OKA Cup Final Report
Leave a CommentConfidence was high after our semi final result, but we knew the final would be a much closer encounter against the old rivals Oxford University.
We started slowly and quickly went a couple down. Despite manufacturing a steady stream of chances nothing was going in and their lead grew to 4-0 at one point. We got 1 back before half time but still had it all to do in the second half after going in to the break 5-1 down.
We were the better side in the 2nd, scoring first and then capitalising on the momentum to score 4 without reply and get ourselves right back in it. With 12 minutes to play we pulled ahead for the first time in the match, but this proved short lived as they quickly drew level again, The lead swapped hands several more times and a couple of missed penalties by them left us a lifeline. The final whistle went with the scores all square. Bring on golden goal extra time… an incredibly nervy 5 minutes with some excellent last minute defending by us ruling out a running in shot that they converted. Penalties were the only option left and Oxford claimed the OKA cup 3-2.
Well played everyone, a really gutsy performance where we never gave up and were oh so close to coming away with the silverware!
Penalty heartbreak for Reading!
SCKL Roundup
Reading is currently playing in 2 league competitions, the well established Oxfordshire league and the newly formed Southern Counties league. The new competition includes 2 clubs that have started this season – Farnborough Jets and Southampton Spartans along with Basingstoke, Woking and ourselves.
The SCKL has given us much needed extra games, and has seen many new faces representing the club for the first time. We have applied an inclusive selection policy and ensured that those not representing the club in other matches have been given the opportunity to play wherever possible.
Reading currently head the table after 9 games, equal on points with Basingstoke. Southampton are a close 3rd, only 2 points back and they have a game in hand over both us and basingstoke. The next round of matches is in Reading on May 20th.
Readings cup run continues…
Reading made a convincing showing in the OKA cup semi final against Abingdon 2 to win a place in the cup final! The match was abandoned with 5 minutes to play after an injury sustained by one of the Abingdon girls. At the time of the injury we were in front 26-3 after a dominant performance that saw goals from everyone in the team. We wish a speedy recovery to the player involved.
The final is on April 29th against Oxford University.
Reading v Abingdon 9th October
A fantastic team performance saw Reading triumph in the first Oxford korfball league match of the season, narrowly edging out an experienced Abingdon side 12-11. After the customary travel related incidents we just about managed to get the whole side to Oxford in time for the clash. The warm up was all too brief and the long summer break and lack of regular training showed as we were a little wayward with our shooting and passing. However, come game time everyone stepped up their game and the ball handling was excellent and really helped us to maintain pressure and create chances. We managed to put away a decent number of these chances with Lucy M, Lucy P, Stu and Blaggy all getting on the scorecard early in the game. At half time it was very close and we were 1 behind at 7-6.
In the second half the game stagnated for a time with us dominating in defence, but struggling to convert the chances in attack. Several ends were split 1 goal each, to keep them just ahead. Eventually we managed to make the consistent pressure tell and scored the 2 consecutive goals we needed to take the lead. It was only just in the nick of time too, as seconds after Lucy M finished off a cheeky shot the final whistle blew. A solid team performance and a well deserved win – good job guys!
Welcome to all the new students!
Why not come and give korfball a try? We will be running a taster session on Sat October 8th, 10am to 12pm at Sportspark. Find out what the sport is all about, have a go and also meet some of the current members. Those of you who are not so new, but missed us last year are also more than welcome!
The first training session of the new term is on Thurs Oct 13th 6-8pm at Bulmershe sports Hall. The first couple of training sessions will start from the basics so its a good time to get involved. All welcome – see ‘training info’ page for directions.
UKC Beach Tournament 21/8/11
Korfball on the beach?? Why not – a lesser known variant of Korfball involves swapping the normal indoor courts or grass for the soft sand of the beach. With a single post and only 4 a side, its a fun but incredibly tiring version of the sport. Reading teamed up with local club Basingstoke for a day out on the Sunny Kent Coast for the University of Kent Beach Tournament.
Sun, Sea and Korf
After a week of torrential rain and distinctly autumn-like temperatures, the sun came out and gave us a perfect weather for a day on the beach. We got off to a slow start and facing some strong teams we couldn’t put away the goals needed to keep up. However, by the 3rd game cobwebs had been shaken off and goals were going in from all over the beach! A comfortable 9-2 victory over Supernova did much to lift the team spirit and we built on this to wrap up the rest of the morning unbeaten.
Despite feeling fairly sleepy after eating a true athletes lunch of chips and flapjack, we pushed on in the afternoon and dispatched our next 2 opponents in similar confident style. After narrowly losing out to the hosts we finished up with a draw against Highbury to round off a fantastic days play.
Overall we topped our afternoon pool and finished 6th out of the15 teams, one better than last time around!
Team: Lucy, Stu, Sam (Reading) Dave, Lucy Matt (Basingstoke).
Everyone contributed to the goal tally including a number of bonus 2 pointers for a long shot from the corners of the pitch. Such was our deadly accuracy that even the cheeky, food stealing, overweight, rats with wings (also known as seagulls) got what was coming to them!
New Balls on the way!
The all new official korfballs are on their way to Reading! We are expecting to use the funky new blue and yellow balls next season in the major university competitions and have decided to invest in them early so we can get some practice in with them. The new ball is slightly lighter and has much more grip than the standard black and white balls used previously.
Get yours at http://www.sportsballshop.co.uk/acatalog/Korfball-Balls.html
Summer Tournament Roundup May/June
Although the league season is now over, Reading has been busy on the summer tournament circuit – attending no less than 4 tournaments in almost as many weeks.
First up was Gloucester and despite some pretty awful weather we got off to a good start and won 2 and drew 1 in the morning to get into the top of the drawer. In the afternoon we were unfortunate and lost out several times by narrow margins. Overall we finished 8th of 16. Goals: Blaggy 8, Hannah 3, Jack 2, Jon 1.
Jon looking for a runner at Gloucester
A couple of weeks later and the weather was still not co-operating for a trip to the Nomads tournament in South London. The standard was several notches above Gloucester with national league teams a’ plenty and even a scattering of international players. We put up a spirited fight in our group but struggled against quality opposition managing just a draw and a couple of defeats. This meant we were well down the rankings in the afternoon and facing much weaker opposition. A couple of solid victories got us to the group final which we lost on penalties just as the heavens opened. Final position: 20th (of 30). Scorers: Elliot 8, Stu 3, Dave 3, Beth 3, Jack 1, Hannah 1, Emma 1.
Finally the sun came out for the annual trip to the westcountry and the Bristol tournament. Despite being a guy short we managed to beg, borrow or steal one for all the matches – thanks to Basingstoke, Highbury, Horfield and others who helped us out! We got off to our customary slow start and drew when we really should have won, after 2 close games with Birmingham and Norwich ended all square we found ourselves just outside the top pool. With one match to go we were looking for an unbeaten run through the tournament but sadly lost out at the death to Highbury. A good performance saw us finish 8th (i think!) Scorers: Stu 6, Lizzie 3, Eric 3, Lucy 2, Dave 2, Beth 1 Hannah 1.
Fun in the sun at Bristol
There was no worries with the weather for the Croydon tournament, the hottest day of the year and sunshine from dawn till dusk! However, the long matches in the hot weather really took their toll on the team. We struggled against some quality opposition in the morning and then also in the afternoon as some dodgy reffing and the sun started to get to us. A nice trip to the pub afterward rehydrated us well, and restored our spirits ready for the next outing.
For news on future tournaments and to sign up check the facebook page.
Reading 2 v Oxford City – Plate Quarter finals: May 8th.
A young looking second team took to the field, a testament to the way the club has come on in the last year – and the whole team made up of university players.
After a while in defence Jack scored a goal from half way. Dave, after a week holed up indoors revising, appeared looking like stig of the dump but proved his worth by popping a few in. A couple more goals by Oxford meant it was 5-3 at half time. A great first half performance.
After a half time team talk from newly appointed club captain Elliot the team took to the field with a determined look in their eyes (especially Jack was playing in his shades). Yet again Dave sunk another long shot proving that revision is good for shooting. Lizzie came on to support in attack and quickly earned a penalty which she ‘coolly’ popped in. another long passage of play saw both sides tested in defence, eventually with Dave scoring another long shot to make a tight finish in the last 10 minutes. Four quick goals from oxford meant they took the lead away from Reading and the game finished 10 – 6.
The cup run continues! Reading see off Oxford City to make the Semi-Final
A fine looking (I must say rather tall) Reading first team took to the pitch in a match to secure their place in the OKA Cup semi-final. Within the first minute Blaggy had got one in – we were setting the pace with a strong attack. Elliot and Nick continued Blaggy’s trend by getting a lot of shots up and a lot of shots in. A nice penalty was also sunk to add to our total and we went in to half time 8 – 5 and owning the game.
At half time we were used to tough team talks but we knew what we needed to do and so we went back on the pitch with the same strategy as the same half – it wasn’t broken so we didn’t want to fix it! On a mission to increase the gap between the two teams Beth and Hannah upped their assertiveness and Lizzie and Lucy were recycling the ball well in defence. Beth popped one in, then Nick, then Blaggy, Nick again, one from Dave and another from Elliot – we had doubled their score 14-7! Oxford were starting to feel the pressure and called two timeouts back to back. Something worked as they came back and sunk a few in quick succession. We matched these goals and as the final whistle was blown we won 16 – 10. Elliot scored a long shot which went in a second too late and was disallowed – we didn’t need it though. A solid performance from Reading 1 leading right from the start – well done!
