City Strong in Bristol Pre-Season Curtain Raiser

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

Rich’s Blog: Derby Double Secures Second For City 2

On Sunday, City 2 finished the League 2 season with two tough derby matches. The chance of the championship went a couple of months ago with a few mid-season losses — including to eventual champions Abingdon 2 — but we still wanted to end on a high by securing second place.

The only problem is we’d have to do so by winning two back-to-back matches against teams that are very keen to beat us: first, our showdown with City 3; and second, against local rivals Isis 2. 

Personally, there were two defining moments of the afternoon. During the team talk for the first match when stand-in coach Ruth told I’d be taking penalties; and one minute before the start of the match when I stopped copying the standard penalty technique and found my own. But anyway…

We took to the court for the all-City derby looking ridiculous in our 80s fitness video fancy dress, but were taking the match very seriously. We knew City 3 would be desperate to put one over on us, and would be far better drilled than when we played them before Christmas. And they’re also younger than us, fitter than us, and do unfair things like play other sports. Harumph!

Thankfully, we raced into a two-goal lead with two goals from yours truly: my first-ever successful running-in shot and my first-ever successful penalty. We then had a scrappy phase where they got one back, we scored another, they got one back again, and so on. Tense stuff.

But we managed to pull away and then kept up the scoring in the second half. I don’t recall who got the goals — sorry! — but I do know Jen got one that rolled up the front of the korf and somehow went in; and I definitely got another runner and another penalty in the second half. We took our foot off the pedal in the final quarter to save our legs for the next match, but finished with an 11-3 win.

Quick change into our traditional City blue and we were off again, with Awesome Becca in place of Jen; Theo instead of Jim; and Arge replacing Niall in my fantastic division alongside Charlotte and Hannah. We knew we’d need a fast start as our old legs would start to tire later on, and start fast we did. We raced into an 8-1 lead by half time with goals spread around the team.

Our second stand-in coach Gaz set us the goal of doubling our score and keeping Isis to one. Alas, it didn’t quite happen like that as tiredness set in, and I was eventually carried off after pulling a calf muscle. We ended up losing the second half — but won the match 11-5 overall. Great work!

So City 2 won two from two to secure second place in League 2. Thanks to everyone who’s given their all in a good season, and great to see new recruit Anthony using his height well in his first two City appearances from the bench. Bodes well for a strong 2015/16 season.

Match Report: A Regional Rumble With Thunder

Oxford City vs Bristol Thunder - 14.03.15
19-10 Loss

On Saturday we played Bristol Thunder and lost. The final score was 10-19 but that's not really the full story. We are absolutely right to count this as a victory, even though it wasn't!

To put things in context Thunder regularly score 20+ goals in a game, are strong favourites to win the Western Regional League this season, and have only lost one game this season across several leagues. Also when we last played them we were beaten by a margin of 25 goals. They are a high-scoring and difficult team to play, and I think it's fair to say we were expecting to be badly beaten. However Frank had given us new tactics on Thursday and as usual we were all there ready to play our best.

As it happened we played better than our best. The first third of the match was like a whirlwind. We claimed the first goal and, although Thunder repeatedly drew level, we kept creating more chances and sinking more goal. It was 6-5 at 20 minutes in. What a difference a training session makes! Our fast-paced attack wasn't perfect but it was working. Becca was doing an amazing job with Thunder's Ruth, a Welsh international, and stayed focused.

At half time we were losing 9-6 but still elated about how well we had started this match -- perhaps even shocked -- and determined to keep working as hard as possible.

Second half and our whirling dervish attack was taking its toil. Some passes went astray, the patience to wait for the right shot was not always used and there were points where if we had communicated better Thunder would not have scored. It was my turn to roll my ankle and I strongly felt the error in not having a girl sub. Meanwhile, the tall boys Thunder had brought with them made multi-shot attacks very difficult to come by. 

But we kept working and getting goals but not quite as quickly as the opponents. Dan made all of his penalties count and Gaz 'n' Dave (Ewing) formed the scoring duo from the first half. Our Ruth had some lovely shots but gravity was not on her side on this occasion!

By the end of the game you could have told me any scoreline and I would have believed it. Everybody played with everything they had and it was great to be a part of. Things might not have been perfect but we were pulling together, chasing down any loose ball and with a little more practice even beating the top team in our region doesn't seem out of the question.

Thanks to Frank as always - we always play better when you are there to straighten us out. Thanks to Nicola for fitting in beautifully on his City debut, and Theo for the injection of pace in the second half.

Scorers: Alice (3), Dan (3), Dave (2), Gaz, Jo

MVP: Very tricky decision. We all raised our game and played furiously -- so we all deserve special mentions! And it was very tempting to give player of the match to Frank for supreme coaching. In the end Alice with a penalty-free hat trick and playing flawlessly in defence is my player of the match. 

- Match report by Jo

Match Reports: City 2 and 3 Do Well Despite Double Defeat

City 2 vs Oxford Uni 2 - 08.03.015

12-10 Loss

City 2 went down to a resurgent Oxford Uni 2 on Sunday afternoon at St Greg's. It needs to be said that Uni 2 are a stronger proposition this season than they have been for some time, as the fact that they won three out of three on Sunday testifies (including a rout of an uncharacteristically lacklustre Abingdon 3 side in their final match). The fact they had four Uni 1 players in the team also helped!

In this context, we can take a degree of satisfaction from keeping pace with them for much of the match (we won the second half 3-2!). At one point we were four behind, so to go into the last quarter of the game still with a prospect of victory is definitely something to be happy with. Uni's boys were big, strong and quick (a real handful in other words) and the better opportunities came with our girls at the posts, Hannah, Charlotte and Fi doing particularly well in winning collects.

Scorers: Simon (3), Niall (2), Jim (2), Charlotte, Fi, Rich

MVP: Niall: Having already played for the firsts, he bagged two goals and defended well against the wiles of Dave Sinclair.

- Match report by Simon

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City 3 vs Oxford Uni 2 - 08.03.015

12-5 Loss

Next up to bat for City were 'Team Awesome', and this they were also up against a strong Uni line-up that had previously beaten City 2. But that doesn’t matter to Team Awesome!

I suspect people came off the court feeling disappointed to lose, but no one should have done. It was by far the best performance I’ve seen from Team Awesome this season. Yes, it’s great to beat teams like Isis 2 (it’s always nice to win!), but to put in a performance like I saw on Sunday (against very strong opposition) is the real testament to Team Awesome’s progress as individuals and as a team.

The biggest difference versus a few weeks ago was the speed of movement and passing in attack.  We created opportunities, scored some great goals, and looked a threat throughout.  Michelle showed nerves of steel to score a penalty as well (no celebration though!). We were also a lot more solid in defence, and didn’t give away many cheap goals. Uni had to work hard for their win.  

To give further context, five of the Uni players also played in  the Uni 1 team that drew 9-9 with Farnborough in Division 1, so restricting them to 12 is good. Let’s build on this and go out and get a win against Abingdon 3 next week. Special mention to Theo by the way for getting up and dusting himself off after being knocked to the ground not once, but twice, by aerial uni players while trying to take a free pass. It’s a bold way to win penalties!

Goals: Michelle (1), Becca (1), Rich M (1), Ian B (1), Laura (1)

MVP: Laura

- Match report by Gaz

Match Report: City Slays The Dragons

City 1 vs Didcot 1 - 08.03.15

19-2 Win

It’s a sign of City’s progress this season that we utterly dominated a pretty experienced Didcot side, but were actually a bit disappointed in some ways when we came off.  

There were definitely areas of improvement to work on: we failed to score for the first 15 minutes, and a lot of our shots were going very long initially. Definitely something to work on in training. However, once Dave Everett kicked us off with an inch perfect long shot, Ruth got her range and quickly followed with another one and the floodgates opened. In the end the mythical 20-goal barrier was tantalising close, but for the second time this season we fell one goal short, with a similar story of shots rolling around the rim only to fall off. Ultimately we were left rueing the slow start, but it’s hard to be too critical of such a heavy victory!

Korfball is a team game, but individual battles are also important, and special mention goes to Gaz, who finished in credit against Dave “5 goals a game” Ewing, scoring two and restricting Dave to one. After getting his eye in it was our Dave E who scored five instead. Alice and Ev combined excellently to demonstrate dynamic defence and great speed in attack as well. Both divisions were excellent in defence, actually - Didcot rarely looked like scoring.

Scorers: Dave E (5), Ev (3), Dan (3), Gaz (2), Niall (2), Ruth (2), Alice (1), Claire (1)

MVP: Dave E was definitely in the running with his excellent five goals, and it was great to see Ev stamping her superiority on her opponent. However, I’m going to give it to Gaz: he didn’t have a particularly flashy game (despite scoring an awesome long shot), but he did the dirty stuff in defense really well, and nullified a massively danger player.

- Match report by Dan

Match Report: City Loses Tough Spartans Battle

Southampton Spartans vs Oxford City - 07.02.15
24-7 Loss

Looking at the goals scored you would probably think this wasn't a good game but we had a full City squad out again and we were actually actioning some of our training properly for maybe the first time. Gaz and Frank's feedback on individuals and the team was really valuable. We started to get some sort of shape in attack and we were competing against players who are nearly in the national league. They were definitely tall enough!

I think we all played well and pushed ourselves to improve within the match. Here is just a couple of examples:

Rich had a transformative game. Initially his speedy boy was getting away but, after Rich adjusted position, you could see the joy of foiling a one-trick player. Add in some lovely long shots and it is clear Rich was having a great game.

Ruth also scored a nice couple of goals despite that division's constant Alex Bell-shaped troubles. Gaz did a good job keeping him out while the rest of the division shared the post but this is no easy job.

Frank was upbeat and exceptionally insightful. Having the feedback is so helpful and part of the reason this lost game still feels such a positive. Within the game we all improved and worked together. The team spirit is back and we are working hard on getting the goals to drop.

Scorers: Rich (2), Ruth (2), Dan, Alice, Gaz

MVP: Alice. Stolid defending and even finding time for a goal. She saved me with a switch several times and provided great post support for the boys. A great all round performance.

- Match report by Jo

Match Reports: Learning Lessons Against Basingstoke

Oxford City v Basingstoke Bulls - 31.01.15
Western Regional League
17-4 Loss

We played Basingstoke with our first full City regional team. Congratulations to Theo who made a full match debut and performed well under pressure; and thanks to Rich for stepping up yet again to ensure we can field a full team.

Thinking about the match there are many things we either did wrong or didn't do. We were very quiet for the first 10 minutes and then our new tactics did not quite happen as we had briefly drilled. Having defenders does make it a lot harder. We ran fast but passed slowly over short distances. Lots to correct but nothing we haven't done correctly in the past.

Good points were Claire's amazing ability to hold her ground; Alice's fast mid-distance shooting; and Dan's speed and his ability to play after a serious floor/head impacts -- although Gaz also gets that claim to fame. There was some nice switching but overall we lacked the wider view and had issues with timing.

When I saw the final scoresheet it was very surprising that Gaz's normally super-scoring division came home empty handed, but this does show how hard it was to get the opportunities and convert them.

Scorers: Dan (2), Alice, Jo

MVP: Becca, who came in and changed the shape of the game in her division. Excellent selfless post work and actually actioned the things Frank has been asking us to do.

- Match report by Jo
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Oxford City 1 vs Basingstoke Bulls 1 - 01.02.15
OKA League 1
9-5 Loss

The result says a loss, but the performance was a massive win. For context, it's the closest Basingstoke game we've had for a long long time, and for much of the match the result was in the balance.  With seven of the players bruised (often literally!) from the regional match the day before, I'd like to congratulate everyone in the team for picking themselves up after the previous result, and putting into practice the tactics that Gaz developed overnight to counter the Basingstoke threats.

Basingstoke brought a very strong and experienced squad of 12 players, featuring a current England U21 international in the shape of Viktor.  They've been free scoring this season, with Viktor scoring 65 goals so far, Ali 36, Louisa 38, Stu 31, Adam 26 and comfortable double figures for the most of their squad.

We traded blows in a tight first half, and the score was 4-4 when the whistle went, after some great long shots from Dave W in particular.  The opposition were getting noticeably agitated, with their head coach shouting constantly.

The second half continued in much the same vein, and it really could have gone either way.  Unfortunately, Dan missed a penalty that would have made it 7-5, and the opposition immediately went on to score to make it 8-4.  We also missed a couple of other good chances, and in the end it was a case of what might have been as we traded a couple of late goals.  Still, a great performance, built on a strong defence.  

During the pre-match tactics session Gaz talked about the importance of winning the individual battles, and everyone did.  Dan and Viktor fought out a 0-0 draw, Gaz drew 1-1 with Adam, Alice drew 1-1 with the dangerous Sarah, while Claire marked the dangerous Louisa out of the game with a great demonstration of 'tight D', and Niall was in overdrive in defence. Unfortunately, with so many goalscoring threats, it's hard to completely stop them from scoring! I could name everyone really, as we played that well.

Thank you to Michelle and Becca for coming down to support, and also to Theo for making himself available as a substitute.

Scorers: Dave W (2), Alice (1), Gaz (1), Jo (1)

MVP: Alice

- Match report by Dan