ALZEY BETTER FOR THE EXPERIENCE

Harpenden embarked on a journey to their long standing friends in Germany at the weekend with a pre-season social calendar that outclassed much of their hockey! For 39 years the relationship with the twin town of Alzey has created some memorable moments and this year’s tour was certainly no exception.

Arriving on Friday evening, the tour party of 36 players was greeted with hospitality beyond all expectations. Food and drink were laid on at great expense and after meeting with faces old and new, everyone headed into town to sample the delights of the wine festival. The festival was in full flow and provided entertainment and wine that perhaps was not ideal for athletes in preparation for a trophy match but never the less, was great fun. Partying continued until the early hours of Saturday morning by which point it was apparent that hockey was going to play second fiddle to the festivities over the weekend.

The cup match on Saturday morning was therefore an unexpected struggle for the boys in blue. They seemed to have suffered more from the previous night’s revelry than their opponents and soon found themselves 2 goals down after just 15 minutes. Nigel Timms hit back shortly afterwards when Alistair Hutsun put him through on the keeper. Timms always seemed second best but somehow managed to squeeze the ball underneath the outstretched keeper with an exquisite reverse stick strike. But Harpenden were still not on the ball and conceded another 2 goals before half time. One sweet short corner routine that saw Paul Davison lift the ball over the Alzey keeper from captain Mike Emes pass, meant that Harpenden were still just in the battle, 4-2 down at half time.

With brains now engaged there was still hope for a memorable come-back in the second half. Indeed Mike Emes nailed a penalty to get the visitors within one goal after Dan Burgess stick was cruely taken out when through on goal. However, the home side again restored their two goal advantage after a controversial short corner. Harpenden fought hard to restore the deficit but after another penalty was missed by Paul Davison it was always going to be tough. Nigel Timms came closest to finishing off a beautiful move as he slid in at the far post but directed the ball just wide.

Alzy’s consistent and at times classy hockey in the end proved too good and they won back the Uli Leuff trophy that they relinquished last year in Harpenden. The rest of the day saw a return to the wine festival before dinner and speeches. Club captain Kevin Moxham gave a rendering speech in his finest German that was widely admired and the socialising continued well into the night.

Sunday saw the return of many of Harpenden’s old guard with a friendly at the stadium in Alzy. Dave Salvesen proved he hasn’t lost his touch with a sterling performance at right back and Malcom Jones and son proved a formidable combination. Harpenden again lost but scores were irrelevant in comparison to the enjoyment factor of all concerned. A great game rounded off a great weekend which will hopefully inspire more great tours in the future.

A big thank you goes out to all the Harpenden players that went out this year and made the event so enjoyable. Particular thanks go to Paul Wise and Kevin Moxham who were integral in making the event such a success and of course, our friends in Alzey, who quite frankly could not have been better hosts!