccs 1’s Saturday 26th September

Lost 3-2
On a very warm Saturday afternoon, New Beccs and Brombeck ladies battled to win the second game of the season. The early pressure all came from Brombeck, but strong defending from New Beccs prevented conversion to goals. New Beccs gained confidence from this, and took the lead towards the end of the first half. Early in the second half, New Beccs secured their second goal. Brombeck’s goalkeeper was put under pressure but her many fine saves and support from Lauren helped to keep Brombeck in the game. Nicky Fraser connected well with a strong cross from the right to score Brombeck’s first goal. New Beccs third goal came as both teams struggled to maintain fitness levels. Brombeck worked hard to keep themselves in the game and Tina Hamilton’s fine performance throughout the match as right midfield lead to Jo McCleave scoring their second goal. In spite of sustained pressure and increased possession from Brombeck, they unfortunately could not equalise as the final whistle blew.
Man of the match: Helen Watson
By Helen Watson

Ladies 4's v Maidstone

Lost 3-2

Ladies 5's v Blackheath 4's 26th September 09

Lost 4-2
We had a very good game, with everyone playing well together and lots of passing. We had a number of chances but did not score as many as we would have liked. Blackheath had less chances, but scored more than Brombecks, making the final result 2 – 4. Three young juniors, making their debut in senior hockey, played really well, and Alice Gallop was voted ‘man of the match’.

Ladies 1's v Canterbury 19th Sept 09

2009-09-24T18:05:00.000+01:00

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Canterbury 2s, league, home, Saturday 19th September 2009
Lost: 0-6

On a scorching September day, newly promoted BromBeck ladies 1s, began their 2009-10 campaign in East Premier. The opening opposition were Canterbury 2s, a team who have been a permanent fixture in this league for the past few seasons. We knew that they would be a tough team to play but with new coach, Ben Allberry, at the helm and several new faces in the squad, we were positive that we could give them a good game…70 minutes later and we’d lost 0-6!

In all honesty then although overall I think the better team on the day did win, the score line is very harsh and does not reflect the dynamics of the game at all. BromBeck actually started the game the stronger team and Natasia Wisniewska was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty corner in the opening 2 minutes. For the next few minutes then BromBeck dominated and eventually were awarded a couple of short corners that we failed to convert. Canterbury then began to play their way in to the game and before long had taken the lead through a well struck short corner. This signalled the start of their dominance for the remainder of the half and they made the most of their chances to go in to the break with a 3-0 lead.

In the second half then BromBeck were focussed on fighting back and all 11 players on the pitch were running their socks off to try and turn things around. Charlotte Davies in particular won several short corners and we got in to the opposition’s D on numerous occasions. Canterbury on the other hand had very few chances, mainly thanks to a solid back 4 display from Lydia Greenway, Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor and man of the match, Tara Woodward. However, our lack of ruthlessness in converting cost us dear as we continued to fail to score and Canterbury scored 3 out of the 3 chances they had in the second half, the last of which came from a penalty flick in the dying seconds of the game.

A very disappointing result to start the league season with but a lot of hope can be taken from some periods of play. We should by no means let our heads go down and I am sure we will come back fighting against Colchester this Saturday. It’s a 2pm push back at Langley and all support would be more than welcome.

Man of the Match: Tara Woodward who was captain for the day and led by example with some tenacious and timely tackling
Dick of the Day: Katie Burr for treading on the ball and stacking it in the middle of the pitch, and also for being far too friendly with the opposition!

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward (capt), Liz Hawkins, Vicky Taylor, Lydia Greenway, Lynsey Askew, Jo Read, Louise Fox, Natasia Wisniewska, Charlotte Davies, Emma Greenway, Charlotte Ridout, Katie Burr

LADIES 1s VERSUS SUDBURY

2008-03-31T12:20:00.002+01:00

Bromley and Beckenham Ladies 1s vs Sudbury, league, away, Saturday 29th March 2007
Lost: 0-1

In their final game of the season, Bromley and Beckenham ladies travelled to Sudbury for a game which they had to get three points from to guarantee their place in East Premier next season. Any other outcome and our fate would be down to results from elsewhere.

Despite a long journey, BromBeck had a good warm up and when the whistle signalled the start of play, we started strongly. For the first ten minutes we were all over them and only the failure to convert a couple of short corners prevented us from taking the lead. As the half wore on then Sudbury began to regain their confidence and we had to defend strongly at times but continued to use the counter attacking option to effect. With ten minutes or so left in the first half then we unfortunately conceded a penalty stroke which Sudbury put powerfully in to the top right hand corner, leaving Ali Fox with no chance. The game continued to be evenly balanced for the rest of the half and continued in a similar vein in the second half. But as the clock ticked on then there was an increasing sense of urgency amongst BromBeck. We lost Lucy Shepherd to a nasty cut to the eye and soon after coach Nigel Walshe changed the formation in a bid to get the two goals needed for victory. This very nearly paid dividends as firstly we had a strongly appeal for a penalty stroke turned down and then their keeper made excellent saves to deny Charlotte Ridout and Emma Greenway. Try as we may we were unable to unlock the Sudbury defence completely and the final score was 1-0 to Sudbury.

We were obviously extremely disappointed with this result as it means that we finish the season 5th from bottom. The bottom 4 are definitely down and we are reliant on Holcombe winning the play offs to get to National League and Maidstone not getting relegated from National South. Our fate is unlikely to be known for definite until the end of April so we will wait with baited breath and fingers crossed until then.

We have one more game left to play on Sunday 18th May where we take on Burnt Ash in the Kent Plate final. We should be confident of winning this and to get some silver ware from what has ultimately been a disappointing season, would be a bonus.

Until then it’s over and out for the 2007/08 season.

Man of the Match: Lynsey Askew

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Sarah Phelps, Chris McNeill, Charlotte Ridout, Tash Kenny, Hazel Lovegrove, Lucy Shepherd, Lynsey Askew, Katy Barnett, Sophie Davies, Emma Greenway, Lou Fox

LADIES 1s VERSUS SUDBURY

2008-03-31T12:06:00.000+01:00

League, away, Saturday 29th March 2007
Lost: 0-1

In their final game of the season, Bromley and Beckenham ladies travelled to Sudbury for a game which they had to get three points from to guarantee their place in East Premier next season. Any other outcome and our fate would be down to results from elsewhere.

Despite a long journey, BromBeck had a good warm up and when the whistle signalled the start of play, we started strongly. For the first ten minutes we were all over them and only the failure to convert a couple of short corners prevented us from taking the lead. As the half wore on then Sudbury began to regain their confidence and we had to defend strongly at times but continued to use the counter attacking option to effect. With ten minutes or so left in the first half then we unfortunately conceded a penalty stroke which Sudbury put powerfully in to the top right hand corner, leaving Ali Fox with no chance. The game continued to be evenly balanced for the rest of the half and continued in a similar vein in the second half. But as the clock ticked on then there was an increasing sense of urgency amongst BromBeck. We lost Lucy Shepherd to a nasty cut to the eye and soon after coach Nigel Walshe changed the formation in a bid to get the two goals needed for victory. This very nearly paid dividends as firstly we had a strongly appeal for a penalty stroke turned down and then their keeper made excellent saves to deny Charlotte Ridout and Emma Greenway. Try as we may we were unable to unlock the Sudbury defence completely and the final score was 1-0 to Sudbury.

We were obviously extremely disappointed with this result as it means that we finish the season 5th from bottom. The bottom 4 are definitely down and we are reliant on Holcombe winning the play offs to get to National League and Maidstone not getting relegated from National South. Our fate is unlikely to be known for definite until the end of April so we will wait with baited breath and fingers crossed until then.

We have one more game left to play on Sunday 18th May where we take on Burnt Ash in the Kent Plate final. We should be confident of winning this and to get some silver ware from what has ultimately been a disappointing season, would be a bonus.

Until then it’s over and out for the 2007/08 season.

Man of the Match: Lynsey Askew

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Sarah Phelps, Chris McNeill, Charlotte Ridout, Tash Kenny, Hazel Lovegrove, Lucy Shepherd, Lynsey Askew, Katy Barnett, Sophie Davies, Emma Greenway, Lou Fox

Ladies 1s versus Ipswich 2s

2008-03-18T08:51:00.000Z

Home, league, Saturday 15th March 2008
Won: 1-0
Scorer: Chris McNeill

All I can really say is ‘Phew’!! Another much needed win from one of the most nerve racking games I’ve played in! Going in to this game then we knew that nothing less than 3 points would do if we were going to give ourselves as good a chance as possible of staying in East Premier. Straight from the whistle it was obvious that everyone was fired up for the game as we put Ipswich under immediate pressure. This set the tone for the rest of the game as we threw everything we had at them but to no avail. Chance after glorious chance went begging, with the Ipswich keeper having an outstanding game and leading to much frustration for us. With only ten minutes remaining it was beginning to look like it was going to be ‘one of those days’ when up popped central defender Chris McNeill to pocket her first goal of the season in timely fashion. It was approximately our millionth short corner of the game, captain Anna Frizoni slipped to Charlotte Ridout for a strike from the top of the D. Her powerful strike rebounded off the post but McNeill was on hand to pounce on the rebound and lift the ball over the keeper in to the net. Cue: raucous celebrations all around. An almost audible sigh of relief went around the ground but the game was not over yet. I don’t know if we relaxed too much or Ipswich suddenly upped the ante but for the final few minutes we were on the back foot for the first time in the game. As 2 minutes was signalled by the umpires we were almost there when Ipswich won a short corner. This was well cleared by the defence and the final whistle blew but as if in a nightmare we looked up to see the umpire had signalled another short corner. We were astounded and ‘some’ of us on the half way line could barely look. Our defence ran out like Macedonian warriors charging in to battle dressed in full array, throwing their bodies on the line, and Sarah Phelps swept the ball to safety to signal the end of the game. Final score 1-0 to BromBeck.

An excellent result for us, and one that has moved us out of the bottom six. However, with one game left to go on Saturday week (29th) then there is everything still to play for. We travel to 2nd placed Sudbury where a win will guarantee us safety but anything less and we will have to rely on other results going our way.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported us on Saturday – it was great to have so many people there and really inspired us to keep going right to the every end. Have a happy Easter everyone!

Man of the match: Lynsey Askew

Squad: Alison Fox (GK), Tara Woodward, Sarah Phelps, Chris McNeill, Charlotte Ridout, Katy Barnet, Lynsey Askew, Lucy Shepherd, Sophie Davies, Anna Frizoni (capt), Emma Greenway, Hazel Lovegrove, Sarah Crosley

Ladies 1s versus Chelmsford 2s

2008-03-11T09:38:00.000Z

Away, league, Saturday 8th March
Won: 4-0
Scorers: Anna Frizoni, Lynsey Askew, Emma Greenway, Sophie Davies

After an indifferent run of results, BromBeck came away with a much needed 3 points from Saturday’s game against Chelmsford. Having held an emergency meeting during the week where coach Nigel Walshe went through a formation change with us followed by an excellent training session, everyone was fired up for the game.

The opening 15 minutes were somewhat frantic with Chelmsford being the quickest out of the block and putting our defence under an enormous amount of pressure. Ali Fox was called upon to make some outstanding saves in goal to keep us in the match, for which she deservedly won man of the match. Having survived the initial onslaught, BromBeck began to get themselves back in to the game with some lovely passing moves and good movement off of the ball. However it took an excellent individual goal from Anna Frizoni to put us in the lead. She drove determinedly through the Chelmsford defence before unleashing an unstoppable strike from the top of the D into the bottom right hand corner. Shortly after then Lynsey Askew decided to challenge her for the goal of the game award with a lovely run from midfield, using her silky skills to skip past defenders before slotting the ball in to the goal from the near post. If the first two goals were amazing individual goals then the 3rd was a wonderful team goal. Frizoni picked up the ball on the half way line before driving at the defence and then slipping a lovely through ball to Sophie Davies on the right. Davies controlled the ball well before looking up and putting an inch-perfect pass to Emma Greenway in the D who swept the ball first time past the advancing keeper. Poetry in motion! With Chelmsford’s heads already down, we made things worse for them in the final move before half time when Sophie Davies struck sweetly from a short corner to make it 4-0 at the break.

An amazing first half but we knew that we couldn’t rest on our laurels and had to be fully focused for the final 35 minutes.

As expected, Chelmsford threw everything at us and it took some excellent defending, some more scintillating saves by Fox, combined with a small dose of luck to keep our lead in tact. We absorbed the pressure in superb fashion as well as creating a few half chances at the other end when we were on the counter attack. Legs began to tire in the final period of the game and it ended up a little scrappy by both teams in places but BromBeck remained resolute and everyone gave 110% right up until the final whistle. Final score 4-0 to BromBeck.
A fantastic result for us and one that has moved us up a place in the table. We are still in the danger zone with the possibility of 5 or 6 being relegated this season due to National League restructuring but there are now only 3 points between us and 3rd place. With 2 games remaining then it’s all to play for and so we must be sure to put everything in to these matches and hopefully we’ll come away with 2 more wins. Finally I would just like to thank David Evans who kindly stepped in as coach for us on Saturday in Walshy’s absence. Everyone thought he did an excellent job and it’s not in many clubs that you’d