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Geoff Blundall,
35 Mountford Close,
Wellesbourne,
Warwick,CV35 9QG
Tel: 01789-840463

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http://quafurg.com/golrua.html?aa=jcyholr

umpire

Hi Geoff

 

Are you available to umpire this Saturday @ home 11am for the ladies 1’s team

 

Please could you let me know asap

 

Many thanks  

 

Hayley Nicholls

Stratford ladies 1s captain

 

 

Stratford Mens Firsts Gain Promotion March 27th 2010

STRATFORD ARE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Stratford 1sts 4 Finchfield 1sts 2

FOLLOWING last week’s vital win against Kings Heath Pickwick, Stratford played host to promotion-chasing rivals Finchfield on Saturday in the last game of the season. The build-up to one of the most important fixtures in the club’s history was made even more interesting during the course of the week when the league leaders, Wolverhampton, were docked points for fielding ineligible players.

(Story continues below image)

All this meant that victory for Stratford would see them crowned BodyKraft MRHA West Midlands Premier League champions and ensure promotion to Midlands Division 1. However, defeat could also have meant finishing in third spot and missing out on going up.

On a perfect spring afternoon in front of around 80 enthusiastic supporters, the match got off to a disappointing start for the home side, conceding in the first two minutes. Following some scrambled defending in the circle, Finchfield’s centre forward Matthew Stocken was able to drive the ball home through a tangle of feet and sticks past the unsighted Martyn Helliker in goal.

However, this seemed to settle the home side’s nerves, who conjured an equaliser after 14 minutes

Mark Leary was the man who registered on the scoreboard, with a simple tap-in at the far post following an excellent reverse pass by Greg Ricketts.

With Stratford now back in the game, the home support grew more and more vocal and spurred on a number of raids into the Finchfield circle with Russell, Jones and Brookes all making good inroads up front.

After 27 minutes, Stratford took the lead when Nick Russell opened his bag of tricks at the 23-metre line, rounding both centre-back and sweeper before lofting a fantastic reverse stick strike over the onrushing keeper.

Two minutes later it was

3-1. Following a driving run from Ed Grigg down the right flank, a penalty corner was awarded and was duly dispatched by Ricketts with a thunderous straight strike.

The remainder of the first half was mostly a midfield battle, with both sides trying to gain dominance. The effort and workrate of skipper Stuart Guise and the rest of the midfield proved themselves up to the challenge when tested. Running on adrenalin, bodies were even put on the line where necessary, with central midfielder Matt Hyatt having to leave the field of play to have a blood injury attended to after some full-length tackling which left his white shorts streaked with blood.

A solitary lapse in concentration saw the first half end on a sour note for the Black-and-Whites when Finchfield’s Luke Piper found himself unmarked with plenty of time in the circle to get a shot away. Although Helliker made a fine stop, the ball fell kindly for an easy tap-in to make the score 3-2.

Coach Andy Hodges delivered a concise half-time team talk to quash any signs of unease. This was displayed in Stratford’s precise passing after the restart and resolute defending from markers Chorley and Gray, expertly marshalled by sweeper Edward Simpson.

The longer the game went on, the more men Finchfield threw forward in search of an equaliser, which would effectively see them promoted. This resulted in a string of penalty corners for the away side which were admirably defended by the Stratford quartet of runners, getting whatever was necessary in the way of any goalbound strikes. In the case of the unfortunate “man of the match” Hyatt, this was especially true.

Having returned to the field of play only moments earlier after being patched up for a second blood injury, a thumping shot struck him squarely in the sternum, sending him to the ground.

With 10 minutes remaining, victory was sealed when, following a quick break, Brookes threaded a delightful pass through to the unmarked McKee, who expertly drew the keeper before slipping the ball to Leary. His goalbound shot struck a defender on the line and a penalty stroke was awarded to Stratford and Leary sent the keeper the wrong way for his second.

When the final whistle blew, a small pitch invasion triggered celebrations which will be long remembered.

A jubilant skipper Stu Guise said afterwards: “We thoroughly deserve to be league champions. It is something that everyone in the team and club have worked hard for. The input from our coach Andy Hodges has helped focus everyone’s ideas and drive which have culminated in this fantastic day.”

FW: match report Straftord Ladies 1st team

Stratford Ladies 1^st team played Nuneaton on Saturday. This was a crucial match for Stratford and a win was vital. Stratford started the first half positively with great one twos and a fast pace which resulted in numerous breaks from Hayley Nicholls, Holly Outhwaite and Abby Campbell, who had a two on one with the goalie. With great communication and ball distribution the midfield could feed the ball through to the forwards supporting the attacks on goal. Nuneaton broke and attacked our goal but with strong defending by Emma Van-Der-Hayden, Mel Coleman, Vicky Guise and Sandra Leary Stratford regained possession of the ball. With a short corner awarded to Nuneaton, Michelle was supported by Vicky Guise who cleared the shot. This was followed by an attack from Stratford which resulted in another short corner, from which Rachel scored a cracking goal! Towards the end of the first half, Nuneaton equalised leaving it 1-1 at half time. The second half started with Stratford commanding play, leading to plenty of attacks on goal. Hayley Nicholls (captain), Emma Davies, Jet Heyworth and Rachel Kent worked well covering the pitch and presenting the ball to Louisa Heyworth and Holly Outhwaite. Louisa took on the keeper and scored, resulting in Stratford leading 2-1! The whole team worked really hard to keep the lead which showed in the number of shots on goal and the amount of possession Stratford had. Nuneaton had a strong team with a great keeper who worked well under the pressure that Stratford put her under. A stunning effort from everyone kept the final score at 2-1 to Stratford, a win well deserved. On behalf of the team a massive thank you to Andy (coach) for the support he has given us.

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Stratford IV 3 Worcester VI 5
 
Stratford looking for a comfortable win in their last match of the campaign were in for a rude shock. A marauding Worcester soon had them on the ropes and well worked goals soon saw Stratford 2-0 down within 20 minutes. It could have been worse but Simon Banker earnt his bonus with a goal line clearance to keep Stratford in it. Scott Hazell and Alex Orchard put a bit of steel into the midfield and then captain Giles Stagg scored a crashing exocet of a shot into the backboard.
Stratford poured on the pressure and the equaliser came with a rapier of a shot by Nigel Wood from a short corner. Ed Hogg nearly gave Stratford the lead but his penalty stroke rattled the post.
The second half was nip and tuck with Mark Newnam and Peter Gunnell redoubtable in defense and Simon Harrison and Ben Woodhams sparkling up front. Ben gave Stratford the lead with a typical strikers goal.
A freak accident changed the course of the game, Orchard colliding with Wood splitting his lip and injuring his own foot. In a desperate unsuccessful attempt to save the resulting shot Dave Dunnett injured his thigh. After expert medical attention Orchard and goalkeeper Dunnett had to go off leaving Stratford with 9 men. They heroically held out as Worcester laid siege to the Stratford goal. The dam finally burst and Worcester clinched the match with two well taken goals. A disappointing end to what otherwise has been a good season.

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Re: Hockey Match Report Stratford 3rd's played on 21 March

Hockey match report. Barford Tigers 3^rd's vs Stratford 3^rd's. (Stratford were away)

Result: Barford 3 – Stratford 4

Stratford faced Barford away this weekend in their last league match of the season. Barford took first blood when they scored their first and dominated the first half of the match. Valiant Eric Furby diving magnificently to make a crutial tackle, was injured in the tackle and had to go off to receive medical treatment. This forced a change which saved the day for Stratford as evergreen Wood took up the sweepers spot and masterminded the construction of a defensive platform crucial to turning the match around, with building block's Austin, Stagg, Cawthorn and Hooker buoying up the team.

The second half saw Stratford come out all cylinders firing, fresh from an awe inspiring team talk by Captain McBride, one spectator commented "What did he (McBride) give those players during the break?" The answer, of course, was a heavy dose of motivation.

Stratford showed their ilk by digging deep, notably the injured Townsin playing through the pain and skipping round the opposition. This helped Stratford in making devastating breaks, the first came from Ed Hogg, with a well worked passing move swiftly up the pitch for Davey to lay up Hogg who's finish almost ripped the net. The next goal came from a defense splitting run by Dave Black, the ball found it's way to Davey who rocketed the ball past a frozen Barford keeper to bring the game back into Stratord's hands. Next up McBride, who startred the move from right back, followed up and was rewarded with Davey's deflection falling nicely into his path, McBride picked his spot and thrust home for Stratford's third goal. Barford pulled a goal back when their new sub came onto the field and caught Stratford unawares with his fresh legs. But it was stalwart Dave Bird who finished the game off with a short corner routine improvisation, when he was unable to set up Davey, Bird took it upon himself to drag flick with such fineness, it was likened to a kingfisher breaking the surface.

Stratford's Captain McBride commented after the match "A great game and a fitting end to a great season, with Stratford 3's finishing soundly mid -table in this higher league, I'm overjoyed with the boys performance. Roll on next season!"