Division 4 news
EALING MISS OUT IN PLAY-OFF
Ealing's bid for promotion to Division Three ended in disappointment when they lost 19-14 to Warley - the seventh-placed club in Division Three - in the play-off at Walsall (13 December).
Ealing led 10-8 at one point in the second period and went 13-12 up when Vincenti Torres scored at the start of the final quarter. The game was then transformed as the Midlands side hammered seven goals without reply - including a hat-trick by Nick Covington (pictured).
Covington finished with seven goals and Adam Whitehall added six more for Warley. Linas Liudzius was the leading Ealing marksman with seven. Johan van der Flier added three.
TWELVE AND OUT FOR EXETER'S MARGETTS!
Exeter's Steve Margetts achieved the unusual distinction of scoring 12 goals in his club's crucial Division Four promotion battle against Ealing at Walsall - yet still finding time to get himself 'wrapped" for dissent with five minutes to play!
Margetts' goals at least ensured a comfortable win for the Devon side - by 23-14. Further victories in the top four mini league - against Grantham (22-12) and Worthing (19-15) - meant that Exeter won the title by an impressive margin of five points.
The runners-up spot was in doubt until the final games of the weekend.
Ealing eventually won through, thanks to wins over Worthing (17-13) and Grantham (15-11). But their players still had to sit anxiously through the final Exeter-Worthing game, knowing that a Worthing victory would have put the Sussex club in second place by virtue of a superior goal difference.
Exeter's task had eased slightly at the start of the weekend when Worthing and Grantham drew 13-13. The young Grantham side were 5-1 down early on but hit back to level at 8-8 by the start of the third period. Worthing led 12-10 early in the last, but found themselves 13-12 down when Dan Taylor scored with a minute and half left. A goal by Stark then rescued a point for Worthing - with six seconds remaining.
Ealing and Worthing were locked at 9-9 after two periods, but Ealing's eventual victory was secured through their 5-1 third quarter domination. Vincente Torres (6) and Linas Liudzius (5) led the Ealing scorers, while Richard Hooper was on target with five for Worthing.
Exeter's comfortable victory over Grantham featured six goals by Andy Barry and four apiece for Ben Mardon and Darren Heagarty.
Grantham goalkeeper Sam Pembridge pulled off a series of fine saves against Ealing, who won 15-11 after trailing 7-6 at the start of the third.
In other matches, a Neil Bowers goal 11 seconds from the end earned Newcastle a 12-12 draw with Carlisle. Bedford finished on a high with a 13-11 defeat of Otter 1869 - including seven goals by Justin Irvine - and an 18-7 victory over the RAF.
Manchester Hawks' 20-8 defeat of Carlisle featured 11 goals by Walsh.
Our picture shows the Exeter squad with their trophy. Back row, left to right: Chris Waller (coach), Andy Margetts, Andy Barry, Stuart Noyce, Steve Margetts, James Baker, Andy Saulter, Jordan Fox. Front: Ed Jones, Darren Heagarty, skipper Simon Quantick, Ben Mardon, Will Purchall.
ALL SET FOR A GRAND FINALE! (22 November)
Exeter, Worthing, Grantham and Ealing will battle it out for the National League Division Four title when the finale to the season sees clubs split into three mini leagues at Walsall on 5/6 December.
The leading four will play round-robin matches, with all previous results from the current campaign carried forward.
Thanks to a hat-trick of high-scoring wins during the latest weekend of competition at Walsall (21/22 November) - against Manchester Hawks (16-15), Newcastle (18-11) and Cambridge (22-16) - Exeter, two points clear of Worthing and Grantham, start as favourites.
But results in this division have been unpredictable all season and any one of the four could emerge victorious.
The second group - teams placed fifth to eighth - involves Carlisle, Cambridge, Newcastle and Manchester Hawks. The third mini league features Otter 1869, Bedford and the RAF.
The latest Walsall tournament included a number of very close matches. Exeter, for example, could easily have slipped up against Manchester Hawks, who recovered from 11-8 down to lead 14-12 with four minutes left - only to lose out in the last minute to goals by Andy Margetts and Darren Heagarty. Andrew McGinty and George Mack both scored four for Manchester; Ben Mardon and Steve Margetts were the chief Exeter marksmen with six apiece.
Grantham, too, came close to defeat against the Hawks. They were 6-3 in arrears at the halfway stage before recovering to 7-7 after three periods and edging to a 10-9 victory with goals by Matt Lawtey, Neil Williams and Alex Gabrielle.
Worthing beat Ealing 17-14 in a vital top-of-the-table clash. Four of the Worthing goals were scored without reply after Ealing had a player excluded for brutality while trailing 12-11 a minute from the end of the third period. Richard Hooper scored five for Worthing and Johan van der Flier five for the losers.
Ealing overcame Otter 1869 12-10 - but only after seeing their 10-6 lead wiped out when goals by Damian Nogaledo (2), Richard Lewindon and Chris Eden brought their London rivals back to 10-10 in the space of three minutes. Late goals by Serpel Ustinel and Domenic D'Avella eventually took Ealing to a 12-10 victory.
A couple of spectacular one-of-one saves by goalkeeper Marc Robinson helped inspire Carlisle's 10-8 win against Cambridge.
The schedule of matches on 5/6 December is now detailed on the results and fixtures pages.
EALING DROP VITAL POINT TO BOTTOM CLUB RAF
Ealing's 17-16 defeat by promotion rivals Exeter provided a dramatic finale to the latest Division Four weekend at Marlborough College (24/25 October). Even more damaging to the London club's title ambitions may yet prove to be the surprise point dropped in an earlier 13-13 draw with the RAF.
The RAF came into that match with a dismal record of six straight defeats and a mountain of goals conceded. Not that this was apparent from the way they took on the divisional leaders. Although 4-1 down at the end of the first period and 9-5 early in the third, they battled with great spirit and eventually, with four minutes left, took the lead for the first time at 12-11.
Rumen Kurtev and LInas Liudzius then succeeded in beating excellent RAF goalkeeper Tony Coleby to put Ealing back in front at 13-12. But an equaliser from Jones with just over a minute left brought the RAF level again - prompting considerable celebrations at the final whistle. Kurtev scored five for Ealing. Leading marksmen for the Service side were Matt Chapman (4),Andrew Huckle (2), Almond (2) and Poldon (2).
Ealing will still enter round four at Nottingham University on 7-8 November as leaders by a single point. But there is now fierce competition for top four places when the Division Four programme reaches its finale at Walsall on 5/6 December.
Exeter picked up two more wins - against Bedford and Ealing - to put them a point behind Ealing - crucially, with a game in hand. Worthing also improved their position with a 15-10 defeat of Grantham.
Ealing's fortunes against Exeter turned on an incident towards the end of the second period when a brutality exclusion put them down to six men for four minutes. Exeter trailed 8-5 when this happened but added three against depleted opposition and then forged ahead to lead 12-8 before Ealing scored again. The advantage in a match lasting all of 86 minutes stretched to 17-13 before Ealing rallied in the last 90 seconds to register three quick goals. Andy Margetts scored six for Exeter and Jackub Iwanowski four for Ealing.
Worthing's slick counter-attacking play gave them the edge against Grantham, Richard Hooper and Paul Phillpott scoring four apiece.
In a match between two of the league's youngest teams, Manchester Hawks defeated Carlisle 11-4, including three from Will Salt and two from Connor Dean. The Hawks also beat Otter 1869 9-7.
Otter made amends when Pierre Cerri and Nogaledo both scored four in a 10-8 victory over Newcastle. Nick Ludford, of Cambridge (Blue 2, in picture above), netted six in his team's 12-6 success against Bedford.
The RAF's hopes of a first victory were dashed when Bedford's Rob Lucas scored his fourth goal to give his side the points at 10-9. Once again, six-goal Chapman was the main threat for the RAF.
TOP FOUR PLACES UP FOR GRABS
Competition for top four places in the National League's revamped Division Four was stepped up at Walsall (10/11 October), where Ealing emerged as the only one of 11 teams to retain a 100 per cent record.
The second phase of the season will see the clubs split into three mini leagues on the final weekend, again at Walsall, on 5/6 December - comprising the leading four, teams placed fifth to eighth and those finishing in the 9-11 positions.
At present, Ealing, newcomers Worthing and Exeter will be strongly fancied to make it through to the championship group. But Cambridge, Grantham - who edged out Exeter 17-15 in a real thriller - and Carlisle are very much in the mix. Newcastle, benefiting considerably from the presence of ex-Lancaster and GB star Neil Bowers, are also quite capable of taking points from the leading sides and making a challenge.
Ealing robbed Cambridge of their 100 per cent record with a tense 12-11 victory. Cambridge led 5-2 in the second quarter and would have been even better placed but for a fine penalty save by goalkeeper Ian Bonney. At the other end, ex-GB goalie Andy Knight (photo) was in equally sparkling form. But even Knight couldn't stop a couple of stinging shots from the arc by Ealing's John van der Flier and, once the Londoners edged ahead at 7-6 - and later 12-9 - the points were in the bag.
Exeter missed chances against Grantham and also found young goalkeeper Sam Pembridge in fine form. The game was even all the way until three goals in 90 seconds, by Ben Caulfield (2) and his brother Nick, took Grantham from 12-12 to 15-12.
Worthing won their three matches, trailing 3-2 early on aganst Cambridge but recovering to a 14-10 victory with three goals apiece for Richard Hooper, Joel Abbott and Paul Philpott.
Otter 1869, hammered 20-4 by Worthing, looked a different side against Exeter, drawing 9-9 during the third quarter but finally losing out 18-15. Steve Margetts led the Exeter scoring with six; three were hat-tricks for Otter's Chris Eden and James Orrock.
Neil Bowers boosted Newcastle with eight goals in their 16-12 success against Manchester Hawks. He claimed five more against Ealing, who eventually edged a 16-12 win, including six goals from Linas Luidzius and four from Vincente Torres.
Carlisle beat Bedford 13-12, with Myldes Little scoring five and Brett Sharpe three.
There was also a 13-12 victory for Cambridge over Manchester Hawks - courtesy of a goal just 40 seconds from the end by Adam Oakman.
The RAF continue to struggle, despite the gallant efforts of Mark Chapman, who notched another six goals in his team's 16-10 defeat by the Hawks.
See the results page for latest league positions and scores from Walsall.
SEVEN-GOAL KURTEV GIVES EALING EARLY BOOST
Of the 11 clubs in the National League's restructured Division Four, only City of Cambridge, Ealing and newcomers Exeter managed to win their games during the first weekend of competition (12/13 September) at Ponds Forge, Sheffield.
Free-scoring Cambridge defeated Newcastle 15-8, RAF 31-6 and Otter 1869 11-5.
Ealing had to battle hard for an opening 9-8 win against youthful Manchester Hawks. But they were just too good for Bedford - Rumen Kurtev scored seven in an 18-13 victory - and then won 11-8 against Grantham, who themselves had started promisingly with success against Bedford (14-9) and Otter 1869 (15-5).
Exeter, back in the National League after an absence of several years, opened with a 17-14 win over newcomers Worthing. Ben Mardon, Steve Margetts and Andy Margetts each scored four while two players with extensive league experience with Invicta - Paul Phillpott and Richard Hooper - notched five and four respectively for what is their home town club.
Carlisle, another young team, celebrated their National League debut by defeating Newcastle 10-9, including five goals by Declan Ellwood and a long-range special from goalkeeper Marc Robinson. Later, Carlisle lost 16-8 to Exeter but bounced back with an impressive 14-11 success over Worthing.
Worthing recovered from 7-6 down at half-time to beat Manchester Hawks 13-11.
