The first game of the new year gave Morpeth chance to shake off the cobwebs from the Christmas period and restart their campaign in the North East Premier League.

Newcastle Medics hosted this encounter, and it was always in the back of the visiting side that this could be an end-to-end game. It started off exactly as expected. Within the first minute the home side took the lead with their first free hit of the game which was deflected in. Morpeth planned to make sure this didn’t disrupt their attacking plan, and within seconds of the restart they found themselves in the Medics D and a goal mouth scramble was turned in by Ritchie Brown. 1-1 with not even 2 minutes on the clock.

Morpeth then took the lead with some great forward pressure forcing an error which Paul Danecki pounced on and dinked the ball under the surging goalkeeper.

The first half was becoming a period of great play for Morpeth putting together some great passing play and keeping hold of the ball well. So it was unfortunate when a late equaliser was scored just before the half time break.

The second half turned into a completely different story as Morpeth played into the wind. Though the wind was not to blame in the slightest! Lack of composure in all areas of the pitch meant that the ball was given back to the homeside far too frequently. Getting themselves into some great attacking positions, and then losing the ball cheaply meant that frustrations started to set it. Chasing the game, as Morpeth were now doing, only proved to stretch their limits and conceding 3 goals in the second half gave the Medics the deserved share of the spoils sending Morpeth home with nothing but one black eye to show for their troubles.

Morpeth faced high flying Marton Furness on a chilly Saturday afternoon. Going into the game with a team dominated by defence minded players, some shuffling of positions was required among the Morpeth ranks.

The game started in a very free flowing manner, with both sides looking to gain the early advantage by pressing high. It was the away side that had the early share of possession, moving the ball quickly into the Morpeth 25, but unable to apply the finishing touch. After the first 10 minutes, the home side managed to get a foot hold in the game and create some counter offence. The rather unique front line of Malecki, Brown and Valentine worked well together to create movement and space for the supporting Shaff and Carmichael.

The deadlock was eventually broken towards the end of the first half after a period of sustained build up play. A ball threaded through from Shaff to find Brown, who cleverly played a deflection pass to Calder on the back post who slotted home to give them the lead.

A positive chat at half time had Morpeth racing out of the blocks in the hunt for more goals. The solid back line of Fairbrother, Dye, Holmes and Mellor denying any opportunities for the Furness attack. However Morpeth’s high press allowed the away side into the ‘D’ to score a rather scrappy goal to draw the scores level. Minutes later, a rather controversial penalty flick was awarded to Furness, and before they knew it Morpeth found themselves 2-1 down. However a resolute attitude meant the men in green and gold kept up the pressure and high work rate, which paid off when again the ball fell to Calder in the D who calmly finished to draw the game level. Morpeth thought they had done enough to earn themselves a point, however one final twist came when Furness were awarded a short corner as the final whistle went. Pushing all their players forward, they managed to claim the latest of winners to deny Morpeth a much deserved draw.

All in all a very fast paced and eventful game off hockey, which Morpeth felt disappointed to lose at the end. But a much improved performance on recent weeks means they will look on next week’s fixture away to Newcastle Uni in high spirits.

For some of the Morpeth players, the familiar trip down Coach Lane to the Newcastle University Pitches was more of a trip down memory lane where the ghost of previous battles are ever present. Starting with a more attacking formation, the players from Morpeth showed they meant business from the whistle and showed some excellent link play and forward drive. Some notable penning in and shepherding of the opposition from the dynamic combination of McLean, Fairbrother, Brown, Anderson, Danecki and Mellor meant that the students found very few gaps in which to formulate an attack. Things were looking positive for the men in green and gold and apart from a few silly mistakes, the game was swinging in the favour of the visitors.

After fifteen minutes, a break from the home team resulted in a rather scrappy attempt on goal and even though Jackson made the initial save, the resulting deflection unfortunately bobbled into the path of one of the Uni players who clubbed the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Newcastle.

Morpeth answered right back ten minutes later when some excellent play between Shafiq, Carmichael and Brown ended up with the ball finding Ross ‘Dr Love’ Valentine at the back post who swiftly nudged the ball past the keeper and over the line only to hear that the whistle that was blown was not for the goal but for a penalty corner due to goal keeper infringement. Needless to say, there were some questions to be asked!!

The remainder of the first half continued with consistent end to end play with neither goal really seeing much action apart from a few wild attempts by the Students and some well drilled Morpeth penalty corners that were unfortunate not to be dispatched into the net. The result at half time remained 1-0 in favour of the students. Even though spirits were high in the Morpeth camp and players seemed to be enjoying the more attacking style of play, it was not easy to ignore the scoreline and a bit of hometruth from coach McPate watching from the side lines ensured that the second half would require a strong effort from all.

The second half started much in the same way as the first half with strong play from both sides. The students however soon started to show that regular play and training together pays off and they began to launch a bombardment of attacks on the Morpeth D but due to their complacency and lack of focus, all attempts bar one were dealt with by the back four of Mclean, Mulligan, Fairbrother and Mellor (who had shown earlier that he is just as at home on the football pitch as he is on the Hockey pitch…hmmmmm!!) and keeper Jackson. Following this blow, the Morpeth players turned on turbo mode and started some attacking of their own. MOM & DOD Brown showed his true value and found himself alone with the ball in the oppositions D. After weighing up all options as to where to put the ball, he decided it would be best to ‘pass’ the ball off the keepers pads back to the more experienced and confident fellow striker Danecki who powered the ball past the diving keeper and into the back of the Net making the current and final  score 2-1 to the students.

Even though the Morpeth players felt that they could have taken 3 points from the game, not all was lost as they showed that by playing more attacking hockey, more scoring opportunities become available and hopefully in the second half of the season, the silly mistakes sometimes made can be converted into strong play, goals and points on the board. A big game against a powerful Marton Furness side awaits the team next week.

 Morpeth faced a struggling Hild Bede side with a slightly depleted side of their own in a game which was bound to prove vital for each side.

A youthful and pacey Hild Bede side made the journey up to Morpeth in search of crucial points, and hope to snatch something from their forray up north. Luck would prove to be on their side…at least that’s what I think Umpire’s nickname was!

Hild Bede took the lead early on in the first half with their first short corner of the day. A simple drag flick was excellently dispatched into the corner of the net. That was the students’ first effort on goal and Morpeth were right to feel a little hard done by. But that is why short corners are so important in the game.

The Peth’s defence was a new look outfit for the day, but that wasn’t too much of a hindrance as they dealt well with the vast majority of attacks. Both Gareth Mellor and Gareth Anderson looked very comfortable in their roles, and is their shoes sizes were just a little smaller we would no doubt have conceded about 4 fewer penalth corners!

On the stroke of half time Morpeth drew level when Danecki found himself in space very deep in his own half but launched a ball high and long for Ritchie Brown. The Hild Bede centre back picked the ball out of the air, but only managed to direct it into the path or Brown who dispatched the excellent pass high into the net. 1-1 at the break.

The game was definitely in the balance and could have gone either way towards the team that wanted it more. Hild Bede flew out of the traps in the second half and pressed Morpeth into their 23m area from early on. Sadly the game was decided with a catalogue of errors as the Hild Bede skipper drove the ball well into the D and struck an audacious reverse strike from a very acute angle from the byline. The shot pinged off the far post and off the far sideline for a Morpeth hit whilst the Hild Bede team reeled in dispair at what would have been a fantastic goal. The whistle blew and Morpeth set themselves for the sideline hit only to then realise that the umpires were pointing at centre spot for a goal! The post was still ringing and the Morpeth team seething but somehow the umpires convinced themselves that the ball hit the back board, crossed the goal line and continued off out of the side of the pitch! The scientific team at the CERN Hadron Colider have since been notified that the laws of Physics have been broken for a second time this year and we expect a team of specialists to take away the goal for further testing. Watch this space for further news…

Frantic efforts were put in to try and restore some form of justice and at least rescue a point however it wasn’t to be and the Morpeth side were to be left bitterly disappointed with what was a great first half of competitive hockey and should have continued to be a great, evenly matched contest.

Ritchie Brown put in a great performance which was nicely capped off with a goal, and keeper Steve Jackson showed exactly what he is made of with some superb saves through out the game earning him a hugely well deserved Man of the Match.

 Morpeth travelled down to Richmond hoping to build from their win against the Durham University 4th team the previous week. The first twenty minutes went well for the away side as the defence held strong with a half court press, allowing the skilled and youthful Richmond side no sight of the goal. Typical of Morpeth’s play this season, a counter attack was formed from the back after some good tackling had dispossessed the home side and the returning Paul Danecki slotted home a well struck reverse stick into the bottom corner.  

Richmond continued to push forward though and piled into the Morpeth D, with their resilience paying off as a short corner was awarded although the decision made by the umpires was questionable. Never the less the equaliser was converted.

Towards the end of the first half Morpeth pushed forward in an attempt to win back the lead before the half time whistle, and this was nearly the case when Ayad Shafiq made a brilliant run along the by line of the oppositions D and played a ball to skipper Will McLean on the flick spot who struck the keeper with his first sweep, and again with his second. All square at half time. 

The attacking Richmond side came at Morpeth hard after the break and again, the away sides defence held off the threat. The continuous pressure eventually paid off though when Morpeth got pinned into one of their own corners and were unable to clear their lines, Richmond capitalised and scored to take the lead. 

The last fifteen minutes of the game resulted in the young Richmond side dominating most of the possession, and the tiring Morpeth team were subjected to a third goal being scored against them. The match ended 3-1 to the home side, a frustrated Morpeth will hope to produce a better performance next week.

Whilst the result looks bad on paper for the entire defensive line, the scoreline could have been a whole lot worse, and Gavin Malecki was particularly solid at left back earning him the Man of the Match plaudit. The result will prove particularly disappointing especially as Morpeth took the lead and were far from being the second best side on the pitch.

 After a promising performance against the Durham University 3rd team the week before, and on unfamiliar terrain, the Morpeth side were looking to use the intelligence gained to try to get maximum points against another strong, young and fast Durham 4ths side.

The University travelled with a maximum number in their squad, as was expected, meaning that the Morpeth men would have to be at their wiliest and keep their concentration to a max in order to keep on top of their more than capable opponents.

The game started at the frenetic pace that was expected putting the defence to the test. Taking confidence from their great show last week the defence held strong and firm dealing with all surges well. It is testament to their hard work on and off the pitch that not only was a clean sheet kept, but not one of the numerous short corners that Durham had were too close for comfort.

Such is the standard of hockey in these games, that teams really have to get maximum return for the time spent in the opponent’s D. With only two shorts corners in the entire game Morpeth would have to be on top form. Midway through the first half the time had come to test the home side’s nerves. Morpeth had one practice run which resulted in a save being spilled high to restart the process. The second routine was identical, but each aspect was perfect. The injection, stop and resulting drag flick rippling the corner of the net. Arguably against the run of possession and territory, it was 1-0 to Morpeth…but then making the most of your time in the D is what it’s all about.

There were a couple more opportunities in the first half for both sides to score, but again Morpeth’s newly shaped midfield did well to thwart to surges and the defence were impeccable. There could well have been more goals to add to Morpeth’s tally before the break.

Half time allowed Morpeth to realise that Durham would come at them hard, and it was important not to get frustrated if the green and gold only saw minimal possession. Making rash decisions and tackles would only be detrimental to Morpeth’s hopes, so discipline was key.

Numbers were depleted with an injury early on in the second half so the rotations in fresh legs became ever more critical. As Durham pressed higher and higher searching for the equaliser Morpeth kept firm and were superbly well organised at the back. There were the inevitable scares but the relief was enormous when the final whistle was blown giving the 3 points to the new look Morpeth side.

In reflection it was a fantastic performance in all areas of the pitch whether defending or attacking. The work put in for forward movement and ball retention is paying off and passing was remarkably better from everyone. So confidence is great in the camp for what will prove to be a really testing game next week at the revitalised Richmond.

Further testament to the brilliance of each and every one of the Peth players was shown in the unanimous decision that the D.O.D couldn’t be given to any one whose efforts were phenomenal on the day. So in the spirit of the great camradery in the camp, the honours were given to the team’s most absent house husband of the season, Paul Danecki.

 The men in green and gold travelled south for a game that was always going to be one of the hardest in the calendar.

Playing on an unfamiliar, faster and bouncier water based pitch would always swing the favour of the game for the students from Durham University who have enjoyed un-rivalled success in the premier league so far.

The captain set a very defensive formation and the rolling back four of Mulligan, Dye, Fairbrother, McLean and Malecki stood their ground well and handled all that was thrown at them.  Holding a very disciplined and strong half court press, the early onslaughts from the well drilled students were quickly shut down and the ball was recycled fast up to the midfield.  However, After 15 minutes, a well worked set play and through ball to the Durham centre forward caught the Morpeth defence off-guard and the resulting flick shot found its way into the back of the net, much to the disappointment of a stick wielding McLean who’s valiant and flamboyant attempt to smash the ball out of the air before crossing the line was too little, too late. 1-0 Durham.

It would have been easy for the Morpeth Players to lose concentration and drive following this early blow but in true fighting form, they continued to play with passion in their their hearts and would not give up and soon enough, the attacking play started to be less one sided. 

Some excellent retention of the ball by the dynamic midfield combination of Shafiq, Danecki, Brown, Carmichael, Chambers and Anderson ensured that Dixon who was roaming alone up front soon had the chance to make his mark on the game. The best chance of scoring in the first half came from a well worked phase of play and Danecki, using the natural bounce of the pitch, re-directed a loose ball into the path of Brown who was unfortunate not to get a clear shot off. 

Half time: Durham 1-Morpeth 0.

Following a rousing half time talk and with positive energy flowing through the veins of the Morpeth players, the second half started in much the same way as the first with well-structured and disciplined play. The Durham students continued their strong attack and the resulting 3 penalty corners were handled in true professional fashion by Man of the Match and goal keeper, Steve Jackson.

As confidence started to grow, the Morpeth players began to advance on the Durham defence and some excellent play led to the Durham’ D’ seeing some long overdue action. A couple of frantic and rather dangerous last ditch defensive tackles by the students gave Morpeth a few well deserved penalty corners. A slick injection by McLean and the combination of Shafiq, Danecki and Chambers almost resulted in the first Goal for the visitors when the deflected ball ended up back in Morpeth Possession and an attempted Lob of the keeper just went over the crossbar.

In the final third of the game, the Durham boys managed to sneak a bouncing shot into the Morpeth goal to make the final score 2-0.

In a game that could not have been more different from the previous week’s match, the team from Morpeth played with the pride and unity of a squad who deserved to walk off the pitch with their heads held high, regardless of the final result.

More of the same will be require next week as Morpeth host the Durham University 4th team and this warm up exercise should leave them with no excuses for taking the points!

Reporting this game without the use of stereotypical cliches will be just about impossible. It was definitely a case of this encounter being a game of two halves.

The first half saw Morpeth explode out of the blocks. The Medics were keen to push high from the off and had to resort to relying on the high crash ball which the defense did well to deal with and clear. When Morpeth had the ball they looked dangerous. They kept posession well and were putting together some great passing moves.

Within 10 minutes Morpeth pressed down the right hand side with Valentine and Carmichael linking up well to work the bal into the D…sorry, the circle.  The cut back ball found Ayad Shafiq at the top of the D…..erm…circle, who took control and had time to pick out his spot as he flicked the ball excellently high and wide into the net. 1-0 to the home side.

The lead could have been extended in Morpeth’s best period of play with Brown, Danecki and Dixon all having efforts saved or go narrowly wide. Half time loomed and despite some good surges and attempts from the visitors, the score remained 1-0.

During the break the Captain urged his team to keep their heads and build on their lead and keep up their slick movements. But the second half would turn out to be a completely different story. The explosive start to the game was soon to be cancelled out with an implosive 15 minutes.

Morpeth were not in the game quick enough after the break, and despite having the ball from the restart the ball was put out in error to force pressure on themselves. The visiting Medics pressed on this, and an equaliser was soon notched up after a series of phases in the attacking 23 metres.

Two wins from the previous two weeks saw Morpeth pass the ball really well with one and two touch hockey. Pass and move, give and go…it worked well. The home side looked to have kept that going for some of the first 35 minutes, but a false sense of confidence started to creep in for the second period and there were far too many school boy errors with forwards running into flat sticks and holding on to the ball for too long allowing the opposition to engage and break down the play. The quality of the passing in all sectors of the pitch deteriorated too and this would only niggle away at the home side’s efforts to claim the points.

This was quite uncharacteristic for Morpeth, and frustration crept in, as a series of bad decisions that went against the home side began to take its toll on the men in Green and Gold. Having played so well in previous weeks and kept the communication positive, players began to snap and soon enough Morpeth became their own enemy as well as their opposition.

Reacting to poor decisions and poor periods of play it was only a matter of time before the umpires would have to take action, and soon it was the initial goalscorer Shafiq who was given his marching orders for dissent. With an already weak squad, the lasat thing the home side needed was to lose men from their 11 on the pitch.

This was the perfect invitiation for the industrious Medics to take advantage. Perhaps a positive to take for Morpeth is that they did not allow the Medics much chance to play the ball, and it was just a series of hit and hopes to the high man. Soon enough if you try enough times it will pay off eventually, and soon they were 2-1 to the good.

There were few of the Morpeth side who had kept their head, but those that did allowed their experience to show, and with some hard work Morpeth were soon awarded a penalty corner. Captain McLean injected the ball for Danecki to set up the perfect drag flick for coach McPate…and the scores were even again with time running out.

But the numbers were in the visitors’ favour and before Morpeth returned to 11 men the Medics scored their third which would eventually prove to be their winner.

Luck had run out in devestating fashion for Morpeth, and the mood at the end of the game was definitely one that the points had been there for the taking and lost through a few moments of madness. There were still some great periods of play however, and some great positives to take forward. With any luck this irregular show of hot headedness will be just a flash in the pan, and will be out of the system allowing the lads to get their league campaign back on and build on the solid performances they have already shown earlier on this season.

After the quality performance and victory against Newcastle university a week earlier Morpeth 1’s took their first trip down the A19 of the season with a fixture against the newly promoted Sunderland 2’s.  

As the game started the late push back seemed to have sapped the energy out of the visitors and after a shaky first few minutes Sunderland took the lead with a fortuitous deflected own goal.  That seemed to give the team the shock they needed and they started taking control of the game through the middle of the park and some surging runs from the back.  One of these surging runs would pay dividends as Dye emerged from the back with the ball and found himself in the opponents box, after a few deflections the ball landed at Chambers at the back post who had time to slot his first goal for the club.

The next 20 minutes was all Morpeth with Shafiq and McPate organising from midfield and Valentine, Brown and Dixon creating chances that caused the Sunderland keeper to make some strong saves.  Just as it looked like we would be going into half time all square Morpeth won a penalty corner that was dispatched professionally due to a slick routine from McLean, McPate and Brown who got his second of the season.

Some tactical discussion at half time led to a consensus that we should try and protect our lead and hit them on the break, which proved a master stroke as in the first 5 minutes of the second half Carmichael set up a chance for Dixon who slotted home from close range.  It was now all about concentration and attitude and the team continued to create chances and keep Sunderland at bay until they got a final consolation goal near the end.

A distant standard from their great performance in the previous match, but a victory none the less which will take Morpeth up to 7 points and extended the unbeaten run to 3. The return of a couple of key players will help add to the growing Morpethian confidence whereby they will face a strong Medics side next week.

Result: 2-1 win
Scorers: J. Dixon, S. Fairbrother
M.O.M: Phil Holmes
D.O.D: Ross Valentine

Third game into the season, and Morpeth were looking to build on some promising hockey to stake their claims to their future in the North East Premier Division.

Newcastle University 2nd XI came down into this league and were no doubt going to be a really tough team to crack. For both sides it was clearly a case of finding their stride as the University side had the influx of ‘freshers’ to deal with, and Morpeth had their own ‘freshers’ to work into the mix, and try to get the squad to gel quickly.

With a thirst for points from the off Morpeth showed their intent very early on and were fantastic in all areas of the pitch. The defence of McLean, Holmes, Dye and Mulligan dealt well with any threats to goal leaving keeper Steve Jackson pretty redundant.

Most of the University attacks were channeled through the middle which the varying combinations of McPate, Chambers and Shafiq cut out early enough allowing the likes of Mooney, Carmichael and Valentine to break and start their own surges on goal.

Morpeth were unfortunate not to have had several goals in the opening moments with some great movement from Dixon and Brown up front as well as some unlikely attacks from the ever exuberant Morpeth Man of the Match, Phil Holmes.

It was Morpeth who looked the most dangerous, and of course, Morpeth that took the lead midway through the first half with some fantastic movement and passing that saw some Brazilian style play with Brown eventually guiding the final ball into the path of John Dixon to slot home from close range.

Half time was 1-0 to the home team and the boys were thirsty for more looking to close the game out.

It was only a matter of time before the University youngsters managed to put some passes together, and they were by no means out of the game. The visitors had several short corner attempts but the defence stayed strong and avoided any costly errors. Most attakcs were dealt with well and spread wide to clear, but it was an unfortunate error that gave the students a glimpse of victory when a poor clearance was capitalised on and the rapid waves of blue surged on the D to equalise with a great touch at the back post.

It was to the great accolade of the Green and Gold that no one gave up and a fantastic show of determination kept the University keeper the busier of the two throughout the game. Time was running out and it was looking like the game was going to end a draw however more drama was yet to unfold.

With one minute remaining Morpeth threw their last roll of the dice and pressed high with Valentine, Shafiq, Brown and Carmichael leading the way forward. Carmichael led a great run to pick up a pass and having put his first shot into the keeper’s pads, his rebounded effort was denied a goal by the flustered defence giving Morpeth a penalty flick!

The enormous pressure was just a menial task to the experienced head of Stuart Fairbrother who stepped up and with literally the last stroke of the game converted the flick much to the elation of the homeside who finished the game 2-1 winners.

Overall Morpeth were clearly deseved winners of the game, and if their efforts are repeated in future games then the 2011 season looks to hold some great promise for the guys who look to make amends for their shaky performance in the league last year.