We arrived at Westwood on a bitterly cold October night. We had already got wind of Birmingham Medic’s fielding their 1st team- and of course they were already training at 8.15pm when the first few players of Warwick infamous mixed hockey team rocked up. With Brum’s players exhibiting exceptional professionalism and decorum, the Warwick players who had turned up on time decided to slap the ball around in pairs to warm up the arms. Of course Gurdy and Harry had already warmed up arms in the gym earlier that day; with Harry having a picture of Gurdy unable to lift 2kg- poor show.
As Thornton was getting kitted up (and attracting the attention of many Brum ladies and men alike), some Warwick players helped move the sideline goals completely off the pitch. At roughly 2030 hours, the umpire moistened his lips and blew the whistle.
It’s important to note us Warwick players started the match with the confidence that we may potentially hold back Birmingham from scoring many goals, even hold them to a draw. To a few, even a win could be achieved with sweat, chafing and hard work.
That optimism was short lived. Brum’s female super striker ran in behind the defense and hit a sweet shot low and hard to beat Thornton. The referee seemed to look at his watch- 5 minutes gone. It looked like it was going to be a long match. Cameron’s unfitness seemed to show, looking like he was pulling a train within 10 minutes. If only he had trained cardio or legs with Gurdy or Harry. Those are some fit lads. Back to the main event- Cameron subbed off and on comes Matt Walne; a powerhouse. Richard and Henry were linking up well, playing off each other and making wonderful runs to try and unlink the Brum defense. Henry provided a lot of skill, with Richard’s approach of ‘if the ref doesn’t blow it, go in harder next time’ seemingly working. No such luck unfortunately, with the opposition’s impressive press and link up play through the middle simply outclassing the Warwick team. Ieuan and Homma were a great team as well, completing neat 1-2’s before passing off to the wings to build up the play. Harry and Bridget was having a blinder of a game considering she was up against some seriously impressive Brum CMs. Harry provided some much needed muscle and skill to try and dampen the Birmingham attack.
Roughly 5 shots had passed into Thornton’s goals, alas, the same could not be same for the Brum keeper. However, there was a questionable challenge on Matt Walne but the ref must have been looking the other way, or perhaps daydreaming. We’ll never know.
Roughly 5 mins before the end of the first half, Cameron comes back on. 20 seconds later, the crowd sees him thundering from the center of the pitch to the sideline, in an attempt to make a tackle on a female Birmingham player. What was planned as a little nudge, and an entirely legal tackle, turned into a bodycheck that Stone Cold Steve Austin would have been proud of. Warwick medics wince, and the Birmingham sideline take a break from playing 80s music and drinking K cider to shout at poor Cameron. His ego had already taken a battering and he apologized and tried to walk away. The umpire was having none of it- and showed a quick green card and a minimum of 2 minutes in the sinbin. There are unconfirmed reports from some people that say they heard the faint cry of Thornton shouting, “If you can’t handle the heat, get out the kitchen honey” (a reference to his favourite tv chef Gordon Ramsey) at the Birmingham team. Allegedly.
The half time whilst blows, and the score is about 5-0 to Birmingham. Who’s counting though? Copious amounts of orange segments were handed out and devoured, with Homma, Henry and Harry giving great pieces of constructive info.
Warwick set up the shape again and pushed back to start the 2nd half. This half seemed to go in a flash, with Birmingham goal after Birmingham goal going past Thornton and onto the scoresheet. But then: a moment of brilliance. A Brum forward takes a strike- everyone thinks it is going top corner. Harry’s already tearing his hair out, ready to scream at the nearest teammate. But who should be there to meet it? Thornton. Like a king salmon jumping upstream out of the Yukon River, attempting to find a suitable mating partner for season, he leapt into the air and palmed away the ball to stop the score rising higher. A play that some say, earned him the Man of the Match award- someone sign him up!
Warwick’s chances came few and far between, however we still played great hockey that would have undoubtedly beaten other teams that weren’t of similar standard of the national Dutch team. A notable play come from Bridget bringing the ball up, holding off players and giving the ball to Harry, who was steamrolling up the pitch screaming “BRIDGET… BRIDGET… BRIDGET!”, with no reference of where to pass the ball. Harry got the ball, but lost it. Close, but no cigar.
Eventually, after 10 goals, the umpire blew the final whistle and we shook hands with our opposition. Knowing we got beaten was a bittersweet feeling, we were thoroughly outclasses, but played some excellent hockey and there were some key takeaway points from our performance.
We ended the night in Varsity, where Henry ordered a safe half pint, we all dug into some delicious chicken wings and Richard declared he wished he was back playing with his Birmingham team. I don’t want to comment on speculation, but I have a feeling he’ll pay for that comment somehow during initiation.
Overall, a solid performance with a scoreline that doesn’t reflect the effort and performance of the Warwick side.
As Thornton was getting kitted up (and attracting the attention of many Brum ladies and men alike), some Warwick players helped move the sideline goals completely off the pitch. At roughly 2030 hours, the umpire moistened his lips and blew the whistle.
It’s important to note us Warwick players started the match with the confidence that we may potentially hold back Birmingham from scoring many goals, even hold them to a draw. To a few, even a win could be achieved with sweat, chafing and hard work.
That optimism was short lived. Brum’s female super striker ran in behind the defense and hit a sweet shot low and hard to beat Thornton. The referee seemed to look at his watch- 5 minutes gone. It looked like it was going to be a long match. Cameron’s unfitness seemed to show, looking like he was pulling a train within 10 minutes. If only he had trained cardio or legs with Gurdy or Harry. Those are some fit lads. Back to the main event- Cameron subbed off and on comes Matt Walne; a powerhouse. Richard and Henry were linking up well, playing off each other and making wonderful runs to try and unlink the Brum defense. Henry provided a lot of skill, with Richard’s approach of ‘if the ref doesn’t blow it, go in harder next time’ seemingly working. No such luck unfortunately, with the opposition’s impressive press and link up play through the middle simply outclassing the Warwick team. Ieuan and Homma were a great team as well, completing neat 1-2’s before passing off to the wings to build up the play. Harry and Bridget was having a blinder of a game considering she was up against some seriously impressive Brum CMs. Harry provided some much needed muscle and skill to try and dampen the Birmingham attack.
Roughly 5 shots had passed into Thornton’s goals, alas, the same could not be same for the Brum keeper. However, there was a questionable challenge on Matt Walne but the ref must have been looking the other way, or perhaps daydreaming. We’ll never know.
Roughly 5 mins before the end of the first half, Cameron comes back on. 20 seconds later, the crowd sees him thundering from the center of the pitch to the sideline, in an attempt to make a tackle on a female Birmingham player. What was planned as a little nudge, and an entirely legal tackle, turned into a bodycheck that Stone Cold Steve Austin would have been proud of. Warwick medics wince, and the Birmingham sideline take a break from playing 80s music and drinking K cider to shout at poor Cameron. His ego had already taken a battering and he apologized and tried to walk away. The umpire was having none of it- and showed a quick green card and a minimum of 2 minutes in the sinbin. There are unconfirmed reports from some people that say they heard the faint cry of Thornton shouting, “If you can’t handle the heat, get out the kitchen honey” (a reference to his favourite tv chef Gordon Ramsey) at the Birmingham team. Allegedly.
The half time whilst blows, and the score is about 5-0 to Birmingham. Who’s counting though? Copious amounts of orange segments were handed out and devoured, with Homma, Henry and Harry giving great pieces of constructive info.
Warwick set up the shape again and pushed back to start the 2nd half. This half seemed to go in a flash, with Birmingham goal after Birmingham goal going past Thornton and onto the scoresheet. But then: a moment of brilliance. A Brum forward takes a strike- everyone thinks it is going top corner. Harry’s already tearing his hair out, ready to scream at the nearest teammate. But who should be there to meet it? Thornton. Like a king salmon jumping upstream out of the Yukon River, attempting to find a suitable mating partner for season, he leapt into the air and palmed away the ball to stop the score rising higher. A play that some say, earned him the Man of the Match award- someone sign him up!
Warwick’s chances came few and far between, however we still played great hockey that would have undoubtedly beaten other teams that weren’t of similar standard of the national Dutch team. A notable play come from Bridget bringing the ball up, holding off players and giving the ball to Harry, who was steamrolling up the pitch screaming “BRIDGET… BRIDGET… BRIDGET!”, with no reference of where to pass the ball. Harry got the ball, but lost it. Close, but no cigar.
Eventually, after 10 goals, the umpire blew the final whistle and we shook hands with our opposition. Knowing we got beaten was a bittersweet feeling, we were thoroughly outclasses, but played some excellent hockey and there were some key takeaway points from our performance.
We ended the night in Varsity, where Henry ordered a safe half pint, we all dug into some delicious chicken wings and Richard declared he wished he was back playing with his Birmingham team. I don’t want to comment on speculation, but I have a feeling he’ll pay for that comment somehow during initiation.
Overall, a solid performance with a scoreline that doesn’t reflect the effort and performance of the Warwick side.