Purley's season finally got underway on the 2nd October after some heavy pre-season training. Purley entertained Hampstead, who have a couple of new additions and looked better than last season. Purley managed to control Hampstead's main threat Chris Bland, and the England man had a quiet game. Purley's midfield controlled the game but left the scoring to the attack, Dave Arnot leading the way with seven goals. Final score : 24 - 4.
Purley traveled to Kenton, the current league and cup champions. But Purley were too strong and ran out easy winners, final score 15 - 2. Eleven goals came from the Purley attack, but goals also came from every other part of the team with defender Kevin Barnicle and goalkeeper Paul Terry contributing a goal each. Purley's defense has improved since last season and the midfield looks stronger too. The attack also seems to have more balance with left hander Tim Richmond back from Australia. Purley moved the ball well and made Kenton pay for the mistakes they made. Key players were missing for both teams and the series of games with Kenton will probably be closer later in the season.
Purley traveled down to Bath for the first round of the Flags knockout competition. Purley put out a squad of 14 for the game, but started the game badly chasing the ball and trying to rush things and so ended the first quarter only 4 - 3 up. Purley settled down in the second quarter and took control of the game, winning a lot of ball from face-offs won by Mike Barrett and Chris Standish and using it well. Purley continued to dominate in the second half and the score at the end of the third quarter was 12 - 5. In the fourth quarter Bath tried to put the Purley attack under more pressure. This just seemed to create more space for Purley and they added another 10 goals in the final quarter. The final score was 22 - 6.
Purley lost 17 - 13 to Cheadle. Unfortunately a number of the team saw the word 'friendly' and mistook it to mean 'week off'. We turned out with 10 and were always going to struggle. It was still a good game, but could have been so much better.
Purley created many chances and took quite a few of them. Hillcroft decided to play a zone defense. This gave the Purley attack space and time to move the ball. Hillcroft only made a few chances during the game but scored when Purley went man down after Tim Richmond was sent off. You owe the defense a beer for that one Timmy!!!!!!
This was quite a scrappy game, but we ran out easy winners. Hitchin struggled to create opportunities and to hold the ball. Purley created a lot of chances but Hitchin's keeper had a good game, even so Tim Richmond scored 6 and Dave Arnot scored 5. Final score 15 - 4.
We started well scoring 5 without reply in the first quarter. Then added another 6 in the second again, then 5 in the third and ended with 6 in the final quarter. Beckenham created a few chances but the Purley defense was equal to the challenge. Final score 22 - 0. Despite the scoreline Beckenham showed they have a lot of heart, playing hard until the final whistle. Scorers were Tim Richmond (10), Dave Arnot (4), Graeme Holland and Chris Spence (2), and Matt Payne, Mike Barrett, Steve Kenward and Todd Harrington with one.
The second meeting of Purley vs Kenton was a little closer than the first. It took a while for the Purley machine to get going and the first quarter ended 1 - 1. But for the rest of the game Purley played well and dominated for long periods. Kenton created a lot more opportunities than they did when the teams last met and scored a few more, but the final score of 14 - 7 was a fair reflection of the game.
Purley turned up with 12 most of who had been in bed all week with flu. Hampstead had 15 and looked strong. Hampstead made the early running ending the first quarter 4 - 2 ahead as Purley struggled to adjust to Hampstead's pitch, which looked more appropriate for 6 a side than 10 a side lacrosse. It was looking ominous for Purley, but they managed to pull one back in the second (4 - 3) and then score another 2 in the third (5 - 4). Purley then extended their lead in the fourth to 7 - 4, but Hampstead made it a tense finish by pulling 2 back in the last few minutes. Hampstead pushed hard to get the equaliser, but the Purley defence held. Final score 7 - 6.
Purley scorers: Darren Novell 3, Graeme Holland 2, Dave Arnot and Chris Spence 1 each.
The Purple machine recovered from it's bout of flu to inflict a 25 - 4 drubbing on Hillcroft in the semi final of the flags. Hillcroft started the game playing a zone in defense, but after early pressure, and five goals from Purley, they decided to change to man on man defense. Unfortunately for Hillcroft this didn't stop the Purley attack from having an immense game: Tim Richmond 8 goals 6 assists, Dave Arnot 8 goals 4 assists and Darren Novell 6 goals and 7 assists.
In the other semi Kenton beat Hampstead 11 - 6, so the final will be Purley Vs Kenton.
This was the first game for Purley after the Christmas break and the team couldn't wait to get started. Purley scored first and even though Hitchin leveled the score quickly the game was always in Purley's control. Matt Payne had a brilliant game in midfield, controlling the pace of the game and scoring 4 goals. The Purley defense had another solid game, dealing with most of the chances Hitchin created and cleared the ball well. The final score was 19 - 5.
With Hampstead having beaten Kenton 2 weeks before, the Purple machine was ready for this game and started well, ending the first quarter 4 - 0. It soon became apparent that most of the goals were going to be scored from the midfield and Purley's superior strength and depth shone through.
During the second quarter the game gained some intensity and both teams were man down for quite long periods. With the addition of some new well worked plays Purley were able to punish Hampstead in attack. And the Purley defense was as mean as ever, rarely losing concentration and usually recovering when they did. The second quarter ended 7 - 2.
The third quarter was also a scrappy affair and ended 8 - 2. Frustrated by the third quarter Purley stepped up the pace in the fourth and Hampstead struggled to keep up. The final score was 14 - 2.
Purley started slowly and Kenton took an early lead with some of Purley defenders getting stuck in the mud. But Purley settled down towards the end of the quarter to level the score at 2 - 2. The second quarter was a different matter. The Purley defence started to talk to each other and Kenton found it hard to create chances. The midfield also stepped up a gear with Mike Barrett, Matt Payne and Graeme Holland dominating their opponents. The quarter ended 6 - 3.
The third quarter was much like the first with Kenton piling on the pressure but they only scored once even though they created a few chances. The third quarter ended 6 - 4. Purley had dominated the face-offs all day (only losing 4 in the whole game) and this was the key to the start of the fourth quarter. Purley scored 3 quick goals and from this point the game was safe. The game ended with a sign that it truely was Purley's day with Graeme Holland scoring against Simon Savage from distance!
Final score 13 - 5.
Purley stats: Tim Richmond 4 goals, Dave Arnot 3 goals 2 assists, Darren Novell 2 goals 5 assists, Graeme Holland 2 goals 1 assist, Mike Barrett 1 goal 2 assists, Scott Nichols 1 goal.
Both clubs put out weakened teams for one reason or another. Purley started with 10 and Hillcroft had 9 players. Unfortunately Hillcroft were quickly reduced to 8 as one of their defense men twisted his knee. The game restarted as an 8 a side match.
Purley were always in control and ran out easy winners, 19 - 0. Hillcroft only really had one threat in attack and were restricted to outside shots. In contrast, Purley's goals came from all areas of the pitch. Dave Arnot scored 7 goals from midfield (!), and now looks certain to pick up the club's top scorer award despite strong competition from Tim Richmond. Scott Nichols had 4 from left sided attack, Darren Novell and Graeme Holland scored 3 each and Denham Pope scored 2 from long stick defense.
Purley started slowly, allowing Hitchin to possess the ball for long periods in the first quarter. However, they found it difficult to penetrate the Purley defence, and the teams traded goals until half way through the second quarter. At this point the Purley team got into their stride, allowing them to take a slender lead into half time.
If Hitchin had thoughts of victory then they evaporated quickly as Purley scored almost immediately from the face to begin the second half. Purley continued to keep the ball well and dominated on ground ball as they quickly pulled out into an unassailable lead. The Hitchin defence didn't seem to want to check Tim Richmond, which proved to be an expensive mistake as he scored 7 (seven) goals. Other scorers were Dave Arnot with 5, and Chris Spence, Darren Novell, Mike Husey and Matt Payne with one each.
Final score : 16 - 5
Purley's final league game of the season started slowly and the first quarter ended with Purley 3 - 2 down. In the second quarter Purley focused on ground balls and with the increased possession the goals began to flow. Hillcroft fielded a strong team and battled for the whole game, but once Purley gained control they ran away with the game winning 18 - 4.
Tim Richmond is on fire at the moment - everything he touches turns to Purple and Gold! He had another big game scoring 8 (eight) goals. Dave Arnot nearly matched him with 6 and it seems that the top goal scorer award is still up for grabs, so watch this space. Other scorers were Matt Payne with 2, and Chris Spence and Darren Novell scored one each.
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