BWPL Division 1 for our Men's team

BWPL Division 1 for our Men's team

Sedgefield travelled to Ponds Forge, Sheffield for their inaugural BWPL Division 1 weekend where they would be coming up against long time Division 1 clubs Penguin and Polytechnic. In lasts season Super 5s, Penguin finished second and Polytechnic finished third so it was to be a very tough opening weekend for Sedgefield. Despite this optimism, as always, was high among the group.

In the team talk before the first game head coach Richard reminded the boys of some of the main reasons why we have come all the way to Division 1; playing for each other, backing each other up and how tightly knit we are as a group.

Sedgefield started slowly in the first quarter against Penguin and found themselves 1-0 down early on before some smart pit play from Caleb levelled things up. Penguin did continue to get the better of the game as they raced into a 5-2 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter continued in much the same vain and Penguin were ahead 8-3 at the break. Sedgefield’s third goal scored by John Pratt.

At half time we talked about how we were showing Penguin too much respect and dropping off them too much in dangerous areas and allowing easy shooting opportunities. We decided in the second half to play more of ‘the Sedgefield way’ with a heavy press all over the pool. Although this did not reflect in the score line in the third quarter, it was clear that Penguin were having a much tougher time of it since Sedgefield’s change in mentality at half time. The press was fierce all over the pool with all of the lads doing their bit. In this third quarter Penguin scored a bizarre goal where, as the video evidence clearly shows, James Pratt was given a clear punch in pit and sent underwater only for the offender to then receive the ball and slot it home from 4 meters. The third quarter finished 12-4 to Penguin, with Ben Alderson adding Sedgefield’s fourth.

Typical of this Sedgefield side, they did not give up in the fourth quarter and the fruits of their labour from the third quarter began to blossom and they came out and continued to take the game to Penguin. 5 goals followed from Sedgefield in this quarter which included Ben Stephenson completing his hat-trick, a couple from Rohan and one from Michael. 2 soft red cards were awarded to both teams in this quarter, and congratulations are in order for Kyle and Ryan for their first National League red cards. Sedgefield won the last quarter 5-4 and the game finished 16-9 to Penguin.

After the game the team was rightly disappointed with what was a slightly lacklustre display in parts, however we reminded each other if nothing else that we have proved we can compete at this level against a very good side, and 16-9 is by no means a battering. Sedgefield has traditionally started pretty much every season slowly so we know there was nothing to panic about, especially given the only aim of phase 1 is to finish in the top 5. First place in Division 1 gets the same prize as fifth place - a spot in Super 5s for phase 2.

Sedgefield dusted themselves off for an early game on Sunday morning against Polytechnic. Unfortunately Caleb had to pull out of the game overnight due to an injury from the Penguin game, which meant we were down to 12 players. Before the game we reflected on the performance against Penguin and decided we were best off starting against Polytechnic how we finished again Penguin - with a heavy ‘Sedgefield press’ all the over the pool.

In the first quarter Polytechnic scored first and this was quickly cancelled out by a John goal. A couple more Polytechnic goals followed before Ben Stephenson pulled one back. Sedgefield were noticeably better from the start in this game, with the heavy press being implemented. However, it was a frustrating first quarter in the end as Polytechnic grabbed a fourth goal and headed in at the end of the fourth quarter 4-2 up. The frustrations came from the fact that all 4 of Polytechnics goals came from man ups. We talked before the game about how we can accept our centre backs getting sent out with the heavy press style as they are left one-on-one at the back, however frustratingly most of Polytechnics goals came from Sedgefield players being kicked out from the arc.

A high scoring and end-to-end second quarter followed with goals from Sedgefield being scored by Ben Stephenson, Rohan twice and John but these were separated by 5 goals from Polytechnic and we headed into half time 9-6 down, but very much in a game. Mid-way through this quarter James was wrapped up for his third major which meant Michael and Ben Stephenson doing extra shifts at centre back.

Sedgefield kept playing in the same way in the third quarter and grabbed a goal through Connor, but this was met by four goals in the quarter from Polytechnic. The game looked to be slipping away from Sedgefield at this point as we headed into the end of the third quarter 5 goals behind with the score line at 12-7.

Despite this we still believed we could get something from the game and once again in typical Sedgefield style we refused to quit and kept playing our game. At the start of the fourth quarter our second centre back of the game was wrapped up, this time Michael receiving a red card for a penalty foul for taking one for team and sending their player to the bottom of the pool as they were through on goal. A red card seemed harsh for a non violent offense, especially as Michael was only on 1 major at this point. Richard saved the resulting penalty however and kept the gap between the teams at 5 goals with 7 minutes to play. Ben Stephenson once again completed his hat-trick but this was cancelled out by a poly goal to once again keep their five goal lead intact. Two quick fire goals from John came very quickly after this however and Sedgefield were within 3, playing well and starting to believe. With 3:40 left on the clock Polytechnic were given a double sending out, but agonizingly Sedgefield couldn’t capitalize to reduce the gap to 2. We did however reduce to the gap to 2 with a minute to play as John scored his third of the quarter. Polytechnic unfortunately replied quickly to put the game beyond reach, however there was still time for John to grab his fourth of the quarter, with goal of the weekend as he scored a helicopter backhand from 6 meters to put the score at 14-12, which is how it finished.

It was mixed emotions after the game as Sedgefield had played an excellent game but agonizingly came up short, once again against one of the powerhouses of the league. All 12 players once again played their part in this game. Reflecting on the game the biggest thing that stood out was the 12 players who represented Sedgefield in this game against Polytechnic are all local to the North East and County Durham and went toe to toe with a team which boasted experienced water polo players from all over the world.

Despite losing both games, Sedgefield find themselves in the final super 5s spot on goal difference after the first weekend as the top four teams all won two games and the bottom four all lost two games. Winning against the 3 teams below us will be crucial in securing a spot in Super 5s, and we travel to Aldershot in November to play against two of them in Watford and Welsh Wanderers.

Team List:

1. Richard Murray

2. Rohan Henderson

3. Joseph Fairbairn

4. Michael Cousins

5. Ben Stephenson

6. Ben Alderson

7. Gareth Lord

8. James Pratt

9. John Pratt

10. Connor Keeble

11. Caleb Van Loggerenburg

12. Ryan Griffiths

13. Kyle Alderson

HC: Richard Cousins

AC: Dave Lord

Match report kindly written by Richard Murray