Mens H End of Season Report

05 June 2010

H Team End of Season Report

If it weren't for a tactical blunder on my part, we might have perhaps
walked away with a League and Bowl double. As it was, we missed out on an
"A+", but passed this season's exams with an "A" grade.

Of the 94 goals we scored in 26 games, Brett, Lloydy, Guy and Tim scored 63
goals between them with many coming from Andy's short corners. Lloydy and
Mark were the open-play assist kings. Nick and Alan kept the most clean
sheets. Joel got the most man-of-the-match votes, followed by Mark and
Cyrus in goal. Many thanks go to Chappie for his special Friday night
training sessions that transformed us into a scoring machine bagging
win-after-win.

The full season's statistics in the table below show the vast majority of
the playing squad achieving notching double figures in appearances. More or
less every week, we have utilised a squad of 16 and spared one or two to the
G's. On a consistent basis, the team's Sportsman's Bar share chit has seen
13 or more names on it. Every player has notched a stat in either (i)
getting or setting up a crucial goal or (ii) preserving a clean sheet that
has led to us getting points on the board and ultimate league glory.

In a season where we became the bookmakers' favourites to win and had to
endure the weight of expectation, it has been difficult to keep the pressure
off and the focus on enjoying the hockey. Hence, the players' contribution
off the pitch to maintain the fun and social culture of our team's society
far outweighs the stats and achievements on the pitch. Having said that,
success on the pitch does help the feel-good factor off the pitch and vice
versa. It helps that "winners and grinners" and we did a lot of both,
winning and grinning, and nobody wanted to jump off the bandwagon.

Ultimately, we stayed true to our social hockey principles - in that the
priority for us was not (and never will be) the destination, but enjoying
the journey with a large group of mates and savouring each and every
experience on the pitch and in the Sportsman's Bar. And there have been
some memorable fixtures, performances and moments to savour this past
season:-

1.    The 11-goal hauls on two occasions;

2.    Lloydy and Brett bagging four goals each in a game;

3.    Tim's 45-second dribble that went nowhere in particular;

4.    Andy's phantom goal against the division's cellar dwellers that was
disallowed because Q wasn't wearing shinpads;

5.    Brett's last-ditch winner in the above game to spare our blushes;

6.    Chris's reverse stick chip into the top corner to equalise in the
last minute on Recreio grass;

7.    Alan's various understudies at left back;

8.    Our first perfect game versus Dragons, the realisation that we could
be perfect and the champagne we consumed afterwards;

9. Roger's appearance on the Pearl Report, as shown on the Sportsman's
Bar TVs immediately after the above game;

10. The time we evacuated the changing rooms after Mark used up an entire
bottle of Liniment of Turpentine;

11. Q turning up late for a game complaining about losing his locker key
and house keys and his washing machine breaking down;

12. Lloydy's frequent verbal exchanges with the umpires that "ruin the game
for everybody";

13. Yours truly, at half-time, looking like a teletubby with his head stuck
up a chicken's backside, as I struggled to strip off my ultra-tight, cold
weather body vest;

14. Paul, Joel, Lloydy and me collectively losing HKD10K betting on the
Hun's horse, Gallant Hussar;

15. Dealing with a multitude of injuries, including Robbie's dog bite,
Cyrus' suspected heart attack, Nigel's internal bleeding, Tim's fractured
nose, Andy's broken collar bone, Brett's torn knee ligaments, Nev's
glass-splintered buttocks, Mike's frozen shoulder and a collection of
twanged hamstrings (Roger, Randall and me);

16. Cheering on Nev, Q and Lloydy's performances in the Masters;

17. Charlie Poulton buying us a large round of well-deserved shooters;

18. Roger getting his eyebrows clipped with a Swiss Army knife;

19. Guy and Brett curtailing their joint expedition down the Sportsman's
Bar drinks list at "Fullers", after Guy was despairingly diagnosed with a
medical condition that prevents him from drinking;

20. The stylish open goal misses and, conversely, the perfect "playstation"
goals;

The list goes on...

Unless you're part of the Ladies A or Mens B teams, these trophy winning
seasons don't come by very often, where all the planets and stars align to
ensure that the make-up and chemistry of the squad is, more or less,
perfect. Being, alphabetically-speaking, the lowest-ranked men's team, I
guess the fitter, younger and more talented members of our Dad's Army are
susceptible of being tapped-up by the higher teams in the off-season. The
squad (as we know it) that has been meticulously built since I took over the
captaincy reins in January 2009 may have played its last game together. I
very much hope not. The perfect squad (and the culture within it) has taken
a lot of time and effort to build. And we, the players, have done it
without any significant changes to personnel.

Anyroads, the season ended fittingly when SCMP cartoonist, Harry Harrison,
immortalised the 2009/10 squad with his hilarious drawing of our
"alternative" team photo. Hopefully, everyone will get to see it hanging on
a wall somewhere in the Club.

2009/2010 seasons stats

Played

Goals

Assists

CL.Sheet

Alan Powrie

Andrew Dale

Brett Goebel

Chris Windle

Cyrus Law

David Lloyd

Guy Higgins

Joel Chu

Julian Gooding

Lewis Man

Mark Kan

Martin Lane

Mike Evans

Neville Watkins

Nick Hunsworth

Nigel Mukherjee

Paul McGuire

Quentin Burrows

Randall Arthur

Robbie Collins

Timothy Loh

Roger Nissim

David Smyth

Louman

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