Mens

Mens 2006/07; Week 5

SHEFFIELD CELEBRATE

City of Sheffield completed their National League season at Walsall as well deserved champions of Division Three – which leaves Sutton & Cheam and Newton Abbot to contest the runners-up spot when the final weekend takes place at Crawley on 25/26 November.

Sheffield knew they would be in the clear if they won all three games at Walsall and that mission was achieved with relative comfort.

They beat Basingstoke 11-3, Bedford 18-6 and, crucially, completed a double over Newton Abbot, dominating the second half to win 20-11. Goal scorers were Ollie Burkitt (5), Lewis Matthews (4), John Dyer (3), John Faben (3), Ben Caulfield (3) and Tom Kelly (2)

Week 4

If Sheffield were disappointed to drop a point against derby rivals South Derbyshire at the start of the Division Three weekend at Walsall, it wasn’t too costly in the end.

Crunch time came on the second day when Sheffield played Sutton & Cheam and Newton Abbot, who are likely to be their main rivals for promotion at the end of the season. They won both and so, for the time being at least, are the division’s pacesetters by a margin of five points.

Sheffield will acknowledge that they could easily have shipped both points to South Derby, who trailed 11-10 at the start of the final period but led 13-12, then 14-13 before settling for a 14-14 draw when Ben Caulfield netted for Sheffield with 1.27 to go. The outstanding Nick Bird scored seven for South Derby.

Sheffield are sitting pretty at the moment but they will be well aware that Newton Abbot have three games in hand – and the sides meet during the next Division Three weekend, also at Walsall, on 4/5 November.

Week 3

Victories over Newcastle, South Derbyshire and Warley took City of Sheffield to the top of the Division Three table. They will now wait to see how promotion rivals Newton Abbot and Sutton & Cheam – neither of whom was involved at Ponds Forge – progress in their next matches at Walsall on 21/22 October.

Sheffield’s clash with Warley was close all the way through. Warley led 3-1 after the first period and 8-7 after three before Sheffield took control to win 12-10. Carter and Faben were the leading Sheffield scorers with three each while Covington netted three for Warley.

Week 2

Sutton and Cheam look much stronger this season and they also won three times – including a vital 8-7 success against another team with promotion potential, City of Sheffield.

The most important result for Sutton, however, was that narrow win over Sheffield.

Sheffield made the stronger start, leading 3-1 after the opening period. Sutton recovered to take a 5-4 lead near the end of the second and then 8-4 early the last. But that sparked a late Sheffield revival, featuring goals by Ollie Burkett, Tom Kelly and Mike Whiteley. Sutton goals: Charlie Thurley (4), Stephen Bayles (2), Alex Smith, Keiran Bayles. Sheffield: Burkitt (2), Kelly (2), Whiteley (2), Matthews.

Week 1

City of Sheffield Water Polo Club Mens team opened their National Water Polo League season with maximum points, and top Division 3 after the first weekend. Saturday saw a heavy win over bitter rivals Warley Wasps, the first in 9 attempts, winning 14-6. Ben Carter scored 4, with 3 in the first quarter, helping open up a 7-1 lead, and Sheffield were then never troubled by the Birmingham outfit. Stuart MacQueen patrolled the defensive lines with his famous 'wardrobe door' technique, and John Faben scored three, with further goals from Burkitt(2), Dyer (1) Kelly(1) Matthews(1) and Whiteley (2). New squad members, James Alton and Liam McCarthy slotted straight in, and showed no sign of nerves in their first National League match.

Sunday saw an easy win against Newcastle, with Sheffield's squad ruthless in exposing the wanting fitness levels of the North East side. Tom 'Slugger' Kelly scored twice in the opening quarter, but failed to see out the whole game,excluded after 3 major fouls. Goalkeepers James Alton and Josh Smith were rarely troubled, with all the excitement at the other end. Captain Jim Lafferty scored twice, with a flashy reverse shot pleasing the Ponds Forge crowd. John Dyer had a late surge, scoring 3 in the final quarter, putting the final nails in the Tynesider?s coffin, the final score 18-4 to Sheffield, despite many easy chances missed by the dominant Sheffield lads. Other scorers were Carter(2), Faben (1), Matthews (3), Whitely (3) and Girling (2).

Coach Martin Kelly was ecstatic, 'We've laid down a marker to the rest of the division. We top the division after weekend 1, and those clubs who wrote us off do so at their peril. We will be going back into training for the next fortnight to come back even better in Nottingham'.

City of Sheffield play at Nottingham University on September 23/24 with fixtures against Bedford, Basingstoke and Sutton & Cheam, and return to Ponds Forge on September 30th/Oct 1st, with games against South Derbyshire, Warley and Newcastle. The club website is www.cospolo.ik.com and the National Water Polo League is www.nwpl.co.uk .