2015

Disappointing start to British Championships campaign (19/1/2015)

Poly kicked off their British Championship in Bristol this weekend (January 17th) in front of a 250 strong crowd. The team started the game full of promise, and, had they taken their man-ups chances, would (should) have been up at the half-time break - from 7 man-ups Poly scored 1 in the first two quarters. Instead they conceded a couple of cheap goals, which saw them 4-2 down.

The team's lack of game time and fitness told as the game went on, and by the final quarter Bristol were taking their chances with ease, finishing 17-3 winners.

Captain's take: had we taken our first half chances then the game would have been a completely different story. Wasting 11 man-ups is criminal and essentially handed the game to Bristol. We've got two weeks to quickly improve before our home game against Manchester on the 31st - I'm confident that, with the team training hard together, we'll be able to put on a much improved performance then and restore our confidence/pride. Hopefully we'll have the added luxury (!?) of a coach for our home game which I think will make the world of difference, and something that has played a major part in our poor results this season.

See you then, Luke

Poly in Hackney Gazette (23/1/2015)

BWPL 2015, Weekend 1, Sheffield, 26/27 September 2015 - Match Report

This weekend heralded the start of Poly's journey back to division 1 of the British National Waterpolo League. Of course, preparation has been underway for several months now, spearheaded by our new Italian coach Livio. Bringing some much needed energy and focus, he has been a breath of fresh air, giving coherence to an often disparate squad of individuals. Allied to this has been an emphasis on fitness, a weapon that has been missing from the Poly arsenal in times past. With fitness comes technique and in high end matches the consistent delivery of technique is essential. The tools are there, but what of results?

Game 1 Polytechnic - Croydon

Win 9-6

Croydon have been something of a bogey team in recent times for Poly. Scrappy games, with loss of structure do not suit Poly and too often we have allowed matches to fracture and unwind. This game was something of a curate's egg of an affair. A bright start, with Sergio Schiaffano proving alert and calm in front of goal took Poly to a 2-0 lead by the end of quarter 1. Outside of the 3rd quarter, the only one Poly would lose, the match sheet describes a composed and efficient march to victory. What it doesn't show is a worrying profligacy in front of goal from the team as a whole. Chance after chance, miss after miss. Enough 1-1 opportunities were missed as to obscure individuals from being singled out for reproach. Matteo was easily Poly's MVP with many outstanding saves throughout the game; without his performance the result may have been different. Poly's defence has been it's true, dependable strength for many years now and pleasingly this remains the case. Genuine opportunities for Croydon were limited and ultimately they were always kept at arms length.

Game 2 Polytechnic - Worthing

Win 5-4

Worthing are the newcomers to division 2, but signalled their intent with victory over Penguin on Saturday night. Poly were unacceptably short in depth, with a squad of only 8 outfield players available for the game. If a serious challenge is to be made, this will need to change. Poly led the game from start to finish; the Worthing attack was rendered worthless by

a comprehensive and composed defensive display. A front marked centre-forward with a tight arc press limited genuine opportunities with some disciplined work at centre-back. The story in attack was alarmingly different, echoing the same lack of killer instinct as in game 1. The Worthing goalkeeper stood head and shoulders above his team mates, but nonetheless, Poly were guilty of a static and unimaginative attack in the face of a deep drop by Worthing. Dynamism was required, but drives were rare and careless shots common. The few times Poly created space to play off the centre-forward led to kick-outs and a nice goal from John Bright followed neat interplay between Luke Jones and Jeremy Johnson. This area of the attack clearly needs practice and Livio will undoubtedly guide the team in this respect. Overall the balance of opportunities still leant heavily towards Poly, but again, capitalising on them is a must. Surprisingly, fitness probably saved Poly from both results narrowly turning against us.

The story is a mixed one so far then. Solid defensive work has been retained and fitness added. Attack remains the greatest area for improvement. It is encouraging that chances are being created, but this has to be translated into goals lest we risk failing to fulfil our undoubted potential.

Special mentions for this weekend go to Matteo for an outstanding performance in goal, Serigio as top scorer and Ben "The Broom" Rubra our second goalkeeper. Ben did not get any pool time with us this weekend, but remained a positive influence from the bench and kept good humour throughout. Everyone in this team carries equal importance. We said we wouldn't single out the missed one on ones, but we lied and we will. Luke, Sergio, Chris, Fernando, Fernando, Fernando. You know who you are.

- Jeremy Johnson

BWPL 2015, Weekend 2, Bristol, 10/11 October 2015

The second weekend of the national league calendar saw poly take on Sutton & Cheam, Solihull and Penguin. This provided a qualification opportunity for the top tier and a chance to transition from the awkward first weekend of the season into a division 1 ready team.

Game 1

Poly 11-10 Sutton & Cheam

This was something of an awkward match for Polytechnic. On paper the win should have been a straightforward one, with S&C making up the bottom end of the table and struggling for wins. Poly entered the water with a sense of lethargy and quickly found ourselves 0-2 down. The defender lacked finesse, giving away 5 majors in quarter 1. Solid man down coupled with smart keeping from Matteo Gaspari meant Poly were not punished as heavily as we might have been. Finding a degree of focus, Poly dragged the game to parity at 2-2 by the end of quarter one thanks to two goals from Chris Icely. Quarters 2 & 3 saw Poly demonstrating signs of improvement, with goals from Sergio Schiaffino, Jeremy Johnson, Luke Jones, Andre Ferdinand and Chris Icely taking Poly into a 10-7 lead by quarter 3's close. This was a game that Poly never truly controlled however; once three goals up there wasan opportunity to stretch this game beyond reach, but caution meant Poly tried to defend a lead prematurely. This is never a good strategy in polo and the price was almost a heavy one. The game began to loosen and 3 unanswered goals by S&C levelled the match at 10 apiece, with the spectre of a wasteful draw looming. This was a position Poly should never have found themselves in and bemoans a current sense of inhibition in the side, too often playing intellectually rather than instinctively. Some fine play gained Poly a last minute penalty and with only 23 seconds on the clock, Andre Ferdinand ripped in his second penalty of the match to let Poly off the hook.

Game 2

Polytechnic 8 - 9 Solihull

Poly and Solihull were both unbeaten at the start of this match and it is clear why. The standard of polo in this game from both sides was clearly raised, with considered and structured play. Unfortunately Poly lost Sergio Schiaffino early in quarter one, the reason for which remains mysterious, with neither referee able to clarify which gave the wrap and why. The game was a series of counterpunches, so much so that Poly suffered a second loss - Fernando Galan having his eye split by a Solihull fist forcing him out of the game. The offending Solihull player was wrapped, but bizarrely not for brutality, a decision which would clearly have changed the game. A brief 7-5 lead to Poly was the only daylight in the match and ultimately Poly lost the encounter, with a last minute goal taking a wicked deflection off a defensive block and wrong-footing the once again excellent Matteo Gaspari in goal. We will of course play Solihull again and on the evidence of this encounter, there is no reason Poly could not be on the opposite end of this result.

Game 3

Polytechnic 12 - 7 Penguin

The derby. A rousing team speech from Livio gave Poly a clear dictum for this match…”this is not a match, this is war”. Armed with such intent, Poly started the game vigorously, with a 3-1 lead by the end of quarter one. Defensive work remained tight and clean, led by the imperious Spanish brethren of Miguel and Carlos Ardid. Attack is where Poly played our best game of the season so far. Newcomer Federico Carucci slotting 3 goals in the first two quarters and lefty Ben Van Doren chucking in one of his own. Going through the gears and tightening the noose, Poly showed our strength and depth of squad, with solid contributions all round. Chris Icely had a particularly stellar game, with 5 goals from in and around the CF/2nd CF area. Ben "Two Brooms" Robra played his first game of the season, with a fine display in goal for quarters 3 & 4.

A narrow defeat to Solihull with some good waterpolo saw a successful weekend for Poly, with guaranteed qualification for phase 2 of the season. Of course, this is where the competition really begins and Poly will need to iron out the creases if we are to present a genuinely Division 1 ready team. The signs are good, but now more than ever, commitment and discipline is required to climb back into the position Poly expects to be. Special mentions go to Chris Icely for his fine performance in front of goal, Andre Ferdinand for his faultless penalty taking (3 from 3), the Ardid brothers for excellent defensive work and Ben Robra for his performance in goal. Finally, Fernando Galan showed what it means to be a team, by staying with the squad all weekend, despite being rendered lame on Saturday afternoon. Can you hear the drums Fernando?

- Jeremy Johnson

A New Home for the Poly (30/10/2015)

This week, after a number of false-starts, the Poly finally had their first session at the London Aquatic Centre (LAC) in Stratford. The team swam in the main competition pool for an hour, before moving to the diving pit for a game against Penguin. Going forward, this will be a regular, weekly training session, and it allows the team to train in one of the world's best aquatic training facilities. Importantly, it finally gives the team a pool in which they can train to the level that fits the ambitions of the club.

These ambitions include using the LAC to encourage and expand the club's youth team, and the potential to host tournaments and training camps.

The move to the LAC has taken a lot of work, and everyone would like to thank those involved for all their efforts in getting us to this point. 

BWPL 2015, Weekend 3, Lancaster, 7/8 November 2015

With playoff qualification already secure, the context of the third BWPL weekend was somewhat different from its predecessors. Poly would take on bottom side Manchester Hawks, who are yet to win a match this season and Welsh Wanderers, an enigmatic team with a wide performance range.  This was an opportunity to experiment with a focus on driving in attack, post play during man-up and a defensive drop off the number two, whilst working a high line between three and four.

Game 1:

Polytechnic 9 - 8 Manchester Hawks

The Hawks have been the whipping boys of division 2 this season and the match started without surprise. Early goals from Ben Vandoren and Jeremy Johnson took Poly into an early 2-0 lead; this should have been the cue for taking the game out of sight and filling the Poly side of the scoreboard with goals. As it turns out, Poly never got out of second gear. The attack was creating chances, the new drive looked effective and the centre forwards were getting position on 2m, but there was a lack of intensity that meant goals decayed into missed chances.  Poly crept into half-time at 4 apiece with 2 goals from Carlos Ardid, but little else to show for our efforts. The Hawks are a young team and played on the counter attack, but surprisingly five of their goals came from centre forward, an unusually high return against Poly whose strength has historically been defensive. Poor focus, miscommunication and a lack of certainty around which defensive system was being played meant a loose and error strewn defense. This reflected the overall lack of quality in the game as a whole and once again Poly found themselves trailing. The game was precarious, but a fourth quarter brace from Luke Jones, a good centre forwards goal from John Bright, and a cool finish from returning star Fernando Galan with only 2.7 seconds on the clock eventually clinched Poly the game.

Game 2:

Welsh Wanderers 13 - 10 Polytechnic

In a word this game was disappointing. It's true that with qualification secure and a match start time of 9 am, motivation would be less forthcoming, but these are the kind of games that separate a division 1 team from a division 2 team.  The Welsh are a decent outfit on their day, but ultimately their game is one dimensional, electing to play off their key man, Dan Laxton whenever possible. Poly know this and it represents a significant failure that we were unable to mark him out of the game, considering the high quality defensive players at our disposal and perhaps execution of a more targeted game plan would have made the difference. If proof were needed, Laxton scored 7 goals (the majority unspectacular) making up 54% of the Welsh goal haul. That's just science. Attack suffered in the same way as the defence, with incoherence and a failure to convert chances. Chris Icely stood out once again, with 4 goals for Poly, but the overall team performance looked jaded and purposeless. Poly trailed for almost the entire game and never truly looked like winning it, always a bit too slow and a bit too loose. Credit to the Welsh, they played hard and took the victory, but Poly are capable of so much more.

Nothing happens in isolation and the failures of the team are layered.  At base, it is clear that fitness will need to be taken up a level to compete in Div 1; allied to this, Poly need to start to look and play like a team, taking control of matches and dictating play, rather than being reactive. This requires greater organisation and tactical awareness. We know Poly are capable, with the players needed to play in Div 1 and play well. The final missing piece is desire, a desire to give our all and leave nothing out in the water. Come on Poly, we can do this!

- Jeremy Johnson

BWPL 2015, Championship 1, Weekend 1, Guilford

Weekend 1 of championship  1; this is the start of the business end of the season and the moment when it's time to step up to the plate.  There are no easy matches from here and games will be won or lost on tight margins and clinical execution. Poly has a strong tradition of technically gifted and tactically intelligent players. At times passion has been lacking and a fear of losing rather than a desire to win has been stifling.  Preparation had been hampered by several players being unwell in recent weeks and consistent team attendance at training has been less than hoped for.  Nonetheless, this team is committed to achieving promotion to division 1. This weekend was a chance to prove it.

Team Northumbria 10 - 10 Polytechnic

Preparation for this game has focused on shutting down Northumbria's principal strength at centre-forward, played by American left-hander Zack White.  White is slow and lacking fitness, but is a technically gifted player and responsible for the majority of Northumbria's goal haul in division 1. Poly have been working on a new three man drop, similar to an M-zone, but with an emphasis on closing the space around centre-forward as opposed to pressing off the arc for rapid breakaway. The system is unfamiliar and this showed in quarter 1, with White scoring 3 from centre-forward, the main issue being 3 playing too high, ending up in a position that was neither a drop, nor closing the space to the arc.  The Poly attack was also new, with Andre Ferdinand taking an unfamiliar role at centre-forward and newcomer Lorenzo Cacciola playing on 2. Andre was getting some good position and Lorenzo scored twice in quarter 1, Poly trailing 4-2 at the end of the quarter. As the game developed, the drop defense improved, reflected by the diminishing return at centre-forward; White scored twice in quarter 2, once in 3 and failed to score in quarter four. The Poly attack was struggling however; dynamic and creating chances, there was a lack of end-product and perhaps some better in game management would have seen Poly utilising the individual strengths of individual players more effectively, such as new centre-forward Andreas Anastasiou, who returned four kickouts from 5 attacks. At times he was suffocated by unnecessary crowding from a second centre-forward. Ultimately the game was getting away from Poly and with four and a half minutes to play of quarter 4, we faced a 10-5 deficit. Many teams would have capitulated at this stage, but it is to Poly's credit that we remained determined and active. Four unanswered goals in four minutes brought the Poly to within 1 goal of parity. 22 seconds left, Poly call time-out.  This was a moment to create self belief and for the team to step into a division 1 ready outfit. Poly worked the ball across the arc and moved Chris Icely into position at 5m on position 5. Taking the foul, Chris rose to shoot, but disguised a fine lob out the side of his hand, dropping the keeper and slotting an equaliser with 5 seconds left.  Moments like these can be defining, let's make this one count.

Polytechnic 12 - 8 Croydon

The Sunday game saw Poly take on familiar opponents Croydon. The two have played each other several times and Poly have often come unstuck against a mercurial Croydon side that can be problematic, but ultimately Poly are a better side, with greater dynamism and technical prowess.  Pleasingly Poly dominated from start to finish, putting the hammer down from quarter one by taking an unassailable 6-0 lead. Carlos Ardid channelled his new found spiritual purity with an outstanding game at centre back and three fine goals including a rather outrageous backhand. Chris Icely chucked in four and there were further contributions from Ben Van Doren, Luke Jones and Jeremy Johnson. Often times Poly have allowed our quality to descend to the level of weaker opponents, but pleasingly this was not the case today. A clear defensive plan was executed crisply and goals flowed in attack. Understandably Croydon pulled a few late goals when the game was 11-4 but this did little to blemish an accurate performance by Poly.

Overall the weekend was successful then, with Poly retaining a strong position whilst looking keenly ahead to the January fixtures.  It's crucial the team carries the momentum of this weekend through the Christmas break and delivers the performances necessary for promotion. All the tools are there, so let's do this!

Merry Christmas to all.

- Jeremy Johnson