07 ISSUE
ALL THE SPORTS, ALL THE TIME
Surf and Turf: rugby, football, Basketball and more
REGULARS
ISSUE 7: 22 NOVEMBER '13
CONTENTS Tottenham win the cock fight
P8
3
Match Previews
4
Match Reports
7
Coach’s delight at big improvement
8
Tottenham win the Cock Fight
Design: Nathan cleal/Adam Storer/Adam Woodgate EATING TURF //
2
ROUND-UP
Rugby
still striving for Preview Redhawks greatness despite hiccup Luke Osborne Solent Redhawks have made a mixed start to what they were expecting to be a big season in the BUCS American Football Southern League. After both a win and a loss in their opening two games, the side sit in fifth place with a game in hand on the league leaders and local rivals, Southampton University. Martin Hume’s men began the season with an impressive 20-40 victory away from home against Sussex University who are bottom of the table after also losing their second game. But the journey home the following week would have been less happy as the boys fell short against Reading University, losing 38-20. Despite the disappointing result last weekend, the squad are still confident of improving on last year’s position of sixth and being recognised as possible winners of the division. The new academic year has seen the Solent team lose its most experienced players but, at the same time, been given a breath of fresh air as almost 20 first -year students joined the squad. With the new intake of ‘freshers’ the squad is looking stronger in comparison to last year’s team that struggled to make an impact on the league. More promising news came for Team Solent as they approached
The Solent Redhawks
the season when five of Hume’s players were selected to trial for the Great Britain universities team at Loughborough. The five players chosen were; Nii Bruce-Tagoe, Neil Hewitt, Alex Man and Morgan Payne who are all second years, plus third-year student Neil Ford. Hewitt, who plays on the offensive line, was the only one lucky enough to progress to the next trial. Despite the unsuccessful trials, the news of the five being given this opportunity gave the whole squad a buzz and confidence boost. The first team have also had a change in captaincy this season as last year’s skipper, Tom Boarsy, recently graduated. The responsibilities have now been handed to GB triallist and running back Bruce-Tagoe who is confident that his team can be right up there with the best at the end of the season. He said: “We’ve improved a lot 3
from last year in all areas. There isn’t a part of our big squad that is weak. “Usually there would be some disruption with the coming and goings at the start of a season but this year’s freshers have come in and are looking sharp and ready.” Bruce-Tagoe also feels he’s improved as a player since joining the Redhawks and is excited to captain the side. “I’m at my best right now, and that’s good for the team. “We’ve got a good bunch of lads and can easily forget the result against Reading and move on to the next one. I am sure we can win that and climb the table. I can’t wait.’’ Sunday’s match against Portsmouth University will come with the added incentive of getting one over on local rivals and getting back on track. The season still has the potential to be a big one for the Solent Redhawks. // EATING TURF
ROUND-UP
Match Tremendous Trebilcock Report fires Solent to victory Women’s basketball
Dominic Rust Ashlee Trebilcock scored 24 points to put the Solent Suns second in the women’s basketball South East Division 2 after the thrashing of St Albans Saints. Their latest win was easy as the score indicated for Solent at Saint Mary’s leisure centre. The Suns crushing victory sent St Albans Saints to the bottom of the league. Jodi Jerram was inspirational in scoring 14 points and gave a determined performance as the Suns took control from the start. The difference between the teams was that Solent had five players who managed to get into double points and that meant St Albans struggled to match them. The home team started the game at a fast pace and quickly ran up a 10-0 lead, while the Saints started nervously. Mel Curson and Trebilcock, combined with a cameo role from Kiely Reed, gave their team a solid platform to create havoc in the opponent’s defence. Solent’s movement was incisive and with the shrewd tactical leadership of coach CJ Lee, his team never looked like losing. The visitors grew into the match after a flying start by Solent and Judy Ogden scored 13 points for her team. A flowing move by the home side with Fego Adhokorie, captain Jerram and Megan Stroud resulted in Jeram EATING TURF //
scoring her first three-pointer,which made the score 34-12 before the bell rung for the end of the first quarter. In the second period, Solent continued their relentless pressure with Trebilcock at the heart of all the best moves with her impressive scoring. They blew away their opponents with a great work ethic and, combined with their determination, were too strong for the bottomplaced team. St Albans managed to get 20 points in this quarter but trailed at the interval 62-26. The visitors managed to get some points on the board at the start of the third quarter with Dawn French scoring, but Solent reasserted their dominance again. First Jerram scored then Trebilcock added to her impressive tally. By this time the game was almost over asa contest with the home team taking a 53 point lead going into the final 12 minutes. With the game already won, Solent changed their team around giving substitutes some valuable game time. The home team coasted through the remaining minutes but managed to score 15 points with Trebilcock, Megan Jenkins and Reed adding to their tally. St Albans managed to get some consolation points from Julie Harris and Ogden but the game was already lost by the third quarter. 4
Solent’s Basketball Team
Solent coach Lee was heartened by his side’s latest victory but will know tougher challenges lie ahead. Lee has transformed his team since he took over in 2009 by winning the regional division twice in the last three years. With his team lead by Jerram, Lee can see they can have a successful season, but a true measure of their ability will not come until they play the better teams including leaders London South Bank University"s Brixton Topcats.
ROUND-UP
Match Mann in form as Solent Report see off Swansea Basketball
Harry Kentish Richard Mann was on top form with his three-pointers as Southampton Solent hit a triple-figure score to beat Swansea University 114-69. As a result of a resounding win, Solent moved into second place in the BUCS basketball Western 1A division. The Solent team were in confident mood on home ground at St Mary’s while Swansea had no coach to guide them through. Sylvian Donneaud’s boys were identifiably the better team from the start as they applied immediate pressure. Mann was not afraid to attempt some difficult shots early on and he landed two three-pointers within the first few minutes. As the first quarter got into full swing, Solent applied full court defence in a bid to sustain pressure on Swansea. Swansea’s number nine, Emanail Zashev was a constant threat to Solent, making the majority of the decisions in trying to get close to the home basket. When the first quarter came at a close Solent had built up a strong lead of 17 points with the score 3417. Swansea were not giving up that easily at the start of the second quarter with quick points being scored from Shamar Green and Zashev. Green’s tall stature was an
“Mann was not afraid to attempt some difficult shots early on” advantage to the team from the Valleys, making his presence felt in gathering multiple rebounds and capitalising on sloppy defending. Mid-way through the second quarter and the advantage of having a coach was beginning to show for Solent. They showed better organisation in attack and defence and, as a result, they started to win fouls. Swansea’s frustration started to show and Solent’s lead grew bigger at 52-28. Captain Adam Kennedy led from the front for Swansea, showing resilience in defence. But as Solent’s lead was building, 5
so was their confidence, especially that of number seven, Guido De-Hola who stepped up his game. He made quick successive shots to increase the pressure. As both teams had started quickly, fitness levels were being questioned. Swansea became isolated and Solent gave away fouls to slow the game. At half-time the score was 63-37 in Solent’s favour. The third quarter resumed at the pace of the second with scrappy play starting to become a feature for both teams around the basket. Solent chose the third quarter to make good tactical substitutions, with number 13 Lukas Aleksandravicius making an impact and increasing the score to 70-41. Swansea’s Zashev was still showing that he could make the three pointers when it counted and Tom Evans was demonstrating good lay-up skills. The third quarter ended at 89-56. Mann took Solent to a triple-figure score at the start of the fourth with yet another three-pointer from the touch line. Solent’s energy slowly faded, with fouls being given away, but Adam Kennedy was unable to sink his free throws and Swansea failed to benefit. Solent’s number 12, Armantas Miriukus had some energy left and was able to govern the game in its closing moments and helping to make the final score 114-69. // EATING TURF
ROUND-UP
Match Depleted Solent in Report narrow defeat
Women’s basketball
Robert Pitt Injury-hit Solent women’s basketball team narrowly lost 41-38 to Kings College, London despite having only six players. Solent took a 6-1 lead halfway through the first quarter after a slow start. The highlight of the first quarter was a superb counter attack launched by Melanie Curson. Her long throw was finished by Oksana Kononenko. Kings’ Carol Shum was lucky to escape punishment for slapping Alison Nicholls as the quarter ended with Solent leading 11-4.
Solent started to lose momentum at the start of the second quarter, as their lead was cut to just three points. Nicholls was instrumental in Solent’s best moves and her six points helped Solent keep pace with Kings. Salma Alawiye dominated for Kings, scoring eight points in the second quarter which ended with her side in front 23-21. Curson, Charlotte Mooney and Kononenko all scored in the third quarter but they were unable to stop Solent falling further behind as Kings ended the third quarter 29-26 ahead.
Despite scoring 12 points in the final quarter Kings were able to repel a late surge by Solent as the match finished 41-38. The result sees Solent remain second, three points behind Cardiff who have two games in hand. Kings meanwhile remain third, level on points with Solent with a game in hand. Solent coach CJ Lee said: “We tried to keep the game slow and at our tempo because we only had a few players today. Defensively, we did a good job. Offensively, both teams were a little bit misfiring today.”
Match Rugby boys take a Report hammering
Oli Shapley Southampton Solent men's rugby team suffered a disappointing 83-0 defeat at the hands of league leaders University of St Mark and St John’s. Marjons, as they are known, have lost only one of their six matches so far, and are unbeaten at home. The Plymouth-based side are joint top with Exeter and face bottom-placed Bournemouth next time. EATING TURF //
Despite the defeat Solent are sixth in the league and can move up the standings with a victory over mid-table rivals Plymouth at Test Park next week. Solent will be looking to grab their first home win of the season in this match, with draws against Winchester and Royal Agricultural University all they have to show for their efforts so far. 6
Rugby
Marjons boast a new RFU regulation all-weather 3G pitch, similar to that belonging to Saracens, and are in the hunt for the title after their promising start to the season. Solent coach Sheridan Easton will be hoping for an improvement from his players, and they face a challenge to match his top-three target set at the beginning of the year.
FEATURES
Coach’s delight at big improvement Solent men’s basketball put up a strong team performance, winning 114-69 against Swansea at Mary’s Leisure Centre. Anna Bauge Torland
S
olent seemed strongest early on, with Swansea barely keeping up in this one-sided match. Coach Sylvain Donneaud was happy about his team’s win. Donneaud said: “We played much better compared to our away game at Swansea at the start of the season. Today we played as a team. “Today’s game showed us how much we have improved. Our first game of the season was against Swansea and we had a lot of new players. “The boys showed how well they have learned to know each other and how they can play together. “I am very impressed by the whole team. We really put up a strong team performance today.” With only one loss so far this season, coach Sylvain Donneaud believes that his team can go all the way with only a few adjustments needed to be added to their game. He said: “I am really happy about the match today. We played solidly for 40 minutes but at some parts of the game we choked. “We need to work and be more focused on our defence. Sometimes we were missing some easy rotation that we
“Today’s game showed us how much we have improved” normally would be able to do. “So far the season is good. We have only lost one game against University of the West of England. Our target is to go back there and get a win.’’ Solent are now second in the BUCS Western 1A division, three points behind UWE. 7
// EATING TURF
FEATURES
Tottenham win the cock fight Non-league minnows Fleet Spurs have slammed Premier League giants Tottenham as “Disgusting” in a row over their club crest. Dan Church
T
he north London club complained that the Wessex League Division 1 side had infringed their copyright by using a cockerel on their badge and threatened legal action if they did not remove it. It will cost the Hampshire outfit almost £5,000 to change their kit and stadium branding which they have had for more than 50 years. Despite attempts to reach a compromise, Tottenham have refused to back down and Fleet Spurs Youth Club chairman Kierin Gurrie is appalled by the behaviour of the top-flight side who instructed their lawyers to demand the change, claiming it was ‘too similar’ to their own badge. The 44-year-old said: “About six weeks ago, we had a call from Tottenham Hotspur’s retail sales manager, and she asked if we were using a copyright part of their logo.
“She said that would be an infringement of their copyright because people could mix up Fleet Spurs with Tottenham Hotspur. We confirmed that we had indeed been using a copyright part of their logo, and we had been doing so since 1948.” The Wessex League Division One side have always included a cockerel in the clubs crest, but Spurs have reasoned they must protect their Premier League identity after fearing the nonleague outfit had been encroaching the design of their renowned club badge. “Fleet Spurs were formed in 1948, by three chaps who returned home from World War II and who were all Tottenham Hotspur fans. So ever since 1948, we’ve had the cockerel part of our crest” explained Gurrie. “We got a letter from the same solicitors that Princess Diana used, which we took as quite an intimidating fact really! They wanted us within a
Fleet Spurs Grounds: £5,000 to change EATING TURF //
8
FEATURES
“It’s disgusting and intimidating for the big boys to attack us”
month to remove the logo and any sign of the cockerel from anything to do with our club.” The Hampshire side explained that the club’s current badge design was introduced through a fans’ competition, who most likely based their blueprint on Tottenham Hotspur. Gurrie added: “We took our website down, and put up new signs around the club. In the meantime, we can keep our existing kit, but we’ve got to change the kit moving forward. Once we got back to them on that and had confirmation they were happy with it, we started having a go at them in the press. “We said how disgusting they are and how intimidating it is for big boys to attack us because it’s not acceptable. And we’ve had quite a good response from that.” The work proposed upon Fleet Spurs, who sit third from bottom in the Sydenhams Wessex Football League, is likely to cost the club a staggering £3,000 to £4,000 – expenditure which is simply beyond the clubs realms. Gurrie added: “We can’t afford that! The additional cost from all the work we’ve been asked to do by the members of Tottenham will come from the subscriptions over the next couple of years. We’ll have to recoup that from the current players.” The club now face an anxious wait after writing to Tottenham on Sunday asking them to review their decision, in the hope both parties can come to some sort of agreement.
9