Report Archive
Water Polo
Sussex League
Crawley 8 Worthing 15
Going into the second half of the season, Crawley faced current champions, Worthing, at K2 on September 14th, in what proved to be an exciting match. Worthing are also the only National League side in the county, therefore an encounter with them is an interesting measure.
Crawley matched and bettered Worthing for most of the first two quarters, with keeper Barry Hurst making some outstanding saves. Going into the second half, greater experience and strength in depth started to tell, as unforced errors and infringements combined to allow Worthing to stretch away from Crawley.
Crawley – Barry Hurst, Craig Roy, Jack Sheppard, Adrian Rotchell, Richard Woodman, Joe Callus, Ben Maloney, Sam O’Connor, Fergus Andrew, Douglas Andrew, Freddie Gover, Gary Lee, Ewan Partridge.London Summer League - Whitgift - July 3rd
Under 18 Men Final Round.
Coach & Report - Tim Fraser
We took a squad of 10 players drawn from Mid Sussex Marlins, Crawley, Worthing, Brighton & Hastings.
Game 1 :Team Sussex v Basingstoke 3-3 (HT1-0)
We defended very well. We played a drop to double mark their pit man and our opponents were reduced to long shots which either missed or Wesley saved. Our attack was less effective. Although we created many chances, we were profligate in shot selection and too often our final pass went astray. A sole goal from one of our several man ups from Simon Flint was our only reward in the first half. In fact we should have been several goals in front.- including one perfectly good goal from Toby Fraser which rebounded from the back stanchion but the referee thought had missed.
In the second half it was more of the same. Olly Rainford continued to mark his pitman effectively in defence and we took a 3-1 lead with goals from Joe Jefferys and Joe Callus. Basingstoke then pulled one back and with a minute to go we had a break away to make the game safe. Unfortunately we did not take our chance and Basingstoke broke and equalised before our defence could regroup.
with the last shot of the match .
Scorers: S Flint, Joe Callus, Joe Jefferys
Exclusions; Ben Peppiatt, Olly Rainford
Game 2 :Team Sussex v West London Penguin won 5-1 (HT1-0)
WL Penguin were a much bigger side than us physically and also not afraid to use their weight and strength. It took our players some time to adjust. The referee for this game was much more reluctant to award fouls or exclusions and, several times, our players expected to be awarded a foul but were muscled off the ball. Nevertheless, our defence continued to be our strength and although we again turned round at half time leading by a single goal. The second half was very different from the previous game as we used our better teamwork and swimming ability to outsmart our opponents and were much more “game aware” in our passing and shot selection. As a result ,and despite a late missed penalty, we ran out comfortable winners .
Scorers: Joe Callus 2 , Joe Jefferys, Ben Maloney, Own Goal.
Exclusions: Joe Jefferys 2, Olly Rainford.
This was the final round of league matches. Our record was won 4, drew 1 & lost 1. The final league table has not yet been released but I would expect that we came 2nd or 3rd out of 7 teams competing. This is an excellent achievement in our first season in this competition and certainly more than justified the decision to enter. From a coach’s perspective it was particularly pleasing to see how this group of players has improved their group understanding and teamwork . It was also notable, in the post match debriefing after the first game, how disappointed they were not to win against good opposition. We were aware exactly where we needed to improve and showed this in our next game when we were more game aware and clinical.
Only 2 players are top of age group; the remainder were playing between 1 to 3 years out of age group and yet all contributed fully to the team performance, including the younger players. I f we can keep this group together and arrange further match practice it augurs well for the county team in the SE Region comp in the autumn.
Finally I should remark that it was a pleasure coaching this group of boys. They approach the game in the right spirit – they play hard but fair, showed full respect the referees and supported each other fully.
Team: Wes Connellan (MSM),Toby Fraser (MSM),Ollie Rainford (Worthing),Ben Peppiatt (Hastings),Simon Flint (Crawley),Joe Callus (Crawley),Ben Maloney (Crawley),Dan Low ( Brighton),James O’Dell (Crawley)
Crawley Swimming Club’s water polo team have competed in the Sussex League and in countless tournaments since founding in 1975, but winning a trophy in league or tournaments in recent years has eluded the club by the narrowest of margins. Crawley’s 2nd (re-instated) annual tournament was held at K2 on June 25th, the evening got off to a great start as Crawley’s ladies took on Ealing ladies, and cruised to a 6-1 victory in this one-off match, with Zara Williams, Lauren Hand an Jo O’Connor demonstrating what accomplished players they have become.
The men’s tournament was contested this year by Crawley A, Ealing, Brighton, Guildford, Faversham and Crawley B. This proved to be an extremely close contest between strong teams. Crawley A achieved narrow, but deserved victories over Guildford, Faversham and last year’s winners, Ealing, before taking on local rivals, Brighton, in a match Crawley A had to do better than lose, in order to claim the reinstated Igaz Shield. Going in 0-2 down at half time, Crawley gathered composure and control to end the stronger in a nail biting 3-3 draw.
It is great credit to the team’s progress and management in recent years that we were able to field an A and a B team in this tournament, even with not all our players available, and it was pleasing to see our ladies score a comprehensive victory in their first competitive match as a team. There are too many names to list, but notable were, Barry Hurst, Crawley A keeper, who organised the event, Jack Sheppard, Crawley A captain, and the senior debut of Michael Turner for Crawley B.
South East U16 Milestone
Last month two Crawley Swimming Club players were called up the play for South East Region at the National Inter-Regional Under 16 (Year 96 and younger) Championships. James O’Dell played in the men’s competition held at Basildon and Lara Partridge for the ladies at Walsall.
Coincidentally both SER these teams finished their tournaments in seventh position, having played regions such as North West, West Midlands and Ireland. Playing against the best age group players in the British Isles is major achievement for these talented kids, personally, and another milestone for Crawley SC, who now are able to develop players from a younger age than had been possible before 2008. Both players bring back to Crawley a wealth of experience from these testing two days of matches, as well the excellent SER team camaraderie that developed. Encouragingly, James (14) and Lara (13) are both eligible for this competition next year, as are several other promising Crawley players.
Crawley’s B team recorded their first Sussex League win of the season (and re-introduction) at K2 on May 25th, with a tense 9-8 victory over Brighton B. This was a match that Crawley dominated without fully capitalising, in terms of turning possession and advantage into goals. Nevertheless a largely young team were understandably jubilant afterwards.
Crawley – Freddie Gover, Bob Grantham, Steve Grantham, Richard Woodman, Marcus Ripley, Ben Maloney, Sam O’Connor, Joe Callus, Simon Flint, Rob Gordon, Will Philpott, Barney Reed, Ewan Partridge.
Crawley played their final match of the 2010/2011 SE Region Winter League at Oxford on May 23rd, losing 11-8 in another thriller. Nevertheless this has been a great SE League debut experience for the Crawley A team, all the matches have been closely contested and exciting, exposing Crawley to a wider range of opposition playing styles, an experience which Crawley intend to repeat next year.
Water Polo
Six of the Best from Crawley play at the Age Group Nationals
Six Crawley Swimming Club based water polo players made it to National age group club championships this spring. Regional super team Invicta asked Crawley for six Crawley based players to play in their in teams, an unprecedented achievement for Crawley SC.
Firstly a mention for our sole male representative, James O’Dell, who played in the Invicta Under 14 men’s team, along with four other Sussex based lads. Invicta won their group stage matches and were only beaten by City of Birmingham at the semi final stage, taking an excellent joint third position. James O’Dell has until recently, not had a great deal of match experience, adding this to his natural ability, he has come along quickly.
In the Under 18 Ladies Zara Williams, Jo O’Connor and Lauren Hand played in an Invicta team that won one match and narrowly lost another three. Lauren Hand also played in the Under 16 Ladies, her selection for both teams showing how far she has come in the last year. The Invicta Under 14 Ladies team included Crawley's Hannah Patchett and Lara Partridge, finishing as silver medallists, as previously reported.
Water Polo
Local Girls Feature in National Under 14 Club Championships
Three West Sussex girls were called up to play for regional super club Invicta, to play at the Ladies 14 and Under National Club Championships, held at Manchester Aquatic Centre on March 26th. Swanley based Invicta put on an excellent performance in a competition usually dominated by northern clubs, to finish silver medallists. The Invicta team included two Crawley SC based players, Hannah Patchett and Lara Partridge, alongside team captain Fran Collings from nearby Mid Sussex Marlins.
The Sussex based trio, who have been the scourge of many a defence in the recent London League, added to the Invicta team alongside team mates drawn from other SE clubs, Beckenham, Croydon and Hythe, took their brand of fast break counter attack water polo to national level. A strong Invicta, saw off last year’s winners, Tyldesley, 8-2 in their first match, and City of Liverpool 7-2 in their second. City of Manchester proved to have too much as a compact, regular playing unit for Invicta, after some promising early breaks and a decent second half, Invicta lost 9-4 in an edgy match that was tighter than the eventual score suggests. Invicta won their last match of the day, against Durham Cobras 15-0 to ensure national silver medal position, with Fran Collings being voted Invicta’s top player.
Water Polo
SE Region League
Crawley 9 Brighton 17
An injury ravaged Crawley went into this match at K2 on March 23rd knowing Brighton would be a tough proposition. Having to reshuffle a fairly inexperienced team against a full strength Brighton led to an 8-1 deficit at the end of the first quarter. After this Crawley began to play properly against a Brighton side who gave a way a seemingly endless string of penalties and player exclusions. Had we taken all the resulting chances, the result might have been in doubt.
Crawley
Barry Hurst, Craig Roy, Mark Wheatley, Joe Callus, Ben Maloney, Simon Flint, Freddie Gover, Marcus Ripley, Norbert Szarka, Sam O’Connor, Ewan Partridge
London Winter League U16s
Marlins/Crawley/Brighton Joint Team
End of Season Report
This age group is numerically the weakest for Crawley players. Our trio, Lauren Hand, James O’Dell and Ben Cooper, joined some highly ranked Marlins players and two Brighton lads in the core team, which was supported in most round by adding U14 players from both clubs, largely because some of the players in the team are highly ranked enough to have been away at other polo events.
Ben got to play his first competitive polo, Lauren showed what a well rounded player she has become, and James, although still 13, became a core player, beginning to learn the game beyond U14s
The recurrent absences contributed to the team finishing in the bottom half, but they won all three bottom half playoff matches in style, clearly a deal better than the rest in this half of the table.
Sussex League
Crawley 16 Hastings 8
Crawley returned to form at K2 on March 16th, with combination of team fitness and the deep water pool proving too much for Hastings. This allowed water time for a number of less experienced players as Crawley consistently outscored the visitors at a rate of 2 goals to one.
Crawley. Barry Hurst, Jack Sheppard, Craig Roy, Mark Wheatley, Will Philpott, Gary Lee, Joe Callus, Ben Maloney, Simon Flint, Freddie Gover, Barney Reed, Marcus Ripley, Ewan Partridge.
Crawley 9 Mid Sussex Marlins 11
Crawley, with five first team members absent or injured, made a very poor start to the first Sussex League match of the season at K2 of March 9th, despite some improvement, it wasn’t enough to make amends for the early lack of experience and tactical naivety. These factors were further exacerbated by some questionable refereeing that denied Crawley two obvious penalties in the opening period, refereeing decisions continued were also an extenuating factor in the outcome of this disjointed match. Crawley can take some positives from this match - less experienced players will have gained in experience, and the need for tactical awareness.
Crawley – Barry Hurst, Jack Sheppard, Marcus Ripley, Norbert Szarka, Simon Flint, Steve Grantham, Ben Cleland, Craig Roy Sam O’Connor, Freddie Gover, Gary Lee, Will Philpott, Ewan Partridge.
London Winter League
Under 14 Mixed – End of Season Report
The three Sussex clubs playing LWL polo in several age groups faced an interesting, but positive, problem at the beginning of the season. None had enough players to sensibly enter a U14 team, but there were about the right number for two teams, given absences in two rounds that coincided with major swimming competitions.
The solution was that the Crawley boys played in a combined team with Worthing, and the Crawley girls played with Marlins, this ensured that 25 Sussex based players got matches in five rounds of the competition, with the results vindicating the approach taken by the coaches.
Both teams finished in the top half of the table after four rounds, going forward to the final ‘top half’ playoff with two more, strong, well-coached teams -Croydon Amphibs and Watford. The Sussex based teams finished third and fourth ultimately, but this does not tell the full story. We could have cut the teams slightly differently and probably one of the Sussex teams would have won. However that was not the primary purpose of the exercise, firstly we got everybody who wanted/was capable a game, whilst still finishing in the top half of the table. Secondly the better players helped develop the others, who benefited most from playing in robust teams, with structure and achieved a respectable degree of success.
It is fair to say that when fully on their game, the Worthing and Crawley boys were near unplayable at their best, Croydon were fortunate to play (and win) against them in their first match together, and again at the end, when there were absences, however, on a few other occasions they didn’t quite get it together consistently. The Marlins with Crawley Girls team did not look as strong on paper, but with two RTC boys and an all swimmergirl attack their combination of strong defence and fast, mobile counter attack meant that they were consistently difficult and tricky to play against, only being beaten by teams that combined greater physical strength and systematic pressure.
The derby matches between the two teams in rounds 4 and 5, were eagerly anticipated by the players, coaches and parents, both these went the way of Marlins with Crawley Girls, largely for the reasons above.
Water Polo News and Review
February 2011
Photos can be found on the Photo Albumn Page
2010 was one we may look back on as a watershed year, we had a busy senior season, overcoming key players absence and injury was a key issue, and there were a number of important achievements on and off the pitch. We played a lot more senior matches against different teams, and a lot of people played more than they thought they would – well done Barry for arranging so many matches. Our ladies and juniors moved (not just in our opinion, but also in the eyes of other coaches and clubs) from being “new kids on the block” to admired players, who in instances have a level of expectation applied to them – a sure sign of respect.
Awards
The Lin Dauncey Trophy for senior player of 2010 was awarded to Jack Sheppard.
The Gary Lee – Most Improved Junior Player Trophy was awarded to Zara Williams.
Men’s Senior Team
The men’s senior team begin their first season in the 2011 South East League last month, and so far we have recorded a win and two draws.
Crawley finished a creditable 3rd, in the 2010 Sussex League season where absence and injury led to a number of younger players stepping up. Jack Sheppard won the Budgie Baxter Trophy for top scorer in the Sussex League, with 45 goals, this is the 1st occasion a Crawley player has won this.
There was a well run and attended tournament hosted by Crawley for the first time since the 1990s and Crawley enjoyed their September tour to Bytom in Poland.
Player numbers are rising and there is reason for optimism. Jack Sheppard steps up as senior team coach this year.
Ladies
Although we do not have enough strength to put a Crawley team out yet, three of our ladies, Zara, Jo and Lauren, have played National League polo this winter on 2nd call with other teams.
Additionally, the same three ladies were at the core of the Sussex Development team that won the U18G LWL, and they were there again in the Marlins/Crawley team that won the LWL Ladies competition.
Sussex ASA is entering a team in the U21 LSL competition and Marlins/Crawley have entered a team in what seems to be a very popular Ladies LSL competition.
Juniors
The LWL U12, U14, U16 and U18B fixtures continue, with Crawley combining with Marlins or Worthing or as Sussex Development, depending on age group. Within these teams there are some very good Crawley players emerging, the main point being that the players are developing by playing with or against the best in the region, this would not be possible if Crawley or the other clubs went it alone. At present none of us has the player numbers, strength in depth, coaching resource or finance to do so.
This summer we are entering U15 Mixed and U18 Men in the LSL as well as the aforementioned female competitions.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect is to have seen the level of enthusiasm and participation among the kids who have played at Whitgift – win or lose - many new friends have also been made as the Sussex kids have integrated. The level of parental team support and interest has also been creditable.
We decided not to enter a U13 team (Y99) in the LSL because both Crawley and Marlins found it difficult to gain critical numbers and experience to make this work last summer. Instead we decided that some of the younger or newer players would benefit from getting time in the U15LSL competition as and when it was possible to fit them in to the two teams, which will require some planning, because they only appear in one of the two teams. Further to this Marlins have been good enough to offer the Triangle for a Marlins/Crawley match on some of the LSL Sundays 6-7pm for those not playing at Whitgift, so everybody Y97 and younger should keep the LSL dates in their diary.
The LSL tends to be less hotly contested than the LWL, due to the inevitable absence of players due to other activities, further to this Round 1 coincides with Easter break, when a number of players will be away at swim camps, and R4 coincides with the current date for Sussex County Relays, which again will take some serious swimmers out of our teams.
Ben Maloney played for the U18 SE Region Team in the Jan. 2011 Inter Regional Tournament. Lauren Hand played for the Sussex U16s in the London Area Inter County Tournament. The Inter County U16 Girls and U14 Mixed London Area tournaments were postponed until April 2011, due to the weather last December. Several CSC players are listed in these teams. This will mean that in 2010 Crawley will have had players selected for all Sussex junior age group teams for the first time ever.
In the last (post Time Trial) water polo starter session we ran back in the summer, we picked up four new players, who very quickly raised their games to league standard in time for the 2010 LWL kick off last October. These players are now committed and enthusiastic members of the Crawley squad. Junior squad player numbers continue to be robust at a current 27 members under 18 years old, we now have more junior players under 15 than over, for the first time.
In 2011 we face the challenge of recruiting more junior players between age 10 and 17, our greatest challenge will be to recruit and bring along sufficient players born in 2000 and 2001 to be able to enter a U12 team in the LWL.
The success achieved by our players to date is a great advertisement for those who might want to have a go. If you are out there and want to have a go come and see us.
A further milestone in our junior player’s development, and a great compliment to the hard work put in by some of our best players came by means of a call from Invicta Water Polo Club (who have seen our players at Whitgift and elsewhere).
What eventually amounted to a total of 6 players were invited to play 2nd Call for them in the forthcoming National Club Championships in single gender Y97, Y95 and Y93 teams. At present there are not enough experienced players in Sussex in each of these categories for us to consider an entry under a club name, (which is what we would prefer), so this is the best outlet for our talent for now – allowing them to play against the best in the UK, and something for others to aspire. Each of you is part of that future, both as a player, and as a recruiter of others.
Ben Maloney has come through the ranks of Crawley Swimming Club’s junior and senior water polo squads over the last two years. His efforts resulted in his selection for the South East Region’s Under 18/Year 94 team that played the Inter Region Tournament held in Cardiff on January 16th.
The South East team suffered very narrow defeats to Wales and Ireland before a 15-4 win over the Midlands and a defeat by the Eastern region. Ben, a Holy Trinity School student, learned to swim at Crawley SC, then rejoined the club to play water polo as a teenager. Since then Ben has become a key member of the Crawley and Marlins Under 16 team, and a respected regular in the Crawley men’s senior team.
Crawley Girls Feature in Sussex Team Wins
Crawley’s trio of lady water polo players, Zara Williams, Jo O’Connor and Lauren Hand featured in both Sussex Under 18 Ladies and Ladies Open water polo teams that ran out as winners of both competitions in the London Winter League, held over two Sundays in January.
Both teams were drawn from three clubs in Sussex, with the inbuilt disadvantage of not training and playing together regularly. In the Under 18s Beckenham proved the toughest opposition, having lost to them in the first round, Sussex needed to beat them in round 2 in order to win the league on goal difference. This was achieved with an accomplished 6-3 win.
The second round of the Ladies Open League followed, with Sussex first overcoming a Beckenham team that lacked a natural goal scorer, this was followed by a tougher fixture against Sutton & Cheam, who took longer to break down.
All three of the Crawley girls have become accomplished and respected players within the region this year, they were joined by young Lara Partridge, making her debut in the Ladies competition.
London Winter League
Under 18 Boys Round 1
Team Sussex
Wesley Connellan (MSM), Joseph Jefferys (MSM)
Majors Joe Callus, Sam Maloney
Majors Joe Callus 2, Toby Fraser
In a rematch of the first game we had a much improved performance. Our marking in defence was much more effective. Joe C & Sam took it in turns to mark their pit player and were
successful in largely neutralising him as we mastered the ability to double mark and force our opponents to shoot from distance which our defenders blocked or were saved by Wesley. Going forward too, we were much more disciplined. We worked the ball around the arc until a shooting opportunity came and were rewarded with goals for Toby, Sam and Simon. Our ability to draw 3 majors from our opponents was a further indication of our improved performance and they were becoming noticeably frustrated towards the end. We “won” the second half 2-1 and our team were deservedly proud of their performance while being annoyed at coming so close to a result
Exclusions- none
There was never more than 1 goal difference between the teams until we tired in the last minute when our opponents scored 3 times to give a flattering scoreline which did not reflect the closeness for most of the match.
Majors: Alex Fraser
· The huge improvement in our team play over the course of the 4 matches shows the potential within this group of players.
· Through the action of playing high standard competitive polo offered by the London league our players learn to raise their standards
· As we saw from the final 2 games, we are not far behind the other teams.The addition, for the next round, of a couple of players who were missing yesterday will greatly strengthen our team and allow us to rotate players as they tire.
· We have several players in the squad who will still be eligible for this age group next year and they will have benefitted from the experience gained this year.
Under 18 Girls Round 1
Team Sussex
Squad
Louise Bampton (Hailsham), Matilda Coke (MSM), Fran Collings (MSM), Laura Joseph (WSC), Chloe Kells (MSM), Jo O’Connor (CSC),
Tara Osborne (WSC), Hansy Shore (MSM), Zara Williams (CSC)
Match 1- Sussex 13 Hythe 1
Our opponents were a young and fairly inexperienced side, who struggled to maintain possession and forward momentum under pressure. We took nine experienced players into this match, although few had played together regularly.
In consequence we regained possession easily from each re-start and scored mostly from the resulting breakout, the wide range of scorers around the team affirms the overall pattern. In retrospect this match was perhaps a little too easy.
Scorers
Zara Williams (6), Louise Bampton (2), Fran Collings (2), Laura Joseph, Hansy Shore, Jo O’Connor.
Match 2 – Sussex 2 Beckenham 5
Our opponents in this match did not dominate Hythe to the degree we had, but they included a keeper with a long throw out and several quality swimmers. This match turned on the quality of finishing. We had the better of the possession, but we only converted about 20% of our scoring chances, whereas Beckenham converted 75% of the far smaller number of their scoring opportunities.
A number of our missed chances fell to their keeper, who used her long throw out, allowing Beckenham to score against a not fully organised defence.
Early on the pattern of play was very even, but as the game went into the last few minutes, with us 3-2 down, we lacked a 2nd level of teamwork, craft and preceding understanding between players to make our possession count.
Overall we showed that we had the quality and physicality, but as has often been the case with the teams we are currently putting together, we lacked that little something in teamwork, craft and confidence under pressure that only comes from playing together, which is what we are building.
Scorers
Louise Bampton, Jo O’Connor
Majors
Chloe Kells, Fran Collings, Hansy Shore
Hard Work Pay Off For Lauren
Brighton 16 Crawley 12
Following from the 11 all draw at K2 earlier this season, Crawley travelled to the narrow, shallow ended, Prince Regent on September 24th for one of the trickiest away matches of the season.
Crawley knew they would they would have to control the play to win, but never fully exploited the weaknesses in a cohesive Brighton side, who kept their noses in front. With the game still wide open at 11-10 to Brighton going into the last quarter, several breakdowns in Crawley attack allowed Brighton to stretch away to win.
Crawley. Barry Hurst, Gary Lee, Craig Roy, Adrian Rotchell, Jack Sheppard, Mark Wheatley, Joe Callus, Sam O’Connor, Ben Maloney, Ewan Partridge.
London Summer League Round 4
Whitgift - September 19th
Sussex League
Worthing 17 Crawley 8
Crawley took a below strength team to Worthing’s Aquarena on September 8th, taking on a full strength Worthing who were gearing up for National League duty. Crawley put up a plucky performance early on, finishing the first quarter 2-1 ahead, then trailing 6-5 at half time. Worthing had full substitution options available, which enabled them to stretch Crawley in the second half and finish the match with perhaps a more comfortable winning margin than this interesting contrast of playing styles deserved.
Crawley will play league polo outside Sussex for the first time ever this winter by joining the South East League, which promises some interesting fixtures against some familiar and some very different teams.
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