Ryan Butters,, Carensa Knights and Emma Carswell are have been selected in the U16 London Squad that will be participating in the Inter Area Tournament being held Saturday 28th January at the U.E.A sport park in Norwich. The London team has a very strong group of 12 players made up from Nomads, Bec, Bromley and Croydon. This will be a great oppotunity for ryan, carensa and emma to play competitive matches against their peers. Over the past few years the London juniors have struggled to field a competitive team, but this time round all the top London players in this age group have committed to play and London are optimistic of being successfull against their Kent rivals. Good luck to Ryan ,Carensa and Emma.

Nomads Survive Disruption To Take Victory...

With the upheaval of a last minute hall change meaning both sides had to decamp to Trinity in order to get the fixture played, both sides went into the game with little time to properly prepare.

With both sides preparation affected, it was always likely to be a slow starting match.

Goals were reasonably hard to come by in the early stages of the match as Nomads possibly tried too hard to compensate with an ultra high tempo that led to a few errors and some uncharacteristically wayward play.

Norwich Knights hit their groove first, scoring from the majority of their early chances and pulling out a lead, going into half time 8-6 up.

The Reds needed a more focussed performance in the second half and they managed it well, pulling the scores back level shortly after the restart.

The game remained close, with Irwin missing penalties but hitting his long shots, Sam Rowbottom scoring a free shot after a brilliant steal and Sarah Keating notching her first goal at this level with a smart finish.

Coach Butters used his substitution to bring on Terry Forde to try and control the post and he quickly repaid the faith with a goal.

Nomads rode out this game more comfortably than last weeks tussle with Mitcham to run out 15-12 winners.

It was certainly not a classic game but to win in testing circumstances is a sign of a good team.

Thanks to Norwich Knights for being so accomadating with the late hall change.

Nomads have next Sunday off before travelling to Nottingham on February 5th.

Team

Olly Bell, Sytze Bijker (4), Ean Irwin (6) Simon Cole (1)

Emma Cole,  Sam Rowbottom (2), Sarah Keating (1) Ana Osbourne

Subs Used

Terry Forde (1)

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Seconds Ease Past Mitcham 2 Again

In the return fixture of last weeks game, Nomads 2 began what was to be a long day of Korfball for the club with another comfortable victory over Mitcham 2

Terry Forde top scored with 8 goals with strong scoring contributions from Helen and Cara showing that there are goals from all around the team. It's worth noting that 5 of the London Regional League Top Scorers at the moment are Nomads players!

Team

Cara Allan (3) Sinead Cafferkey, Helen Carswell (4) Andrea Ellis (1)

Terry Forde (8) Thomas Gosling, William Gosling, Sam Lee (1)

Subs Used

Ryan Butters (1) Amy Cole (1)

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Fourths Battle Hard In Defeat At League Leaders...

The Fourths were beaten by league leaders Woking despite a battling performance that needed just a touch more luck in the finishing department for a closer scoreline.

Team

Tina Sullivan (1) Carensa Knights (1) Sally More, Emma Carswell

Nick Williams (1) Ben Rivers (3) James Farrelly, Lol More

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Fifths and Sixths Fight out 9-all draw...

Team

Teams and scorers to follow...

Nomads Edge Mitcham Out With Buzzer Beater Penalty...

Nomads came into this game against old rivals Mitcham hoping to improve on a dip in form that had seen them lose to Kingfisher and Nottingham.

Nomads started with a line up that included a debut appearance in the first team for Sarah Keating, less than two years after joining the club in one of our recruitment drives.

Considering that some first teamers have been playing Korfball from junior level for well over a decade, such a rapid rise is a fine achievement worthy of recognition.

Mitcham were fresh from a 28-20 win over Bearsted and would be seeing this game as chance to pick up a win and although the squad depth is far from their heyday as National League Champions, they could still boast quality players, with Synott, Allen, Woods, Bower & Lymburn all having international experience.

Nomads started the game well, notching up some early goals and playing with an intensity that was both impressive and productive.

When the first time out was called, Nomads were 9-4 up and looking comfortable in their lead.

Unfortunately for the Reds, the time-out seemed to disrupt their rhythm and an impressive attacking performance, mainly from Mitcham's top girl, Steph Allen, pulled the Greens right back into the game.

As the half time whistle blew, Nomads had only managed to add one more goal to the scoresheet and were holding onto a 10-9 lead.

Coach Butters half time team talk appeared to have the desired effect and Nomads got back into their groove and began opening up a lead again.

Mitcham rallied and pulled a few goals back and when a time-out was called with 12 minutes remaining, Nomads were 16-14 up and the need for them to start closing out the game and take the points became paramount.

Again though, as in the first half, the game seemed to slip slightly from Nomads grasp.

Mitcham Captain Dave Synott, usually a major goalscoring threat for the greens, appeared to be taking a more periphiral role in the game, trying to forge chances for others rather than himself and for a short period it worked as Mitcham pulled into the lead for the first time in the game.

Nomads fought back, unwilling to let go of a lead they had held for most of the game and the match became more and more tense with nerves showing both on the field and in the crowd.

As a consequence, the game entered the remaining minutes delicately balanced at 18-18.

Nomads had more chances to grab the winning goal but they wasted two free throw opportunites courtesy of technical infringements.

However, luck seemed to be behind the reds as when the ball was in the Mitcham attack with only seconds remaining, Mitcham blew their chance with a loose pass missing a green shirt and handing possesion to Nomads.

The ball was quickly manoeuvred into a goalscoring oppurtunity for Olly Bell and as he went for the last second shot, Dave Synott whilst attempting to defend the move fouled (as a result of this foul he unintentionally inflicted a solid and unfortunate blow to Bell's head) and this consequently gave the referee no choice but to award a penalty to Nomads.

Sytze Bijker stepped up to take the penalty and with the composure that has seen him surge to the top of of the EKL top scorer charts, he dispatched the penalty in what proved to be the last action of the game.

The roar of celebration from fans and players alike was slightly tempered by the seemingly serious nature of Olly Bell's injury but a thrilling game ended with a positive result for Nomads.

A fine win, although I'm not sure my heart can take too many buzzer beating winning goals!

Team

Olly Bell (1) Sytze Bijker (9), Ean Irwin (4) Simon Cole (2)

Emma Cole (2) Sam Rowbottom (1), Sarah Keating, Andrea Ellis

Subs Used

Rebekah Humphries

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Seconds Comfortably Despatch Mitcham 2

Team

Terry Forde (5) Sam Lee (5) William Gosling (1) Thomas Gosling (1)

Rebekah Humphries (2) Amy Cole (2) Cara Allan (2) Helen Carswell (1)

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Thirds Fall To Heavy Defeat

Team

Peter Banfield (3) Ian Borrows, Ryan Butters (2) Brian Carswell (4)

Sarah Knapper, Emma Butters, Emma Carswell, Carensa Knights.

Fourths Ease Past Pelham

Team

James Farrelly, Lol More (3) Ben Rivers (3) Nick Williams (2)

Zoe Tudor, Sally More, Tina Sullivan (1) Christine Wavish (2)

Nomads misfire in disappointing defeat...

Team

Olly Bell (1) Terry Forde, Ean Irwin (2) Simon Cole (2)

Emma Cole (3) Rebekah Humphries, Ana Osbourne (1) Sam Rowbottom

Subs Used

Emma Butters

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Irwin Hits Double Figures in Narrow Win

Team

Olly Bell, Sytze Bijker (6) Ean Irwin (10) Simon Cole (1)

Emma Cole (2) Rebekah Humphries, Ana Osbourne, Sam Rowbottom (1)

Subs Used

Terry Forde, Andrea Ellis

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Impressive Win for Thirds

Team

Peter Banfield (3) Alex Bell (4) Ian Borrows (7) Sam Lee (4)

Sinead Cafferkey (2) Sarah Keating (2) Sarah Knapper (1) Cara Allan

Nomads win again in Norwich...

Nomads continued their quest to stay in every affordable hotel in the Norwich area with this away trip and they kept up their winning form with a close victory over Norwich Knights.

Bijker top scored with an impressive 12 goals but as he pointed out in an exclusive chat at the Nomads Xmas party (Holiday Inn getting our money again!) you don't score 12 without the other players doing their jobs too and since popping up to support the team was a touch out of my budget I'll take his word that everyone put in a top shift.

The team are up to sixth place in the England Korfball League and head to KV in Kent this Sunday looking to build on recent improvements and pick up another win.

Team

Olly Bell (2) Sytze Bijker (12) Ean Irwin (5) Simon Cole (2)

Emma Cole (1) Rebekah Humphries, Ana Osbourne (2) Sam Rowbottom

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Croydon done for as Nomads return to winning ways...

A good win for Nomads against their old foes in blue as after a strong start they allowed Croydon back within touching distance before pulling away to their eventual 7 goal winning margin.

Team

Olly Bell (3) Sytze Bijker (6) Ean Irwin (3) Simon Cole (3)

Emma Cole (3) Rebekah Humphries (2) Ana Osbourne, Sam Rowbottom (1)

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Match Reports for Sunday 20th November 2011 – A Coach Perspective

Sunday saw Nomads 1’s first “real” test of the season. Having now trained under a new coaching regime since September, with a new set of players, it was now time to see how much progression had been made since the season opening match against Mitcham, against a BEC team that had strengthened during the close season.

BEC’s key players were identified as Karen Sparrow, Davesh Patel and Stuart Ironmonger, who between them had scored approx 60% of their team’s goals.

Nomads set out with Emma, Sam, Ollie and Simon in first attack, with Ollie making his full 1st team debut, lining up against the Bec section containing Karen Sparrow. Nomads 1^st defence were Ean, Sytze, Bex and Ana, lining up against the section containing Davesh Patel.

Bec started strongly and after 10 minutes or so were 4 goals up, Nomads increased the intensity in defence and began to be rewarded for the pressure that was being applied in defence, giving the referee no option but to call “defended shots “ against Bec. Nomads, although moving the ball well in attack, were struggling to score and were unable to convert simple chances.

Bec continued to put pressure on our defence who held firm and and about half way through the 1^st half, our attacks started to click and we were able to compete goal to goal with Bec. Half time came and we were still in the match thanks to great defensive pressure against a Bec team who averaged 17 goals per match.

Half time saw an injury substitution as Simon had a ruptured a vein and couldn’t continue and was replaced by Terry for the start of the 2^nd half. Both teams found goals hard to come by, with Nomads missing some simple running in shots and Bec’s normally accurate distance shooters missing the target due to the intense 1 v 1 pressure that was being applied by Nomads players.

The 2^nd half played out with both teams looking for the goals that would see victory. With a few minutes left Bec had ground out a 2 goal lead but Nomads showed great spirit and continued to seek the elusive goal to level the match but with time running out, the referees whistle ended the match with Bec winning by a single goal. 10 – 9.

Although we lost, this was one of the most impressive defensive performances from a team that I have seen in over 30 years of korfball!

Although very disappointed, there are many positives to the match, with the team moving up another level from the match that took place on the first day of the season. We started with Ollie and Bex, both U.18 and were carrying and nursing through key players, who were struggling with injuries.

New sections and a new style of playing takes time and it was obvious that we are moving in the right direction. The team spirit was fantastic with everyone digging deep and wanting the win, to the point of several players playing under extreme pressure carrying injuries, where other circumstances would have seen substitutions made. This was a Bec team improved from last season and this result should be put in context against the backdrop of a younger, newer team than last season.

Over the next few weeks we will have a chance to settle into the league programme and get some valuable wins under our belts. Our attacking play needs improvement, when together with our very strong defensive ethos, will allow us to progress to compete evenly with the likes of Nottingham and Trojans and push on towards the play off places in April next year.

Team

Olly Bell (2) Sytze Bijker (4) Simon Cole, Ean Irwin (1)

Ana Osbourne, Sam Rowbottom, Emma Cole, Rebekah Humphries (1)

Subs Used

Andrea Ellis, Terry Forde (1)

Nomads 2 started the pre match warm up minus the 1st team reserves, with the top of the table clash with Bec 2.

Nomads started with Terry, Will, Emma and Cara in first defence and Sam, Tom, Andrea and Amy first attack. Nomads started in great form going 5 goals up after a few minutes play against a tall physical Bec 2 side. Nomads started with free flowing attacking play resulting in balanced mid range shooting which started to pay dividends with goals being scored around the team. Bec managed to get back into the match with a flurry of penalties, which were converted pulling the scores level.

Nomads have a combination of youth and experience and as the game progressed Bec were able to use their physical presence to pull out a slight lead. As with the 1st team, Nomads were not intimidated and continued to play as instructed and continued trading goals with Bec, but as the game progressed began to give away more free throws and penalties, resulting in a more experienced Bec team opening a 4 goal lead.

With a few minutes remaining Nomads scored two further goals to bring the score back to 16 – 14 but time had run out with Bec scoring 9 penalties out of their 16 goals.

Like the 1st team, the 2nds are a team in progression with young players being given the opportunity to play at this level and their improvement is self evident. Last week the 2nds fielded 5 x U.18’s and this week 3 U.18s with 2 in the 1sts.

The team played with freedom, together with an excellent attitude and remain at the top end of what is considered a high level and difficult league. There is now a few weeks break giving 2nds a much needed break after a great start to the season. Well done.

Team

Terry Forde (1) Thomas Gosling (3) William Gosling (1) Sam Lee (1)

Cara Allan (2) Emma Butters (1) Amy Cole (3) Andrea Ellis (2)