Leadenham 2 – 0 Grantham

Following the Christmas festivities and the Club EGM, a full team and sub (nearly 3 – Blobby and Alex Clark!) took on Leadenham at Cranwell. The weather forecast looked pretty grim, but the showers held off.

The first half was more about remembering how to play hockey, as four weeks break and no practice meant that Leadenham were certainly the slicker in the pass. George Lodge, Graham Johnson, Andy Nix, Nick Jack and Andy Willey in goal, a cameo for Simon Hill, kept attacks under control, also stifling a couple of short corners in the first half.

Strong play by new man Nigel Baldwin and Nick Wraith in the centre midfield also assisted defence and helped bring the ball forward in attack. Wing men Andy Hill and Mark Pearce toiled with some joy, but front men Muz Pirwana and David Braunton didn’t really carve out any real chances to threaten the Leadenham goal in the first half.

Grantham were pleased to remain level at half time.

A formation change moved Andy Hill up front and David Braunton to right wing. Grantham probably had a little more of the play and the game was more evenly played than the first half. Some runs down the right wing and crosses to Muzzamil Pirwani nearly broke the deadlock.

Two short corners for Grantham produced saves or deflections for Baldwin and Braunton, but this time it was Leadenham’s defence’s turn to stand firm.

As you’d expect, the longer the game went on, tiredness crept in, the game stretched and gaps would appear as players strived harder for the breakthrough. It was Leadenham who scored first, counter attacking quickly to outmanoeuvre Grantham’s defence. 1-0.

Grantham strived to try and equalise, following our brilliant comeback at Long Sutton we knew we had done it before.

Another short corner, but no reward. Runs at leadenham by Baldwin, Pearce, Hill, Pirwana and Braunton pushed the game well into the Leadenham half, but another swift counter attack from Leadenham led to a superbly struck goal (unfortunately the wrong end for Grantham), an Aguero-esque volley leaving Willey helpless. 2-0.

Happy to have played, but probably deserving only to loose by one goal, the final whistle came. Some of the silky play just before Chirstmas, is certainly still there, but cobwebs need blowing off!

Now on to two home games at the Mere’s 2pm, if anyone wants to come and cheer us on.

Latest news our last match at the Meres will be 6th February 2pm, subject to the weather.

East League Division 6 NW (N) – Long Sutton 4ths 2-5 Grantham

A full complement of Grantham men travelled to Long Sutton for their fourth league game of the season and came away with a well earned 5-2 win.

The first half began with Grantham in the ascendency as David Nix, Oli Phillips and Adam Phillips worked well in the centre, testing the opposition’s keeper early on. The combination of a strong centre feeding the wingers Will Hill and Simon Curzon-Hepworth allowed Grantham to score their first goal through Adam Phillips.

The momentum remained with Grantham but a number of missed tackles within the midfield allowed Long Sutton to break through and claw back a cheap goal at the expense of the experienced backline of Andy Willey, Graham Johnson, Nick Jacks & Neil Hanlon.

It was shortly after that Grantham were given their first yellow card with Adam Phillips being sent to the benches following being dragged to the ground by the opposition and dissenting. Unfortunately for Long Sutton this fired up Phillips when he returned and a well-worked short corner earned him his second goal of the day.

The first half finished with Grantham remaining the dominant force but another card was given to Jem Hill, once again for dissent, something which captain Johnson was quick to stamp out at half time.

A reinvigorated Grantham began the second half with vigour and following well-practised routines from Declan Curzon-Hepworth and Mark Pearce it was possible to build from the backline and reward David Nix with a goal to increase the lead to 3 -1. Long Sutton were quick to respond and close the gap, however Grantham remained determined and Oli Phillips was unlucky not to score after a slip from the oppositions back line left him one on one with the keeper.

Once at full strength again Grantham produced a number of textbook passing routines, keeping the ball well out of reach of the opposition before finding Ali Phillips once again and he completed his hat-trick.

Unfortunately Grantham’s full 11 did not last long as the response from the opposition was to force players off the ball with a number of bone-crunching tackles. Oli Phillips was unlucky once again as, following a Tom Daley-esque dive across the goalmouth he connected with the ball to send it soaring into the net, only to have it disallowed for an earlier infringement, losing the much desired advantage.

David Nix was then hooked over by a Long Sutton defender and was reprimanded by the umpire for retaliation, and received the third and final card.

With both teams down to 10 men the game proceeded in much the same way as the start with Grantham dominating the midfield. Similar to the first half David Nix returned fired up from the bench to supply Oli Phillips with a superb pass onto the left wing who then placed it through Long Sutton’s defence to Paul Hollingworth who finished with sublime accuracy.

This first league win of the season was achieved under difficult circumstances for Grantham who hope to extend their winning ways against Alford in the coming week.

Harrison Green man of the match was Adam Phillips.

Team: A Manguzis (GK), A Willey, G Johnson (C), N Jacks, D Nix, J Hill, W Hill, O Phillips, A Phillips, M Pearce, S C-Hepworth, D C-Hepworth, N Hanlon, P Hollingsworth, D Sykes (umpire)

East League Division 6 NW – Spalding 5ths 3-0 Grantham

Grantham’s first league game of the season began with a slow start as a well-drilled Spalding side capitalised on all chances to win 3-0.

The first half began with Grantham finding their feet in an unfamiliar formation, a consequence of having a completely new roster for Grantham’s captain Graham Johnson to call upon. However, the first goal against new keeper Arnold Manguzis came from a deflection from a Grantham defender and the keeper was left with little chance to make a save.

The remainder of the first half remained a struggle for Grantham as the youthful Spalding team stormed through the midfield and defence with little resistance, but Granthams experienced back-line of Andy Willey, Nick Jacks, Graham Johnson and Paul Burns did well to prevent all but one other attempt on goal from reaching the back-board. The closest Grantham chance came when Oli Phillips drove down the left wing and crossed but no Grantham player could reach his pass.

Following a reshuffle of the pack to adapt to the pace of Spalding’s attacks, the performance in midfield improved dramatically in the second half. Will and Jem Hill combined well with David Nix, David Braunton and Mark Pearce to open up play and control the ball within Spalding’s half. A number of chances came from Nix striking at the top of the circle and Jem Hill placed a powerful shot just a hairs breadth from the cross bar.

Grantham also benefited from a calm approach when attacking and defending, especially as Spalding became increasingly frustrated at not adding more goals. The result was a number of short corners for Grantham, although none were converted.

As the second half progressed Spalding capitalised on a breakaway chance and scored leaving Grantham with little chance of getting back into the match.

Oli Phillips, returning for his first full league game since breaking his leg October 2012 was named as Grantham’s Harrison Green man of the match.

Team: A Manguzis (GK), A Willey, G Johnson (C), N Jacks, P Burns, D Braunton, D Nix, O Phillips, W Hill, J Hill, M Pearce, D Sykes (umpire)

Grantham Hockey Club began their pivotal 2013-14 season with a 1-0 friendly win over West Bridgford at The Meres.

What started as a grey and overcast morning, ended in warm sunshine with the new-look Grantham Men’s first team looking good value for their success.

Following a close season in which player availability has been a concern, Grantham had 18 players to choose from, a pleasing turnout indeed.

New captain Graham Johnson subsequently explained the new team formation – 2-3-3-2 – and slotted players into their positions with a rolling sub system in operation for eight of the outfield positions.

Grantham took a little while to adapt to the new system, but after a short period of time they start to take control of the match. A series of quick attacks spearheaded by David Nix from a defensive central midfield position pushed West Bridgford back and earned a short corner. Although the strike was easily dealt with. Will Hill and Ben Willey combined well up front and on the right hand side, good defensive play from David MacDonald, Andy Nix and Andy Willey showed that in spite of a lack of match fitness, experience and good timing are valuable tools to have in the arsenal.

New goalkeeper Arnold Manguzis played excellently on the occasions he was called upon – never having played in goal for a field hockey match, skills learned in ice hockey and martial arts came to the fore with lightning-fast reactions repelling shots at Grantham’s goal and at half-time there was no score.

After the break, Grantham started positively, controlled more of the game and generally dictated the play. West Bridgford didn’t manage a shot on goal and were well marshalled by Grantham’s defence.

Grantham won a series of short corners, but unfortunately Alex Clark’s drag flicking couldn’t get through the wall of defenders.

As the match wore on, West Bridgford did manage to feature a little more in the game, forcing a short corner, however a rather slow push out was latched on to by David Braunton and quickly dispatched to the left wing.

Picked up by Oli Phillips, playing his first game since breaking his leg early last season, he drove at the goal and released a pass into the West Bridgford cricle, which was slotted him by Clark to put home side 1-0 up.

For the remainder of the match Grantham managed to keep West Bridgford at bay, and indeed there were more encouraging signs of the team beginning to gel, the play taking part mostly in the opposition’s half.

At the final whistle there was a tangible sense of achievement at making the perfect start to the season.

With a few more players still to join the squad Grantham can hopefully look forwards to not only completing the season, but with a good competitive team with a positive attitude and outlook. Roll on Peterborough City next weekend!

Grantham’s Man of the Match was debutant Manguzis.

Reminder: training starts this Wednesday, 25th September, 8-9 pm.

Men: Ely City 3rds 1-2 Grantham

After a two week snow-enforced break, Grantham travelled to Ely City, keen to do the double after a 4-2 win at home that also sidelined captain Oli Phillips with a broken leg.

On a cold and blustery afternoon, Grantham took to the field, keen to blow away any cobwebs that the two week lay-off had brought and using a revised 3-5-2 formation, made a good start, controlling the play and breaking down any attack Ely City could muster.

A centre midfield trio of Mark Gray, Sam McAllister and Joe Starks gave a firm foundation for a forward moving and progressive style of play, swiftly moving the ball from left to right and back
again to create a series of probing attacks to test the Ely defence.

On the odd occasion that Ely did break forward, the defence of Benjie Groom, Graham Johnson and Mark Richardson combined to let nothing through, indeed quickly passing to the midfield to turn
defence back into attack.

About 20 minutes into the game a concerted period of Grantham pressure led to the opening goal and a deserved 1-0 lead. David Braunton, cut in with the ball, reverse hitting across the top of the Ely circle and supplying the ball into the path of David Nix, who finished with aplomb with a carefully placed shot.

Grantham safely saw out the remainder of the 1st half to take a 1-0 lead into the break.

Grantham started the second half playing into the low winter sun. Ely certainly started brightly and threw everything they could at the visitors; the game ebbing and flowing with both teams
playing counter-attacking hockey. Eventually Ely secured a short corner, and from it made no mistake, a firmly struck shot beating Will Leadenham, who up until this point had had very little to do.

Whereas prior to Christmas Grantham might have been pushed back and conceded further goals, this was not to happen today. The team continued to push forward, with the defence spreading the ball, taking advantage of the space appearing as the fast-paced match took its toll.

Grantham managed to wrestle back control of the game through a series of short and long corners, and another reverse stick run across the top of the circle, left the Ely defence by-passed and a well placed ball through to Nix gave him only the keeper to beat. After a couple of quick adjustments he calmly slotted the ball into the empty goal – Grantham back in front 2-1.

In spite of Ely’s determination to find a second equaliser, Grantham remained resolute. One lifted shot into the circle was turned into the goal by Mark Richardson, but was rightly
ruled out for dangerous play by the Ely Umpires.

The final whistle soon after heralded just Grantham’s second away victory of the season.

Notable performances included a strong showing in defence by Groom who played calmly under pressure, Starks, who despite his youth gave an accomplished performance – certainly a bright light for the future and Nix for his brace up front.

Starks was named as the Duncan & Toplis man of the match.

Report by David Braunton