Windermere Weekend,    28th/29th April 2007

With Lakeland once again, full of blossom and bathed in sunshine, LX gathered at the Briery Wood Hotel for 2 matches against local opposition.

Lakelanders  2  v.  LX  3

Opening brightly, Lakelanders, strengthened by the inclusion of LXer’s David Margerison, Colin Pearce, Jim Standish and Bill Warrender, moved the ball around confidently and LX struggled to get any possession. However, as LX began to get the measure of the opposition David Wright and Alan Jackson were able to get a bit more midfield control and feed Peter Ross and Graham Martin. With 15 minutes gone and the game evenly balanced, Lakelanders won a penalty corner and took the lead when the shot from the top of the ‘D’ was good enough to beat Mike Fripp. Lakelanders threatened to move further ahead, but stout defending by George Hazell and Leon Mack kept the opposition away from goal and the score remained 1-0 at the break.

The second period opened with LX taking the game to Lakelanders and an equaliser came when Tony Jones latched on to a loose ball and guided it into the net. Galvanised by this success, LX swarmed forward and a second goal resulted when Tony Jones again was first to the ball. Having taken the lead, LX were enjoying a period of domination and were awarded a penalty corner. A direct shot from David Wright hit a defender on the goal line and Graham Martin converted the resultant penalty stroke past Jim Standish’s left hand. Lakelanders came back strongly after this reverse and with time running out reduced the deficit when Bill Warrender was on hand to guide a short corner strike inside the upright.

Border Vets  0  v.  LX  0

With a win behind them, LX took to the field full of optimism but found Border Vets proving a handful in the early exchanges, launching a series of sharp attacks down both wings. Having weathered the early onslaught, LX moved upfield  with John Land and Bob Pursehouse prompting the forwards. Border Vets appeared to have taken the lead with a goal from a penalty corner but after consultation, the umpires decided that the Mike Fripp in goal had been obstructed!  LX had a further let off when the ball struck the outside of the post and were relieved to hear the half time whistle.

Play resumed with LX again being forced on to the defensive but they had the best chance of the second period when, for the second game in a row a penalty stroke was awarded. Graham Martin’s attempt was wide of the upright and the score remained goalless. With both sides tiring in the heat, David Read and John Widgery were able to snuff out Border Vets attack and the game the game petered out into a goalless draw, a most unusual score for any LX game!

Retiring to the nearby Sun Inn, LXer’s and Border Vets enjoyed beer and sandwiches together. Thanks were expressed once again to Andy Holden for putting together a most enjoyable programme, all of which took place in weather which LX has come to expect over the past 7 years that this fixture has been played.

LX Squad:  Mike Fripp; Leon Mack; George Hazell; John Widgery; David Read; Alan Jackson; David Wright; Bob Pursehouse; John Land; Peter Ross; Graham Martin; Tony Jones: