Welsh Trophy win caps stellar season for Penarth Hockey Club

Although the silverware was shared on this occasion, with only the men’s 1st XI emerging victorious, all three sides produced battling performances against strong opposition that bode well for the future.

Penarth 6 - Bangor University 2

Penarth faced unknown opponents Bangor University in the Welsh Trophy final and, despite looking to make history by completing a memorable league and cup double, were well aware that any team that can come all the way from North Wales to beat recognised power Whitchurch on home soil would be a threat to their dream.

The Bears also knew, however, that they had experience of playing in finals before, and were keen to test the students’ resolve. Sure enough, as they had done all year, Penarth were quickest out of the traps and it wasn’t long before their early dominance paid off.

After working possession down the right, the ball eventually found its way to Ben Croxall inside the D. Despite having his back to goal, the player-coach was given far too much time to turn and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top corner to open the scoring and settle any nerves Penarth may have had.

The Bears continued to dominate the following periods of play, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and territory and, although Bangor proved a constant threat on the counter-attack, Penarth’s defence - marshalled by the dominant Richard Gareth John - kept their shape and composure to repel the student attacks.

With the defence looking solid, it was not long before the Vale side would start to run riot, with the irresistible Laith El-Khatib next on the score sheet, firing a low shot across goal and into the bottom corner to double the lead.

Croxall was in top form for the big day and frustrated the University players sufficiently to earn a penalty stroke following some wild tackles. Dave Joyce stepped up to take the penalty and, with minimal fuss, rifled his flick high to the ‘keeper’s right.

Despite being 3-0 up and cruising, Penarth still had to rely on heroics from their own goalkeeper, Mark Harris, to keep it that way, with one Bangor penalty corner appearing destined for the top right corner before being thwarted by a flying Harris, who picked it out on the tip of his stick.

Keen to repay the favour, the Bears grabbed a fourth goal before the half was out, with El-Khatib reacting quickest when his own penalty corner was saved to put one Penarth hand on the trophy heading into the break.

Far from giving up hope, however, Bangor came out fighting in the second half and, aided early on by a string of cards that reduced Penarth to nine men, used their numerical advantage to great effect, pulling a goal back as a reverse stick strike looped into the D and was batted home by a lone attacker.

The University, spurred on by their own vocal support, now had their tails up and worked tirelessly to reduce the deficit even further, albeit in dubious circumstances as Andrew Hornby was adjudged to have made a dangerous play due to his knees being on the floor during a tackle. The students did not waste the opportunity, converting the ensuing penalty corner despite Harris diving low to his right and getting a touch on the ball.

At 4-2 and with Penarth still short-handed, the game had well and truly burst into life, with both sets of supporters now in full voice to ramp up the atmosphere. With the students still intent on pulling the sides closer, it was down to Penarth’s returning mercurial talent, Chris Baker, to all but settle the tie.

Having spent several weeks recuperating from a broken hand, he returned in style by weaving his way through the Bangor defence before slotting home a low reverse stick shot from the edge of the D.

With less than 15 minutes on the clock, the game was all but over, but that did not stop the Bears from pushing to the end. As the students grew increasingly frustrated at not being able to complete their comeback, Penarth were awarded another penalty stroke and, this time, Tyrone Moore stepped up to score his first goal for the club and spark jubilant celebrations that lasted long into the night.

Goalscorers: Laith El-Khatib (2), Ben Croxall, Chris Baker, Dave Joyce (pen), Tyrone Moore (pen)

Penarth A 1 - Swansea University A 3

Penarth’s 2nd XI had the envious task of opening the finals weekend just hours after the Welsh national team had hosted France on the same pitch, but were rewarded when the forecasted cold conditions failed to materialise, leaving their encounter with Swansea University to be played in pleasantly warm early morning sunshine.

With the opposition having won the division above Penarth’s with weeks to spare, the pre-match talk was all about putting in good personal performances, enjoying the day and making everyone connected with the club and the town proud, but the Bears had little time to settle themselves as the bouncy surface and pressure applied by a younger side hunting in numbers forced early errors.

The nerves were settled by Sam Docherty and Tom Parkinson linking up on the right to move the ball through the heart of University midfield, which spurred the crowd to find their voice. Penarth responded to the roar and, eschewing their usual possession hockey in a bid to bypass the Swansea midfield and find forwards sitting high, took the lead against the run of play.

Nathan Townsend made a crucial tackle in his own half before firing an accurate 50-yard ball to find Sam Chick to the left of the Swansea area. Shaking off his markers before entering the D, Chick could have tried his luck on goal but, instead of attempting a shot, played an unselfish pass to Dave Watkins who, despite a last ditch dive by a Swansea defender, rounded the ‘keeper and hit the backboard to give Penarth an unexpected advantage.

The crowd erupted, creating a wall of noise that not only boosted the underdogs, but also seemed to spur Swansea into redoubling their efforts. Penarth goalkeeper Jason Harris had already pulled off several important saves, while the central defensive duo of Craig Llewellyn and Jamie Davison – despite the latter taking a ball to the knee – made tackle after tackle whilst having the composure to feed the ball into the midfield, allowing James Kerr-Smith and David Kidby to apply pressure of their own.

Unfortunately for Penarth the defensive effort would eventually be breached, if only from a set-piece as the students finally made a series of penalty corners count to bring the scores level late in the first half. With James Davies dominating the left hand side of defence, the score remained 1-1 to the break, allowing Penarth to take on much needed refreshments and tactical advice from coaches Chris Baker and Ben Croxall.

Still believing that they could cause a massive shock against the higher-ranked side, the Bears began the second half brightly, with James Kidby making unselfish runs to pull the Swansea defenders to all areas of the pitch. The University, however, kept coming forward in numbers, although their efforts were matched by the effervescent Kerr-Smith and Parkinson, the latter invoked his side’s warrior spirit after taking a rebound to the face that left him with a fattening lip.

The relentless pace eventually ensured that tiredness kicked in, however, and Penarth were to concede two quick goals that effectively put the game beyond doubt midway through the half. Fresh legs were brought on as captain Matthew Birch returned to replace the hard-working David Kidby, and youngsters Sam and Morgan Salisbury made their bow alongside Graeme Jones.

Their introduction helped put Swansea on the back foot for the final 10 minutes and, with Townsend replacing Harris in an effort to throw more bodies forward, a final burst of energy from Watkins, Chick and James Kidby produced a late flurry of penalty corners.

Swansea defended these well, however, with Docherty notably being denied a late consolation by a combination of defenders and the goalkeeper, and the game ended 3-1 to the younger University team, but Penarth’s display, while fruitless on the day, confirmed that they will undoubtedly be able to compete in the higher division next year.

Goalscorer: David Watkins

Penarth Ladies A 1 - Cardiff University Medics 3

Penarth Ladies 2nd XI had their Welsh Trophy final sandwiched between the two men’s games, but retained a large – and vocal - crowd as they took on Cardiff University Medics 1st XI.

Perhaps as was to be expected, the student side, which had comfortably won the division contested by both teams, proved to be too strong on the day, and two goals late in the first half left Penarth chasing the game.

It was a task the Vale side rose to, refusing to buckle under constant pressure with the back line of Gail Humphries, Debbie Evans, Aislinn Cooper and Shirley Karseras getting through a tremendous amount of work as they dealt with a dynamic Medics side.

Goalkeeper Becca Egerstrom, on her last appearance for Penarth before heading to university, also played her part in frustrating the student side, pulling off some strong saves in both halves, but was powerless to prevent the Medics from adding a third goal midway through the second period to put the game beyond Penarth’s reach.

Once again, however, it was to the Bears’ credit that they continued to try and take the game to their opponents and they were rewarded with the final goal of the match as Dutch striker Meike Westers pulled one back after a great break and cross from forward partner Gabby Williams.

After coming close to promotion during the regular season, Saturday’s performance, while disappointing, will further instil confidence in the Penarth side heading into the summer break, when coach Dafydd Tomos begins his second year in charge.

Goalscorer: Meike Westers

Although league and cup competitions are now over for the 2015-16 season, hockey will continue through the summer, with the men’s veterans side, in particular, having a full schedule of fixtures and tournaments to fill the break before the 2016-17 season gets underway.

Penarth Hockey Club always welcomes new, old and returning players, umpires, supporters, friends and helpers regardless of age and ability. Training will resume at Stanwell School ahead of the new season, with details to be confirmed.

Anyone interested in joining the club at senior or youth level can contact either player-coach Ben Croxall (b_croxall20@yahoo.co.uk) or club secretary Dave Stevens (d_stevens81@hotmail.co.uk) for further information.