Derby day issue 255 23 03 2011

Coming off on agonising 30-15 loss in Colchester lost spring, Norwichs finest were hungry for revenge.

What thev achieved was nothing short of an annihilation...

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Derby Day 2011 provided its annual spectacle of fast- posted

more than 150 updates on Face book and

paced and dramatic action across the board on Twitter during the day, keeping you in touch with UEA's March 23rd. With events taking place in over 25 sports, latest sporting successes. as varied as ultimate frisbee, golf, cheerleading and fencing, there truly was something for everyone.

Now, we're back to bring you the full rundown on all the day's major events. Highlights are in abundance,

Concrete Sport was in full swing too, with a team but turn to page 4 to read about possibly the biggest of writers and photographers covering over 15 of the draw of the day for fans and the most spectacular

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events live and gathering information on others. We comeback of Derby Day 2011 - the men's rugby

Concrete Sport MOTM Nick Heap For a hard-working midfield performance, his match-winning two goal salvo. and lashing home UEA's scorching fourth from 25 yards out.

Pictures: Grcg Mann

Chris King

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In front of an expectant mass of supporters, UEt\ Men's Football I inflicted a comprclwnsi\l' 1-0 defeat upon Essex at C:olney in an entirely one-sided cla<>h.

Early chances were fe\\ and far between, but lJ 10\ thought they'd taken the lead early on: striker Chuka Obi's effort <>avPcl into the path of Neil lluJTC'n, but second<; after he'd slotl<'d home the flag was raised for ofl\idc. lJ b\ did then ta"e the lead after 11 minutes, captain Mark Hoach firing a long ball dOl\ nfield for 1\latthe\\ \\'cdla"e. \\hO slotted past the onrushing Essex goalkeeper to open the scoring.

With a preponderance of the play going down the right hand sidC', liE/\ continued to create chances, with only a superb save from the l:ssex 'keeper preventing a goalbound header finding the back of the net.

Essex struggled

to deal with lJEJ\'s combativt> naturP and with Hoach marshalling t h e

passing neatly in mid field. lt was past thP half hour mark before Essex registered another shot on goal, mea m\ hi le UE,\ proceeded to double their achantage, Matt 11<)\\ard playing in tlw superb 1\Jick lleap who rounded the ' keeper before '>lolling home. i\t the end of the fir'>! half, with ut:/\ leading 2-0, it \\'as clear that the competitive and creati\'(' balance lay with the hosts. ,\s the second period began Obi took O\Pr goal-scoring dutit>s for UL\ ; after hm路ing a shot cleared off the line he \\as then played through after excellent play in midfield, and proceeded to round thP ' keeper and slot home to make it 3-0. hsC'x grew in confidence but failed to trouble the lJ El\ defence. who played the ball out to the midfield confidPntly and with ease. Chances also came and went for the home side, !leap

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defence \\ell, lJEt\ \\路ere dominant in possession, Iwan Le\\ is, \Vedlake and llurren

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Goal machine: Chuka Obi (No. 4) dance past an Essex defender narrowly missing a pull back from llurren, and seeing his effort saved .

Yet he was not to be denied a deserved second- putting tlw icing on the cake for lJ EA just after the hour mark - lashing a viciou~

drive into the top left hand corner from 25 yards out. lt wa:, the perfect reward for an industrious midfield performance, and the -1-0 score-line at the end of 90 minutes by no means flattered the imperious hosts.

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men's

T2 tennis i ® men's 10' tennis ii ~ g, women's tennis ~

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Toby Martin

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Sports

Corresponde~t

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One of the first tea~s to swing into action, UEA Tennis began Derby Day extremely confidently and seeking a fifth consecutive triumph.

Their dominance continued with both men's teams and the ladies' team crafting convincing wins. The men especially embarrassed Essex with results of 12-0 and 10-2.

BUCS captain Henry Durrant and James Basey-Fisher began proceedings with a strong performance against two decent Essex players, winning after a tie break.

This match was the closest

encounter of the day. A dominant performance from James Carn and Ross Culley resulted in the demolition of the Essex second pair 6-1 and 6-0, before top seed and player of the season Culley then went on to win in straight sets in his singles match.

This was followed by two more one-sided encounters, with wins for Carn and Dominic Noakes.

Nathan Birscoe (6-1 6-0) then secured the 12-0 victory.

UEA Men's II then showed the strength in depth available to the club. Paul Sandall and Matt Frankis produced a great performance on their way to a straight-sets win, meanwhile Alex Howard and Luke Bennitt-Driver emphatically dispatched the other Essex pair.

Going into the singles, Men's Tennis II were ta~geting a clean sweep, but were undone by an injury to . Bennitt-Driver, who fell and hurt his ankle and unfortunately lost having been a set up and in total control.

Howard stormed to a 6-2, 6-1 triumph whilst captain Chris

Geraldine Morizet

Thompson (6-2, 6-4) and Derby Day debutant Harry Crane (61, 6-0) also produced stunning victories.

UEA Ladies were hoping to continue their success in recent Derby Days and got off to a great start. Harriett Matthews and Zoe

I Rob Schatten ISports Editor J

Layup driJI: Nathalie AttaJJah (left) gets set up for another easy score

UEA Panthers secured · a double triumph over Essex on Derby Day as a bumper crowd enjoyed four hours of basketball entertainment.

The women's team kicked off the action as one of the first to get underway, and from the off it was clear that a one-sided contest awaited them. UEA raced to a 27-0 lead before ending the hcilf 46-7 ahead.

The visitors had just five players to call on for much of the first half, and briefly went down to four after suffering an injury.

However, Rochelle Piele arrived soon after and duly entered the

Wright claimed a win after a tiebreak while captain Olive Merrill and Katie Forsyth won in straight sets to take the initiative going into the singles.

Forsyth and Suzanne .Rowley unfortunately lost their singles matches to very strong opponents,

however Harriet Matthews (6-1 6-0) and Merrill produced brilliant performances to round off the 8-4 victory in a great end to the season.

It was a fantastic day for UEA Tennis who have now reigned triumphantly over Essex for 5 consecutive Derby Days.

half time lead of 39-18. After centre Simon Rotherham scored 12 in the first quarter, outscoring Essex on his own, forward Abi Shogbeni and guard Mikey Lenane combined for 12 of the team's 20 in the second period to keep the heat on the visitors.

After half time, however, Essex began to work their way back into the game. UEA managed just five field goals in the third quarter as Essex's improved defence began to level the playing field, Shogbeni coming up with six more ppints to preserve the hosts' lead. game to score Essex's first two Essex went on a 20-6 scoring field goals - after 16 minutes of run across the third and fourth quarters to bring the gap down play.

For the majority of the game to eight and then got within six UEA enjoyed near total superiority points in the final minute. at both ends of the court, UEA held their nerve, though, relentlessly picking off wayward "vith Lenane, Shogbeni and Essex passes to score breakaway Dwight Dunston hitting free throws to stave off an increasingly lay-ups at the other end.

Sandra Bednar ended with desperate Essex onslaught. As the a game-high 20 points, while visitors ran out of energy in the Hannah Hooton finished with last seconds, they stopped hitting 12. Everyone on the UEA squad shots and in the end UEA's win finished with points, and several was never seriously endangered. other players went close to double Shogbeni finished with a figures. game-high 18, while Rotherham The men's game started in added 16. For Essex, Nasr scored much the same vein, with the all 14 of his points in the second Panthers streaking to a 21-point half to help close the gap.

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Chris Sports King Editor

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UEA Netball I thrashed Essex in the Derby Day sunshine, courtesy of an excellent performance played in a good atmosphere.

Strong defending and timely interceptions, along with a number of goals in quick succession, put UEA 5- l up, goal attack Emma Parker instrumental in this early surge.

Having conceded a 7-4 lead, Essex fought back over the course of the opening 15 minutes, before the home side equalised on the whistle to end the first quarter at 8-8.

Essex were pinned back early in the second quarter, goals from Holly Irving, Lauren Margery and Parker giving UEA a strong 17-10 lead.

The hosts made use of the entire width of the pitch throughout, Irving a constant danger in wing attack, with captain and goal defence Rosie Sheward leading the team superbly.

UEA began the third quarter as they had left off, extending their lead through a series of counterattacks, characterised by quick interchanges between the wings and the centre.

The home side's dominance was absolute by this time as they moved 24-11 ahead. With Sheward a rock in

defence, UEA were insatiable in the third and fourth quarters.

Essex had no answer to UEA's dominanca, and were hampered by wayward shooting. UEA, on the oilier hand, shot superbly throughout, Frances Ellis adding to the scorers list in the final quarter as the game finished in a deserved 5218 triumph for the hosts.

After the game Sheward spoke to Concrete about the match: "The team played really well, especially given the heat, as we're not used to playing outside. It's an excellent end to the season for us; we've been promoted in two leagues and now we've won Derby Day!"

UEA MVP Scoff Golding

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Matt

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Scrafton Correspondent

Dominant: The home side took total control of proceedin~ after an evenly-matched first quarter

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Arguably the pinnacle of the Derby Day schedule is fue Men's Rugby and it certainly lived up to its pregame hype. The UEA and Essex first teams faced off against one another at Colney Lane in front of a packed crowd, and provided 80 minutes of pure nail-biting entertainment in the evening's exhibition match.

UEA began the game nervously, as they missed a penalty and then went on to concede a converted try in the early stages of the game.

Things then went from bad to worse, as the visitors opened up a 14-point lead following a dropped catch from full back Stuart Dighton.

The hosts suddenly woke up from their early lull, and began pressurising the sturdy Essex defence. The visitors remained in the ascendancy in the opening half, however, due to their strong rucking and fue effectiveness of long kicks from their fly-half.

Despite UEA finally getting on the scoreboard with a close-range penalty from Scott Golding, it wasn't long before Essex extended their lead courtesy of more sloppy mistakes from the home side.

UEA rallied towards the end of the half and put together several progressive passages of play, resulting in their first try of the game in fue corner of the pitch.

An Essex forward was sin binned, momentarily giving UEA th~ upper hand, and they crucially managed

to bundle the baU across tbe try line minutes before the half time whistle was blown, to make the score 21 -13 to the visitors.

However, UEA's momentum continued at the beginning of the second half and they made their pressure count, scoring another seven points to bring them within a solitary point of their opponents.

UEA threw everything they had at Essex and were camped in the visitors' twenty-two yard zone for the majority of tl1e second period,

yet it seemed Essex would still escape with a marginal victory.

The game was so tense that it proved too much for one excited fan - as he streaked onto the pitch to the amazement of the masses.

The fans had even more to cheer a few minutes later, as UEA were awarded a late penalty which captain Golding despatched with no trouble, completing the home side's stunning fight back just a couple of minutes from the final whistle. ·

Following an impressive season in BUCS competition, UEA Men's Rugby I captain Scott Golding (right) held his nerve to kick the winning penalty which made the score UEA 23, Essex 21 , with three minutes remaining on t he clock.

Nominated by a number of Concrete Sport's Twitter followers, Golding was indisputably the hero for UEA in the showpiece match of Derby Day 201 1, held in front of the UEA masses in the late evening sunshine at Colney Fields.

Golding, who was nominated as man of the match by his teammates, said after the game that "the performance was indicative uf

our season so far; we let Essex into the game when we shouldn't, but heart and determination got us the result we needed".

No holds barred: Steve Hyde (No.l 4) fells his op.Ponent in the dramatic second half, which saw UEA make their ferocious comeback

Breaking News: UEA defeat Essex 41 points to 10 on Derby Day 2011

I~~::: I~~;:pondent I The Sportspark played host to two volleyball matches on Derby Day, the first of these being the men's game. In front of a vocal and partisan crowd of over 40 people, UEA Men's Volleyball took on their Essex counterparts, looking to build on what had already been a successful day for the hosts in various sporting events.

In fue first set, UEA stru.ted brightly and jumped into an early lead with little response from their Essex rivals. The opposition had little answer to some deft touches and brutal smashes by UEA, and simply could not keep up with the intensity of their play.

The margin of UEA:s lead continued to stretch due to a number of errors that crept into Essex's game as they grew more rattled by both UEA's competitive performance and the atmosphere created by the thunderous noise from the crowd.

However, just as UEA looked to be closing out fue set wifu absolute ease, Essex staged a mini-revival to give fuem some hope, but fue. efficient UEA team quickly snuffed this out as they took the first set by fue very comfortable margin of 2516.

The second set began in a sinillar vein, wifu UEA outplaying Essex for long periods and taking advantage of a number of errors from fue visitors.

Again, the away side could not cope with UEA:s punishing smashes, and seemed to lack fue home teru.n's communication skills and ability to cover the entire court.

However, it was not all plain sailing for UEA, as fuey did make a few more errors fuan in the first set, but still ran out comfortable winners by a score of 25-19 ii1 fue second set. This straight sets win, by scores of 25-16 and 25-19 gave UEA Men's Volleyball a comfortable victory and UEA yet another point overall in fue Derby Day standings.

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With the nail-biting men's hockey match on the opposite pitch captivating the majority of the partisan crowd's attention, the game began in a fairly low-key manner.

'Aye-Aye', as UEA's men's team are affectionately known, were not affected by the atmosphere, and went about their business with a thoroughly professional attitude.

They began the game: in a high tempo, first intercepting Essex's opening attack and then reversing the roles to score an early point courtesy of their first foray forward.

UEA ruthlessly punished each of Essex's mistakes, and were 3-0 up after their first ti:tree attacks,

A fine catch: UEA's strong passing was a key-factor in their lop-sided win

as a result of a number of fine interceptions, incisive throwing and a superb array of catches.

Although Essex m anaged to p1,1ll one back to make the score 5-l, Aye-Aye didn't ease off, the first half coming to an end with UEA leading 10-1.

With the players knowing the game was as good as over, UEA were guilty of a few complacent mistakes which could have been the difference between a win and a defeat in a more evenly-matched tie.

The game ended 20-2 to the hosts, and Aye-Aye's Ryan Tarascas told Concrete Sport: "We expected to beat them, as we are more of an established club and performed welJ in the Nationals last week."

Demonstratinghiscompetitive spirit, Tarascas added: "Frankly, I was disappointed they got two points!''

The cameraderie typical of Ultimate teams shone through after the match when the two sides returned to the field of play, simply to throw around for a while.

conversion of a corner kick floated dangerously to the back post.

By half-time the lead had been doubled, but UEA had held the territorial advantage, and were winning most 50/50 challenges.

Shortly into the second half Essex made UEA's task all the more difficult, adding a third goal, but Leanne Stubbings spectacularly cut the deficit, beating the Essex 'keeper with a 40-yard effort that bounced in off the crossbar.

The home side couldn't quite muster a comeback, though, with a late goal apiece completing the scoring. President Bemadette McSharry told Concrete Sport: "l am really proud of the girls today, Essex are a Premier League side and we held our ground well. I think we gave them a good game."

UEA Cricket made sure they did not miss out on the Derby Day rout Faced with the stern task of two indoor matches against their Essex counterparts, they. were ruthless in victory, sealing two points in the process.

Perhap:; benefitting from their shorter journey to Ipswich, Essex made the brighter start in the fi rst game. With both openers reaching 25 in the sixth over, it seemed they were cruising towards a big lead.

However, the combination of wickets from Rhys Purnell and tight bowling from Alfie VennerWoodcock enabled UEA to peg them back. Essex stumbled to the finishing line, posting 109, but the momentum was with UEA. Openers Freddie Magee and David Masketl looked sharp from the get-go; the very first ball being punched past the bowler for four.

Both players reached 25 in quick time, bringing James Craske and Dave Pilgrim to the crease. Craske racked up the runs with typical composure, with Pilgrim playing

It was a competitive total which could have been more had it not been for sharp glove-work from James Latimir and the tight bowling of Uam Martin and George Holton.

In reply, UEA got off to a slow start, Mark Tripp finding it tough to gauge the pitch. Once he got going. however, there was no looking back - both Tripp and Latimir struck 25 before retiring to leave Johnny Atkinson to steer UEA home.

Supported by Martin, Holton and Marsh, Atkinson pressed the advantage home, enabling路 Tripp to re-enter the fray and knock the winning runs from the final ball:

GregMann

ISports Scrafton Correspondent

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UEA's Ultimate Frisbee team could not have asked for better conditions in their Derby Day contest with Essex. With the afternoon sun beaming down on the astroturf pitches, UEA demolished an inexperienced, if spirited, Essex side.

While the Essex team had little game experience to call on, UEA Ultimate are well established and consistently attract 50-lOO members a year. In addition, the club recently hosted the UK's first ever mixed indoor championships.

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Oli Platt

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While the result was not what they had hoped for, UEA Women's Football showed a great deal of character, battling to the end in a 4-2loss to a strong Essex side.

The visitors currently top the BUCS South Eastern Conference Division lA, but at no point were they dominant in this fixture, having to work hard to stifle a resolute UEA side and only making the result certain late in the game.

It was Essex who were quickest out of the blocks, however, taking the lead after 13 minutes. UEA stopper Axelle Courlander had already made one superb stop prior to the opener, but she was powerless to prevent the

the supporting role. Purnell had the glory of striking the winning runs, as UEA won at a canter.

The second game 路was a tighter affair which went down to the final ball. Essex again batted first, and seemed at ease in the conditions.

It took a superb catch from Jon Marsh to stem the flow of runs, at full stretch to pluck the ball from the air.

The catch seemed to unnerve Essex, as the wickets began to tumble. The Blades, after languishing at 19-3, managed to amass 123, thanks mainly to Haider Bukhari, who fin ished on 52.

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Barns Abraham Sports Correspondent

The hockey matches on Derby Day are normally incredibly heated affairs, and this year's were in keeping with the history of the event. The first to take place was the men's game, which was nailbiting to the last.

UEA took an early lead after Adam Wedlake finished off a well worked piece of play from James Fanger, only for Essex to equalise shortly after the half-time break.

A series of cards were dealt out in the game, reducing both sides to less than 11 players for the

majority of the second half.

Eventually the match came down to penalty-flicks, after a tense bout of extra-time. Unfortunately for UEA, Essex won the flicks 3-1, so for the first time ever UEA's men were defeated by Essex at home.

The ladies' match, then, was played in the wake of a match most would rather forget, but luckily they readily produced a thoroughly entertaining spectacle.

Whilst the Essex ladies showed moments of promise, they struggled to get any motion on the ball going up the pitch. UEA, on the other hand, built play going forward from a solid back line who refused to crumble under pressure.

UEA's scorers in the match were Suzanne Holmes and Charlotte Carter, and with Essex only managing to break through the solid UEA defence once to score, it meant that the match ended 2-1, with a well deserved win going to the UEA ladies.

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Ruth McKellar was the stand-out performer for the UEA women as she took second in the 400m and lOOm, and, given the quality of her runs, she will be confident for the upcoming BUCS Outdoor

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Champio~ships.

Danny Collins Concrete Editor

UEA Athletics dominated proceedings at the Sportspark track for a third consecutive Derby Day year, as they stormed to victory

over their Essex counterparts.

Fresher Amardeep Sangha produced the performance of the day, as he dominated the men's 400m, beating Essex president Michael Skee into second place in a display of supreme confidence.

FourtH-year medic Alechi Nduka wevailed in a hotlycontested lOOm, as he raced away to take th~ victory in a time of 11.2 seconds.

And it was not only the sprinters who dominated the Blades. In a superb display of frontrunning prowess, Josh Entwistle and Nick Earl were able to cross the line in the 3000m holding hands, such was their lead. They were followed over the line by Simon O'Meara and Mike Gannon, as UEA snatched the top five berths.

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Sam Tomkinson Sports Correspondent

On Derby Day the UEA Pirates put the disappointment of their playoff exit thoroughly behind them

as they produced an emphatic 44-16 rout of the Essex Blades.

The weather was perfect for high-scoring football and the Pirates duly obliged as they were able to move the ball down the field with some strong running

and high-quality passing plays.

This impetus from the offence was balanced by a miserly defence, which held firm for a first half shut out, allowing the hosts to take a 20-0 lead into the break.

UEA were good value for this, but a sluggish start to the second half allowed Essex to get right back into the game by scoring two touchdowns with little resistance.

Essex would have been within one score had they not conceded shortly after. With the 'hairdryer treatment' firmly in effect, the Pirates responded with resounding energy and

determination.

Numerous turnovers by the defence were ably matched by the clinical edge of the offence. UEA ran out winners with the style and flair that had previously escaped them against Brighton.

Despite the playofffrustration, the Pirates can be very proud of their season, a win to loss ratio of 6-4 can be seen as impressive, even more so owing to their 5-1 record since Christmas.

These results have been achieved while simultaneously trying out various players for next season - making the future look all the brighter for the Pirates.

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Chris Teale

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Sports Correspondent U I'.A I land ball suffered a rare Derby Day defeat against a strong Essex side. The final score of路 4927 was a respectabl e one for a depleted lJ EA team. however.

U EA's twelve man sq uad was made up of just five regular tra inees, with additions to the s4 uad co ming from va ri ous other sports. Csscx were able to take an earl y lead in th e match against a team unfamil iar with thci 1路 positions. Several early goa ls from a much more experienced team gave the visitors an early lead in the match.

The tide seemed to be turning for lJ F.A when Alexcy Kostenko

sco red a handful of goa ls before half-time. After the onslaught of the first few minutes, Kostcnko gave UI'.A much needed respite and suggested that the game may not be th e walkover that spectators thought it m ay be. Kostenko would go on to net 2 I of U EA's 27 goals.

Despite the loss, U I:A's Thomas Morgan was pleased with the team and secs hope for the future: ''J\11 in all the game provided necessary ex perience for th e team , many of whom were novices and ma y hopefully inspire some of the last minute additions to attend training sess ions so we can have a good crack at Essex next year.

Thanks must go to l lclle 0vstedal /\anonscn who si nglc- hand cd ly set up the team!"

In the sweltering heat of the swimming pool. UI:A demolished F.sscx by 208 - 118 overall to take a \'cry convincing win over their Derby Day opponents. it was a show of comp lete domination across all th e eve nts by both the men and women, as Essex struggled to keep up with th e UEA swimmers' pace and power.

Other than thi s. coupled with Essex victories in the women's I OOm breaststroke and the women's lOOm lndi viduall\1 cd ley.

U EJ\ dealt com fortabl y with the Essex threat and took home a convin cing win.

In th e sp rint races, UEA complete ly dominated other than in the women's lOOm breaststroke, and often had swimme rs finishing in th e first two position s. One of the highlights was in the

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ISports

Hobb s Correspondent The U EA Squash team produced a stunning display to sec off their rivals, with every player winning their m atch.

The men won I 0-0, and such

women's 50m freestyle, where UEJ\ had competitors finish in th e top four positions in a show of absolute dominance over their counterparts. it was no different in th e four relay races, as LJ EJ\ had four consecutive one-two fini shes, in cluding a spectacular one-twothree finish in th e men's 4x25m freestyle relay.

Overall, both the men and women were highly impress ive. with the men winning com prehens ively, 90-54 and the women winnin g bv a highly impressive margin of 118-64.

The two sco relincs poin t to a dominant and highly efficient display by th e UE.J-\ swimm ers, which deservedly gained them an exce llent Derby Day win.

team cap tain Dom Williams eve n dropped a ga m e in an enthra llin g match.

The likes of powerhouse Pete Russell and ga ll ant warrior Garr 1--'robcrr also achieved crushin g victories, showing their technical

supe riorit y over their Essex counlcrparts.

The ladies put in an equa ll y impress ive performan ce, defeating Essex 5-0 on the day.

Left hamlcr /\lice Wi\\iams was amon g the fine performers as she annihilated her opponent in qui ck fire fashion .

Lad i cs first tea 111 ea p ta in Em i Iy 1--'aine sa id of th e victory: " I was reall y proud of om perfo1路man ce and of my team, they put in 100% eflort ancl deserved the fanta st ic results that we achie\'ecl. We all went into it with a positive attitud e and were determined to win. it was a great dav for both teams."

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Home advantage: UEA's fans made the entire day a success, with supporters cheering on at most games