Teams: Swindon Dolphin v Weston-super-Mare
Location: Milton Road – Swindon
Date: Sunday 16th March 2009
Swindon Dolphin Water Polo started their 2009 cup campaign and season with a single goal victory against their Bristol & West division 1 rivals Weston-super-Mare. This victory was even more impressive given that the opposition were awarded a ten goal head start under the handicap rules.
Swindon started the fixture extremely well and were soon eating in to the advantage Weston had been given. This was mainly due to the strength of the Swindon team who fielded a well balanced side with only one front line player missing. By the end of the first period the lead had been cut to five goals and then down to three by the mid way point of the match. Despite an indifferent period of play, Swindon pulled within one goal by the end of the third period with the team sneaking a victory in the final quarter.
Goals were spread throughout the team with seven out of eleven players scoring. Contributions came from Matt James (8), Diogo Monteiro and Angelo Polymeris (3), Andy Hicks (2) and single strikes from Chris Selby, Ian Brewer and Michal Trzeciak.
Major fouls were a bit on the high side, but good defending ensured only a handful of these opportunities were converted by the away side.
Coach David Quinlivan said after the match “We always knew chasing down ten goals would be hard work. However we knew it was an achievable target as long as we remained focussed. In truth it should not have been as close as it was in the end although we missed a hatful of chances during the match and we must ensure we take these in the league fixtures that kick-off later this week.”
Result: Swindon Dolphin 19 – 18 Weston Super-Mare
Team: Andy Watts, David Quinlivan, Chris Selby (1 goal), Andy Hicks (2 goals, 3 majors), Andy Prowse, Ian Brewer (1 goal, 1 major), Matt James (8 goals), Diogo Monteiro (3 goals, 2 majors), Mark Lawlor (1 major), Michal Trzeciak (1 goal, 1 major), Angelo Polymeris (3 goals, 2 majors).
