PENGUIN SURVIVE IN TOP DIVISION

West London Penguin retained their National League Division One status when they defeated Solihull, runners-up in Division Two, 13-8 in the end-of season play-off at Loughborough University.

Solihull stunned Penguin by taking a 3-0 lead in the opening two minutes with two goals from Simon Pemberton and another by Jay Drinkwater. However, Penguin soon grafted their way back into the game, leading 4-3 at the end of the opening period thanks to goals by Miguel Ortiz (who is Penguin’s club president), Nick Beard, Rowan Leibbrandt and Mike Bond.

The Solihull challenge effectively evaporated in the second period as Penguin demonstrated their experience of Division One competition by racing into a 10-4 lead. Solihull drew the third quarter 1-1 and won the last 3-2 – but in the end there was no doubting Penguin’s right to remain in the top flight.

Penguin scorers: Leibbrandt (4), Bond (3), Ortiz, Baird, Oliver Djordjevic, Matthew Fox, Frederick Torres, John Whatley. Solihull: Jay Drinkwater 3, Pemberton 3, Chris Thornley, Phil Powell.

SCOTT’S GOAL SPREE ENSURES ANOTHER LANCASTER TITLE

Scott Carpenter emulated the achievement of his father George when he completed a memorable season for Lancaster in the National League by taking his goal tally to exactly 100.


NWPL past chairman Phil Jones presents the Division 1 trophy to Lancaster
Left to right: Jeff Parker, Ryan Pinnington, James Wannop, Colin Burgess, Dougie Campbell, Rysz Detko, Dave Bush, Tom Curwen, Chris Hartley, Duncan Holmes, Scott Carpenter, Sean Love, Andy Squires and Keith Hetherington.

George was a deadly marksman in his days with Durham City in Division Two, scoring 100 in the 1986 season and then setting the existing record that Scott may yet eclipse of 105 in the 1987 campaign.

Lancaster proved themselves the undoubted GB number one team during the 2006 season, comfortably defeating Manchester, runners-up Cheltenham and Bristol at Millfield School on 2/3 December to finish the season with a 100 per cent record. Only Polytechnic (1975 and 1993) and Bristol Central (1994) had previously completed a Division One campaign with an unblemished record.

Birkenhead suffered relegation, despite beating Penguin and Polytechnic during the Millfield weekend.

OTTER CHAMPIONS AS SOLIHULL MISS OUT

Otter clinched the Division Two title in a thrilling finish to the campaign at Bath University. Three wins meant they finished level on points with Solihull, the previous leaders, but took the honours by virtue of beating Solihull in their two matches this season.



Left to Right : Tim Kendall (Coach), Owen Job, Shaun Hotchkiss, Xavier Williams, Giacomo Gozzi, Andrew Piller, Alan Rotsey, Carl Ainley, Ben Tausig, Jacques Ventner, Ian Hammond, Sasha Maese, Graeme Gunthorp, with Eric Boldon (Captain) kneeling.

Solihull, who lost two of their three matches at Bath, earned the right to challenge the ninth-placed team in Division One to a promotion play-off next month. Caledonia, ninth in Division Two, will face a likely play-off against the runners-up in Division Three.

For Otter, the Division Two championship means they return to the top division after just one year. Coach Tim Kendall said: "We have a highly talented squad who I believe will make a much better showing in Division One than last year. In 2005, we lost ten of our top 13 players. But that won't happen next year - we expect to start 2007 with the same group of players."

SUTTON GO UP AS CALEDONIA STEP ASIDE

Sutton & Cheam can look forward to a return to Division Two in the 2007 season following Caledonian’s decision to withdraw from the scheduled play-off at Aldershot on Saturday, 9 December.

The London club finished runners-up in Division Three to City of Sheffield thanks to a crucial 17-16 win over nearest rivals Newton Abbot at Crawley. And their challenge was initially accepted by Caledonia, the ninth-placed side in Division Two.

However, the Scots have now decided not to contest the match and instead concentrate on developing their young side in the lower league next year.

Lancaster complete their programme at Millfield on 2/3 December, when they play Manchester and Bristol and also have a re-match with Cheltenham. Altogether, they have now won nine titles in the past 11 seasons, emulating an identical achievement by Polytechnic between 1969 and 1979.

Polytechnic still hold the record for the most National League championships – 17. The last was in 1994.

Ironically, Poly now find themselves in a battle to retain Division One status – something the club have enjoyed from the launch of the National League in 1962. They lie in ninth place, four points clear of Birkenhead, but crucially one point behind London rivals Penguin.

All three clubs are involved at Millfield on 2/3 December, when Penguin face Portobello and Birkenhead while Poly – currently with a game in hand over their London rivals – take on Birkenhead and Welsh Wanderers.

SHEFFIELD CLINCH DIVISION THREE TITLE

City of Sheffield are the new champions of Division Three after completing their final weekend of the season at Walsall with three more victories – against Basingstoke, Newton Abbot and Bedford.

Sheffield celebrate! Pictured are (back row, left to right): Tom Kelly, Stuart McQueen, Lewis Matthews, John Faben, Ben Caulfield, Martin Kelly (coach). Front: Jim Lafferty (captain), Tom Girling, James Alton, Ben Carter, Alex Spibey, John Dyer, Ollie Burkitt. Other absent members of the squad included Josh Smith, Mike Whiteley and Liam McCarthy.

Newton Abbot and Sutton & Cheam are now left to battle out the runners-up spot when the divisional programme is completed at Crawley on 25/26 November. The second-placed club earns the right to challenge the seventh club in Division Two for a place in Division Two in 2007.

For Sheffield, however, a successful season is now complete. Coach Martin Kelly said: “About three years ago, we decided it was time to concentrate on improving our National League status.

“2004 was the season that Portobello won the Division Three title, with ourselves as runners-up. Unfortunately, we produced our worst performance of the season in the promotion play-off match against Invicta and missed out.

“Last season, we never really put it together. But this time, everything has gone well – with our two wins on the same day against promotion rivals Sutton & Cheam and Newton Abbot as the really key results of the campaign.

“Promotion gives us the opportunity to take the club forward and reap the benefits of the development work we have done in the last 12 to 18 months. 

“Sheffield already has a strong women’s team, of course. Now, we will have a men’s team also really making a mark at the higher level and this will bring increasing all- round strength to the club.”

MARLINS MOTOR INTO DIVISION THREE

Impressive Invicta Marlins outplayed Basingstoke, who finished ninth in Division Three, to win their play-off match 19-6 at Aldershot and clinch promotion to Division Three. 

The victorious Invicta Marlins team. Back row (left to right): Spud Murphy (assistant coach), Nick Jackson, Mark Cheetham, Ben Alcorn, Andy Peterson, Clive Donaldson, Dave Waller (coach). Middle:  Richard Hooper, Alan Chambers, Greg Jackson, Matt Spurr, Alex Tollefson. Front:  Stuart Collins, Greg Candy-Wallace.

Marlins never looked back after scoring five times without reply in the first period. Richard Hooper led their scorers with six. Other goals went to Collins (5), Cheetham (3), Tollefson (2), Jackson, Donaldson and Chambers. Williams scored three for Basingstoke.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

These news pages are for ALL National League clubs. So if you have an item of interest (new players, tours abroad, injuries or anything else that won’t have lawyers on our backs), please get in touch as soon as possible by emailing envelope.gif (852 bytes) chris.ducker@nwpl.co.uk

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