On November 4th, the Bristol & West Hockey Club saw its ten teams in action, delivering a captivating day of hockey with mixed results. Among the games played, the club ended the day with four victories, showcasing the competitive spirit and dedication of its players across various divisions. A tough week at the top of the club as our first teams get to grips with their new divisions. But some great victories and bags of goals across the board.
In the women's divisions, our first team fell short by a single goal against Redland. The 2nd team put on a stunning display, securing a 4-1 victory against Hanham. Karen and debutant Emzy delivered moments of brilliance, underlining their potential for a successful season. The 3rd team celebrated a well-deserved 5-1 win against OB 5's, showcasing their ability to compete effectively in their division. The 4th team, despite drawing 2-2 against league leaders Westberries, demonstrated their growing cohesion as a team, positioning themselves just three points away from the top spot. These results highlight the club's continued progress and growth on the women's side of the club.
On the men's side, the 1st team faced a challenging encounter, ending the day with a 2-0 loss against Whitchurch. The 2nd team had similarly tough day, suffering a 7-1 defeat at the hands of Cardiff University. Despite a disappointing weekend, both teams stay in the mix with the top teams in their leagues. The 3rd team celebrated an impressive 4-1 victory against Whitchurch, showcasing some of the best hockey they've played in a while. Meanwhile, the 5th team secured their first points of the season with a resounding 9-2 victory against Bristol Firebrands, marking a significant step forward. The 6th team, despite a 6-3 loss, displayed teamwork and contributions from every player on the pitch, proving their capabilities.
Finishing off the weekend, our juniors put in some great performances. Our Badgers played out a 1-1 draw in a mixed team that included some of our Vixens girls. In the U14s festival, our boys were unbeaten across four games.
The Bristol & West Hockey Club continues to be a force to be reckoned with, with its teams competing passionately and making their mark across the West Hockey divisions.
Players of the week
Edd Wood
Smashed it this week with a couple of goals and a hatful of assist in the 5s 9-2 win. And a MOM award to top it off!
Honourable mentions
Molly, Aymie, Hannah and Joy - the Women's 3s front 4 teamed up with goals and assists to put OBs to the sword in their 5-1 win
Dan Lusmore - getting back to fitness with 4 goals
Leanne "Sid" Pursey - back on the pitch after 4+ years, proving that class is permanent with a brace for the women's 4s.
Match Summaries
Men's 1st Team
West Men's Premier
Bristol & West 1 [0-2] Whitchurch 1
Mangotsfield School
Tough weekend for our men's 1s. Unable to recover from a couple of decisions against them, the boys couldn't take advantage of the chances they created. Still, a great start to their first Premiership season as they hold onto a place in the top 3.
Women's 1st Team
West Women's Division 1 North
Redland 1 [1-0] Bristol & West Jaspers 1
Lockleaze Sports Centre
Our women's 1s are building week on week, but just fall short by the one goal again. Unfortunately going behind from an early short corner the girls defended resiliently keeping out a further 15 throughout the course of the game. The performance was worthy of at least a point, but we continue to compete against the top teams in this league and there is a real sense our first win is just around the corner.
Men's 2nd Team
West Men's Division 2 West
Cardiff University 2 [7-1] Bristol & West 2
Talybont Astro
Tough day for the men's 2s today. Fast start, with a precious converted short corner in the first 2 mins. That was the highlight in a long day for the team. We struggled to come back from a couple of questionable umpiring decisions. Some strong individual attacking play from the uni boys resulted in a flurry of second half goals. A disappointing 7-1 defeat at full time and some soul searching to do for the boys! On the plus side, we started the day in 1st, ended the day in 2nd - so work to do, but very much still in the mix 💪
Goal: Faerber
MOM: Kian
DOD: Faerber
Assist: Joe
Cards: Faerber 🟩, Ollie J ,🟩
Women's 2nd Team
West Women's Berkeley Division 2
Bristol & West Jaspers 2 [4-1] Hanham 1
Mangotsfield School
Our women's 2s welcomed some familiar faces to Mangotsfield in the form of Hanham. We know how experienced these ladies are and they always prove difficult to breakdown. In the end the game turned on a couple of moments of quality in the D. A first half upright reverse strike from Karen🔥and a second-half top-bins rocket from debutant Emzy 🚀 set us up for the victory. A textbook back-post tap in from Dibbs and a 3rd goal of the season for Smurph saw us come away with a 4-1 victory.
5 wins from 5 this season sets up a showdown with table-toppers Dursley next week. A true "6-pointer" - let's go!
Goals: Karen, Dibbs, Emzy, Smurph
Men's 3rd Team
West Men's Bridge Division 1
Bristol & West 3 [4-1] Whitchurch 4
Mangotsfield School
Men’s 3’s had a good 4-1 win against Whitchurch 4’s, some of the best hockey we’ve played in a long time with great performances all round.
Goals - Alex, Patch, Jules, Doey
MOM - Patch for his penetrating drives from right back.
DOD - John for not 1 but 2 hooked ariels off the side of the pitch!
Women's 3rd Team
West Women's Brunel Division 3
Old Bristolians 5 [1-5] Bristol & West Jaspers 3
Bristol - Old Bristolians (V)
The ladies 3s had a great game away against OB 5’s coming away with a well deserved 5-1 win! 🤩 4 wins from 5 this season and very much still in touch with the league leaders.
Goals: Molly x 2, Hannah, Aymie, Joy
Assists: Hannah x 2, Molly, Aymie, Joy
POM: Holly
Defender: Emily
Women's 4th Team
West Women's Berkeley Division 3
Bristol & West Jaspers 4 (Dev) [2-2] Westberries 6 Dev
Mangotsfield School
Ladies 4s drew 2-2 with top of the league Westberries, it was a fantastic performance from everyone! Working hard in training, the 4s are really coming together as a team. This weekend's draw puts the team 3 points from the top of the league!
Goals: Sid x2 (almost a hat-trick but one disallowed sadly!)
Assists: Erin Campbell and Megan Campbell
POTM: Sian Burdis 💪🏻👑
Defender: Erin Corrigan ⭐️
Men's 5th Team
West Men's Bridge Division 2
Bristol Firebrands 5 [2-9] Bristol & West 5
Bristol - Firebrands HC
Men’s 5s narrowly won 9-2 away against firebrands for our first points of the season. We've been biding our time, but this week the performance was emphatic!
Goals to Mahesh, Nathan, X, Edd and Lus
Mom Edd
Dod Lus for “accidentally” throwing his stick on two separate occasions and avoiding a card
Defender : rob ledger
Men's 6th Team
West Men's Concorde Division 2
Bristol & West 6 [3-6] South Gloucestershire 2
Mangotsfield School
6’s lost 6-3. Another very good team game, with everyone contributing throughout the pitch from start to finish, and the score not a reflection on how well we did. Goals from Andy Higginson Sam Homer and Matthew Williams. Ben Swanell played really well in goal for us again, making some great saves and interceptions to keep us in the game. Leo Margetts had a great game at the back. Charlie Payne had good start in the middle until he went off injured. Welcome to Chester Kuttner, who had his first match for the club. And welcome back Ges Rosenberg.
Badgers (U16)
Draw 1-1
Goal - Barnaby
POM - Sam
A game we could have won, I lost count how many shots on target we had.
Today saw Micah’s Badgers GK debut. He saved a shot on goal and a short corner in the dying minutes. Awesome!
We had three Vixens also for their first Badgers outing and you would never have known 👊🏼
Really impressed by the teamwork.
Thanks to Neil for umpiring with my daughters netball whistle .
Under 14s Boys
To top off the weekend our U14 boys entered the Boys U14 Festival. Unbeaten in their 4 games, our lads showed that we've got a bright future at the club.