TBC

TBC

Bracknell 1 s underlined their intent to continue their push up the league table in the closing stages of the season as they played some wonderfully expansive hockey in beating Sunbury 5-0. 
 
Bracknell were able to field a near full strength side welcoming back winger Matty Humphrey and the boundless Tony Heaver from injury.
 
The star of the show was flamboyant striker Danny Ray who bagged a hat trick taking his season tally to an impressive twenty eight. Bracknell only needed the first few minutes to break the deadlock. Tireless midfielder Ashley Stratton won the ball in the final third only to draw the keeper for Danny Ray to score his first.
 
Midway through the half Bracknell extended their lead as Danny Ray scored again with skilful veteran Duncan Wiggett rolling back the years only to toy with the Sunbury left back producing  short corners at will. More chances came and went for Bracknell to put the game beyond doubt. If Bracknell had been 5-0 up at half time it would not have flattered them but they had to settle for just the two goals at the interval.
 
Whilst Bracknell continued to control proceedings after the break Sunbury did create some chances of their own but the brave Carl Eatwell along with makeshift defensive central pairing of commanding defender, Sean Hardingham and playmaker, Gary Steeples kept the Sunbury attack at bay. Danny Ray collected his third after some industrious work by Jonny Hall. Danny Ray then turned provider to set up Ashley Stratton for Bracknell s fourth & Sean Hardingham finished off proceedings to score Bracknell s fifth before the final whistle.
 
Another good team performance and it was particularly encouraging to see Bracknell s young starlets, John Dye, Sam Heaver and Tom Mitchell step up and slot in so effortlessly

Bracknell 1st XI were faced with their second game of the weekend, after a bitter defeat the day before, they had to get up again to face Rover Oxford and take 3 points back home with them, ensuring that in Gary Steeples'  words "everyone would be able to be a winner for the week ". 
 
Bracknell started slowly and were punished, but new father Dan Ray provided the inspiration -  scoring from a good move down the right and slotting in the rebound off the post, 1-1. Bracknell continued to push forward but a lack of  composure and clinical finishing in the  D , prevented them from taking a lead into the half time break. 
 
Bracknell scored early in the second half with Gary Steeples earning a penalty flick and converting, 2-1. Bracknell continued to push but Rover scored with a Short Corner strike levelling the game. But once again with high work rate and applicationfrom Sam Heaver, Dan Ray scored his second with a cheeky deflection from behind his back, 3-2! Bracknell saw out the game and took 3 points home, sharing a Snakey B in what was lovely beer garden weather!

Bracknell this week welcomed league leaders, Wycombe 2 s to Birch Hill in what turned out to be a cracker of a match. Wycombe were to run out heavy victors in the end 9-3 but Bracknell played their part in this entertaining game. Bracknell gave as a good as they got for the majority of the game and played some of their best hockey of the season. It was end to end stuff and the difference on the day was that Wycombe took their chances (nearly every one) and Bracknell for all their defensive hard work and attacking prowess squandered a number of chances to claw their way back into the game. 
Well taken goals from Paul Kaplanski (2) and a well placed shot from Duncan Wiggett kept the home side within touching distance until the last 20 minutes of the game and then the flood gates opened. Every attacking opportunity that Wycombe put together resulted in the ball hitting the Bracknell backboard. However Bracknell heads failed to drop and they continued to play some excellent hockey but just could not convert their chances.

Bracknell returned to RAF Halton to face Tring 1 s and collected the three points. Bracknell dominated possession and territory but it was a case of rued missed chances as Tring scored against the run of play. Bracknell kept their heads and the equaliser soon came as the Blues were awarded a flick which was converted by Gary Steeples.  Bracknell let chance after chance go begging and for all their domination went in level at half time.  
In the second half Tring continued to try & counter as Bracknell forced numbers forward but keeper Carl Eatwell played his part with a string of fine saves. Midway through the second half the deadlock broke and further goals from Paul Kaplanski and Duncan Wiggett put the game beyond Tring s reach. A fourth from a short corner just before the final whistle saw Bracknell run out 4-1 winners and Gary Steeples score his second of the game.
It was an encouraging team performance with everyone playing their part.

Games between Bracknell and their closest rivals, Wokingham are often very close: the 4-4 draw earlier in the season a fine example, and this one was no different.  Bracknell started the stronger of the two sides, but only managed to find the target once in the first half thanks to a lucky deflection off a Sam Heaver pass inside the D. 
After half-time Wokingham came out stronger and took a 3-1 lead early after the restart. Bracknell, however fought back and pulled it back to 3-3 thanks to 2 sweet strikes by Matt Humphrey. Bracknell held it until the dying minutes whenWokingham scored a Short corner to give them the win.

Bracknell 1 s moved to sixth spot in the table with a hard fought away victory over a youthful Aylesbury side.
 
The blues were able to field a near full strength side including the unlikely return from injury of talisman Paul Kaplanski. Bracknell came out of the blocks quickly and it only took Paul Kaplanski 30 seconds to get his name back on the score sheet finishing off a well worked move from the Bracknell push back.
 
Aylesbury rallied but fell two goals behind after another goal by Paul Kaplanski. The blues continued to dominate proceedings and this was vintage Bracknell at their best. It should have been more but Bracknell headed in two up at half time.
 
Bracknell again started brightly creating further chances to extend their lead. The goal soon came, after another strike by the in-form Danny Ray finishing off a sublime Bracknell move. Despite the lead, Bracknell continued to press in the hunt for more goals and they came from Kaplanski and Gary Steeples. Another well worked move resulted in a flick after an Aylesbury foot stopped a goal bound shot by Ashley Stratton,  Steeples duly converted.
 
A rare lapse in concentration lead to a late consolation for Aylesbury before the final whistle. 
 
Bracknell ran out deserved 5-1 winners with a solid team performance having played some excellent hockey, they defended well at the back, the midfield put in a shift and the forwards were clinical.
With back to back wins the blues should head into next week s local derby full of confidence.

Bracknell welcomed back their usual squad this week, and treated the Birch Hill faithful to a real show. Dan Ray opened the scoring within the first few minutes with a reverse stick goal that out foxed the Mill Hill Keeper. This set the tone for the game, and despite Bracknell not performing to their full ability in the fiist half, they ran in 4 to the good at half time with 2 more for Ray and one from Skipper Ash Stratton. 
 
Bracknell started the second half strongly and quickly added another to their growing goal tally, Dan Ray rounded the keeper after an excellent through ball from Jonny Hall. Bracknell really started to play to their full potential all over the pitch, keeping their first clean sheet this season. There was some excellent passing hockey from Bracknell who really never let Mill Hill get a look in. They ended up finishing 11-0, the spoils as follows -  a superb finish from Jonny Hall, Ash Stratton with one and Dan Ray overtook Paul Kaplanski's goals per game record, with 9 goals - he bought the beers!

Bracknell Men's 1s travelled to London to play Eastcote 2s with six members of their squad out of action. Bracknell went into the game knowing they had a tough hill to climb,with two members from the men's 2s and Callum Jones playing his club debut, the team knew they would have to work hard to take any points from the match.
Eastcote started the stronger of the two sides,and soon had an opening opportunity to take the lead when they attacked the Bracknell goal, winning a penalty corner which was converted with a well placed drag flick.Bracknell tried to apply their own pressure, but found it difficult to pick out their team mates, of which many were playing out of their regular positions. Eastcote were able to take advantage of this and scored a further two goals before half time. 
After a rallying half time talk from captain Ash Stratton Bracknell started the second half with dogged determination to salvage some points. Though Bracknell worked hard, it was apparent that Eastcote had the upper hand over the  much depleted opposition. Again Bracknell found themselves on the  back foot and it was only through a huge effort from the whole team that stopped Eastcote from extending their lead to more than five. The one uplifting moment came from Mark Burley who grabbed a consolation goal after Dan Ray had filtered through the defence. Eastcote were to score a further goal before the final whistle.
Man of the match and team captain Ash Stratton looks forward to seeing his squad strengthened for next weeks home fixture against Mill Hill

The sun was shining over Birch Hill this week, as Bracknell faced 2nd place Ramgarhia. Ramgarhia started the brighter of the two teams, scoring two goals within the first fifteen minutes, and if it weren't for some fine work from Carl Eatwell in the Bracknell goal, it would have been more. 
 
Bracknell then found their feet and started moving the ball very well, in a sweeping move with some great work from Man of the Match Gary Steeples, Bracknell found Tony Heaver wide on the right who placed a cross perfectly for Dan Ray to smash into the roof of the net. Bracknell spent much of the last 20 minutes of the half passing their way round Ramgharia and got a further goal as reward, which was also claimed by Dan Ray.
 
In the second half Bracknell continued to press Ramgarhia but did not seem to create as many chances as in the first. The hard work soon took its toll on Bracknell, and despite some dogged work in midfield by Ash Stratton and Jonny Hall, Ramgarhia managed to nick a third goal. One half of Bracknells Father and Son team - Sam Heaver provided some excellent pace down the left flank, and Bracknell threatened the Ramgarhia goal with a few short corners, but to no avail. Ramgarhia scored a fourth to put the game out of Bracknell's reach. Bracknell can take alot from this spirited performance  against tough opposition, ahead of next weeks game at Eastcote.

TBC

Bracknell 1 s put last week s disappointment behind them with a solid display at home against Sunbury. After weeks of injury crisis, the blues were able to field near a full strength side welcoming back Gary Steeples and Paul Kaplanski.
 
Bracknell this week played from the off and were unlucky to go a goal down after some impressive attacking play. Bracknell soon levelled as Duncan Wiggett turned provider to scorer bagging his third of the season. The blues should have finished the first half in front having dominated but squandered a number of chances to take the lead.
 
The second half started in similar fashion to the first with Bracknell on the front foot. Bracknell continued to press for a second goal and defended doggedly. Sunbury were forced to play the long aerial due to Bracknell s shape and defensive hard work. Midway through the second half Bracknell broke the deadlock with two further strikes from Matty Humphrey and Duncan Wiggett. 
 
The final whistle blew and it was a deserved 3-1 victory for Bracknell, everyone, 1 through 11 played their part though Matty Humphrey and Sam Heaver particularly continue to impress. The only disappointment to the day s proceedings was an injury to Mark Burley. 

Injury ravaged Bracknell this week faced current league leaders, High Wycombe 2 s at Cressex.  The home side came firing out of the blocks and hit Bracknell for six literally within the opening twenty five minutes. Bracknell were at sixes and sevens all over the park and needed to regroup. Towards the end of the half Bracknell caught High Wycombe on the break and were able to pull one back with an excellent finish from Jonny Hall.

Half time gave Bracknell time to regroup. It was Bracknell s turn to come out firing on all cylinders and the start of the second half saw the blues enjoy their best period of the game.  Bracknell started to compete and put High Wycombe on the back foot. Tom Mitchell and Sean Hardingham scored further goals for Bracknell to bring them back into the game only for High Wycombe to bag a further two for themselves.

Bracknell this week faced an in form Tring side at Birch Hill. It was the away side that started more brightly and were rewarded with two quick goals. However Bracknell soon found their feet and played their way back into the game defending sternly and attacking with some excellent build up play. Yet for all their possession and effort, Bracknell had little to show for it and went in 2-0 nil at half time.

The start of the second half saw the sides go head to head with both sides creating chances in a very open highly paced match. Carl Eatwell in goal played his part with a string of fine saves. Midway through the second half Bracknell upped their game finding an extra gear and started to dominate possession and territory but just could find a way through to the Tring net. The Blues clearly feeling the absence of injured strikers Danny Ray and Paul Kaplanski. However with five minutes to go young debutant Sam Heaver opened his account with a sublime deft touch to beat the Tring Keeper. Bracknell pushed for a second and had the opportunity with a number of short corners but it was not to be.

Despite the result, it was another good team performance from Bracknell and the team is heading in the right direction.

This week Bracknell made the short trip to Cantley Park to face local rivals Wokingham. Bracknell were able to field a near full strength side welcoming back several first team regulars to the starting line up. Tony Heaver unfortunately could not make the trip to play joining Gary Steeples on the injury list.
 
Both sides started well and were clearly up for bagging the three points. Bracknell held their shape defensively and played some eye catching attacking play. The deadlock broke early on and it was first blood to Bracknell, another well taken goal scored by the in-form Paul Kaplanski, following up after a save. However the lead was short lived as Wokingham scored three goals without reply. Bracknell were playing well but gifted Wokingham three soft goals by momentary lapses in concentration. The blues headed in at half time two goals behind and a mountain to climb. 
 
The second half saw Bracknell push further up and press Wokingham. They had no answer but the long ball. Bracknell upped their game in every aspect and reaped the rewards. Paul Kaplanski scored a goal of the season candidate with a fantastic volley fired into the roof of the net.  Wokingham pulled one back, only for Bracknell to score another two by Paul Kaplanski and Danny Ray. Wokingham were on the rack and there for the taking. Bracknell continued to press for the win and had the chances but it finished honours even.
 
The second half was some of the best Hockey Bracknell have played all season, a great comeback from the mire. 

After a tough game last week, Bracknell wanted to bounce straight back to winning ways at home to Aylesbury. Unfortunately they did not get off to a good start, and didn t  get into the game until an Aylesbury goal woke them up early in the first half. Bracknell then started piling on the pressure and it wasn t long before Paul Kaplanski latched onto a loose ball in the D and fired passed the keeper. The driving rain threatened to waterlog the pitch and put a stop to the game towards the end of the first half, but it didn t stop Calvin Freese bursting into the D and smashing home his first goal of the season from a tight angle, putting Bracknell 2-1 up going into half time. 
 
In the second half Bracknell carried on the way they finished the first, and continued putting pressure on, but it wasn t without fight from a dogged Aylesbury side, who had several short corners. Bracknell defended well , including a spectacular save by keeper Carl Eatwell, who used his head to deflect the ball away from goal. Bracknell kept working hard all over the park including superb performances in midfield led by skipper Ash Stratton, and towards the end of the second half Kaplanski netted again to make it 3-1 to Bracknell. Aylesbury then pushed forward, searching for a way back into the game, foolishly allowing Bracknell to break which they do all too well. On the break, Dan Ray un-selfishly squared it past the Aylsebury keeper into the stride of Paul Kaplanski for him to round off his hat trick. A fine team performance and a great win for Bracknell, to take them into next weeks local derby with Wokingham.

This week saw Bracknell head to North London to take on Mill Hill with promising starlets, Tom Mitchell and John Dye making their first team debuts.
 
Bracknell started brightly with poise and purpose creating chances aplenty but lady luck deserted them as three shots were saved off the Mill Hill goal line. At the other end Mill Hill created four chances and put them all away. Despite playing some excellent hockey Bracknell went in four down at half time. The score line certainly did not paint the complete picture.
 
Despite being four down, the half time talk confirmed that the eleven in white believed there were goals to be had and this game was far from over -  bring on the fight back. Four unanswered goals scored by Paul Kaplanski, Danny Ray, Sean Hardingham and Tony Heaver brought Bracknell to within a whisker of pulling this one back from the brink. It was all set for the perfect comeback but Bracknell switched off fleetingly and Mill Hill seized this opportunity to score 3 further goals to put this one out of Bracknell s reach.  
With several first team regulars missing and players playing with injuries this was a real valiant effort. Much can be taken from the game in particular the performances from youngsters, Tom Mitchell and John Dye who stepped up effortlessly & should be proud of their performance. This will no doubt be the first of many first team appearances. 

Scoring more goals than the opposition has always been the best advice for winning matches, and Bracknell Men s 1st 11 stand in skipper Tony Heaver commanded his troops to do just that, as they ran in 6-4 winners against league high flyers Eastcote 2 in the latest encounter of the MBBA Regional 2nd division. Bracknell made a fabulous  start to the game with Dan Ray latching onto a miss-control by an Eastcote defender within the first minute to fire the ball past the Keeper. Similar was to follow as the home side quickly added a further two goals, both from top scorer Paul Kaplanski, to put Bracknell 3 - 0 up within five minutes. Shell-shocked visitors Eastcote gathered themselves and pulled a goal back thanks to a communications breakdown between the Bracknell Defence.
 
Numerous chances went begging for the Birch Hill side to extend their lead, including a  disallowed goal by Tony Heaver from a short corner routine,  before Eastcote pulled another goal back, and then were awarded a penalty flick, which they failed to convert just before the half time whistle. 
 
After some stern half time talking, the home side restarted the match in the same vein as the first half, this time with veteran winger Duncan Wiggett notching two goals for himself. Eastcote tried to make a go of it, and pulled another two goals back before Dan Ray hammered the final nail into the roof of theire coffin to make the final score 6-4. There is no lacking in goal mouth excitement from the Men in Blue and yellow-  most of it going between the opposition s goal posts. Bracknell move to 2nd in the league with a game in hand having scored 22 goals in four games and conceding 13.

Match Postponed

After last week s heartache Bracknell 1 s opportunity to bounce back finally arrived after a long painful seven days. Talisman Paul Kaplanski was back in the mix to link up with strike partners Danny Ray and veteran weaver Duncan Wiggett to complete the arsenal. 
 
Bracknell started brightly playing some composed hockey creating several good early chances. Surprisingly it was the visitors who took the lead through a shot from the top of the  D  after failing to be closed down. Bracknell heads failed to drop and they were soon level. It was the Bracknell counter attack that was catching the eye today and a further two well taken goals from Paul Kaplanski and Danny Ray enabled Bracknell to head in at half time with a two goal cushion. 
 
Bracknell started the second half with purpose and shape. The chances continued a plenty after some impressive build up play. Unfortunately the ever reliable Tony Heaver was forced to end his day s work early due to injury and was replaced by Mark Burley on the right flank. 
 
The Bracknell engine in midfield worked tirelessly to break up any onslaught from Rover Oxford and they were able in turn to feed the forward line to good effect. Midway through the second half the blues were awarded a flick after the Rover Keeper took out Paul Kaplanski. Sean Hardingham duly converted and Bracknell were three to the good. Bracknell continued to press and two further strikes from Paul Kaplanski & Danny Ray saw Bracknell take a healthy lead.  Even though Rover Oxford 2 s managed to pull two goals back late on to produce a final score of 6-3 there was only ever one team in control of this one.
 
Bracknell 1 s are playing well and with their forwards fighting for top spot in the league goal scoring chart the blues seem to be enjoying their new home in Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Regional 2. 

Bracknell faced their first home game of the season in the MBBO Regional 2 league, with a confident feeling after last weeks convincing victory.
Amersham won the toss and chose to pushback. Bracknell knew they had to win possesion early to stop Amersham from gaining  momentum so the Bracknell midfield soon piled on the pressure quashing any advance from the opposition and winning the ball before any serious attacks on the Bracknell goal.
It was soon apparent that Bracknell meant business when they won a penalty corner in the opening minutes of the game.  A well executed manuoevre saw Gary Steeples open the scoring with a diving deflection from a Sean Hardingham strike into the D.
Bracknell continued to play a possesional game and to keep Amersham working hard to win the ball back.  However they proved to be strong contestants and were keen to get the scores back level.  It was Bracknell who scored the next goal with Dan Ray taking the score to 2-0 . Both teams battled hard but Bracknell,  unsettled by some questionable umpiring decisions, allowed Amersham  to monopolisethe play and score two quick goals.  With minutes of the half remaining, xcentre back Chris Keeley struck home a wonderful indivual goal, striking from the top left of the D slamming the ball into the opposite corner with the Amersham goalie nowhere to be seen.
The second half led to some great hockey from both teams.  Bracknell still with the hunger to score more goals led to the lead extending to 4-2 after  a second goal from Dan Ray.
Bracknell were again subject to further questionable decisions, leading to frustration and tempers rising.  Amersham took advantage when Bracknell were down to 10 men and scored 3 goals from penalty corners.  The score now 4-5 to Amersham with minutes remaining. Bracknell continued to battle to try for the equaliser but were unable to get it.  Though Bracknell lost this game, they still continue to play great hockey.  The team look at the loss as a lesson to be learnt and look forward to keeping all their players on the pitch for next weeks game.

Bracknell bounced back from last weeks pre-season defeat with a confident and professional performance playing away against Ashford 2's in the MBBO regional 2 league.
Ashford, an unknown entity to recently promoted Bracknell, looked to be strong opposition when they attacked Bracknell's D to win a penalty corner in the opening minute of the game. Bracknell defended well to clear the ball safely away.
Undeterred by this, Bracknell regained posession and were soon playing with pace and determination which resulted in their own penalty corner.  After Chris Keely's strike was stopped by the keeper, Dan Ray was quick on to the rebound to open the scoring. 
Bracknell were quick to regain the ball after the restart, showing some excellent posessional hockey and found themselves controlling the pace of the game. This was soon rewarded with a goal from Paul Kaplanski.
Ashford had only a handful of opportunities in reply to Bracknell's strong performance, which key defender Grame Aldous  dealt with in confident fashion.
Paul Kaplanski went on to score his hat-trick in the first half .  The score at half time was Bracknell 4 Ashford0

At the start of the second half Ashford werefirst on the offensive, with Bracknell conceding a goal after a shot was deflected off a defenders stick, just out of reach of the Keeper Carl Eatwell.
Bracknell appeared uneasy for a few minutes and lost some shape, allowing Ashford to step up the pace, however defensively they kept any advance from leading to their opponents scoring again.  Bracknell then appeared to regroup and were soon back on their own offensive play, leading to 2 further goals for Paul Kaplanski bringing his personal tally for the game to 5.
 
Bracknell were pleased with their team performance with everyone playing their part in what was a great opening game to their league.