RAOC Gazette - page 84
Image details
| Corps | RAOC |
|---|---|
| Material type | Journals |
| Book page | |
| Chapter head | |
| Chapter key | |
| Chapter number | |
| Full title | RAOC Gazette |
| Page number | |
| Publication date | 1978 |
| Real page | |
| Colour | No |
| Grey | No |
| Early date | 1978 |
| Late date | 1978 |
| Transcription |
RAOC CROSS COUNTRY C H A M P I O N S H I P S 1978 THE Corps Championships took place at Deepcut with the firertghting commitments still hanging above the Corps head. Amidst the freezing cold conditions it was pleasing to see ten teams and fourteen individuals compete. A further three teams had made late withdrawals and three others could not enter this year due to fire duties. The overwhelming success of SSD Dulmen was remarkable and all credit goes to their highly trained team. At last the domination of the Paras has been broken and their points total of thirty one has only been beaten once, that by 16 Heavy Drop Company who scored a maximum of twenty one points a few years ago, Second Lieutenant Morrison of COD Donnington was the individual winner—only eleven seconds outside the course record set in 1976. Sergeant Stanton of 3 9 Ordnance Field Park, back from Hong Kong, showed he is still in good form coming in second, and Corporal Wreyford a former Para team mate of Sergeant Stanton picked up third position. Dulmen packed their whole eight runners in the first sixteen places. Second team was COD Donnington and third was RAOC Cyprus, the first team from there to compete, making the championships truly RAOC worldwide. In the veteran classes, Sergeant Stanton was first in the thirty to thirty four age group, closely followed by Sergeant Towers Clarke (fourth overall). Captain Jelly (Dulmen) first in thirty five to thirty nine (sixteenth overall) and Major Pincher, first over forty (twenty fourth overall). Let's hope we can make it a record entry for 1979 and possibly entice Hong Kong to enter a team. again we were slow to adapt and despite having the bulk of play, found ourselves two nil down. Good work by Len Gray and Peter Rosser in attack and Bob Price and Griff Griffen in defence formed a platform from which the Corps got back into the game and made the score two all when the match had to be abandoned because of the weather with five minutes left to play. A much sounder performance by the Corps XL Scorers; John Robertson and Peter Rosser. The third match of the tour was played against a 13 Signals Team. The weather had improved considerably and the Corps XI played accordingly. The match flowed from end to end with skill and drama being provided by both teams. The Corps scored first with a well struck set piece goal by Dennis Leadbetter. 13 Signals im- mediately counter attacked and eventually after much pressure just outside the D broke through and equalised. The pace of the game continued in the second half with both sides attacking fiercely and defending stoutly. The Corps were eventually rewarded for their persistence when Peter Rosser scored a fine goal after beating three men on his way into the D. In the evening the Corps Team took advantage of an ad hoc invitation to play indoor hockey in Dusseidorf. Two matches were played with mixed results and a splendid third half enjoyed by all. The fourth and final match was played at Bracht against a BAOR Corps XI. The match was played in a good spirit with both teams displaying a high level of skill. Len Gray and Peter Rosser were both prominent in the early stages of the game leading attacks on the BAOR XI goal. The match ebbed and flowed considerably with both teams scoring from good open play or set pieces. The highlight oE the match was when young 'Harpo* Pattison of CAD Bramley scored his first Corps goal in only his second Corps match. The final result was a win of four to three for Corps UK. 4. The Corps UK team wish to thank Commandant 3 BAPD for allowing the team to be accommodated at Bracht, to Major Langdon for his administration on our behalf and lastly to W02 Len Gray who arranged the tour, acted as chief cook and bottle' washer as well as bus driver throughout the tour, RESULTS Individuals—First, Second Lieutenant Morrison, COD Don- nington; Second, Sergeant Stanton, 19 OFF; Third, Corporal Wreyford, SSD Dulmen; Fourth, Sergeant Towers Clarke, SSD Dulmen; Fifth, Lance Corporal Fox, COD Donnington; Sixth, Lance Corporal Hladkij, SSD Dulmen, Teams—First, SSD Dulmen, thirty one points; Second, COD Donnington, ninety nine points; Third, RAOC Cyprus, one hundred and twenty points; Fourth, Commando Ordnance, one hundred and forty points; Fifth, School of Ordnance, two hundred and three points; Sixth, 44 Parachute Brigade RAOC (V), two hundred and fifty seven points. CORPS HOCKEY TOUR OF BAOR A DEPLETED but confident Corps squad of twelve left Dover, ready to do battle with BAORs best. The first match played was versus a Rhine Area X I ; unhappily this fixture coincided with the declaration of Active Edge. Despite this inconsideration the match was played on a frost affected shale pitch. The Corps team was slow to adapt to the conditions and the playing surface and came under some pressure in the early stages. Len Gray and Peter Rosser both went close with strong runs but neither the ball nor the umpires ran for us. At half time we found ourselves two to one down but improving our play. In the second half we matched our opponents for skill and were clearly the fitter team. Some agricultural play prevented the Corps from converting good approach into goals. Lady Luck deserted us when, from a sudden breakaway, Rhine Army scored to make it three to one. Towards the end the Corps team scored to make it three to two but could not equalise. Scorers: Geoff Harcourt and Dennis Leadbetter. The second match was played in foul weather against a Viersen XI, a hastily arranged game as RAF (G) had to cancel at short notice. This match was played on tarmac and once 308 ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL RAOC 3 RAMC 2 THE annual match between the Corps and RAMC was played; at COD Donnington in col4 wet and windy conditions. The Corps started confidently and skipper Graves gave, them the lead after three minutes with a well taken shot follow-: ing an indirect free kick awarded well inside the penalty area* For the next thirty minutes the Corps relaxed and their; opponents came close to scoring on a number of occasions, After mounting much pressure they were rewarded with an equaliser five minutes from the interval. RAMC started the second half with enthusiasm and took the lead immediately after the restart. They would have gone even further ahead but for two outstanding saves by Stewart the Corps goalkeeper. The first of these was from point blank range and was perhaps one of the best saves seen in a Corps match this season. Xhe Corps gradually regained their com- posure with Longfield providing strength and confidence at the' back and Dagnell, although playing out of position, creating space on the right wing. After Edmonds and Kelly, who both played well in their debuts for the Corps, had been replaced by MacAleese and Hussey, the Corps dominated play for the rest of the match* Graves, O'Meara, MacAleese and Dagnell combined well and provided Sutcliffe, the striker, with two goalscoring opportunities which he converted coolly and confidently to make the score three to two. This was a good, all round, performance by the Corps team which was missing a number of regular players. Perhaps the most successful of the new younger players was Grimsley of CAD Kineton and Barr of COD. Bicester. Grimsley is tall and powerful and clearly has much potential. Barr on the other hand is smaller but is fast and tackles with determination and courage. Dagnell, as ever, covered every foot of the pitch and is a great competitor. Graves was an admirable team captain and showed touches of class which one would expect to find in a Football League player. Stewart, who has not played in the UK Corps team for some eight years proved that he still has agility, good anticipation and quick reflexes. (Continued on page 311.) - |
| Book number | R0246a |