East Region Senior Water Polo Championship
The East Region held its second senior
championships at Bishops Stortford College
pool on Saturday 18th November.
With Beds unable to pull together a squad,
the remaining five counties played a round
robin tournament watched by, among others,
East Region President Don Neate and Mrs.
Neate, and Past President Andy Morton and
Mrs. Morton.
Eventual winners Essex opened their account
with a strong 6-1 win over Norfolk, before
Suffolk squeaked home 3-2 against Herts in
the second match.
Norfolk battled well in their second match
before going down 3-7 to Cambs, and that set
the tone for the afternoon, with all
counties - whatever their strength or
preparation - giving it their all until the
final whistle.
This provided some lively entertainment and
some great polo; Herts’ hardworking
performance in their final game almost
caught out Cambs, before Norfolk and
Suffolk’s feisty encounter kept the
spectators entertained.
The final game of the tournament between
Essex and Cambs proved to be exactly that.
Both sides remained unbeaten after three
matches, but got their results with very
different styles of polo.
Cambs’ talented pit forward, Stu Taylor had
already scored six quality goals going into
the final, and their well organised and
controlled style of polo had made them
strong contenders.
Essex’s squad, drawn from four different
club sides, boasted some strong individual
players, but with no preparation, played a
looser game, deciding to trust their
instincts and hope it paid off.
Cambs attacked strongly from the off, but
Essex’s pit defender, Colchester’s Martin
Vinter had the measure of Taylor, stifling
Cambs’ first three attacks to get Essex off
to a confident start.
Shortly after Essex opened the scoring
through Chelmsford’s Charlie Bullus, who
picked up a loose ball and blasted home from
a strong counter-attacking sprint down the
wing.
Vinter added the second when he followed up
Basildon’s Matt Dempsey’s drive into the
pit, collecting a neat pass and finding the
top corner.
Essex kept up the pressure in the second
half; rotating the pit, making sharp drives
and, most importantly, starving Cambs of
much-needed possession. It paid off when
their other defender, Basildon’s Mark
Donovan, fired home direct from a five-metre
foul for Essex’s third.
Essex continued to press all over the pitch
and their efforts were rewarded at the final
whistle with a fine 3-0 victory.
A big thank you to tournament organiser
Chris Stephens and referees, Martin Unwin
and Scott Woodley who’s hard work helped
make the tournament an enjoyable event for
all.
Dave Warriner
Squad: Rob Padden, Matt Dempsey, Dave
Warriner, Mark Donovan, Tony Woolley, Martin
Wiley (all Basildon); Charlie Bullus, Alex
Witherspoon (Chelmsford); Simon Lecomber,
Martin Vinter (Colchester); Adam Coles
(Clacton).
SCORES
Norfolk 1 Essex 6
Herts 2 Suffolk 3
Cambs 7 Norfolk 3
Essex 3 Herts 3
Suffolk 2 Cambs 5
Herts 1 Norfolk 3
Suffolk 1 Essex 4
Cambs 5 Herts 3
Norfolk 4 Suffolk 1
Essex 3 Cambs 0
RESULTS
1st Essex 10 pts
2nd Cambs 9 pts
3rd Norfolk 6 pts
4th Suffolk 3 pts
5th Herts 1 pts
|
