A strong City squad travelled down to the Bristol Invitational Indoor Tournament on Sunday for several hours of intense korfball as a warm-up for the regional league season, and playing with a shot clock for the first time. It was a great opportunity to score some early psychological points against our regional rivals and, with Wales using the tournament as part of their trials process, the level of play was high!
With Nick and Gaz representing Wales (great to see!), the City squad was James, Dan, Ian, Dave Ewing, Niall, Ruth, Alice, Jo, Fi and Amy. Everyone had a great tournament. If I could sum it up in one phrase, it would be: 'Oxford City have arrived.' We were unseeded, so needed to win our morning group to progress to the quarter finals.
First up were Cardiff Raptors, who will be one of rivals in the regional league. It was a very tight game as we we slowly woke up after our very early start to the day (we're not designed to play away at 9am!). We ended up deservedly winning by one goal after a large number of penalties for both sides, and some great defence by Fi and Amy. Assist prizes went to Alice and Niall.
Final score: 5-4 win vs Cardiff Raptors (Goals - Dan 3, James 1, Dave 1)
Then came Bristol Thunder 2, who will be making their regional league debut after winning the South West League last year. Despite strong home support, we were on fire, as our long shots started to find their range. Even though all the matches were only 30 minutes, we quickly raced into a 9-1 lead and, while they pulled some back towards the end as we relaxed, the result was never in doubt. Group winners!
Final score: 9-4 win vs Bristol Thunder 2 (Goals - James 4, Dan 3, Niall 1, Dave 1)
Our quarter-final was against Wales, who had mounted an amazing comeback in the previous round from four goals down against Leicester to progress at their expense. We were facing a pumped-up Gaz and Nick in Wales shirts, so we knew we'd have to defend well and take our chances. I suspect what happened next surprised all observers. City took a two-goal lead, and were defending well. After that, a nice long shot from Nick and couple of quick fire goals (including a penalty) gave Wales a one-goal advantage. The basket then came to Wales's aid several times as our shots didn't quite drop and, despite trading goals and equalizing through Niall, a massively defended goal (I'm not bitter Gaz!!) gave the lead back to Wales. Both sides then defended very well and were equally matched for ages, leaving Wales with a one-goal victory. Or an 8-3 victory to City players! It was awesome to see such a strong performance from both the players in a City shirt, and the City players in a Wales shirt, and it was a really tight and enjoyable match to play in.
Final score: 5-6 loss vs Wales (Goals - Niall 2, Dan 2, Alice 1, Dave 1)
Our next match was a placing knockout against Leicester. We were a bit tired after the Wales match, but we played well, and were left frustrated as we worked good chances that wouldn't quite drop. Ian was unlucky to have a one-handed running shot called as defended, while Alice was on fire, scoring a hattrick via a long shot, a drop off and a free pass. The rest of our goals came from long shots, but the Leicester attackers were also in shooting form and we ended with a narrow loss.
Final score: 5-6 loss vs Leicester (Goals - Alice 3, Ruth 1, Dan 1)
Our final game was a playoff for 7th/8th place against regional league rivals Bristol City, who beat us home and away last year. We were determined to put in a strong performance as we felt we'd been unlucky in the previous matches, and we wanted to leave a lasting impression on our rivals.
We mixed up divisions a bit from the rest of the day, with James pairing with Dan, alongside Ruth and Alice, while Niall and Dave partnered with Jo and Amy, with Fi and Ian coming on halfway through. The pre-match team talk centred around playing to our potential and finishing on a high, and boy did we deliver. Alice continued her great afternoon scoring form with five goals despite facing a strong girl, and we had goals scattered through the team as we showed the full range of our scoring options.
Bristol were dangerous throughout with a 9-foot giant man, but Alice and Ruth ran their socks off preventing the female opposition profiting from the running-in shot opportunities he provided. They also worked numerous opportunities in attack, and when two of your most experienced players walk off the court feeling physically sick after 30 minutes you know they've left it all out on the court. Well done ladies!
Jo scored a sublime free pass (and was equally exhausted!) and Ian was unlucky not to join the scoresheet as several shots came close after working space through great movement. After the number of goals we scored in 30 minutes I feel the 20 goals in a game barrier is there for the taking this year!
Final score: 13- 7 win vs Bristol City
(Goals - Alice 5, Dan 4, Ruth 1, James 1, Dave 1, Jo 1)
It was a great performance from the entire squad, and I was delighted with how the day way. I was particularly pleased by the performances of Fi and Ian, who took the step up from OKA division 2 to playing against international players like ducks to water. They defended strongly and were unlucky not to be on the scoresheet themselves. Player of the morning was James, and player of the afternoon was Alice.
Oh, and the shot clock? We were only buzzed time out once in the day, while other sides experienced several per match, so we can take a lot of confidence from that. Strong defence on our part, and relentless attacking as we tried to emulate the dynamic style that Frank and Gaz have been coaching us in. Proud of everyone.
- Epic tournament report from Dan
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