PENARTH Hockey Club’s new-look 1st XI put its pre-season friendly form to one side at the weekend as the traditional Welsh Cup qualifying tournament pitted them against some serious competition in Swansea.

Strengthened by the arrival of several new players over the summer, as well as gaining a new captain and player-coach in Tom Haran and Ben Croxall respectively, the tournament was PHC’s first real test after an extensive pre-season schedule, requiring the Bears to first qualify through a group phase, before winning a play-off match to secure their place in the semi-finals at the end of the season.

Opening up against hosts Swansea Bay in the early morning sunshine, it was Penarth who started brightest, converting pressure into a one-goal advantage as Dave ‘Jasper’ Joyce converted a cross at the back post. The young Swansea side responded from the restart and, attacking with pace, quickly grabbed an equaliser, but Penarth were not to be bowed, eventually regaining the lead before half-time when Chris Baker drove into the D and neatly flicked the ball home.

Despite being 2–1 up at the break, Penarth started the second half sluggishly, allowing Swansea to capitalise with another equaliser early on. The goal appeared to spur the visitors back into action and the pressure paid off as, pushing forward and attacking in numbers, Joyce repeated his earlier strike by converting at the back post to put Penarth ahead once more. This time, the Vale side did not allow Swansea back into the game and grabbed a fourth goal via a Laith El-Khatib drag flick to run out 4–2 victors.

Penarth took on Whitchurch in their second game knowing that a point would guarantee a place in the play-offs but, despite attacking well at times, found themselves under the cosh for the majority of the match. Without much possession of their own, Penarth dug in and, courtesy of some poor Whitchurch finishing and some fantastic last ditch defending, particularly from Sam Williamson, managed to keep a clean sheet to earn a 0–0 draw to secure the point they needed to win the group.

The crossover play-off game saw Penarth facing Bridgend, who had finished as runner-up in the alternate group. The Bears started well and raced into a two-goal lead, with Baker grabbing both strikes after outstanding work from Usman Hameed Dhami and Joyce respectively.

Bridgend didn’t let their heads drop, however, and pulled one back before half-time, but Penarth were eager not to allow a repeat of their first game, where they surrendered their half-time advantage, and attacked from the restart, eventually grabbing a third goal as Croxall played a defence-splitting pass from the halfway line which Joyce dinked over the ‘keeper with his first touch.

To their credit, Bridgend kept coming back at Penarth, halving the deficit with 10 minutes to play and then levelling late on through a drag flick into the top corner. The 3–3 draw meant that the game would be decided by penalty shuffles, and Penarth started well, scoring first through Baker and then seeing Bridgend’s effort creep narrowly wide. However, misses by El-Khatib and Croxall were matched by two goals from Bridgend, leaving Penarth trailing 2–1 after the first three rounds.

Joyce stepped up and, continuing his deadly form from earlier in the day, neatly tucked the ball home to temporarily bring the sides level. When Bridgend’s effort was then disallowed after the ball took longer than the allotted eight seconds to cross the line, the shoot-out went to sudden death and, with Rhys Evans converting with aplomb, it was left to Penarth goalkeeper Mark Harris to win the match by saving the decisive shuffle.

Penarth’s victory saw them emulate the 2nd XI’s success from the previous weekend, and both teams will now take their place in the semi-finals with a place in Finals Weekend at stake.

Cardiff Medics ‘A’ 3-1 Penarth ‘A’

With 1st XI squad requirements and other players unavailable before the league campaign gets underway, it was a changed 2nd XI that took the field for the final pre-season friendly, against a strong Medics team preparing for life in a higher division than the visitors.

The students took up the early running, putting pressure on the Penarth D from the off, but some determined defending from centre back James Davies combined with inspired saves from stand-in goalkeeper James Erasmus to keep the scores level through to the mid-point of the period.

Penarth’s occasional attacking moves showed some fragility in the Medics’ back-line and, after a spell of concerted pressure, the visitors were awarded a penalty corner that Dave Watkins converted from Dave Thomas’ slip ball.

Buoyed by their unexpected advantage, Penarth played on a par with their hosts for the remainder of the half, but paid for failing to convert the chances that came their way as the Medics took advantage of a defensive lapse to poke the ball past Erasmus and bring the sides level on the scoreboard as well as the pitch.

Worse was to come for Penarth, however, as a swift break saw the home side take the lead on the verge of half-time, but the Bears refused to buckle after the break and, driven on by the guile of Mark Robinson in midfield, again showed resolve in defence and verve in attack.

With Davies’ efforts being mirrored by his cohorts, the Medics were denied a third goal as Craig Llewellyn cleared off the line, while Sam Salisbury and Thomas were both denied an equaliser by reaction saves from the home goalkeeper at the other end.

As the game wore on, however, the students’ youth began to tell and, after camping in the Penarth half for some time, their endeavours were rewarded with a third goal that put the game beyond doubt but did not reflect their opponent’s contribution to an otherwise even encounter.

Despite the defeat, the performance will provide encouragement for both Penarth 2nd and 3rd XIs, with players from both sides showing good form against higher-ranked opposition.

With the 2nd XI sitting out the first round of matches in the newly-sponsored GoCrea8 Hockey League this weekend, the 1sts take on old foes Whitchurch in Cardiff while the 3rds make the long trip west to take on Trinity St David’s in Lampeter.

Penarth Hockey Club always welcomes new, old and returning players, umpires, supporters, friends and helpers regardless of age and ability. Training takes place on Wednesdays at Stanwell School, with the juniors on the pitch between 6.30pm and 7.30pm and the seniors between 7.30pm and 8.30pm.

Anyone interested in joining the club at senior or youth level can contact either player-coach Ben Croxall (b_croxall20@yahoo.co.uk) or club secretary Dave Stevens (d_stevens81@hotmail.co.uk) for further information.