A buoyant, crisp Saturday morning was met by 12 finely turned athletes and a Duracell powered silver fox. News of ECV Hornet's rise to Prem 1 had reached Europe, Australasia and Asia and all and sundry had their whistles wet for the away trip to Bristol. A report from The Times indicated that due to Hornet's recent successes a number of sponsors are currently in talks with the club, none more so than media giants BSkyB.
 
Statement issued by the CEO of BSkyB
 
"Many have been watching the recent rise of ECV Hornets, none more so than the entire news desk here at BskyB. The owners are currently entering a sponsorship bid although rumour has it that the Devon based side are likely to go for rival bidders from the Arab Emirates. We at BSkyB can appreciate the need to enlist a premier sports team to market our brand further on the international scene."
 
With the world's press on the sidelines the Hornets side took a candid approach to their pre match preparations and decided to ready themselves in the privacy of the leafy surrounds. A impromptu story from the ever vociferous Chris Yeo helped steady the nerves and the use of ornate garden features helped focus the minds, the scene was set.
 
Fresh from smothering the hot air of recent challengers, Hornets took confidence, if not a degree of caution into the match and this was seen in the opening exchanges. Both teams enthusiastically hopped about hoping to catch the eye of a watchful cameraman but a distinct lack of clicks and flashes told the tale. It wasn't until David Fasey deployed a rifled ball into the path of a 'spritely' Yeo for a deft deflection, that the symphony of cameratic sound began to fill the two-tiered stadium. Nevertheless, the hornet's composers must have decided to take the rest of the half off as the only sounds that could be heard were the feverent shouts from superfan Mark Davies.
 
After a rousing speech from Ed Davies, some wordy rattle from Yeo and some inspired substitutions from Capt. Rich Davey the second half began. With the promise of fame and fortune lodged in the young minds of a few of the Hornet's youth it wasn't long before Ieuan Davies (Drag loopist and Qualified Surgeon) took the bull by the proverbial horns and duly dispatched a howitzer from top D. Feeling statistically unrecognised and somewhat aggrieved by his growing senior status, Tom, I love being late, Lambert decided that enough was enough and took it upon himself to show messrs Ieuan and Fasey that finishing is as much about skill and caress as it is about brut and power. With a feint worthy of a Sugar Ray, fleet footed Lambert danced past a leaden legged keeper and before the ball could cross the line had left the pitch with his point proved.
 
Sensing that his Robinsons team was going to lack a decent amount of column inches one of the players pondered how he could attract some media attention, two options crossed his mind; firstly, get sent off for tackling a cheeky streaker or, secondly, rummage around in his pram for some toys to throw at the umpires. With superfan Mark a bit cold not fancying his chances, the Robinsons player was binned for unacceptable throwing of toys and off he went.
 
After Man of the Match Sam Daymond tackled his player 18 times in a row and Steve Reed tackled his by rolling about in front of him the defence had resolutely shut up shop and sent the Robinsons front guard off without supper. All that was left was time for one last bit of training ground magic. Capt. Rich Davey, sensing that the camera crews were beginning to pack up, decided that, as the Cannons of HMS Fasey were still in the harbour, the water pistols of HMS Stavros would suffice for the final short corner. First mate in the bird's nest reported that the top corner of the inside right post received a direct hit and with a final click and a flash the day was done. Robinsons left with their tails between their legs and off skipped Hornets 4 and 0.
 
Thanks to commendable if somewhat salacious work in international relations, a tour of Australia is currently being negotiated.

ECV Hornets hosted third placed Torbay and turned in a strong performance to seal their second promotion in three years.

The game was set to be a real humdinger, with some closely fought encounters in previous meetings between the two teams. Some late squad changes saw reliable midfielder Kav Dias make his first appearance of the season for the team.

Hornets started the crucial game calmly but assuredly, holding possession well and pressurising the opposition across the pitch. The deadlock was deservedly broken 10 minutes into the game when, following the breakdown of a penalty corner, Chris Dyson laid the ball off to Roo Rosenwald, the midfielder finishing well into the bottom right of the goal. However, the opener seemed to spur Torbay into action and they began to exert some midfield control and create several good chances of their own. After a number of decent opportunities went begging, a shot struck Sam Daymond’s foot and the resulting penalty flick was well finished.

With the scores sitting at one all, Hornets’ midfield regained the momentum and the home side retook the lead as penalty corner specialist Dave Fasey unleashed the “Fase-Cannon”™ and drilled a strike into the corner. A balanced period saw the teams go into the half time break with Hornets holding a narrow 2-1 lead.

A rousing team talk from Captain and midfield dynamo Rich Davey laid down his expectations for the second half and his team duly came out all guns blazing. Marshalled by diligent keeper Adam Broomfield, defenders Steve Reed, Sam Daymond and Ed Davies exhibited a tackling masterclass at times, with Davies putting in arguably his best performance of the season. This rock-solid back line allowed the Hornets midfield to dominate, with probing wide work from dangerous wingers Tony Ford, Ieuan Davies and Tiberius Chatner ably supported by the central ‘axis of power’ of Fasey, Davey and man-of-the-match Rosenwald.

And so it was. 5 minutes into the second half, a neat penalty corner move allowed unstoppable goal machine Chris Yeo to turn and fire a fine reverse past the bay keeper to the delight of the vociferous home crowd. Rather than sit back and defend their lead, Hornets continued to press their opposition and their superior fitness started to tell as the game opened up. Sure enough, another penalty corner was despatched by the omni-present Fasey. There is no denying the tremendous impact of the midfield general’s return to the Hornets fold this season, both as a goalscorer and creative spark from his quarterback role.

At 4-1 Hornets looked comfortable, passing the ball about the pitch and creating numerous chances which the Torbay keeper did well to contain. Keen to have a chat with his adoring fans on the sideline, a reckless challenge from Reed resulted in the big unit taking an enforced rest. Hornets shuffled their ranks subtly and coped well with the reduced manpower, further extending their lead as yet another penalty corner found the back of the net, Fasey this time setting up Dyson to deflect into the net.

With the game won, Hornets found time to thoroughly stamp their authority on the scoreline with a great team goal. A quick counter led by the skilful Ford sent Yeo charging down the flank. His inch perfect cross-field ball put Dyson one-one-one with the keeper, allowing the forward to coolly slot home his second of the match.

The final whistle was greeted by jubilation from the home players and supporters, who can now look forward to the trials of Premier One hockey next season. In the more immediate future, Hornets remain focused on the knowledge that if they can maintain their current run of 6 straight victories and win their remaining 4 games, they will be crowned champions.

Hornets started off well creating a couple chances but it was Swansea who struck first when they broke and hit a through ball to a forward who deflected in to the goal. Swansea almost extended their lead from a short corner but were denied when Steve Reed made a goal line save after Adam ‘The Toe’ Broomfield had been beaten in goal. Hornets kept attacking and Tony Ford should have equalised but just managed to put his shot wide, but it wasn’t long before Ford made up for his miss when Hornets captain Richard Davey drilled the ball in to the far post for Ford to deflect the ball in to the roof of the goal. Hornets kept pushing forward creating chances with Man of the Match Dave ‘Trébuchet’ Fasey was able to pick out his passes and aerials with ease as seemed to give himself time and space on the ball whenever it was in his possession, with the pick of his aerials to Tom Lambert.

Hornets took the lead early in the second half from a short corner after Stephen Skinner had won a foul in the D, Chris Yeo scored a really good goal from a tight angel after the initial penalty corner had broken down. Hornets extended the lead when Dave ‘Forest’ Chatner won a penalty corner after running through on goal and being fouled by a Swansea defender, Fasey stepped up to drag flick in to the roof of the goal. Hornets almost scored again when Ieuan Davies almost scored a nut cracker of a goal when pirouetted and deflected Yeo’s cross just wide of the goal from 4 yards out. But it was Swansea who started to push forward and scored a well worked short corner. The home team kept the pressure up on Hornets and Lee Kerdslake and Roo Rosenwald were making some great tackles in defence and breaking up the Swansea attacks. Swansea managed to win a short corner on the final whistle which Broomfield managed to deflect wide.

“Swansea were tough opponents,” said Captain Richard Davey. “They played well and caused problems for us, so 3-2 is a good result, and will give us confidence ahead of next week’s clash with Swindon.”

On the first sunny Saturday in February the uncatchable Exeter Hornets megabus of victory continued its route through the South West Premier division 2. The mandatory stop this week was against Westbury.

It was evident from the off that both teams were fired up for what promised to be an enthralling 70 minutes of hockey.

Westbury took first blood with an early goal. This spurred the Hornets to dig deep and retaliate with their first goal and equaliser. It came from a cleverly chipped shot dug out of the turf by Ieuan Davies. Hornets continued pressure paid off with a second goal to take the lead, Ieuan Davies again playing his part and delivering a bobbling ball from the right, which Chris Dyson delightfully deflected goal wards. The first half onslaught from Hornets was relentless and they again converted, a saved reverse strike from Rich Davey guided into the back of the net by Tony Ford. The first half came to a close with a 4-1 score in Hornets favour.

Understanding the importance of the next goal, both teams started the second half with the same energy as 35 minutes prior. For Westbury it could be the beginning of a comeback, for Hornets it could potentially close the game out. It was Hornets who struck first with another tight angled reverse strike form Rich Davey. They didn’t stop there, minutes later extending their lead with a second goal for Chris Dyson. This four goal lead however didn’t perturb the Westbury team who fought hard to gain a breakaway goal. The match began to open up in the middle of the park with counter attacking hockey form both sides, in particular some sublime linking play between Finn Rosenwald and Tony Ford in the centre and Ed Davies and Ieuan Davies down the right. It was the latter which resulted in the Hornets’ sixth and final goal. A deftly deflected shot from Stephen Skinner, which with the help of a defenders touch trickled towards the goal. This increased lead only seemed to rally Westbury into an offensive strike. Some strong defensive play from Ed Pollitt, Ed Davies, and Steve Reed could only hold off the Westbury attacks for so long. An awarded penalty flick was neatly converted to bring Westbury within 3 goals. With this cushion Hornets failed to get back into the speed of the game and only looked dangerous from the consistent half pitch aerials from Dave Fasey. Westbury took advantage of this and their continued pressure was rewarded with a short corner and resulting straight strike goal. Finally it seemed with Westbury closing the gap and passionate encouragement from Brooms, Ed Davies and Captain Rich Davey, that Hornets were kicked into action. The match was finished strongly with continued penetrating runs from David Chanter and Tom Lambert. Overall a good result for Hornets from a tightly fought competitive match.

This week saw the high flying Hornets make their way to Bath Bucs at the inspiring venue of Bath University. After the precious weeks goal fest the mighty Hornets were off to the stiffer competition and anxious at the prospect. The team was slightly amended from the previous week with the notable absences of the perennial Mr Ford and the imperious goal machine Chris Yeo. Fortunately the team received a bolster from the well-travelled and tanned institution of the first team Steve Skinner.

The warm up was led effectively and full of promise, the RedGra track providing the athletes that donned it the facility to prepare and run the journey out of their legs. The hornets team marched onto the theatre of dreams in unison, with a vigour that could only be quenched by the starting whistle. The pitched was slick and fast and the Hornets wasted no time in acclimatising.

Hornets had the push back.

Right from the get go Hornets were piling on the pressure, probing and sieging the Bath defence. Chris Dyson the 5 goal conquistador of the previous week asking question of the Bath defence and demanding a constant watchful eye. The Hornets pressure resulted in several attempts on goal which although came to nothing at least left the Bath team under no false pretences to their intentions.

The break-through came from an unlikely source, but one which will go down in memory as a prodigious moment we were all privileged to witness. After sustained and exemplary work from the forwards, Hornets found themselves with a free hit on the Bath Buc’s 5 yard line. This ball was passed to the man mountain Steve Reed, the ominous left back approached the ‘D’ with the intention of delivering a ball to the back post, little did he know of the spell of brilliance that he was about to impart to the game of hockey. The cross was blocked by the Bath defence and found its way neatly into Steve’s path. This time passing was not on his mind, with an elegant lift of the defenders stick Steve advanced into the ‘D’. Heading towards the baseline Steve looked up to observe the goal line, packed with players there was only one option “go hard or go home” and Steve never goes home! Hammering a reverse stick shot literally inches from the baseline, to the shock and elation of the team, Reeder as he is affectionally known; scored a screamer and dutifully booked him the champagne moment award.

The remainder of the half saw some great flowing hockey and Hornets instilling confidence from back to front. A near miss from Tom Lambert (Professional Tennis coach and team criterion) after a perfectly executed German press brought hornets into half time with an air of impudence and expectation for the second half.

The second half saw Hornets come out hard with the expeditious inside right and left, Ieuan and James Tiberius Chanter showing flare and incessant stamina. Hornets were rewarded for their industrious effort with a strong of short corners which results in a Dave Fasey goal, slamming the ball into the bottom corner after the slight break down of a routine.

Hornets continued the pressure but conceded a breakaway goal after an uncommon miss trap from Sam Daymond, who was otherwise perfect throughout the game. His superfluous tackling combined with reading of the game left the Bath attacks in tatters and was most deserving of the several man of the match votes. The General at the back Adam Broomfield conducted his defence like a symphony orchestra and it wasn’t long before the Hornets were back in the ascendency.

Hornets continued to inquest the Bath defence, Richard Davies the fitting Man of the Match asking the largest and most difficult of which. This constant bombardment resulted in another short corner. With the Fase-Cannon drag flick on the fritz, the decision was taken to go with the no nonsense hammer blow of the straight strike. The titan of the defence Edgar Davies having previous delivered point perfect injections didn’t disappoint. The ball came out, stopped dead by the dependable Rich Davies was promptly dispatched by Fasey for this second of the game.

Hornets were on top and exuded confidence, playing the kind of hockey they had hinted at for the whole of the season. This was then epitomised by the final goal from Roo Rosenwald who among other things is fantastic company in a hospital waiting room. The short corner started standard enough, drag flick, saved by the keep and into the foreboding path of the meritorious Lambear! In a Sasha Tendulkar like off drive he delivered the ball on the half volley with considerable venom to the ready and waiting Roo at the back port for the forth and final goal. A fantastic finish to a stupendous game, which hopefully will be built upon and repeated in the weeks to come.

********* Match Report to Follow *********

********* Match Report to Follow *********

********* Match Report to Follow *********

Hornets visited top of the table Exeter Uni in a rearranged fixture hoping to continue on from their excellent pre-Christmas form, and grabbed a crucial point thanks to a late goal from their mercurial short corner striker Dave Fasey.

The game started at a fierce pace with both sides keen to get the upper hand and exert some control on proceedings in wet and windy conditions. Hornets perhaps had the better of the chances, forcing a string of short corners with both Fasey and Chris Yeo going close to opening the scoring. But as the half went on the students began to grow in confidence, and started to gain the upper hand on the Hornets midfield with their slick passing and movement.

Chris Yeo forced a smart save from the Uni keeper, following some good work from Roodolph Rosenwald, before a prolonged period of pressure from the home side began to ask questions of the resilient Hornets backline. A reverse stick shot whistled over Adam ‘Cat’ Broomfield’s bar after some sharp skills in the D from one of the Uni forwards. Things were indeed ‘hotting up’, and despite the Hornets defence coping admirably with home side’s attack until now, a breakthrough came when a counter attack up to the edge of the Hornets D resulted in one of the Uni forwards turning his man and rifling another reverse stick shot, this time beyond Broomfield into the roof of the net.

With the score 1-0 to the students at HT, Captain Rich Davey’s team talk was considered and not overly critical of his charges. Hornets were still well in the hunt and just needed to correct a few technical frailties and sharpen up their passing to give their vociferous supporters something to cheer about. Could they get a point, or even a win? You bet they could, and with renewed vigour and optimism the ‘black and oranges’ trooped away from their goalmouth huddle certain they could get back into the contest.
The start of the second half saw the Uni force their first short corner of the game, and a drag flick attempt was smartly parried by ‘The Cat’. Hornets midfield huffed and puffed but passes were beginning to go astray, Dave Chanter was getting tirelessly up and down the right flank, and on the other side some of Tom Lambert’s effervescent touches provided much needed illumination  under the grey skies. Up front, Yeo and Chris Dyson continued to pressurise the Uni defence into making a mistake, but cursed their luck as moves broke down just when the final ball looked on.

It wasn’t until 3 minutes from time when some good work from those forwards forced a foul from a Uni defender in the D giving them the chance to strike back. Lambert’s pull out, and Dyson’s stop were first class and enabled Fasey the time he needed to flash an exocet drag flick beyond the keeper’s despairing hand. Cue rapturous celebrations on the sidelines, a point was within reach with only seconds left to play. Incredibly, Hornets nearly went ahead when, moments after the restart, a darting run and cross from Tony Ford picked out Yeo with only the keeper to beat, but his shot was saved.

In true Hornets style though, it seemed only fair to give the home side one last chance to bag a winner, and a final short corner was awarded to the Uni, with the final whistle blown simultaneously. The students looked ready to pinch it at the death, but Hornets were determined not to be breached for a second time. Another drag flick was despatched, but MoM Broomfield was ready for it and palmed safely over the bar. You beauty.

After a series of good results against Robinsons and Whitchurch, Hornets were looking to continue there good form against a troubled Truro team starting the match on minus points.

The match started fiercely, with both sides throwing men forward in search of an early goal, with Truro getting the better of these early exchanges bumbling the ball over the line after a scrappy passage of play. With Hornets pushing for an equaliser they were hit by a swift Truro counter attack, which resulted in another goal for the visitors. However when most teams would have capitulated, this set back only seemed to spur Hornets on, with a period of sustained pressure resulting in a short corner. This allowed Dave 'Claw' Fasey to dispatch one of his signature flicks which nestled neatly in the top left hand corner of the goal. With Hornets dominating the rest of the half it was Truro who seemed more relieved when the halftime whistle went despite still being 2-1 up.

The second half started as the first left off with Hornets controlling possession and dictating the tempo of the game, with neat work from Tom Lambert and Tony Ford almost resulting in a second for Hornets. The equaliser came 10 minutes into the second half, with a penetrating run from Ieuan Davies allowing James Findlay to set Chris Yeo up for a classy reverse finish.

After the equaliser Truro set about trying to take the lead again, but were constantly thwarted by resolute defending from Sam Daymond and Steve Reed. Lack of success in attack from the Truro team led to frustration and ill discipline as several opposition players saw yellow cards, helping the Hornets to control the game. However even with the numerical advantage they were unable to convert their chances. The breakthrough finally came for Hornets when man-of-the-match Tony Ford beat several Truro players before striking a reverse shot which cannoned off the post and into the path of Christopher Dyson, who made no mistake with the finish from 3cms out. The final stages of the match was a nervy affair with Truro always threatening to break on the counter, until they were permanently reduced to 10 men after an incident involving Roo Roosevelt and an opposition forward which culminated in the Truro player being sent from the field. Hornets themselves were reduced to 10 men for the final few minutes of the match as James Findlay attempted to break down play and was unlucky to receive a yellow card, however it proved not to be costly and Hornets gained yet another victory as they push forward towards promotion.

ECV Hornets played host to Whitchurch A, knowing that a strong performance would be needed after a good run of recent results from the visitors, relegated from Premier Division 1 last season. On a fine day and in front of a vociferous home crowd, Hornets delivered a 6-1 thrashing that moved them up to second in Premier Division 2 and back into the promotion places.

Hornets started well, controlling the game in midfield albeit creating relatively few scoring chances. It was man-of-the-match defender Ed Davies who started the move for Hornets' first goal with a cracking line ball to forward Chris Dyson. Dyson slipped Tom Lambert into the D who in turn set up Tony Ford, who saw his initial shot cannon off the crossbar but remained alert to follow up the rebound.

Whitchurch dug deep and got themselves back into the game with a swift counter attack and flicked finish from an unmarked forward. The game then settled into a hard-fought but even affair with neither side able to find the breakthrough and the teams went into the half time break even.

A stern half-time talk saw Hornets come out firing but it wasn't until nearly 15 minutes into the second half when they finally broke the visitors' resolve. A patient build-up ended with a close-range reverse finish from Dyson.

Shortly after taking the lead, Hornets found themselves 2 up when Chris Yeo's dangerous through ball was put into the net by a defender, prompting furious protests that the ball had been played from outside the D. The irate visiting captain received his team's third yellow card of the match before being shown red for his continued outburst. A closely fought game then became far more open one as Hornets proceeded to take apart nine-man Whitchurch.

First, the keeper was found guilty of deliberately lying on the ball, allowing captain Rich Davey to put away a fine penalty flick to make it 4-1. This was shortly followed by a champagne-moment-of-the-season contender as a dummy-spin drag from the impressive Dave Fasey set up James Findlay to fire home a slick secondary flick. Davey wrapped things up with his second late on, deciding go himself by beating the keeper and flicking into the net from an angle.

Exeter Hornets got back to winning ways and maintained 3rd position with a hard fought 1-0 win against Robinsons A. Hornets started the match well taking the positives from an excellent team performance against Torbay and passing the ball around comfortably. Robinsons were packing the middle of the pitch which left a lot of space out wide. Hornets duely exploited this with Roo Rosenwald and Tom Lambert continuously threatening the Robinsons back line. This pressure should have resulted in Hornets taking an early lead when a hard ball in from the right was deflected past the defence by Chris Yeo for James Findlay to slot in from 2 inches. Hornets celebrations were short lived though as the umpire inexplicably awarded a long corner. Hornets heads didn't drop though and more pressure down the right side from Ed Davies and Lambert resulted in a short corner. Davies drag out was on the money and Dave Fasey dispatched his drag flick into the top right of the Robinsons goal. Hornets continued to dominate the half with any breaks from Robinsons stifled by the imperious back line of Davies, Sam Daymond and Steve Reed. Dave Fasey's huge aerials into space were opening up the Robinsons team but resiliant defending and missed opportunities from the Hornets front line including a tantalising square ball from Chris Dyson inches past Yeo and a superb double save by the Robinsons keeper from Yeo and Fasey meant that the score remained 1-0 at half time.

The message at half time from skipper Rich Davey was clear, keep up the hard work and take your opportunities. Hornets continued to look comfortable but despite patient build up play could not convert openings into clear cut chances. The match was then turned on its head as a frustrated Hornets team went down to 10 men when Findlay was sent to the bin for a rash challenge. Hornets managed to soak up the pressure with Daymond and Reed thwarting regular Robinsons attacks and keeper Adam Broomfield having to dive to his right to prevent Robinsons equalising from their third penalty corner is an many minutes. Daymond then saved off the line when an equaliser looked certain. Parity was restored when the numbers were even again and it was Hornets who finished the stronger with Davies going close after a well worked penalty corner just evaded him at the back post. Hornets played out the match but were thankful to men of the match Daymond and Reed for keeping them in a match that after a good performance should have seen a comfortable victory.

ECV Hornets travelled away to 2nd place Torbay for a third 3-3 draw in as many weeks. The game started somewhat tentatively with both sides content to feel their way into the game but it was Hornets who took control after Dave Fasey threw a full pitch ariel straight into the D only for Chris Yeo to run onto and clinically dispatch into the bottom corner with his first touch. Unpreturbed Torbay hit back immediately with a fine individual run straight through the Hornets defense and topped off with a deft lob over Adam Broomfield. For the rest of the half both sides played some good hockey at a high intensity but good work from both defenses prevented further scoring.

The second half remained close as the game began to slightly open up and it was again the combination of Fasey and Yeo that brought another goal with the former smashing a knee high bullet into the D for the later to apply an audacious little deflection that left the keeps helpless. Again Torbay repsonded quickly with a fairly scrappy goal at the other end with fortune favouring the home side. Torbay looked then to assert some real pressure on Hornets and it would have paid off if it wasn't for Adam 'the cat' Broomfiled pulling off a glorious reaction stick save. That save seemed to spur Hornets on and Chris Yeo completed his hat trick with a neat run into the D and placing a reverse stick shot with stunning precision again into the bottom corner. There was a visual determination for Hornets to close out this game with their improved fitness playing a part but eventually the Torbay pressure finally told and they again scored to bring parity.

On reflection a draw was a fair result and both sides should be happy with a point. Hornets may feel slight jilted on not capitalising on being ahead and Torbay arguably had the better chances to win it.

Hornets made the trip to Swindon keen to get back to winning ways after two draws in the last two games had seen them slip from first to third in Premier Division 2.

Hornets started brightly, with the midfield taking the game to Swindon with an array of passing and movement. However, it was Swindon who took the lead via a back-line dribble and finish from a tight angle. Hornets' heads did not drop and the goal spurred them into further action, with Dave Fasey in particular stamping his authority on the game. Hornets quickly got themselves back on terms with Tom Lambert finishing a neat one-two with Chris Yeo. It only seemed a matter of time before Hornets got another and it duly followed - this time with Lambert repaying the favour by setting up top-scorer Yeo. The game then settled for a period, with neither team gaining advantage. It looked destined for a 2-1 half time score until James Findlay grabbed a back-post goal on his return to the team following a serious injury.

Hornets came out for the second half determined to kill the game off but Swindon grabbed an early goal to haul themselves back into the game. As the away side's instensity dropped - something that cannot be allowed to happen again - Swindon snuck a well-worked equaliser. With both sides fighting for the winner, the game became somewhat scrappy. Both sides wasted a number of short corners before Chris Dyson forced a diving save from the home keeper in what was one of unusually limited chances on goal for the visitors. Hornets defence performed admirably under pressure, led by man-of-the-match Sam Daymond and, as the game drew to as close, keeper Adam Broomfield pulled off a great clearing save to ensure it remained 3-3.

Hornets were left disappointed with the result and their second half performance but remain unbeaten this season and in touch with league leaders Exeter University and Torbay.

ECV Hornets entertained a young Swansea Bay side at home, the weather was grey with a hint of rain in the air, which in truth was what the St James pitch needed. Hornets with some regular players missing welcomed back into their line up Andy Guerin and a giving Dave Chanter his debut in the 1st team. Swansea looking for revenge from last year's 2-1 defeat to Hornets, started strongly - the Hornets began timidly as if we lacked a certain "va va voom!". Swansea opened the scoring with a move down the Hornets right hand side and was finished over on the left hand side of the D by an unmarked forward who passed Adam Broomfield - not a lot he could have done with that.

Hornets responded by a superbly taken reverse strike by Chanter (Champagne moment) to make it 1-1, after a move that involved the whole team, starting well into the Hornets half by a solid tackle from Roo Rosenwald. This triggered an immediate response from Swansea who restored their lead with a messy second goal and a well worked short corner routine just before half time making it Hornets 1 - 3 Swansea Bay at the break.

Hornets, with their backs against the wall, came out fighting from half time almost a completely different team after motivating contributions from Ed Davey, Chris Yeo and Rich Davey and quickly scored with a fast counter attack goal by Yeo after interplay with captain Davey and Tony Ford, making the score Hornets 2 - Swansea 3.

The match then turned into a more heated affair, with tempers flaring from both sides as the umpires began giving cards out to both teams and the crowd encouraging Hornets onwards. Unluckily, Yeo received a yellow card for talking to teammate Ieuan Davies but the umpire took this the wrong way (Swansea having at least 5 Ieuan's in their team!). Throughout the second half and even with a man down, every 50/50 collision was clash of titans with the Hornets using their unrivalled physicality coming out on top, as they pushed for the equaliser with Stephen Skinner putting his body on the line in every tackle.

The equaliser came in the form of a trade mark Hornets attack straight down the middle from Tom Lambert bringing the ball out from defence, finding Skinner on the run who slipped it to Ford , who found the net, making the score Hornets 3 - Swansea Bay 3. Credit has to go to Lambert for his "parting of the sea" run straight through the heart of the Swansea Bay team and his never say die attitude and Steve Reed for many greatly timed tackles using his deceptively long reach and special mention for Dave Chanter shown in his endless running and skill on the ball. All in all, a first half to forget but a gutsy second half fight back, keeping their unbeaten run intact.

This week Hornets made a trip to Bristol to play Westbury and UB determined to keep their all win record; however it was not to be. It was belting it down with rain, the game was on a water base pitch, and it proved to be a cracker. Westbury started strongly, determined to beat the mighty Hornets, scoring fairly early on from a big hit from the corner of the 25, which deflected off Dave Fasey's stick and lobbed over Hornets defence and luckily but neatly deflected in from the back post. Hornets fought back with a good move down the left wing. Steve Reed made a nice pass into the path of Roo Rosenwald who simply placed it onto a foot. The short corner was saved well by the keeper and then was dribbled back into the D by Chris Yoe who passed it to an unmarked Tony Ford who simply placed it into the goal.

Hornets started the second half with a lot more venom. Roo Rosenwald creating a lot of chances with his mesmerizing stick skills down the left wing. However Hornets couldn't seem to put away the short corners, which was strange as in previous weeks they would go in with ease. Hornets were eventually rewarded when Tony Ford put away another well placed goal. At 2-1 up Hornets looked strong enough to go all the way. Rich Pollitt proved he had the hardest hit on the field with his volley into the keeper, almost hitting the sound barrier. It was a lucky save by the keeper. However unfortunately Hornets were unable to hit the target and Westbury managed to put away a scrappy goal.

Hornets played well in all areas of the pitch. There was a particularly nice passage of play when Sam Daymond, Steve Reed and Roo Rosewnald played a textbook move in a passing triangle, baffling the Westbury striker. Sam Daymond then made a strong pass through to Tom Lambert who did something interesting with the ball and made another nice pass to Rich Daveys who looked determined to score. He attacked well and went all the way into the D, and kept going into the keeper. Annoyed with himself he smashed the ball against the side line, winning himself Dick of the Day.

Despite Hornets creating some good chances the game ended in a draw. Man of the Match went to Roo Rosenwald who had a cracker, and Hornets hung on to their unbeaten record.

Hornets maintained their unbeaten record against Team Bath Buccs B with a cool headed display. An intense warm up set them up well for the start of the game with an early attack from Chris Dyson with a near miss, closely followed by an interception from Tony Ford with a quick one two with Chris Yeo, Hornets went 1-0 up. Bath came back with venom with a good finish that would have beaten any keeper. Excellent composure showed Hornets score almost immediately with a scramble from a shot corner taking a deflection off a Bath defenders stick. Roo Rosenwald used his stick skills to beat a number of players up the left wing but ran out of steam just before goal. The first half ended at 2-1.

The half time talk ended with Bath going out with all guns blazing resulting in a well drilled break bringing the score level at 2-2. However, again Hornets showed composure maintaining pressure high up the pitch with yet another great goal from Chris Yeo only for Bath to score again within minutes from an unnecessary short corner. With the score now level Hornets dominated the rest of the game with great drive to put the game to bed, with a strong performance from the back three keeping out a number of short corners with good saves from Adam Broomfield. Tireless attacks were rewarded by a third from Chris Yeo and then a short corner was generated which saw a perfectly placed drag flick top left from Dave Fasey bringing the score to 5-3, Tom Lambert picked up a green card for a miss timed challenge but Hornets showed great discipline throughout.

Man of the match went to Dave Fasey and Hornets keep there well deserved place at top of the table.

In gusting wind, Hornets work rate and dedication was second to none as they beat Plymouth Marjon's 3 – 0 on Saturday, keeping their 100% record to for the season. Hornets went in to this game missing two regular 1st team players Sam Daymond who had picked up a knock during the week and Tony Ford suffering from flu.

Hornets line up had a slight reshuffle with Steve Reed playing centre back and Richard Pollitt moving to left back and Ed Davies at right back. The new look defence was able to quell the Majon’s attacks’ with relative ease, with Dave Fasey fizzing the ball around was causing the home team all sorts of problems with his variation of passes. It wasn’t long before Hornets opened the scoring when Roo Rosenwald made a superb interception and played an excellent ball through to Chris Dyson who guided the ball past the diving goalie. Chris Yeo then had the ball in the back of the net for 2 – 0 when he calmly paced the ball in the goal after good work in midfield from Richard Davey and the hard working Tom Lambert.

Hornets should have extended their lead at the start of the second half, but were unable to find the final shot on goal the best of the chances fell to Ieuan Davies who missed a good chance at the back post when the ball just bubbled over his stick at the far post and Fasey who almost scored a penalty corner when his drag flick grazed the outside of the post and went wide. Man of the match Adam Broomfield had another first-rate game with the best of his saves when he was left 3 on 1 and managed to make a brilliant save when he took the ball off of the Majon’s forward. Hornets finally scored their 3rd goal when it came from a good passing move which resulted in Yeo crossing the ball to Lambert who managed to bundle the ball over line from a yard out. Hornets finished the match calmly with the defence passing the ball around the pitch with confidence. The only blemish on the game was the two green cards for Stephen Skinner and Davey.

After a 9 goal thriller last weekend, ECV Hornets looked to retain and perhaps extend their lead at the top of Premier 2. They faced the recently relegated Bristol UWE who started the game with purpose. After the early exchanges played out it was Hornets who took the lead with Chris Yeo scoring a calm and considered goal. UWE not content to be dictated to hit back with a period of continued high pressure but the Hornet's defence was resolute and lead to a quick counter resulting in a short corner. The ball found its way to Roo Rosenwald to score a reverse stick shot that was sliced so wildly that it somehow managed to lob the bemused keeper from about 5 yards out. Hornets looked to close out the half but the well drilled Uni side had spirit and earnt themselves a goal following a short corner.

The second half saw Hornets begin to take a firm grip with Yeo scoring another deft finish after being put through, one on one, by a sumptuous 40 yard pass from Tony Ford. Hornets looked to put the game out of site with Dave Fasey scoring a masterful drag flick from a short corner and Yeo completing his hat trick after Rich Davey ran from the half way line to set him up for another smart finish. Unfortunately, such exertion caused the Hornets to flag and the depth of the UWE squad saw them score 3 goals in quick succession. Such a collapse was disappointing and Hornets were saved by the final whistle but nevertheless it was another strong performance spearheaded by man of the match Dave Fasey.

Exeter & Culm Vale Hornets 1st XI started the new hockey season with an away match against Truro. This was a closely fort match as Hornets started the match nervously against a well drilled Truro team. Hornets’ first goal was scored by Chris Yeo when Hornets made a quick break after Truro had put a lot of pressure on the defence when Sam Daymond made an excellent tackle in the Hornets D. It wasn’t long before Truro equalised after a couple poor first touches gifted the ball to Truro to score. The game opened up as both teams at pushed forward and Roo Rosenwald almost scored on the far post but somehow a Truro defender managed to just turn the ball around the post. It wasn’t long before Tony Ford had the ball in the Truro goal for Hornets to take the lead just before half time.

Almost straight after the restart Truro drew level again after more sloppy passing from Hornets. Truro kept pushing forward and took the lead from a penalty corner when they managed bundle the ball over the line. At this point Hornets were on the back foot and were kept in the game as Adam Broomfield made some excellent saves in goal. Truro thought they had scored a fourth goal from a penalty corner but this was disallowed as the umpire judged that first strike was above the backboard and had gone in off Rosenwald’s knee. As a result of the disallowed goal a Truro player swore at and accused the umpire of being a cheat which resulted in red card and a yellow card for another Truro player for foul language.

This spurred Hornets on as they had a two man advantage and took control of the game. During this advantage James Finlay who was making his league debut was badly injured going for a 50/50 ball with a Truro player. With fifteen minutes left Hornets managed to win a penalty corner and draw level when Dave Fasey scored from a well worked penalty corner flicking the ball powerfully past the Truro goalie. Within two minutes took the lead again after Yeo’s majestic run beating two Truro players and slipping the ball to Richard Davey to blast the ball in to the goal.

Truro were unable to cope with Hornets numeric advantage and conceded another penalty corner from which Fasey scored his second goal of the game when he placed low and hard shot in to the bottom left corner of the goal. Ford managed to score his second goal of the game with less then a minute left when Stephen Skinner’s shot was saved by the goalie and skinner managed to recover the ball and slip it to Ford to drill home for a 6 – 3 win.

Hornets 1st XI started brightly on a warm September’s day. Sam Parsons and Roo Rosenwald made their 1st XI debuts and Stephen Skinner returned from a back injury which had kept him out for the last 16 months.

Hornets were passing the ball well between themselves and it wasn’t long before Dave Fasey opened the scoring from a tight angle after good work from Ieuan Davies down the left side of the pitch, he drew out the Torbay goalie and he passed the ball to Fasey to score in style. Hornets kept up the pressure and had the ball in the back of the goal again from a Fasey penalty corner but this was ruled out for an infringement.

Midway through the half Torbay were awarded a penalty flick after Sam Daymond made an ungainly challenge on a Torbay forward in the D. Sam Parson was unlucky not to save the flick as the forward just managed to place it pass his outstretched hand.

This goal gave Torbay momentum and they attacked more frequently. On one Torbay attack Hornets caught on them on break from a quickly taken free hit Fasey slipped the ball to Stephen Skinner who took the ball in to the D and scored a sublime goal when he lobbed Torbay keeper. Hornets managed to keep the ball well and worked some good chances and finally scored a 3rd goal after some fine passing from Richard Davey and Roo Rosenwald who set up Chris Dyson for a clinical finish.

Torbay started the second half with more vigour and forced Sam Parson to make some acrobatic saves in goal. As the half went on Torbay got more frustrated and had a player sin-binned for a foul on Andy Richards. Hornets took advantage of this but were not able to convert any of their chances with the best of the chances falling to Edgar Davies who just pulled his shot over the goal. With Torbay back to the full complement of players and pushing forward they were unable to create any clear chances as Steven Reed and Lee Kerswell were in great defensive form.

Hornets 4th goal came from Dyson drawing out the defender and passing the ball to Tom Lambert whose shot was just going wide, Skinner managed to dive full length at the far post to push the ball in to the goal scoring his 2nd goal of the match. With Torbay trying to push for a goal Hornets were able to break more freely and Dyson scored his 2nd goal of the match, after Lambert set him up to chip the ball over the stranded keeper in to the goal.

After the match Captain Richard Davey said “that was a good result, we can take a lot of positives from today’s game, hopefully we can carry this in to the league”.