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For the 2nd consecutive matchday both Clapham teams beat both Ledgington teams in pool play: a win for the title holders which sees them take a lead in the league with only one matchday left. Divisions 2 and 3 were round robin groups of 5 teams: in Division 2 a well-drilled Limited Release (the new geo team from Southampton) beat Red Dog in sudden death and the other teams slightly more easily to take a Divsion 2 victory and ensure promotion to Division 1 for LWL4, in Division 3 UCL ran out worthy winners with only 8 points being scored against them in 4 games. Division1 (by LWL Chairman Wayne Wrecker): Sunday 6 Jan saw the first 6 team division one event. Two pools of three teams, followed by a final placing game. The ground was damp and slippery, but the weather was good for Ultimate. Following the results at Event 2 (for those that have already forgotten, in December Smash'n'Grab upset one of the Ledgington teams in pool play), the Ledgington teams' schedules meant that they were able to provide sideline support for each other throughout most of the day. Clapham 1 also managed to provide sideline support to Clapham 2, by playing and winning their games efficiently. Ledgington 2 were soundly defeated by Clapham 1, and then, though piquing interest by trading to 5's against Smash'n'Grab, stepped it up a gear or three, and won the game comfortably to claim second place in the pool. In the other pool, Hammerage/NSD succumbed to both Clapham 2 and Ledgington 1, and the game for top of pool went all the way to sudden death, with Clapham the victors. And so to the final placing games: Rather than play final games against their own clubs, the Clapham and Ledgington teams crossed over. Again, Clapham 1 were dominant over their Ledgington opposition, and Clapham 2, having traded and trailed for most of the game, showed gritty determination at game point to draw level and take the victory in sudden death. Final placing: It transpires that the potential benefits of playing fewer, higher quality, pool games may have been outweighed by the drawback of getting a little chilly during the game off. We'll bear in mind the suggestion of shorter, round robin games if/when we run a 6 team division 1 again. Division 2 (by LWL Div 2 & 3 co-ordinator Nicole
Roberts):
ABH2 were the division's whipping boys, taking no more than 4 points off any team. Unfortunately having battled to stay in division 2, they were missing many skilled(ish) players for lwl3 so were unable to rise to the challenge... Ltd Release took advantage of Strange Blue's sleepiness as they convincingly beat them 13-5 for SB's first game of the day. The two games of the day were Ltd Release against Red Dog, where Ltd Release were never up in the whole game, but managed to cling on and win in sudden death. On the pitch next door, Discuits were battling against Strange Blue, with Strange Blue being 10-9 up, game to 12. From the horses mouth, "Great solid play by the Discuits forcing turnovers and getting D to win 3 points straight" gave Discuits the win. Red Dog then beat Discuits, and with Strange Blue beating Red Dog (with me still????) a 3 way tie was created. Red Dog lost heavily to Strange Blue, causing SB to come off best and Red Dog lounging above only ABH2. Ltd Release were the rightful winners of division 2, with Ryan's excellent handling skills and many of his teammates having the pace and jump to take full advantage of all tools at his disposal. Their flow and discipline was a lesson to us on the benefit of regular training and coaching from the more experienced Southampton players. Final standings Division 3: UCL proved their worth, with Pyramus and Frisbee being the only team that really made them work for their points, and hence they earned the right to promotion. Thundering Herd almost grabbed their first win, losing in sudden death to Pyramus and Frisbee (the final point, I am lead to believe, lasted a gigantuous 15 minutes!!!!). Look out next time div.3 as they seem to be improving, with some sweet flow from all and sweeter hammers from Tom Russell. ABH1 showed Pyramus that they could beat them afterall, winning 7-4. Holloway Hammers, once they showed up, managed to show what youth does for energy, losing only to UCL by default and beating everyone else who crossed their path despite only having 7 players!! Well done! Final standings It's excellent to see the standard of play constantly improving accross the divisions, I believe splitting division 2 and division 3 worked well to provide more competitive games, tho' maybe a smaller gap between games next time to prevent chillyness would be an idea... Again - thanks to everyone who helped set up and clear up, and see you all in Feb. Nicole
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