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Hope Remains
| January 15th, 2004 |
The first half of the season was a rough one. With only two wins under their belt, Speedwell, the only team competing out of the Southwest in the EVA First Division, finished 2003 at the bottom of the table. With a new website and a recent affiliation with the University of Bristol providing optimism for the season ahead, one would have predicted a better start for the team. So what has gone wrong?
Well, Speedwell has had to deal with a number of unfortunate events in the early part of their season. Club coach and former player, Ivor Paul, explains:
"There were two major losses that stung us before the New Year. The first was the loss of one of our best players, Steven Williams, to a new job in Germany... the second -- and far more damaging -- was the loss of our normal training venue at Soundwell College. The bottom line is that we haven't had a proper training session all season and we are suffering. Speedwell has been training at the college for the last 30 years and this year, after a change in personnel at Bristol City Council, it has been yanked out from under us."
Williams left the team in November and his high flying athleticism and strong net play has been sorely missed by the team. It seems, however, that the loss of the training venue has had more of a negative impact. When asked why the council could have done such a thing to the only top team in the Southwest, Paul responded:
"Bureaucracy. It appears that the new administration just left us wanting because they couldn't be bothered to sort out responsibility. We believe it also had something to do with wanting to close the college half an hour earlier."
It has certainly left a bitter taste in the mouths of some of the players. Player, Pat Kehoe, expresses his anger and frustration:
"The hall sits free and unused but we are not permitted to train there. It is far too late in the season to find another one. How are we, the only first division team from the Southwest, expected to compete without a training venue? How do we promote the sport in the region if we cannot regularly train? It's a disgrace that a council who alleges they want to support sport in the area have stitched us up like this because of their own bureaucracy!"
A lack of training has meant that the team is currently plagued with injuries and are finding it difficult to produce some must needed wins. If Speedwell does not turn things around this season they risk being relegated to the Second Division.
Despite these obstacles, all is not lost. Before the Christmas break Speedwell managed to pull off a surprise win against Aquila Lynx, 3-1, and ended the year on a high note. This past weekend also saw some positive play against the top side in the Division, London Docklands, even though the club lost 0-3. To drag themselves up from the bottom of the table Speedwell needs to make the remaining matches of the season count. This means beating relegation contenders like Salford (March 27th) as well as Newcastle (January 24th). Apart from these two matches, Speedwell has only three other chances to pull off a win: Warwick (February 14th), Malory (February 21st), and Polonia (February 28th).
Let's hope the boys are up for it. |
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