Preliminary Round

Lancaster 18 Welsh Wanderers 13
Goals Scored by: Scott (6), Tom (4), Alex (4), James (2), Colin (1), Ciaran (1)

Lancaster 15 Penguin 11
Goals Scored by: Scott (6), Alex (4), Tome (2), Glen (2), James (1)

Lancaster 13 Bristol 8
Goals Scored by: Tom (5), Alex (2), James (2), Colin (2), Andy (1), Ciaran (1)

Lancaster City Water Polo Qualify for British Finals
Report by team manger Jeff Parker

Lancaster City safely negotiated a potentially tricky preliminary group to qualify for the British Championship finals in Manchester later this month.

Lancaster were drawn with Welsh Wanderers, West London Penguin and Bristol Central with the top two teams from the group progressing to the finals weekend.

First up was Welsh Wanderers. For this game Coach Alberto Bertolotti experimented with a different game plan. The players took a while to adapt, so much so that the Cardiff based side raced into an early lead with a flurry of goals from Taylor and Laxton. Lancaster were struggling to develop any team play and despite efforts from James Wannop and Ciaran James, conceded further goals and mid way through the second quarter trailed by 9:5. The nerves were starting to show but then a quick brace from Alex Parsonage settled things down. This was followed by goals from Scott Carpenter and a further effort from James Wannop which saw Lancaster draw level 9 all at half-time. The game remained tight throughout the third quarter with Lancaster only establishing a narrow lead for the first time in the final seconds of the third quarter when a Tom Curwen strike established a 13:12 advantage. The final quarter was a more convincing display as Lancaster started to show some true form and ran out eventual winners by 18:13 thanks to goals from Colin Burgess, Tom Curwen, Scott Carpenter and two more from Alex Parsonage.

Next up was the ‘foreign legion’ from West London Penguin. Penguin Coach Grimwood had drafted in a number of players from Hungary, Malta and Scotland to bolster his ranks for this tournament. Lancaster again started slowly, losing the first quarter by two goals and the second quarter by one goal to trail 7:4 at half time. The team received a blunt reminder of what was at stake from Coach Bertolotti during the half-time interval. This appeared to have the desired effect as for the first time in the weekend the team clicked into gear and produced an inspired period of play to win the quarter by 7:1 to overturn the 3 goal deficit into a 3 goal advantage. Contributions came from throughout the team but particular mention should go to the key strikes from Glen Robinson and James Wannop which started the goal glut. Scott Carpenter weighed in with 3 and Alex Parsonage contributed 2 to give Lancaster the lead by 11:8 at the end of the third quarter. The game was now under control and Lancaster played out a quiet fourth quarter as the sides exchanged goals prior to final effort from Glen Robinson produced a final score of 15:11 to Lancaster.

Despite the two victories Lancaster were not guaranteed to qualify as an earlier shock defeat of Bristol against Penguin meant that Lancaster needed to win against Bristol to avoid the final placings going down to goal difference.

Lancaster suffered a set back prior to the game when a ‘back spasm’ meant that top scorer Scott Carpenter was unable to play in the game.

Lancaster started brightly and despite an early goal from GB Captain Figes started to take control. Goals from Ciaran James, Tom Curwen and Alex Parsonage saw Lancaster finish the first quarter 3:1 ahead. The second quarter saw more of the same as Lancaster extended their lead to 6:2 with contributions from James Wannop, Colin Burgess and a further strike from Alex Parsonage.

Lancaster were now in total control and played out the second half without ever looking like surrendering the advantage. A final quarter hat-trick from Tom Curwen rounded off an impressive all round team performance as Lancaster ran out winners by 13:8

Semi Final & Final
Lancaster City Regain British Title

Lancaster City regained the British Water Polo Championship after an enthralling weekend of action at the Manchester Aquatic Centre.

In Saturdays semi-final Lancaster faced local rivals City of Manchester. The game started slowly for Lancaster with Manchester taking an early lead through Dutch import Art Valkenburg. This spurred Lancaster into action and in particular Tom Curwen who took a starring role to complete a hat trick in the final 5 minutes of the first quarter to give Lancaster a narrow lead by 3:2.

The lead was extended in the second quarter with goals from Scott Carpenter and Glen Robinson plus a fourth from Tom Curwen. Manchester replied with a goal from Rich Lawler to give a half time score line of 6:3 to Lancaster.

Lancaster continued to push home their advantage with goals from James Wannop and a brace from Colin Burgess. Manchester countered with two long range efforts from Kevin Williams to leave the advantage at 9:5 going into the final quarter.

The final quarter saw a drop in the number of chances as Lancaster ran down the clock to secure a place in Sundays final with a 12:6 victory.

Lancaster’s opponents in the final were defending champions Rotherham Metro who booked their place with narrow 10:9 victory over West London Penguin.

Sunday’s final saw a meeting between the teams who finished first and second in this seasons National League and undoubtedly represented a clash between the two current top teams in the country.

Rotherham started the final brightly and took an early lead through Gabaretta. Lancaster responded with a man up conversion from Colin Burgess but fell behind again just before the end of the quarter to a long range effort from Jake Vincent.

The second quarter saw a dominant period for Lancaster as they won the quarter 4:1 with goals from Colin Burgess, Ciaran James and 2 from Tom Curwen. Rotherham responded through Richard Leighton to give a half-time score line of 5:3 to Lancaster. One of the stars of the second quarter was veteran keeper Dave Bush who rolled back the years with a string of superb saves to keep the Rotherham forwards at bay.

The third quarter saw Rotherham hit back and established a 6:5 lead with goals from Phil Stocker and brace from Scottish import Frazer Rutherford. Lancaster levelled the scores at 6:6 with confident finish from Glen Robinson.

The final quarter was tense affair with numerous chances for both sides as the woodwork regularly denied both sides as the clocked ticked down. Just under 3 minutes from the end Rotherham seized the advantage with a goal from Great Britain International Adam Schofield. This appeared to see the Title heading to Yorkshire before the final 90 seconds left the whole crowd and both teams totally breathless.

First Scott Carpenter earned a penalty after a swift counter attack. As a number of the players looked away Tom Curwen coolly converted the penalty to level the scores at 7 all. With less than 20 seconds left Rotherham were set up for what looked to be the final attack of the game. However some strong defensive work allowed keeper Bush to claim the ball. The ball was quickly launched down the pool where striker Scott Carpenter had made a quick break and on receipt of a direct pass from Dave Bush coolly converted from 8 metres to give Lancaster an 8:7 lead with just 6 seconds remaining. Rotherham were still not finished as Coach Leighton called a time out and following some quick passes son Richard Leighton saw a final effort pushed onto the post by keeper Bush as the final whistle sounded to secure an exhilarating 8:7 victory for Lancaster.

The victory represents an excellent comeback year for Lancaster as they have managed to regain both the National League Title and now the British Championship. Part of the credit must go the foresight of bringing in professional Coach Alberto Bertolotti from Genoa in Italy and the support provided by the Committee to help fund this initiative.

Victory in the British Championships qualifies Lancaster to compete in the European Champions League later this year. A decision on whether Lancaster will be able to participate will probably come down to finances and could well be dependent on major fund raising to finance the trip. However that is all for the future as in the short term Lancaster can relax following a job well done in a season where they have managed to win 21 of the 22 games played and have undoubtedly re-established their place as the Number 1 Water Polo Team in the UK

Victorious Squad
Goals
1. Dave Bush (Goalkeeper)
2. James Wannop                      1
3. Colin Burgess                        4
4. Glen Robinson                       1
5. Chris Hartley (Captain)
6. Alex Parsonage                     1
7. Tom Curwen                          7
8. Scott Carpenter                      3
9. Andy Squires
10. Ciaran James                       2
11. Rysz Detko
12. Matt Little
13. Zak Sly (Substitute Keeper)

Coach – Alberto Bertolotti

Managers – Duncan Holmes and Jeff Parker