1s Rue Missed Chances

The 1st XI battled through a tough fixture against SRC, but failed to take advantage of their opportunities as umpiring errors flattered the RECS with a 6-1 scoreline.

The 1s were denied a goal for a 'dangerous' ball a few inches off the ground at the start of the second half, SRC were allowed to play the ball over the back line to score their 3rd goal and stick-tackles from the opposition proved to be an effective and unpunished way of preventing THC attacks. The 5-meter rule has evidently yet to reach Seng Kang.

Despite this, the Tornados looked quite capable of giving the younger side a tough game for much of the match, creating several shots on goal as well as many (albeit unawarded) short corner opportunities.

Gary showed what he had been keeping quiet all season, putting in a good display in goal, and Adam did his best to impress his lady friend in the stands with several shots on target.

Despite some good performances, the team is ultimately suffering from a stop-start fixture list which has seen several breaks of 3 or 4 weeks, and the consequent lack of momentum and training committment that follows. Against younger, well-drilled teams, the Tornados will continue to struggle to do themselves justice.

Div3 lose 2-0 to tough SCC team

The Div3 tornados, hit by injury and travel, lost a tough game against SCC 2-0 on a cool Sengkang afternoon.

The game didn't go to plan rights from the start, with Tornados going down to an early goal after about 10 mins and then Barry having to be carried off after 15 or so with a pingged hamstring, the team were stuck with only the 11 players left on the pitch.

The team battled on, trying to keep structure through out the game. That was difficult when SCC brought on some of their youngsters who were being marshalled from centre half. Early in the second half a bit more goal-mouth pressure ended with another goal, and it was possible that Tornados could go down to quite a nasty defeat.

After an over zealous tackle, matters were made worse when Shahroull was yellow carded, forcing the team to an even larger disadvantage.

According to the sideline, Rob pulled a couple of saves off that stopped the rout, and shoulder getting in the way to a final attack from SCC meant the game ended a 2-0 loss.

This loss means the Div3 team will find it difficult to qualify for the semifinals, but hope is still there, and an as yet unscheduled game against CSC is a must win to stand any chance of making those games. Other results will have to go the Tornados way, so we'll just have to wait and see.

MoM - Rob Glover - some fine saves (always seems wrong writing that about yourself!)

Men's Indoor Team get off the mark

The Men's indoor team finally got some points on the board beating Jansenites 10-6 at CCK.

some fine combination work between Izzie, Frenchy and Billy the Frog saw Tornados build a comfortable half time lead against a young Jansenites team playing 1 player short. However, in the second half Tornados allowed Jansenites back into the game by failing to finish the hatfull of goalscoring chances which came their way.

The Tornados indoor team will have to improve in their next game in 2 weeks if they are to stay in contention for the final.

Ladies Indoor Clash

It was the long awaited indoor clash last night with Tornados A taking on Tornados B - so many questions needed answering such as; Where on earth is CCK stadium; Who would be in goal next; who would forget their shoes; and most importantly where were the sticks?  Thankfully most people managed to find the CCK stadium, and some even turned up early and could watch the transformation from a badminton court to an indoor hockey pitch - complete with newly laid yellow table indicating the wobbly circle.  As 7pm rapidly approached you could forgive both sides for getting a bit nervous as the goals still weren't constructed and the umpires looked utterly confused when we asked for sticks.  Thankfully the man in yellow managed to find a bag of sticks and balls from somewhere.  30 minutes late - finally we were ready and battle could commence.

TJ and Queenie donned the keepers kits (TJ as punishment for not turning up to last years indoor tournament despite having the keepers helmet - we will not forget) and I am sure Lauren is looking forward to her turn for getting lost and turning up late last night.  I know I am looking forward to my turn after missing the last match due to food poisoning. Tony was coaching the Bs and Rich was coaching the As.  The Bs having a slight numbers disadvantage after Bridget made it all the way to CCK only to realise you do actually need shoes to play!!  Thanks for staying to support and please come again soon Bridget.

At the whistle we were off - now I apologies but I have a really bad bad memory for what happened when I am playing but here goes.   I do remember the As taking the lead from a short corner before stretching their lead with a goal from open play - only to be pegged back by a determined B team who managed to score from a short despite TJs sterling running.  The first half consisted of a lot of short corners - the pitch wasn't very big and I swear it felt like only 3 or 4 strides between each circle- some determined play from Megan in the middle who was influential in the attacks from the Bs (who weren't paying any attention to the poorly executed half court press by the As).  The half time score was 5-2 to the As (Sara scored the second for the Bs with a fantastic sweep under TJ)

The second half saw the As focusing more on running and a better execution of the press (we tried anyway) and both sides had a lot of short corner practice. There were some more goals - Cynthia felt the need to get in on the action and looked utterly shocked when her pass went straight in.  Queenie had a storming game in goal - and despite the lack of protective shorts save countless shots with her thighs, hope the bruises aren't too bad.  Virginia (rather annoyingly) kept stopping my shots on the line and all in all it was a good fight right down to the final whistle.  As I said there were some more goals with the As sneaking 4 in the second half to see a final score of 9 (Gemma5, Chris3, Cynthia1) to the As while the Bs got 2 (Sara1, Jane2).

The As built on their last performance where they sneaked past the premiership Jansenites 3-2 with TJ, Chris and Rox scoring and looked to be getting back to match fitness, while the Bs looked like a well drilled team who will give Jansenites a run for their money next week. 


The As are at 7.30 next week and the Bs at 8.30 so it looks like we won't have to build the pitch this week.  See you all then and if you can come down and cheer each other on.

 

Killer Beez Cement Top of Table

2 yellows and a green in their final game of the season cemented the KB's place at the top of the table, unfortunately the disciplinary table.

The Beez went into the break 1-0 from a rather unjust stroke and 2 players down after Anton and Boy were yellow carded. Early into the second half the Beez went further down but this spurred them into life. A goal from Owen and a second from Argo brought the Beez level and from then on only the Beez looked like they would sneak a winner. The game ended 2-2.

This was the last game of the season and the farewell game for Boy and Argo.

I'm sure the Singapore Umpires will miss them both greatly!!!!!

Div 3 team in tense 2-2 draw

The Tornados Div 3 played against AETOS this afternoon. AETOS were standing strong 2 places above Tornados and were coming off the back of a 6-3 win against top-of-the-league Khalsa. It was always going to be a tough game, but Tornados were upbeat due to improved recent performances.

The game didn't start well with a couple of pcs to AETOS after 10 mins, the second one being slotted in the corner. The game got off even worse with various fractious events leading to a couple of talking to by the umpires on both side. It didn't calm down, and it wasn't too long before the players on both sides were seeing a whole rainbow of cards.

Early in the second half, a sublime break by Tim Allen through the AETOS defence followed by lovely shot brought Tornados back into the game. Tim continued to make breaks into the AETOS half, and it wasn't long before a second was added after a little play in the D. Others were getting part of the action, Shahroull running all over hte pitch, and Inn Kuang just having one push sideways by the keeper.

The outbursts were continued, and a second yellow for captain Tim Barkham just after the AETOS captain had been red carded levelled the teams up at 10 a-side. AETOS continued pushing the game to get the draw, and a long ball through connected to stick which sneaked past goalie Fat Bob and in at the post.

There were still a couple of minutes left with Tornados throwing everything at AETOS, and the strong Tornados support cheered every ball on a Tornados stick.

Unfortunately the hooter sounded far too early, and a tough match ended as a 2-2 draw. This leave Tornados in a difficult position in order to qualify but still possible. Maximum points in thee last two matches are needed in order to gain that fabled position, so all left to play for for the Div 3 team.

Man of the Match - Tim Allen - some great runs always asked questions of the AETOS defence and capped off with a brace. Congratualtions

Cock of the Match - Tim Barkham - Two yellow cards. 'Nuff said.

Wooden Shoe Tournament

Tornados Hockey Club put in an excellent effort to get 2 mens and 2 ladies teams to turn out for the annual Wooden Shoe Hockey Tournament. As always the Tornados teams acquitted themselves well on and off the field. The Tornados Killer Beez team even made it to the Semi-Finals but fell at that hurdle against an SCC team comprised of Premiere league players.

Next stop the Agro Cup!!