The GalleonFriday 22nd February 20131

Sport @GalleonSportTeam pompey make an arse of iT

Souvenir Edition

Varsity Cup 2014

portsmouth Southampton64 204

Varsity Cup 2014

Team Southampton triumphant in Varsity 2014Pompey party on despite result

Jordan Webb and Harry-Jay Bellew

The score may have been glum for Team Pompey, but the weather and the atmosphere were most certainly not.

A deadpan Southampton side predominantly shone on the pitch, but were outclassed in every regard by the passionate hoards of Pompey fans that raised the roof in Highfield and out voiced the whimsical Stags at Wide Lane.

Despite the overwhelming score of 204-64 to Southampton, there were a number of results throughout the day that painted a drastically different picture to how the final score actually looked.

The Men’s Basketball result was the talking point of the day, with Team Pompey denied four points after the most defiant of come-backs.

Likewise, the Men’s Rugby 1sts had victory snatched from their palms, as did the Men’s Football 1sts who were both cheered on by a large number of supporters.

There was respite for Pompey in the volleyball, where the launch of Team Southampton was marred by a resolute and insolent display of purple passion.

Frustrating officiating and less than desirable playing

surfaces wasn’t enough to break the spirits of the thousand strong Portsmouth supporters, who painted the city of Southampton purple.

For much of the day, the purple Portsmouth Varsity T-shirts outnumbered the burgundy of Soton, with many making the trip to Southampton in time for the 9am start.

After the day VP sport, Rich Glover, paid tribute to the Portsmouth support: “They were fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The weather

was stunning. The support was magnificent from Portsmouth and definitely were the louder crowd than Southampton, the more entertaining crowd than Southampton.”

“ Next year we will

be bigger, better,

louder & stronger than this years

Varsity!”

The result ended in stark contrast to that of Portsmouth’s success of 2013 where in a highly dramatic day they managed to take the Varsity trophy home for the first time ever, 140-136.

Rich added: “Results wise, I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t win, but we always knew it was going to be a tough match going back to Southampton. They definitely were prepared.

“We were prepared in classic Portsmouth fashion.”

From mid-afternoon, it started to become inevitable

that Portsmouth’s time with the trophy would be coming to an end but this didn’t stop the passionate performances on the pitch and the hard partying off it.

Despite the disappointing result at the end of the day, Rich was adamant that everyone who made the trip left Southampton in high spirits: “Everyone I spoke to really enjoyed themselves.”

When asked what advice he would have for next year’s VP Sport, Rich responded: “Start

planning from the word go. It will be bigger, better, louder, stronger than this year’s Varsity.”

The main challenge for the new VP Sport will be to see if they will be able to serve the demand of Portsmouth students by bringing Varsity 2015 back to Portsmouth, repeating the success of 2013.

Overall it was a day that will live long in the memory of both players and supporters a like.

Rich picked out the volume of streakers as his highlight of the day: “The volume of streakers was quite amusing. There was at least four streakers, it was brilliant.”

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the event, and a huge thanks to all the fantastic supporters who came out to cheer on the team in purple!

Full results: pompey 64 - 204 Southampton

PHOTO BY KOFI AGYEMANG

PHOTO BY CHRIS McGEEHAN

PHOTO BY KOFI AGYEMANG

Team Southampton triumphant in Varsity 2014Pompey party on despite result

planning from the word go. It will be bigger, better, louder, stronger than this year’s Varsity.”

The main challenge for the new VP Sport will be to see if they will be able to serve the demand of Portsmouth students by bringing Varsity 2015 back to Portsmouth, repeating the success of 2013.

Overall it was a day that will live long in the memory of both players and supporters a like.

Rich picked out the volume of streakers as his highlight of the day: “The volume of streakers was quite amusing. There was at least four streakers, it was brilliant.”

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the event, and a huge thanks to all the fantastic supporters who came out to cheer on the team in purple!

Varsity Cup 2014

portsmouth Wins Southampton Wins

Wakeboarding American Football Men’s Badminton 2nd Women’s tennis 1st

Downhill Cycling Cycling (road) Men’s Squash 2nd Netball 2nd

Women’s Volleyball 1st Surf Men’s Dodgeball Netball 1st

Men’s Cricket 1st Surf Women’s Women’s Basketball 1st Women’s Hockey 1st

Men’s Volleyball 1st Mountaineering Men’s Fencing Ultimate Frisbee open

Men’s Cricket 2nd Women’s Cricket 1st tchoukball Men’s Football 1st

Men’s Hockey 2nd poledancing Archery Men’s rugby 1st

Softball Men’s table tennis Netball 4th Ultimate Frisbee Women’s 1st

Men’s rugby 3rd Mixed table tennis Lacrosse Mixed Men’s Hockey 3rd

Men’s Football 3rd trampolining rowing Senior 5K Athletics

rowing Senior 5K Women’s relay Men’s Squash 1st rowing Senior 2K Golf

Women’s Netball 3rd Swimming rowing 2K Lightweight Draw

Women’s rugby 1st Women’s Fencing 1st rowing Novice 1K Men’s Badminton 1st

Men’s Hockey 1st Women’s Squash 1st Women’s Hockey 2nd Men’s tennis 1st

Men’s Lacrosse 1st Men’s Basketball Women’s Lacrosse 1st Women’s Football 1st

Men’s Cricket 3rd Men’s rugby 2nd

Full results: pompey 64 - 204 Southampton teams were awarded four points for a win and two points each for a draw

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball agonisingly close to remarkable comeback

SOUTHAMPTON 67

PORTSMOUTH 64

Frankie HobbsOnline Sport Editor

After being down by as much as 21 points, the Portsmouth Men’s Basketball team clawed their way back into the game only to lose by a last-second shot that sent the Southampton fans streaming onto the court at Highfield.

The game, as expected, was a feisty affair. Both teams were guilty of not boxing out correctly which let to an abundance of early offensive rebounds.

But it was the home team that were first to show their hands offensively, racing out to a 16-2 lead. Portsmouth were clearly frustrated with how the game had started: Captain Tim Wadsworth picked up an early technical foul. He wasn’t the only Pompey player to get in trouble with the officials; Geoff Pomeroy was

ejected following an altercation with a Southampton player.

Despite the early deficit, Portsmouth were creating good looks — the shots just weren’t

falling.Pompey took the ball to

the hoop in the second quarter and a t t a c k e d

aggressively, getting to the

line a number of times. The free-throw shooting was somewhat erratic, but the

signs were a lot better.

On the defensive end, Portsmouth continued to leak

points. The S o u t h a m p t o n Stags were getting in round the back-door an awful lot,

and Pompey were guilty of helping one

pass away — leaving open shots for the Stags.

The half time buzzer sounded and it was 40-19 — a margin too big to make up, surely?

Varsity marks many players’

last games for the club and they were determined to go down swinging. Pompey came out rejuvenated after the break. The earlier erratic free-throws were now going in.

“Southampton were

beginning to fluster and

panic. Portsmouth were in the

ascendency”

After being behind by 21 points at half-time, Pompey outscored their counterparts by 12 points in the third to end the quarter down by nine. Southampton were beginning to fluster and panic. Portsmouth were in the ascendency.

Whatever nerves there were from the Stags, they didn’t show them at the start of the fourth. Try as they might, Pompey just couldn’t close the nine point gap. In fact, the lead was double digit at one point in the fourth.

This was before a late surge by Portsmouth. Three consecutive three-pointers closed the deficit to just two points with little time remaining. The away fans found their voice; an unlikely comeback seemed suddenly

possible.Portsmouth missed a chance

to tie, meaning they had to foul in order to stop the clock. They did so; Southampton went 1-2 from the line, leaving the door slightly ajar for a grandstand finish.

Down three, Kareem McKenzie drove to the hoop, took the contact and finished to give himself a three-point-play opportunity. He duly converted and tied the game up with mere seconds to play. Portsmouth had turned the game around; overtime was looming.

Then, one of Southampton’s big men managed to heave up a shot from just inside the Portsmouth half. Miraculously, it went in. Southampton had

stolen it. Fans invaded the court: Portsmouth had been pipped. 67-64 was the final scoreline in what was a simply unforgettable game.

PHOTOS BY KOFI AGYEMANG

Varsity Cup 2014Men’s Football

Portsmouth 1sts lose out in game marred by horrific injury

SOUTHAMPTON 1

PORTSMOUTH 0

Harry-Jay BellewDeputy Sport Editor

Portsmouth men’s football firsts couldn’t manage to keep up their winning tradition at Varsity, losing 1-0 to Southampton in one of the final matches of the day.

The game was marred by a horrible injury suffered by a Southampton player during the first half, forcing the game to be suspended.

Southampton could have easily taken the lead in the first 10 minutes if it wasn’t for some fantastic goalkeeping. After a 50/50 challenge in midfield, Southampton’s striker raced

clean through on goal but was denied by the keeper.

It was then the turn of Southampton’s keeper to make a good save after Portsmouth’s captain made a break through the heart of the defence only to be denied at the last hurdle.

Pompey again almost took the lead on the half hour mark but a 20 yard effort fell the wrong side of the post with the keeper beaten.

Unfortunately, with 10 minutes of the first half left to play, the game was forced to be suspended for half an hour due to injury.

Emergency services were called after a strong 50/50 challenge left a Southampton player with a suspected broken leg.

When the game resumed, Pompey were straight back on to the attack but wasted a good

chance, blazing a shot well over the cross bar from close range.

Portsmouth fell behind 20 minutes into the second half when a Southampton corner was met at the front post and flicked into the far post, leaving the keeper helpless.

From then on, Pompey took the game to Southampton in search of an equaliser to help protect their impressive Varsity record.

In the 90th minute of the match, Portsmouth thought they had found that goal only to be denied by the cross bar. A floated corner was met in the centre by a powerful header that cracked against the wood work with the keeper stranded.

Sadly, it was Southampton who claimed all four Varsity points, much to the anguish of the strong Portsmouth support.

trampolining

Soton spring two points clear to win Trampolining

SOUTHAMPTON 41.54

PORTSMOUTH 39.0

Jo Stacey

Trampolining was one of the premier events of this years Varsity competition, and I found myself impressed by the level of competition before the event had even begun.

The competition began with the beginners level. Southampton averaged the category with a score of 7.1 out of 10, an impressive score given that in trampolining you have to perform your routine to absolute perfection; a difficult task given that you are flying high in the air.

With beginners section out of the way, three Portsmouth girls took the trampolines in

the next skill category. They did fantastically well performing very fast paced routines.

However, unluckily for them Southampton had an exceptional performer who kept very poised and very straight during her performance, scoring a total of 8.3 which was the highest score that any performer achieved during the competition.

“ Portsmouth were pipped at the post, losing by a

mere two points to Southampton”

She performed an impressive tuck and flip into a seat drop, then into back drop and back into a tuck all very quickly making for spectacular viewing.

Southampton had the slight edge as one of their male

competitors happened to be the world champion. He was pulling moves such as triple tucks whilst doing a flip which you can imagine were pretty impressive to watch.

Portsmouth were pipped at the post, losing by a mere two points to Southampton; an exceptional result given the breadth of talent in Southampton’s squad.

Portsmouth ended the competition with a score of 39.0, agonisingly close to Southampton’s 41.54.

The result echoes the club’s recent ventures in Sheffield at the BUCS Gatorade Nationals, where a number of athletes were denied places in the finals by a matter of 0.2pts.

Southampton won the trampolining fixture in 2013, but Portsmouth won both the men’s and the women’s gymnastic category, an event that didn’t feature at the 2014 Varsity competition.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS MCGEEHAN/KOFI AGYEMANG/CAT REDDING/DAN

BOWES/PERRY FUNG

Varsity Cup 2014Mixed Lacrosse

Mixed lacrosse buckle under Soton attack

SOUTHAMPTON 20

PORTSMOUTH 4

Kirstie Pickering

It was a family affair at Wide Lane as Union President Cat Redding and VP Sports Rich Glover took to the field for the mixed lacrosse.

The sun shone as the first Varsity fixture of the day began, with the sidelines heaving with supporters for both teams.

Southampton’s first goal was ruled as disallowed to the outrage of their supporters after heavy contact on the Pompey goalkeeper. Contact proved to be an issue for the male players in this match, with free passes and penalties repeatedly awarded for both teams.

After two consecutive Southampton goals, Portsmouth retaliated with two more shots with such precision and speed

that the keeper didn’t stand a chance.

Portsmouth’s third goal from Cameron Reid kept morale high under the relentless attack of goals for the home side.

At half time the score was 12-3 and Portsmouth knew they had a lot of work to do.

Southampton upped their game in the third quarter, with much of play taking place in Portsmouth’s half and testing the might of the defence.

After almost an hour of play, Portsmouth scored a much needed fourth goal but it wasn’t enough to save the match for them.

The final score didn’t reflect the team work and determination displayed by the Portsmouth side.

VP Sports Rich Glover said, “It was a tough match but we played a strong game. We don’t train as a mixed team but we pulled it back where we could”.

Netball

Netball 1sts struggle against towering Soton team

SOUTHAMPTON 57

PORTSMOUTH 15

Kirstie Pickering

The Netball 1sts took to the court with the screaming support of their fellow team mates on the side lines.

As the final netball fixture of the day, all eyes were on the first teams as they took to the court looking eager and determined.

The players from both teams showed fantastic skill as they made their way around the court and displayed why they were chosen for the firsts.

The match started on an even playing field, with both teams

using their centre passes to their advantage, leading to a score of 4-4 after the first 10 minutes.

The home side took advan-tage of minor Pompey errors in the centre third, leading to free passes and a score of 17-5 at half time.

The huge Southampton Goal Shooter proved problematic for the defence, as even the tightest of marking proved difficult as she towered head and shoulders

above them.Pompey Centre Katie Nichols

kept morale high and she played with the passion and precision that has come to be associated with the Club of the Year.

Loopy ambitious passes forced by the relentless South-ampton defence meant that the purple side struggled to retain

possession and form an attack.As time ticked on, a dry spell

for goals in the third quarter caused by poor footwork and contact by both teams led to fur-ther frustration for all.

The Portsmouth Goal Keeper and Goal Defence opted to dou-ble-mark the towering South-ampton Shooter which proved successful but meant the home side’s Goal Attack was free to roam their third.

As always with the UPNC, the overwhelming support from the side lines was relentless as they did everything they could to keep their team’s spirits high as the match came to a close.

The final quarter was un-doubtedly Portsmouth’s, as the cheers of support spurred them to pull out all the stops.

PHOTO BY WILL YEONG

Varsity Cup 2014Men’s rugby

Men’s Rugby 1st edged out in nailbiting finale

SOUTHAMPTON 27

PORTSMOUTH 25

Josh Searle

Portsmouth came out on the wrong end of a 27-25 score line in a tightly contested and fiercely fought Varsity showdown.

In front of the largest crowd of the afternoon Southampton took an early lead. The home side went 3-0 up courtesy of the boot of their fly half, who kicked a straightforward penalty.

Portsmouth hit back almost immediately, however. A spell of expansive rugby from the

visitors saw the ball worked out wide, where Tom Woodall crossed the line in the corner. The conversion was successfully made by fly half Ieuan Clements, as Portsmouth took a 7-3 lead.

Southampton answered with an unconverted try whilst Portsmouth were down to 14 with a front row forward in the sin bin, as they retook the lead 8-7.

One of several streaker interruptions then occurred, and shortly afterwards Southampton crossed the whitewash once more. This time the try was converted, and the hosts went into half time with a 15-7 lead.

That lead was extended soon after the interval, as another Southampton try saw the score

stretch to 20-7.Portsmouth responded with

18 unanswered points; the first three of which came via a successful penalty.

Then came the first of two tries for wing Lloyd Williams, who went over in the corner to bring the score back to 20-17 in Southampton’s favour.

The winger’s second followed quickly. Scrum half Ben Kirby, broke the Southampton line before offloading to Williams who, himself, beat two men before touching down in the corner for Portsmouth.

From 20-7 down, the visitors found themselves two points to the good, and that became five when a 50 metre penalty was kicked through the uprights,

to make the score 25-20 in Portsmouth’s favour.

With not long left in the game Southampton threw everything they had at the Portsmouth defence, and for the most part they coped well.

However, after a prolonged spell of pressure, Southampton managed one more score. Their number 8 breaking off from the back of a rolling maul to cross the line in the corner, leaving a tricky conversion for the home side’s place kicker with the scores level.

The try was converted though,

and despite late pressure from Pompey, they were unable to get

the score they needed as Southampton were victors by a score

line of 27-25.

Swimming

Swim sunk by stubborn SotonConnar Walford

The University of Portsmouth Swim Team showed great promise as they arrived at the Jubilee Sports Centre for the annual Varsity competition.

With a good mix of old boys and freshers, cheered on by some fantastic support, they put up a good fight. There were

some good swims and the score of 49-3 did not fully reflect how close some of the racing was.

The stand out swims included Sam Redman in the 100m Individual Medley winning by a margin of more than 2 seconds and Rebecca Seika also scoring an impressive point in the 50m freestyle.

Buoyed on by these swims, the rest of the team put in

some gutsy performances. The 4x50m relay in particular was an exciting race with less than a second covering all four swimmers.

But with a good group of freshers and the home advantage, next year the team have a great chance of exerting their revenge on Southampton in their plight to bring the coveted Varsity cup back to Pompey!

PHOTO BY PERRY FUNG

PHOTO BY PERRY FUNG

PHOTO BY KOFI AGYEMANG

Men’s Volleyball

From the brink of defeat to the joys of victorySOUTHAMPTON 1

PORTSMOUTH 2

Aidan WilliamsDeputy News Editor

Portsmouth defeated Southampton in the Men’s Volleyball after a stirring comeback when the match seemed all but lost.

The team fought off two match points in what was their first major test of the season. They didn’t pass it with flying colours but the team put in an admirable ‘never say never ‘ attitude that reaped the rewards in a dramatic but rewarding fashion.

The first set began evenly. The only thing established in this period was the danger of Portsmouth captain Haakon Lie when on the offensive, who fired home a couple of early spikes. Southampton’s efficiency

at blocking was an early task facing the away team and would become a recurring theme of the match.

This early pattern was ended when Portsmouth seemed to lose their nerve at 7-6 after Southampton levelled to make it 7-7. From here Portsmouth gave away 3 points needlessly through fouls which changed the pattern of the first set for the worse.

Unfortunately for Portsmouth, the home side didn’t look back but, in a touching show of sportsmanship, overruled the Umpire to give Portsmouth the point after admitting an unnoticed infringement. Southampton then weren’t troubled to a great degree again as they maintained and extended their lead eventually winning the first set 16 - 25. Remarkably it was the first set the team had dropped all season.

The second set was when Portsmouth needed to respond

and they gave one. Gaining a swift 3 point margin they rarely looked back. Pushed on by a determination for every last ball which resulted in points being gained from improbable positions, much to the sometimes disbelief of Southampton.

At 17 - 11 what came next wasn’t on the cards. In the time it took for Portsmouth to put three more points on the board the home side had overtaken them to make it 21 - 20. In a flash Portsmouth were staring down the barrel. 24 - 22. Two match points to Southampton.

The considerable Portsmouth contingent weighed in and

roared. Portsmouth then took 5 of the

next 6 points to fire home the second set 27 - 25.

The decider s e e m e d to have been d e c i d e d

rather quickly.

T he team put in an

admirable ‘never say

never’ attitude that reaped

the rewards”

Southampton seemed to have an edgy Portsmouth on the ropes at 11 - 5, only four points from victory. In a similar, yet more remarkable, fashion the crowd kicked in and Portsmouth seemed to find another gear. Southampton couldn’t cope as Portsmouth climbed back on level terms.

Soon the tables had been completely turned. Two match

points to Portsmouth. The first was a netted serve as the nerves showed for the first time since the early stages of the set. The second match point was, predictably, fired home by captain Haakon Lie to win the set and the match 15 - 13.

The ladies’ volleyball team ran on to the pitch to join in the celebrations for the dramatic double commandeered by the Volleyball team. Relief, disbelief and elation flowed through the Portsmouth side. The captain stated after the match: “We weren’t expecting to win, we were missing key players. We had great spirit I think we really went for every ball”. No one could deny their spirit after that performance.

Varsity Cup 2014

Men’s Football

Men’s 3rds triumphSOUTHAMPTON 0

PORTSMOUTH 3

Harry-Jay Bellew

Portsmouth Men’s Football 3rd team notched up a valuable Var-sity win in a dominating display against Southampton, eventu-ally running out 3-0 victors.

In a match that wasn’t helped by the state of the pitch, it was Pompey who played the better football, and their continued possession throughout was rewarded with three well worked goals.

Southampton were slow to start and could have been behind after only five minutes after failing to deal with a Portsmouth counter attack down the right-hand side, although the shot eventually flew over the cross bar.

Pompey didn’t have to wait long until they went ahead, though. Ten minutes later, a poorly struck free-kick was deflected into the penalty area and, after a melee in the area, the ball was eventually turned into the net from close range.

Despite taking the lead, Pompey couldn’t get a grip on the

game and it was Southampton who had the better of the chances towards the end of the first half.

Moments before half-time, Southampton struck the Portsmouth cross-bar twice; once from a spectacular 25 yard shot and the second coming from a free-kick from the right that forced a strong save from the keeper.

After half-time, it was Portsmouth who were back on the front foot and eventually doubled their lead 15 minutes into the second quarter.

Pompey broke down the left, saw a shot lashed towards the goal from the edge of the penalty area, for a Portsmouth player to tap the goal bound effort past the keeper from a few yards out.

Southampton almost found a way back into the game with ten minutes to play. Pompey’s keeper was forced into a smart save down to his right after a cut back had been backed heeled towards the bottom corner.

The game was put beyond all doubt with three minutes of normal time to play. A solo run past two Southampton players before rounding the keeper and placing into the empty net, was a goal worthy of Portsmouth’s display.

Women’s Volleyball

Ladies edge out Soton after tight match

SOUTHAMPTON 1

PORTSMOUTH 2

Aidan WilliamsDeputy News Editor

Portsmouth Ladies Volleyball edged out Southampton in a tight encounter at the Jubilee centre in their Varsity fixture. They won 2 sets to 1 after a even and well fought match.

Portsmouth opened on a solid footing, often winning points through forcing errors out of Southampton. Rigid and like clockwork, Portsmouth swiftly opened up a good 9 - 2 lead. Southampton reacted well to this scoreline. This resulted in the gap being narrowed to just a point. This was when the rally of the match happened. For over two minutes the teams

exchanged blows as this single point became something more as the teams dueled over the net. The net proved critical in the end as Southampton netted to loud cheers. They didn’t look back as they confidently secured the first set 25 - 17.

The second set saw a wide change in personnel with many substitutions happening on the Portsmouth side of the net. Curiously though, the home side had nowhere near the number of players, thus their substitution capabilities were limited. Portsmouth seemed to lose some of their attacking edge and Southampton made far fewer errors.

They held a firm two point lead until taking 5 points in a row resulted in the score being 12 - 18. Portsmouth fought back hard and the efforts seemed to be rewarded with an improbable scoreline of 19 - 19. Southampton then found

another gear t o cruelly take the set 1 9 - 25.

The decider was v e r y close. Southampton opened confidently but their errors, especially in build up play, cost them numerous points. The final set was only decided by a run of points that Portsmouth secured late on.

A Southampton foul made it 8 - 8, a home side error, 8 - 9, superb shot, 8 - 10, finally a failed Southampton block made it 8 - 11. This gave Portsmouth the necessary cushion to tensely close out the game 15 - 13. Loud cheers erupted as they sealed the win they so desperately wanted.

The captain, Christina Bozza, said afterwards to the Galleon: “We wanted to make everyone play, not just to win but also to have fun but we knew it was going to be difficult.”

PHOTO BY CHRIS GOULDING

Varsity Cup 2014

Dodgeball

Dodgeball squads dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge but can’t avoid defeat...Aidan Williams

The Dodgeball teams didn’t have much luck on the afternoon of Varsity as both teams went down in a swift fashion.

The ladies were first up as they tackled an impressive Southampton side. The Portsmouth team put up a good fight, fighting until the end and causing the home side many more problems than the scoreline suggested. The support was there as a very loud Portsmouth contingent watched on from above.

Portsmouth had their tactics well laid out as the home side’s stronger players stood out, particularly their number 13, and subsequently became picked out as a specific and early target to get out.

Despite this, the ladies couldn’t prevent a wide defeat, but they didn’t embarrass themselves. They just weren’t as good as Southampton on the day as they went down 5 - 1.

The Portsmouth Men fared a little better but the end result was still the same. The nerves were made more prominent this time round with a member

of the Portsmouth team going over to the Portsmouth fans and asking them to stay silent at certain points in the match.

“ The support was there as

a very loud Portsmouth contingent

watched on from above”

Southampton established an edge over Portsmouth when it came to the starting rush

to the balls which meant that Portsmouth were beginning each game on the defensive.

This advantage was not lost on Southampton as they took advantage early. Despite this, Portsmouth had the fight and grit to pose a few concerns against the home side.

Still the result rarely looked in doubt as Portsmouth went down 5 - 2.

A disappointing result for both teams but the results didn’t ever seem in much doubt.

The level of support made it a hugely entertaining match despite the scoreline. If there

were any lingering irritations from the match then they would have been cleared by the unofficial game of ‘last man standing’ with the people watching invited in alongside both teams men and women’s sides.

Portsmouth Women’s 1 - 5 Southampton Women’s

Portsmouth Men’s 2 - 5 Southampton Men’s

Men’s Hockey

Earlier cup loss to Soton spurs Men’s Hockey 1st to Varsity victory

SOUTHAMPTON 2

PORTSMOUTH 3

Jack Backwell

Sunday proved to be a great day for men’s hockey with the Portsmouth first team taking a 2-1 victory over Southampton.

The pace of the game picked up very rapidly towards the beginning of the first half as Portsmouth drove the play down the pitch and towards the Southampton goal.

The impressive standard of hockey was immediately apparent from both sides, as Portsmouth and Southampton both moved the ball swiftly and aggressively up and down the pitch.

Focus and communication between the Portsmouth team mates worked in their favour, allowing the team to maintain possession throughout the first half.

The Pompey boys seemed in high spirits, handling the Southampton pressure with great ease and working well as

a team.The Southampton goalkeeper

kept up an impressive performance, denying many of Portsmouth’s attempts at a goal.

As the game progressed, the Portsmouth side proved they could transition between defensive and offensive play smoothly and effectively.

Portsmouth were able to take control of all areas of the pitch, securing themselves a 1-0 lead by half time following a goal from James Stephenson.

Shortly into the second half, Southampton conducted an impressive counter attack that enabled them to equalise quickly.

In response, Portsmouth increased the game’s tempo with a more aggressive playing style.

The shot count began to rise, with Portsmouth narrowly missing the opportunity for a second goal early on in the second half as the ball collided with the post.

Once again, the Southampton

goalkeeper continued to stand in the way of a second Portsmouth goal and possession quickly switched hands to the opposition.

A strong Portsmouth defence denied the Southampton side from taking the lead, and Portsmouth morale remained high.

Following a sudden shift from defensive to offensive play, Portsmouth continued to hold the upper hand with a further sequence of shots at the Southampton keeper.

With two minutes left until the end of the game, Portsmouth secured themselves a 2-1 victory after a final goal from Andrew Mole.

Speaking of the terrific win at Wide Lane, Portsmouth captain, Tom Ward, said: “After losing to Southampton in the cup, we knew we needed a win at Varsity.

We came here, we enjoyed the sun, and we enjoyed a good victory.”

PHOTO BY ANNIE MILROY