Old Sils Midland Spring Invitation Cup.

The first ever Spring Invitational Tournament held was held at the Sils on Saturday 14th May 2016. The brainchild of 4s Captain Dave Higgins, the tournament proved to be a huge success and Dave was warmly applauded by all the players and spectators. All the teams play in the same Central Midlands Hockey League and the plan is for the tournament to become an annual event hosted by the cup holders.

The morning began with the Sils 4s attempting to erect the gazebo. All the components were unpacked and laid out on the grass. The aluminium frame was pulled, pushed, twisted, turned, raised and lowered, all to no effect. The operation collapsed completely when someone mention 4 corners. That was just too many to contemplate so all the components were disassembled, re-packed and returned to the shed. ‘Nil points’ so far and the Mighty 4s were to prove successful in maintaining this standard for the rest of the day.

Edgbaston, Olton, Hampton and Sils played four thirty-minute games each and all the matches were played with an intensity that defied the blazing sun. The hockey was very competitive but played in a wonderful spirit of good humour and great camaraderie. Edgbaston were worthy winners of the magnificent silver cup and stated their intention to host the tournament next year.

Old Sils v Olton report by John Harrison

M4 met bright and early on Saturday morning to kick-off (if that is the right term) the inaugural Spring Invitational Tournament (SIT? It’s certainly what I felt like doing most of the day….), the fixture list brain child of Cap’n Dave, and a great one too.

When your correspondent arrived all was looking good – sun shining and bar open….and “the Sils Gazebo” under construction on the patio. However, with Keith apparently supervising (well, waving his arms about a lot), Simon failing to recognise that a canvas was probably needed, nobody knowing how the legs extended and in general terms, it was an erection that was clearly a cock-up waiting to happen (or not, if you see what I mean). Common sense prevailed: “why do we need it anyway?”, “if we carry on like this Olton will take the p**s out of us all next season”. The various bits were duly re-bagged and re-garaged (sorry Tabby)…. and we were right, we didn’t need it. Phew!

Off onto the pitch in jovial mood and ready to once more show the O’s how to play, (though they did seem to have one or two young wizz-kids not previously seen at our Central league level…?). “Hold on – we’ve only got 10, where’s Craig, he was here a minute ago”? Ah yes, he’s spilt squash down his shirt and gone home to iron another one and change – course he has. “Rodney you Plonker…….” came to mind.….

Game started. Unfortunately, we failed to show the controlled flowing hockey that had graced Central League Div2 SW for most of this season. The first half was fairly even, with some decent attacking moves coming down the Sils right, JH picking out both Keith and Tony with crosses which with a bit more luck might have been buried. As the game became open, Dave was having a great match behind the unfamiliar central midfield pairing of Simon and Tony, but we were failing to find any real release via our usual outlet of Andy. In the absence of Yogi (taxi duties), Steve was also busy in goal and even though he was dominating the D, even he could do nothing about the foot on the line which resulted in Olton getting a PF, and from it a goal, just before the interval - although Steve got a stick on it, it just had too much power.

The second half saw Olton push further forward and with 4 subs to our none, they were also always going to be the quicker, fitter side. After soaking up some pretty intense pressure and surviving several PCs we did at last manage a spell in their D, winning a PC and generally pressurising their back line – but found Ian Hill in commanding form as ever. A break away from Olton with 5 minutes remaining saw them snatch a second goal to calm their nerves and secure all the points. A word here also for the umpires – I thought Shawn from Hampton and his colleague from Edg were excellent.

Not the start we had planned, but hay-ho, Dave’s cunning plan gave us rest time (to be known henceforth as “seizing -up time”) before we met Edgbaston.

Edgbaston v Old Sils report by Mick Lane

Sils decided on a leisurely stroll to the pitch to start their second game to ensure that Simon returned back in time after collecting his son between games. With the full team now present, the spectators were treated to some pre-match excitement as the team had to change their tops to the away kit.

Edg started very strongly showing strength in every department and piling on the pressure and they had several short corners in quick succession. A well-worked short corner led to their 1st goal after 5 minutes and to their 2nd goal two minutes later when Steve made a great save to keep out the first short only to be beaten by the follow up shot.

The start of the second half saw the Sils have a close shot on goal – unfortunately it was a deflection from one of our defenders in our own D. Mike played a stormer in keeping out the Edg forwards at the top of the D and then by defending 2 short corners in quick succession.

There were some good moves from John down the right and his pass to Jogi (playing out for this game) was followed by Jogi’s through ball to Andy in their D and their goalie made a good save to deny Andy.

A rare short corner for the Sils led to a great shot by Simon which their goalie again managed to save. Keith was just a shade off making the follow up to score.

More pressure from Edg led to their 3rd goal despite Mick’s slow motion (Steve’s description) dive to clear the ball from the incoming player. Sils were still determined to push forward and gained a short corner. A fast injection from John was followed by another good shot from Simon but the clearance from their goalie resulted in a speedy counter attack which led to Edg’s 4th goal. Sils were unlucky not to have scored in the match but all made a hasty retreat to the BBQ and Bar for a well-earned burger and pint.

(Keith: Reporter Pat advises that she has used next season’s first aid kit up and is registering me for RADA in view of Steve’s description of the dive)

Hampton v Old Sils report by Tony Dwyer

Two games in, and the Mighty 4's had yet to trouble the scorer, although several scorers had troubled us - six I think, at that point. So some tough tactical decisions had to be taken - Yogi and Steve Aylin would swap places, with Yogi taking over in goal, and Steve leading our defence, and Willetts would be transferred to Bloss.

The game's opening minutes were notable for headers! First, after crashing through two determined tackles, the dazzlingly attractive Tony Dwyer (sorry - Pat wrote me a game summary, and I haven't managed to fully edit out all of her notes) was nearly taken out by the ball squirting up and nearly taking his head off. Then, a swift counter-attack by Hampton forced Yogi into a fantastic kicked clearance.......straight onto the forehead of a Hampton forward, who exited left, somewhat dazed! The resulting short corner was well defended by Sils, with Steve A showing characteristic coolness under pressure.

However, the tide wasn't turning, and Hampton continued to exert pressure, with Yogi keeping us in the game, making several good saves. Finally, Sils managed to get up the field and force a short corner, and the No 1 routine - Harrison injecting to Simes - resulted in a fierce shot from Simes, which was unfortunately well saved. Sils now began to show signs of life - some of the old sparkle that had lit up the season. Hard work by all meant we began to put pressure on our opponents, and relentless attacking by Andy Rushe in particular seemed sure to lead to a goal. But we were never quite able to totally control the game, due largely to the sheer pace possessed by several of these Hampton 4's, who none of us could quite remember from our league games! Late in the half, a superb counter attack by Hampton saw Sam on his own having to face down four attackers, but he coolly emerged with the ball, leaving the four in his wake.

So, a minute to go to half time, and we were still tied at Nil-Nil, but Hampton were on top again at the end of the half. Another good attack resulted in a forward through on goal, but Yogi pulled off a real show-stopper of a save - full stretch - just tipping it round the post. Fantastic! Yet somehow, Hampton still managed to score an anti-climactic goal, just before the half ended.

Dave and Simes duly did the business at half time - come on guys, we're still very much in this - no reason we can't turn this round. As a result, we began purposefully in the second half. A well-crafted attack saw Rushy put JH through, and Harrison hit a hum-dinger, on target....saved though, by their keeper. The second half continued to ebb and flow, but age began to take its toll on our valiant efforts, and Hampton scored their 2nd and deciding goal with only three minutes left on the clock. Once again, we trooped off bar-wards, to talk tactics and lick our wounds. No lack of effort, but it hadn't been our day on the pitch.

During the moments when I am subbed, I am always fascinated how some teams are able to dominate us, constantly attacking in our last third, and yet able to pass it freely at will in their own half. During these periods it is painfully obvious that even when we get the ball, there is nobody upfield to clear it to, and maybe we need some more rigidity in our set-up. So regardless of pressure, two of our four midfielders, plus the front two would stay upfield, the two midfielders this side of half way, but our front two staying up front?

Anyway, a great day, thanks to Dave's organisation. The sun shone, the burger was really tasty, and the company was good. Oh, and I managed to get yet another injury right at the death, in our fourth game, the ball hit me hard right on my ankle, meaning I'm a virtual cripple as I write this.

Man of the Match - probably Sam, I'd say.

Old Sils v Olton - play-off for 3rd and 4th place. report by Craig Ffitch

Sils’ Final Game, Yogi swapped with Steve in goal for this game but, before he could take to the pitch, Lisa had to re-arrange his upper arm protection as he looked like he had two dislocated shoulders!

Sils’ confidence was boosted by the inclusion of Shaun (having just completed a round trip to Exmouth that morning!). We started positively with Keith showing he still has great skill by receiving a superb pass from Shaun on his reverse side. More good moves followed with Sils beginning to put pressure on Olton. However, their younger, fitter players constructed a good passing move and were able to get past our midfield to score after 11 minutes. Despite this setback, Sils continued to try and play higher up the pitch to press for the equaliser and, although we won a couple of short corners, Olton defended them well and we failed to make anything of the advantage.

Early in the second half, a Sils 16-yard hit looked to have been stopped by an Olton player within 5 metres but the umpire allowed play to go on and the Olton player then crashed the ball into the back of the net.

Nevertheless, with Shaun beginning to dominate the midfield, Sils still pressed forward into the D, with Tony and Simon being particularly active, and succeeded in being awarded another short corner but a great shot from Simon was well blocked by the Olton defence.

Another well-constructed move soon followed with Shaun taking the ball to the bye-line and cracking the ball across the goalmouth. The ball fortunately cannoned off an Olton defender into the goal so, at last, we had a goal for Pat to record in our favour and spare our tournament blushes!

Sils continued to press for the equaliser with some impressive moves and good passing from everyone. Unfortunately, it was not to be but it was a much improved Sils performance and the home crowd thought a draw would have been well-deserved.

Post Script
Steve was so tired after the games that he changed straight into his pyjama bottoms - very cool I must say!

Dave, many thanks for a fantastic season and a great tournament - from all the players in the Mighty 4s.