A frantic week of fixtures saw the men's 1s and 2s catching up on games that fell victim of the December/January frost. The weekend started early, with a spectacle under the Mangotsfield lights on Thursday night. In front of a packed crowd, our 1s took apart Chippenham in a 8-1 thriller. Performing twice in a few days is always a test, and the 1s and 2s couldn't follow up their first games with consecutive victories. But a collection of wins and draws ensured that our Men's 1s & 2s along with our Women's 1s, 2s and 3s remain unbeaten in 2023, with all 5 teams in the top 3 positions in their leagues.
The Stat's by Harry
Player of the Week
Neil Nelly/Neller Richardson
Getting the 2s back into their game against Bridgend 1s after being 2-1 at half time. His first goal in orange colours meant that he was the MVP.
Honourable Mentions:
Aymie Elkins-Green - Scoring the only goal of the game to keep L3s in with a chance of promotion. Aymie's goal earned a Heroine Bonus along with points for a clean sheet!
Tom Bryant - Scoring another 2 (+ 1 assist) this week to keep his accolade of a goal in every game very much alive. Unfortunately, it must be mentioned that Tom had a P Flick saved and then Glos hit back late on to make it 3-3. M1s drop into 2nd place on goal difference.
Daniel Lusmore - Another 2 goals and a Hero Bonus for winning the game for M2s in a tough fixture against Bridgend 1s. Dan did also pick up a green card though, one can only assume it was for a topless celebration!
https://bristol-west.fantasyclubhockey.co.uk/
Match Roundup
Men's 1st Team
Bristol & West [8-1] Chippenham
Gloucester City 1 [3-3] Bristol & West
Two games this week for our men's 1st team saw us demolish Chippenham in front of a strong crowd on Thursday night. A tight 3-3 draw on the Saturday against Gloucester ensured that the 1s retain their unbeaten record, but slip to 2nd in the division on goal difference. With only 2 goals separating us from Bristol Uni, it's all to play for in West Men's Division 1 North.
Women's 1st Team
Bristol & West Jaspers 1 [0-0] Cirencester 1
Our Ladies 1s also drew on Saturday to retain their equally impressive unbeaten unbeaten record. A 0-0 against a tough Cirencester 1s team marked yet another defensive clean sheet, and kept our position at the top of the table.
POTM: Han
Votes for: Laura, Meg, Claudia, Charlene, Toni, Ellie, Becca
Men's 2nd Team
Bristol & West 2 [3-2] Bridgend 1
Gwent 1 [2-2] Bristol & West 2
Two games this weekend for the men's 2s. Kicking off with a 3-2 win vs Bridgend at home. Wasn’t the prettiest performance, but grateful for the W however it comes. 2 goals from Lus and one from Neller. Came back from 2-1 down at HT. Excellent performances from JJ, Si, Max, Nevs but man of the match performance from Neller who orchestrated the game like a prime Tom Brady.
Sunday saw us take the trip over the bridge to Cwmbran to face off against an in-form Gwent. The game was played at a frantic pace (or maybe just felt like it with the Saturday match still in the legs!) with the points finally shared. Another day, we might have taken the win, but a fairly satisfying weekend to stay unbeaten in 2023.
Women's 2nd Team
Bristol UWE 1 [1-1] Bristol & West Jaspers 2
Ladies 2 played a very strong game today, facing off against promotion rivals UWE. It was essential not to allow the opposition to pull away from them on points. The team stepped up to take a 1-1 draw, keeping hopes alive.
Pom - Lauren O'Kane for smashing it in defence
Goal - Karen with a textbook short
Assist - Ella
Everyone played amazing so great team effort all round 😁🍊
Men's 3rd Team
Bristol Firebrands 2 [5-4] Bristol & West 3
Another disappointing 5-4 loss for the men’s 3’s, a great game for the spectators and genuinely could have gone either way. A great effort from all that played.
Goals- Platty 2, Varney 1, Jules 1
MOM - ‘Big’ Ross - solid as always in the midfield
DOD - Jules - for still wearing a hoodie under his shirt and not knowing his teammates name!!
Women's 3rd Team
Wotton-Under-Edge 3 [0-1] Bristol & West Jaspers 3
3s won todays match 1 - 0! Was an early start for the sleepy 3s but this didn't stop them from kicking ass!
Goals: Aymie 🥅
Assists: Anna 🏑
POTM : Franny 🤩
Votes for: Rach, Liv, Molly 🙌
Defender of the Match : Liv 💪
Men's 4th Team
Bristol Firebrands 4 [4-2] Bristol & West 4
Yet another ‘must win’ for the 4s was sadly a 4-2 loss to Brands 4s on a nice re-laid pitch at Clevedon (shame Mangos isn’t in N Som). Friday night we had no keeper ‘till Duncan the padded super-hero saved the day (and indeed, a lot of shots). Everyone gave it their all, ultimately battling to total exhaustion - but in the end we were just overcome by a Brands team brimming with stars of yesteryear who by consensus, were rather stronger than their 3s.
Big positive to see the skipper, who we love dearly, returning to form after injury.
Goals: Sam x2
POTM: Alex
DOTM: Mike
Men's 5th Team
Bristol & West 5 [0-0] Wotton-Under-Edge 5 Dev
Men's 6th Team
Bristol & West 6 (Dev) [1-3] Bristol Firebrands 6
The 6’s went down 3-1 to Firebrands - we had the opportunities to score more and should have - few mistakes and 2 cheap goals given away didn’t help - couldn’t fault the effort guys , just need to be more clinical in front of goal 😉