blueslacrosse.com - The official website

Blues Lacrosse, the South of Englandmost dynamic lacrosse club, extend a warm welcome to all players, newcomers or anyone who is as enthusiastic as we are about the great game of lacrosse. We are based in South London and aim to provide the best facilities in the South, whilst promoting the incredible sport that is lacrosse. We currently run 3 senior Mens teams and 2 senior Womens teams. The Mens 1st team plays in the Premier Division of Southern English Lacrosse and the "Blues 2's & 3's" play in East Division 1 & 2 respectively. The Womens 1st Team also play in the Premier Division of Southern Counties Lacrosse Association and their 2nd team plays in the Rosebowl tournament. We also run a successful Junior Section that is currently open to boys aged 8-16 & girls aged 8-14 (girls over 14 can join the senior womens playing section). Have a look at this site to find out more about what we get up to.

The monday report

Fixtures

Date Onez Tooz Threez Womenz

28th November 2009 Game Day. Quarter finals, South of England Mens Lacrosse Association Flag competition, the mighty blue wave made the long trek to the Hitchin tundra to brave the inclement weather fuelled by momentum from a drubbing of Reading pussy cats the week before and secure in the knowledge that this was a Hitchin team that had already collapsed under the force of the onslaught earlier in the season. As the Blues assembled on the field of battle and warmed their weary travel warn limbs the fear in Hitchins eyes was clear and they huddled for warmth in a corner of a field squinting as the light sparkled off of fourteen pairs of custom gloves. They knew not even the pathetic collection of pre-pubescent face fluff on display was going to save their masculinity on this occasion, they quailed in the face of Collisions mighty alpha male moustache and could only find a false sense of security in his cunning disguise as a man who loves wood. From the first few face offs it was clear the customary double team of Howie and Birkett were too much for a selection of Hitchin face men who were successively ground to dust by the might of the kings of southern face off technique. The traffic however, was not all one way a plot by Hitchin supporting police men had deprived the Blues of starting pole Jon Arthurs and Hitchin managed to save face by netting a few scrappy goals, so poor in fact were these attempts that a pang of uncustomary pity swept over Vice-Captain Wakeford who decided that he would give a master class in picking out the far corner from goal line extended whizzing a vicious pea roller past a shocked but ever resilient Eamon Poller. As Hitchins attack stood in awe of such a superior shot placement Jon Arthurs made it to the field after a lengthy chase was given up by the equally dispirited Hertfordshire Constabulary, and fortress Blue was at once restored to former glory. With a rejuvenated defence and with continuing dominance of the restart the Blues offence began to click with a newly returned Dustin adding the already surgical motion offence which proved too much for a demoralised Hitchin who despite an excellent show from their goalie, could do little more than howl with dismay as the clinical finishing and passing of Collision, Kidd and Edens showed just what good lacrosse should look like. Spectators spoke in hushed tones and made sure there children had a clear view to remember the spectacle they were witnessing, as the Blues toyed with Hitchin scoring Cadburys goal after Cadburys goal occasionally just kicking it in to get it over with quickly. As half time came with the Blues ahead, but with Hitchin close enough to make the travel worthwhile, the two teams went into their respective halves Hitchin took on board more fluids and a box of Kleenex to wipe away bitter tears of frustration was brought on by the disappointed fans. The Blues gathered and chatted barely out of breath and still in their unsoiled attire to plan the final chapters of the game. Instructed by Matthew Napoleon Bagley a cunning and original second half was drawn out. The second half continued much as the first, with both Ollie Barrett and Matt Bagley showing that if you must pass it has to be a behind the back, with only Bagleys soft heart preventing him netting with several attempts. Not to be outdone Pete Ross scored a series of goals that moved so fast that the ball moved through time as it flew past a crowd of terrified players. Also of note was Ewan Wilsmer who fed up with scoring with hard shots decided to make a tribute to former Captain and respected father Andy Lowden with a shot that moved so slowly that despite five separate save attempts by the Hitchin goalie still found the corner of stick side high. In the same vein a tribute to Steve Cattle was put on by Chris Collison who received the ball in traffic on the crease and deftly shovelled a no look shot straight past the goalie, an impression of Steve only flawed by his forgetting to then punch someone in the face. By this stage a bored Eamon Poller only so far troubled by the efforts of Ian Wakeford and the occasional fluke demanded his chance to shine, and shine he did with both Blues defence and midfield standing back to let a number of stumbling Bambi like Hitchin attacks through on goal. Eamon denied the vast majority acrobatically and releasing a clearing passes that drew admiring sighs from not only the crowd but most of Hitchins team as well. As darkness drew in the game entered its final moments with the heady scent of victory and beer in the nostrils of the Blues Hitchin began to truly crumble and the day was ours! Already as we walked from the victorious field thoughts turned to the prospect of the semi-final against either Reading or EG whose game to decide who could lose the quickest to avoid another spanking from the Blues had been cancelled due to excessive campness on both teams and is pending the changing rooms being repainted in pastel colours. ....................................................................................................... As the mighty blues 2's took the field for another week a hush fell over the assembled crowd. One question burned deep with in the soles of the dedicated souls assembled there, could these few warriors provide the herculean effort required to deliver the victory they so richly deserved against the ammassed hoardes of brighton university? Standing 14 strong (johnny freeman counts as 2) the blues were vastly out numbered by the enemy's 35 sprightly youthful athletes. From the first whistle Amit "down to business" Bizwas domminated the face off, his years of experience only serving as fuel for his magnificent pace, mesmirising reaction times and his pin point acuracy in front of the net. Before this day was done the rifle man would claim his fare share of scalps humiliating the accomplished brighton goal tender with bullet like shots repeatedly finding their targets. Bizwas could not have achieved such feats with out his trust side kick little legs lowden the fastest wingman this side of purley. Lightening lowdem repeatedly leaving his opponents eating dust and turf as he scooped ground balls and defended with such passion that one on looker actuially got pregnant just by watching him. But lowden would not be the only hero of the day though. Oh no, today would see 14 men (johnny freeman counts as 2) work as one to shatter the arrogant expectations of so many. What brighton lacked in experience they made up for in athleticism and numbers at certain points during the blues clears the sun would be blotted out by the running bodies and swatting sticks of the brighton masses, their defence locking off not only on the clears but during all defensive sets and their increased numbers and young bodies alowing them to maintain the onslaught for the entire battle. The mighty 2's with their love of the wenches and their need to entertain the masses had not quietly slipped into the previous night, they had given their all until the wee hours with some of them scoring both on and off the field (not Lewis). Their ebulliant provisions at the previous evenings festivities temporarily took it's toal, leaving the them flustered during the second quarter by the up close and personal approach of the brighton team. However, in a stroke of pure tactical genious by general clayton he instructed his loyal followers to allow the brightonians their moments of glory during the third quarter by continuing the lethargic blues play and instructing Greg "the wall" Greginsky to allow several goals in to bring brighton to a confidence boosting 5 to 3 lead. Not one of claytons warriors doubted his tactics and the seemless facade was continued and strengthened with some exceptional attacking play from Chris "lego hair man" wilson as he dodged weaved and danced his way around the brighton defence, but when the time came to shoot, his punches were pulled (as instructed) the ball skillfully finding the goalies net or alternatively deliberately missing it's target by millimetres. The young trooper showing his true metal by absorbing impact after impact from bigger, stronger foes and for the short periods of play when young christopher was not in possession Scott "the wolverine" Growler was with some lightening transitions with the help of his unstoppable comrades Lewis "yeah I touched one once" Ladykilla and Sam "balls deep" Podsnapper showed their coming of age with surgeon like checks and awe inspiring ground balls, battering, slicing and dicing their way through the very hearts of the larger, stronger brighton giants, crushing their spirits still further. This will come as little surprise as we blues know It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog... ...Unless that dog is johnny "2 men" freeman whose monstrous masculinity was on this occasion dwarfed by his repeated bursts of pace (seriously you guys) his movement off the ball on one now legendary clear left a blur a patch of dust and a row of flaming turf in it's wake, unfortunately his trip back to 1988 and back again, left him only able to carry out the defense of 2 normal men in the 4th quarter. Speaking if the 4th quarter - with king claytons tactictical tom foolery performed to perfection and brightons false sense of security firmly in place the cool calm colectiveness of mark "the jake 3000" banas took the field, crushing all that stood in his path, remaining calm under fire and with one wave of his mighty weapon bringing the scores within one goal of a draw. Leigh "lightining" Eddons was quick to follow up with wave upon wave of driving whirling sorming attack but to prove his worth at each critical moment withdrawing just as he could have shot, some say he did so out of respect for his previous comrades my own personal opinion is that he did so to prove the calibre of his mettle taunting the opposition whilst never bringing them to there knees. Carl "the daddy" daniels gave no such concessions, after numerous periods of heavy fire he desimated the field with his usual skill, rolling, faking and bullying his way around the battle field until the opposition begged for him to end them with one of the finest goals lacrosse had ever seen to tie up the game. Even the wounded soldiers gave there all Dougie le Tilt only leaving the field after the medics strapped him to the stretcher and sedated him. He will always be remembered for his stripping the opposition of the ball and their dignity. But what's this? The fourth quarter and the scores are tied, the battle almost spent and the mighty blues holding firm but not having the final power to push the brightonions back to the foul depths from wence they came?! COMMETH THE HOUR COMMETH THE MAN. Final score 8 -5. BOOM! N.B The other blues team also played. ........................................................................................................ 02.11.09 Gentlemen, The Blues are on a roll! In what turned out to be another gorgeous day at the clockhouse the first and second team both came away with key victories. The first team took the pitch against their bitter rival East Grinstead, while the second team played Brighton. There was no question that these games would be big measuring sticks early in the season, as EG always brings their A game against the Blues and Brighton is a team usually sniffing around the top half of the East 1 division. The first team moved to 3-2 with their win, and have now won three games in a row. The second team continued their stellar play, and remained unbeaten on the year with four victories and one draw. For the first team, it was a little different win than their previous two matches. In the two previous games, both victories, the Blues first team scored a combined 36 goals. Saturdays game was a bit different, as it was the defense that bailed an out of sync offense out. The first team defense put on a clinic limiting East Grinstead to a stingy five goals playing the team style defense that has been preached all year. Although it was a solid team effort, there was a great deal of individual effort on the part of our long poles. Game MVP Ollie Barret was all over the field scooping up ground balls, coming in off the face-off wing, getting a few shots on goal, all while shutting down EG's strongest threat on offense. The Blues also got strong efforts out of Toby Martlew and Jon Arthurs, as they were quick and strong to slide to the ball, thwarting any chance of a threat on goal. The defense was anchored by Assistant Captain Ian "Skinnyman" Wakeford and Eamon "Hes just a little guy" Poller, and they switched from defense to defense and kept up strong communication keeping EG completely off balance. Down 4-1 at half the Blues showed poise and a belief in their system and talent to pull away from EG in the 3rd quarter. The offense was paced by their fearless leader Matt "Extra-Medium shirt" Bagley, as he showed why he is one of the best middies in the south and a leader of the team. The offense also got a boost from an electric second half from James "Kiddo" Kidd who was dodging like a madman. He had two goals disallowed by crease violations, but was able to scored two more while opening up the field with his dodges. Overall, it was a gritty, grind-it-out type of performance, but the truly good teams find ways to win these kind of games,. The Blues showed saturday that even though they were not at their best, they could find ways to win. Overall it was another great weekend as the Blues came away with the two game sweep. This game should be a bit of an eye opener for the first team, as it shows that there is still much to work on if we want to be one of the premier teams in the league. In the game on Saturday they learned the difference between playing with swagger, and being lazy. The second team came away with yet another win, showing why they will be a threat to win the league all year. Hopefully we will see quite a few people at training on Wednesday, as it looks to be an important weekend coming with the first team battling Hampstead away, the second team taking on Buckhurst Hill, and the third team hitting the field against the Welwyn 3's. Cheers Mates, and I'll see you on Wednesday night! CC out "HEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPP!!!" -Chris Duffy #35 .............................................................................................................. 12.10.09 Gentlemen - As all of you know Bagley is over in the states representing "his" country against some of the best collegiate teams in division 1 lacrosse, and as a result he has passed on the responsibility of the Monday Report to me. Although I am not as eloquent as Mr. Bagley, I'll give it shot. Under the beautiful English sky the first team suffered another heartbreaking loss at the hands of Welwyn 12-11, while the tooz put in another solid effort and ammered EG 'A' 14-4. Unfortunately the third team was unable to play their game due to injuries and illness, however I'm sure they would have smoked the spencer 3's had they been able to field a team. Despite the differing outcomes, both teams seemed to have improved from the weekend before, but still have some things that needed to be adjusted. Let's continue to work hard at training and in our spare time to achieve the goals we set for ourselves before the season started. From the opening whistle till the bitter end, the Blues First Team and Welwyn were locked in a physical battle hard-fought. Before the game the team got a surprise boost as Dustin Coombe, who was recovering from a broken ankle, suited up in the royal blue uniform for the first time. Throughout the game the play f seemed to favor the Blues, as team MVP Matt Birkett and Dave Howie were almost unstoppable at the face-off x giving the offense plenty of possessions. Early on the offense seemed to be clicking getting goals from Tom Gallagher, Matt Bagley, Chris Collison, James Kidd, as well as Dustin Coombe's first Blues goal. To Welwyn's credit they never gave up, kept clawing back, and capitalized on some untimely Blues mistakes to eventually take the lead with 90 seconds left in the game. They then effectively killed off the majority of the time left in the game, and staved off one last rush from the Blues to come away with the victory delivering the first team their second tough loss in a row. It is however early in the season still, but it seems that all the new faces are beginning to gel with the old faces, and its only a matter of time before the results start favoring the Blues. The first team should remember the feeling they had after the game, as they'll have another crack at Welwyn in the Flags in two weeks time. The Blues tooz had a much better outcome, winning their second straight game in a row in convincing fashion against EG 'A's. Tooz Captain Paul Clayton expressed how proud he was of his team, and how they come together as a unit to display some of the best overall team work he's seen from any Blues squad. The face-off x was once again dominated by Amit Biswas, who at some point in the game was probably sent off to clean up that bloody knee of his. The offense played a textbook game, working the defense with extended possessions, and running the offense to near perfection. They scored many of their goals off a series of passes and teamwork, and didn't have to rely on one person to shoulder the load. On the other end of the field the defense locked down the fort only allowing 4 goals, and never seemed too be challenged by the Grinstead offense. Grinstead even got a little help from John Arthur as he "fired" a shot past Sam Rowlands for an own goal. The tooz played the team game, and it payed great dividends in the final score. Next week will be a huge weekend for both teams. The first team is desperately looking for their first win against a strong Hitchin side on their grounds, while he second team looks to continue their strong play against Cambridge university at the Clockhouse. Consequently, this weeks training will be very important as both teams have some important things to work on. So do your best to make it to training, and hopefully all three teams can have a winning weekend coming up. Keep up the good work, and I'll hopefully see you at the club on Wednesday night. HHEEEEPPPP!!! Cheers -CC 05.10.09 Gentlemen- Congratulations on a successful start to the 2009-2010 campaign! After a brilliant pre-season which saw even more players join the club - and an average attendance rate of 25 people per training session - the Walcountian Blues were able to send a record 37 players to participate in the league's opening games this weekend! We represented ourselves quite well on the day, and while not every result turned out Blue, it illustrated some key points we need to work on in order to achieve the level of success we want for ourselves this year... and what we must do to reach those lofty goals! Saturday started off with the First Team battling rivals Spencer to a heartbreaking 12-11 loss, giving up 4 goals in the last 6 minutes of play. Unfortunately, multiple opportunities were squandered to put the game away, and a more talented team lost to a team who just had more heart on the day. The Tooz had a bit more success however, grounding out a 9-7 victory over an inspired Reading 2's at the Clockhouse to open their season with a win. It was a sloppy match, but the 3 points were earned and the job was well done! The newly formed Third Team, however, had a rough introduction into the East 2 Division. Even with the injection of two Blues who played in the Premiership last season, they still fell 12-2 to a younger (and much quicker!) Northampton squad. Looking ahead to next weekend, the First Team continues their tough opening schedule on the road against Welwyn, the Tooz take on cross- town rival East Grinstead A's, and it's the war of the Third Teams as the Threez head up to Spencer yet again. ....................................................................................... 30.08.09 Dunmore cup winners 2009 This season, the annual game played in memory of Steve Dunmore was kindly hosted by East Grinstead. Both teams fielded players from a mix of first and second team, but the Blues dominated from the start. Ewan got the Blues off to a great start, taking full advantage of a man up situation from an EG offside. James and CC quickly popped in some goals, and with 1 conceded the first quarter ended 3-1. With some new recruits on the team, the Blues machine quickly got into their strides with the first half ending 7-1 thanks to strong defensive play and quick efficient attacking (goals from Chris Willson, Birkett and two from CC). The second half saw the score sheet quickly filling up with goals from Birkett, James Kidd, Pete Ross and three more from Ewan. Eg managed to claw back one goal too, making use of a Blues technical penalty. The 3rd quarter finished 13-2. The final quarter was a draw with both teams scoring 3 goals (CC, Pete R, Pete R), but saw the Blues reclaim the Dunmore Cup with ease. This was a perfect start to the season and shows that the Blues are going to be a strong title contender this year. The Blues are proud to be able to remember Steve Dunmore in this way annually. .......................................................................... 25.08.09 Training gets off to a flyer .......................................................................... 23.08.09 New season, new website

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