The Ladies 2nd XI started the season with very realistic hopes of winning Derbyshire Division 1 this year and it was definitely a season for the team to be proud of! Despite having a lot of new faces in the squad and facing many oppositions with a bare eleven, the first half of the season saw us commanding a very strong presence at the top of the table; remaining undefeated in our ten games played before Christmas. After losing Becca Farndell-Thorne to injury in November, we had to have a bit of a reshuffle and everyone made sure they stepped up their game to compensate; Zoe Ridley comfortably filled our gap at the back alongside myself and Olivia Dale. The strength of Shannon Dillon, Felicity Norcross and Yazmin Ambler in midfield continued to grow week on week and Chloe Logan was a force to be reckoned with wherever and whenever she took to the pitch. Couple this with our scoring sensations Susie Spruce and her prodigy Izzy Ridley, we were looking pretty impressive.

Having completely dominated the majority of our games up to the halfway point of the season, it was primarily a battle between us and Belper 3rd XI for the top spot. Coming up against them in our second game of the New Year, it was clear we had our work cut out for us. At 3-0 down in the final five minutes of the match, we had left it a little late for a comeback however we did manage to score a compensatory goal which softened the blow of our first loss. Fortunately, we found out that Belper had lost to Matlock 2nd XI the week before and this meant that it was still all to play for moving forwards. We refocused our efforts towards rebuilding the hefty goal difference that we had before Christmas and our 13-0 win over Ilkeston 1st XI was a supremely high point for all of us; demonstrating exactly what we were capable of. In a bitter twist of events however, the week after saw our shock defeat to Belper 4th XI at the very bottom of the table. The disappointment we felt at this was brutal but we are not a team to be knocked back easily. We lifted our heads up and got straight back to our winning ways; feeling a lot more relaxed knowing that although the league win was no longer in our control, we could do no worse than second place.

After such an abrupt end to the season, we had to wait a short while for the league to collect and publish the results from the final games played before deciding what would be done about any outstanding matches. It was heart-breaking to learn that we missed out on promotion by one point however, thanks largely to the barricade that was Angela Hughes, we had the best goal difference and considering the effort we put in over the season, we are all supremely proud of what we achieved.

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The men’s 1st went into the season with a promising summer of good hockey. They had maintained the players from the previous year and secured a GK to go with it giving the team a much-needed sense of stability from the back.

Before the season had started Burton were put onto the back foot losing one of our key strikers for the first 3 games due to a training injury.

Burton looked to start the season brightly with 3 youngsters who have come through the club from burtons academy finally getting the chance to shine in men’s 1st team hockey. The youngsters brought a new sense of passion and innovation to the team proving to the older players why they deserved their chance in the ones. The team got off to a flyer scoring 16 goals in the first 3 games. 3 games 9 points.

However, we found ourselves traveling away to a cold, wet and horrible Loughborough Town in which the boys narrowly lost out on 3 points with a 3-2 loss.

After a knock to the team’s confidence Burton then took a thumping at home to Harborne.

Stern words from the coach and captain lifted the team’s spirits as they looked to bounce back.

The following week the 1st Xi travelled away to a cold and wet Leek for a 16:00 push back. Scoring 9 goals we looked to be back on track.

Burton then hosted Coventry and North Warwick and after a suspect tackle that left one of our juniors on the bench for 65 minutes the team decided it was time to put them back in their place as the final score finished 4-2.

The final few games before Christmas looked to be a tough task and it was indeed. Playing the top teams in the league Burton took no further points before Christmas leaving them in 5th place and in with half a chance of top 3 spot. The final game of the first half of the season was the first week back after Christmas away to Olton in which the final score was another loss of 5-1.

With the half way point up, the team knew that this was the point to turn the tide. Welcoming former 1st Team captain back after some much-needed paternity leave giving the lads some much needed quality assurance at the back alongside some much need words of wisdom and calmness on the pitch.

From the next 7 games Burton took home 19 points out of 21 and scoring a total of 30 goals and conceding only 10.

However, the season hasn’t finished there as we were now looking at a top 4 finish. Going away to Telford is always a thriller for this Burton side, losing at narrowly this time last year Burton looked to get revenge and push even further up the table by taking some points of a top team. The game went on and Burton were well and truly robbed of 3 points. Captain Liam Goode has his possibly best ever goal disallowed by the umpires in the dying stages of the game which would have levelled the score to 5-5. However, the due to the decision of the umpires the score remained at 5-4 devastating the boys from what would have been an amazing result.

With COVID-19 well and truly settling into business in the UK it looked like the following week would be our final game. The team hosted Streetly who were in the spot above them who we were slowly but surely catching up. Burton put in a very convincing performance and won the game 4-2 showing how strong we can be against a top of the table side. Unfortunately, the season ended there with the team finishing in 5th place and no more games to be played.

Overall, the season was a massive success, the youngsters proving themselves throughout the season.

The men’s 1st Xi scored a whopping 82 goals throughout the season with 5 players in the top 20 top goal scorers. The team are looking to continue this success in the next season if possible and look to push for promotion again. There is a long summer ahead but we will be working hard alongside the club to keep fit and healthy and look after ourselves.

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The Ladies 1s returned to Midlands Division 1 this season for the first time in 7 years after back to back promotions and it was certainly a season of two halves. The beginning of the season brought with it 2 hen dos and 2 weddings (Congratulations Mrs Cains and Mrs Locker!) as well as plenty of other work commitments, holidays and injuries, meaning availability was rocky to say the least. We muddled through some games with 12 players, instead of our usual 14 strong squad and suffered losses where we deserved draws, and draws where we pushed so hard for the win. Megan Bignell was a star between the posts for us, making game-changing saves and rising to the challenge of facing some top quality goal scorers from our opposition teams. A notable "diamond in the rough" performance was against University of Birmingham 3s at the Ellis where we had an unstoppable first half, putting 3 goals past the usually formidable students and ended the game 4-1 after they adapted their tactics and managed to keep us at bay in the second half. Unfortunately, another string of losses followed and morale was running low as Christmas drew near. A turning point in our season was our return fixture vs Olton & West Warwickshire 2s, which actually fell just before Christmas. We turned out with one of our strongest squads yet and put in an outstanding performance against a disciplined Olton side who were near the top of the league at the time, compared to our 9th place. Unfortunately, some poor umpiring decisions and just sheer bad luck meant that we had 2 goals disallowed, and a goal scored against us from a short corner that should never had been! Losing 1-0 was devastating but lit a fire within the team who were all ready to return in 2020 bigger and better...

And that we did! Squad sizes grew from 11/12 to 14/15 giving us that extra cutting edge on the pitch. We had 17 talented girls to select from each week - a double edged sword for any captain - meaning a strong team was guaranteed but also some players missing out. Every single player took this in their stride and the healthy competition for places saw some players shine and put in some outstanding performances. We slowly started climbing the league table, with every win, we leapfrogged another team, and then another. We scored 10 goals in our first 3 league games of 2020 (only 2 short of our tally from the whole of the first half of the season). After a fairly quiet start, a superstar emerged up front. Sophie Carlton-Greaves wiped the floor with most defenders and scored a particularly spectacular goal away at Birmingham Uni, diving headfirst towards the post for a perfect deflection. The next 3 games would be tough - the top 2 teams in the league, and Ashby (against whom we suffered our biggest defeat of the season before Christmas). But true to our 2020 form, we remained unbeaten, taking 1-1 draws away from home vs both Leek and Matlock and then dominating Ashby in an excellent display of hockey at the Ellis. Our season was sadly cut short, missing out on one fixture and more importantly missing out on a proper send off for Megan Ridley, Hattie Buxton and Sophie who should be heading off to University in September and will be hugely missed! It did however mean our "unbeaten in 2020" record still stands.

A tough yet rewarding season for the Ladies 1s, finishing in a very respectable 5th place in Midlands Division 1. As always, our youthful team keeps our future looking bright and we are excited for another season playing against some more quality opposition (just please, no more weddings!!).

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Bill Arnold

Sadly I have to report that another of our Life members has died.

Bill was 95 and passed away peacefully in a Stapenhill Nursing Home last week.

Bill joined Burton Hockey Club in 1952; during his career with the Club he was better known for his umpiring than his ability on the pitch. He loved the Brewsters'  Easter Tours, particularly to Bournemouth, and is pictured below (far right) with his friends old and young in a pre match photo..early seventies..

Ken Stanyon, Peter Ellis, Carlton Smith, Chris Elliott, Chris Smith, Bob Anderson, (back row) Davie Anderson, Tony Collier, Geoff Berry, Mike Holmes, Eddie Appleby  and Geoff Smith. (front row)

Bill religiously  gave great attention to detail  and was always smartly turned out.......he became President of DCHA in 1971 and he was very proud that in 1972 , during his tenure as President of Burton,  the Mens 1st XI  won the Midlands Club Championship........

Thank you Bill for all your contributions....  RIP    Willie

 

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Our end of season stats for 19/20. 

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There was some sad news last week about the death of Mike Brooker one of our life members. Willie has put a few notes together below:

Mike Brooker was a great supporter of Burton Hockey Club over more than fifty years....an accomplished and sizeable goalkeeper famous in his red tracksuit , he played a few games for the first team but was generally the bridesmaid in the seconds.....his greatest playing contribution was with the Brewsters Sunday XI. And memorably On tour at Easter festivals .....later to become a top grade umpire , putting back considerable Contribution to the game he loved......Mike loved the post match chat and social scene....a fine Domino and Darts player , a serious rival for Mates Peter Ellis, Trevor Windle, Eddie Appleby

Geoff Berry, Davie Anderson Dave Brain and many

Others. Including Andrew Jemison !

He will be sadly missed. RIP.

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Burton Hockey Club along with Henhurst Social Club and Dove Valley Race Nights, hosted a great race night on the 28th Feb with over 100 people attending. The event raised over £1500 for the club. Massive thank to all race sponsors, horse owners, Louise Bignell and Rocky for running the tote, Francesca Lord for arranging the raffle and most of all all the people that came along to support the event. A fantastic night for all involved!!

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The Ellis Astro has been complete and played on for the last 3-4 years. Burton HC and its members worked hard to raise fundings for the Ellis Astro to be built alongside donations and grants from other sources such as England Hockey and The National Lottery. 

Read more to follow how the pitch was funded and a short brief on how the pitch was built.

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