Number one start for Lancaster

In the opening two weekends they have faced some potentially difficult games plus the first encounter of the year against old rivals and 2007 League Champions Bristol Central.

The first weekend was at Cardiff and the first game was against the surprise package from 2008 London Penguin. Lancaster came out extremely positively and by the end of the first quarter had built up an amazing 8:0 lead. Main contributions in the first quarter came from internationals Tom Curwen and Alex Parsonage who each weighed in with three goals. Highlight of the first quarter was the final goal of the first quarter when Michael Brown marked his debut for the first team with a goal less than two minutes after entering the pool. Lancaster continued to score at regular intervals throughout the remainder of the game and eventually ran out comfortable victors by 22:5

Next up were Scottish Champions Portobello. Again Lancaster started at an impressive pace, this time establishing a 6:0 advantage by the end of the first quarter. Portobello were unable to cope with the constant counter attacking play of Lancaster and Scott Carpenter, Alex Parsonage and Tom Curwen each helped themselves to four goals in the first half onslaught. In the second half manager Duncan Holmes took the opportunity to rotate the players and enable all members of the squad to gain more experience at this level. Further goals followed from Glen Robinson, Ciaran James and Andy Squires as Lancaster scored 9 goals in the final quarter to complete a 30:5 rout.

Final game of the first weekend was against newly promoted Tyldesley. Lancaster were stunned into action by two early goals from Tyldesley’s star forward Mike Cowburn. The local side hit back and eased any early nerves with efforts from

Colin Burgess and a rare strike from Club Captain Chris Hartley. Lancaster then pushed on with further with goals from Matt Little, James Wannop and further contributions from Curwen and Parsonage to establish a comfortable 16:7 advantage going into the final quarter. Tyldesley continued to battle away in the final quarter and keeper Zak Sly pulled off a number of good saves to keep Cowburn and Co at bay to produce a final winning margin of 18:8.

Second weekend saw a slightly shorter trip to Sheffield with the first game against local side Rotherham Metro. Rotherham started brightly and encouraged by the vocal support in the crowd took an early lead through England Centre forward Adam Schofield. Lancaster did not panic and hit back with goals from Ciaran James and Chris Hartley. Schofield scored a second to level the scores but Lancaster finished the first quarter strongly with goals from Tom Curwen and Scot Carpenter to establish a 4:2 advantage. The second quarter was all about Alex Parsonage as the powerful left hander helped himself to four goals to stretch the Lancaster lead to 8:4. Rotherham continued to offer a real threat and Lancaster could have been in trouble if it were not for a string of fine saves by keeper Dave Bush. The pace of the game dropped in the final quarter as both sides settled for what they had and Lancaster ran out eventual winners by 12:9.

Next up were 2007 Champions Bristol Central. This is always a competitive game between the two sides who have dominated the National League for the past decade. Bristol started brightly and stormed into a 3:0 lead by the end of the quarter. All three goals coming from England Captain Craig Figes. Lancaster slowly started to pick up their game and hit back with goals from Ciaran James and Tom Curwen to narrow the gap to to 3:2. Dave Bush then pulled off a number of key saves including a penalty from Figes which gave the whole team a lift just before half time. Early in the third quarter Manager Jeff Parker was sent off from the pool side for contesting a decision but this merely seemed to inspire the Lancaster players as goals from Parsonage and Curwen saw Lancaster draw level at the start of the final quarter at 8 all. Bristol were now starting to pay the price for the earlier efforts and Lancaster pushed on with goals from Glen Robinson, Scot Carpenter and Tom Curwen to gain a hard fought 13:10 victory.

Final game off the weekend was against Welsh Wanderers from Cardiff. This was expected to be amore comfortable game for the defending champions and so it turned out as goals from Colin Burgess and Ciaran James gave Lancaster an early advantage. By half time Lancaster stretched their lead to five with goals from Curwen and Parsonage. The second half provided further opportunities for squad rotation with Anthony Trafford and Sam Liver both making good contributions as Lancaster pushed on to a final winning margin of 20:9.

After 6 games Lancaster are the only team to remain unbeaten. However next weekend will present a tough challenge with games against three other sides currently sitting in the top half of the league table; Invicta, Cheltenham and Manchester.

Lancaster City Water Polo – National League Campaign.

Lancaster City continued their push to successfully defend the National Water Polo Title after two more hard fought weekends of action at Aldershot and Bath.

These weekends represented the first action since the half way split when the league is separates between the top five and bottom five. For the culmination of the 2009 campaign Lancaster were joined by Bristol, Cheltenham, Manchester and Rotherham.

The first game of the second phase was against old rivals Bristol, the only side other than Lancaster to have won the title in the last ten years.

Lancaster started the game at a furious pace and soon built up a commanding lead of 6:1 as Bristol struggled to cope with the speed of Lancaster’s counter attacks. Early goals came from Tom Curwen (3), Alex Parsonage and Ciaran James (2). The second and third quarters were a more even affair as the sides traded goals with Lancaster struggling to adjust to the apparent change in rules interpretation by the officials. Coach Alberto Bertolotti addressed this and refocused the team prior to the final quarter. This had the desired effect as goals from James Wannop, Glen Robinson, Andy Squires and a final goal from Tom Curwen saw Lancaster run out convincing winners by 13:7

Next up were the young pretenders from Manchester. Manchester are currently being coached by GB Coach Cristian Lordache and clearly fancied their chances prior to the game. However, as with Bristol before them Manchester had no answer to the pace of the early attacks from Lancaster. These resulted in a number of man up advantages for Lancaster which were clinically converted to establish a 6:1 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Chief contribution in the first quarter came Glen Robinson who weighed in with 3 goals.

The second quarter was a more even affair as Manchester began to stem the Lancaster counter attacks and actually won the quarter 2:1 thanks to a brace from goals from Rich Lawlor. Lancaster pushed on again in the third quarter and re-established a five goal advantage with goals from Alex Parsonage and Ciaran James. The final quarter saw Lancaster just running out the clock to seal a convincing 12:9 victory.

The following weekend Lancaster made the equally long trip to bath. First up were Rotherham who needed to secure a victory against Lancaster to stand any chance of overhauling them in the title chase

The first two quarter were very even as the sides exchanged goals with Rotherham ending the half with a narrow 5:4 advantage. Early goals for Lancaster came from Alex Parsonage and Tom Curwen. However, the third and fourth quarters were a totally different story as Lancaster produced some of their most dominating pay of the season so far as they totally blew away a shell shocked Rotherham side. Lancaster took the third quarter by 7 goals to 1 and followed this up by winning the fourth quarter six goals to one to give a final score of 17:7. Goals in the second period were shared throughout the team but the main contributions came from Glen Robinson (4), Tom Curwen (3), Alex Parsonage (3) plus two goals from the unlikely source of the old war horse defender Chris Hartley.

The following day Lancaster played their most recent game against Cheltenham. Lancaster started poorly with several early opportunities being wasted. Cheltenham seemed to gain confidence from Lancaster misfiring attacks and established a 5:1 advantage by the end of the first quarter. The end of quarter team talk was an intense affair as the Lancaster players realised that they had probably taken Cheltenham too lightly and were now facing a dog fight to get back in the game

The second quarter was a more positive with goals from Parsonage and Curwen bringing Lancaster back level. Lancaster then pushed ahead with further goals from Curwen and a brace from veteran forward Colin Burgess. The exertions required to gain the advantage had taken their toll on the Lancaster players and Coach Bertolotti had to call on all members of the squad as the reigning champions were relieved to run out eventual winners by 11:9

Next weekend of action is at Loughborough on 21/22 November prior to the season finale at home at Salt Ayre on 5/6 December. Lancaster are now in a strong position as they now just requiring two more points to retain their title.

Lancaster City Water Polo – Retain National League Title.

 Lancaster City retained the National Water Polo League Title following two more emphatic victories at Loughborough last weekend.

The first game was against Manchester who, prior to the last weekend, were the only side who had a mathematical chance of catching Lancaster. Lancaster started the game in a positive mood and soon took an early lead when Tom Curwen rounded off a swift counter attack with a powerful finish from 7 metres. Lancaster finished the first quarter 2:1 ahead following a goal by Ciaran James and a reply from Sean Ryder.

The next two quarters proved to be the decisive period of play as Lancaster were totally dominant and despite the best efforts of GB goalkeeper Ed Scott, Manchester had no answer to the overall speed and precision of the Lancaster team play. Goals came at regular intervals with four goals a piece from Alex Parsonage and Ciaran James as Lancaster built up an unassailable lead.

The final quarter took on the mantle of a victory celebration as the Lancaster players continued to turn on the style and ran out eventual victors by 15:7. Goals in the final quarter were shared between James Wannop (2), Andy Squires and Glen Robinson. This was undoubtedly one of Lancaster’s best performances for a number of years as the National League Title was secured in style. The end of the game saw scenes of celebration among all the players plus Coach Bertolotti, Manager Jeff Parker plus the supporters who had travelled hoping to see Lancaster secure their 11th National League title.

On Sunday afternoon Lancaster faced old rivals Bristol Central. Bristol were the last team to deny Lancaster the title back in 2007 and this is always a keenly fought encounter. Coach Bertolotti took the opportunity to freshen up his squad with Zak Sly replacing experienced keeper Dave Bush and Rysz Detko replacing Tom Curwen.

The changes seemed to have little impact on the overall performance as Lancaster again started strongly and soon established a 3:0 advantage through goals from Colin Burgess (2) plus Glen Robinson.

The next period of the game was very much the Alex Parsonage show as the powerful left hander took centre stage and helped himself to 6 goals to extend the Lancaster lead to 8:3. Bristol did put up a little resistance but their ageing team had no real answer to the relentless speed and counter attacks from Lancaster. Further goals followed from Ciaran James, Mike Brown plus a rare brace from veteran defender Chris Hartley as Lancaster ran out comfortable victors by 16:8.

Following this, Lancaster will be presented with the National League Trophy following their next game against Rotherham at Salt Ayre in Lancaster on Saturday 5th December, start time 3.15pm.

This is a great opportunity to see your local National Champions and all spectators are welcome to what should be a wonderful celebration. Coach Alberto Bertolotti is even flying back in from Italy specifically for the Rotherham game and the trophy presentation.

Lancaster City Water Polo – Invicibles claim 11th Title by 11 Points

Lancaster City Water Polo rounded off another successful National League Campaign with two more hard fought victories at their home pool at Salt Ayre.

These victories mean that Lancaster have managed to go through 2009 unbeaten. During this time they have reclaimed the Brtish Championship Crown in February and have now retained their National League Title by a record margin of 11 points.

The weekend of action at Salt Ayre began with a rematch against Rotherham Metro, the side Lancaster managed to narrowly defeat in the British Championship final. Rotherham started the game strongly and were obviously intent on spoiling the champions party. By the end of the first quarter Rotherham had opened up a 4:1 advantage thanks to a brace from former GB forward Richard Leighton.

Fresh from an ear bashing from coach Alberto Bertolotti, Lancaster hit back with goals from Glen Robinson (2), Tom Curwen and Michael Brown and managed to draw level by the end of the second quarter.

Lancaster started to get on top at the start of the third quarter and goals from Alex Parsonage, veteran Colin Burgess and another from Tom Curwen game the home side a three goal advantage going into the final quarter. Lancaster then controlled the pace of the game for the final quarter and despite conceding two goals in the final minute ran out fairly comfortable winners by 14:13.

Lancaster received the National League Trophy after this games with the players insisting that Coach Bertolotti receive the trophy as a mark of the players appreciation for the contribution that Alberto has made to re-establishing Lancaster as the dominant force in water polo in the UK.

Final game of the campaign was against Cheltenham. Lancaster were hit with two late withdrawals due to injury and were forced to start the game with only nine players. This made no difference in the early stages as Lancaster completed wave after wave of counter attacks and soon established a 4:1 lead. Early goals came from a brace apiece for Alex Parsonage and Colin Burgess. Cheltenham regrouped and drew level with goals from Dave Taylor and Mark Banwell. However this was just the calm before the storm as Lancaster came out firing at the start of the second half determined to put on a show for the home fans. Cheltenham had no answer to the team play of Lancaster as the home side forged ahead with goals coming from all areas of the team. Main contributions came from Tom Curwen (3) ever improving Michael Brown (2), Andy Squires plus a magnificent personal tally of 8 for Alex Parsonage. This sealed Alex’s position as top goal scorer in the First Division in only his second full season with Lancaster. Lancaster eventually ran out victors by 19:11 in what was a fitting climax to another National League campaign.