Tuesday 15 April 2008
The weekend of 5th & 6th April 2008 saw the UK Ultimate Open Tour kick off in style in Bristol. The event saw over 40 teams from Open division A, B and for the first time C attend as well as 16 womens teams. The majority of Chevron arrived from their most recent training session feeling fresh faced however rumours of Dave Barnard hurting his ankle at a recent practice sadly proved true and he was out as was veteran handler Rob Mitchell who was attending his 42nd wedding of 2008 causing him to miss the Saturday.
Game 1: Leeds Leeds Leeds
So first game of tour 2008 was against Chevron's old rivals from the north. It is fair to say that Leeds have lost a number of key players over the winter: something that Chevron have benefited from directly. We went into the game confident and eager to put our winter training into practice. We started the game slowly initially trading the first few points. The D line got turns but struggled to score first time. This however soon changed when we started to swing the disc more. With the O line consistently scoring the D line stepped up and started to convert. A quick game in the end with Chevron winning - the season had started with a bang! Score 15-5
Game 2: GB Masters
The second game of the day could be seen as our quarter final (if we won). However this game had a lot more riding on it... GB Maters were full of ex-chevron, therefore bragging rights was the true goal!
The game started slowly and both teams began to trade points. Offensively both teams looked good with the D lines struggling to make an impact. GB shot selection highlighted a slight lack of respect from the young Chevron team, seeing us being beaten long on a number of occasions. I think we came in at half trading down but starting on offence. The second half started similar to the first. Our D needed something to change, be that tactically (such as a change of force) or personally by simply doing better at beating the man. At 10-10 the change happened - we saw our D players step up and take 2 points quickly to establish a small but solid lead. We now needed our O line to continue to convert to guarantee the win. They dually obliged and Chevron made the semi's with a less than convincing but hard fought win.
Score 15-13
Game 3: Fusion East
Final game of the first day ended up being a placement game for the semi's. As such we had to ensure we turned up and played our game rather than let it pass us by. Any worries were quickly ignored as we came out and got two blocks and the score in the first point. As with all previous games our offence flowed and consistently scored. When they did falter the majority of times they got the disc back and converted. This stability allowed the D line to relax and focus on getting the turn as the pressure of needing multiple blocks to stay in touching distance was removed. This showed as we got blocks on most points - not all were converted by we went in at half with a healthy lead. The second half again provided much of the same. We played great ultimate and at when required we ground out the ugly points. The most impressive take-away from this game was the desire to win a game which only decided our position in the semi finals. By winning we lined up a semi against Clapgun. The team we never managed to show our true colours too in the entire 2007 season. Score 15-9
Semi Final: Clapham
So the first semi final of the 2008 season. Crapham had a mixed first day with a heavy defeat to Fire in pool play. We went into the game feeling confident and fresh. The squad was reduced by the loss of Stu Mitchell to injury in the last game of Saturday but we still had the legs to play hard defence and this was demonstrated in this semi final. At the start the teams traded with neither D line getting much of a sniff. Chevron D struggled to convert a couple of opportunities but that changed just prior to half. A couple of quick blocks and scores let us enter half-time up. A rousing speech by the injured Mitchell geared the team for a solid 2nd half display. Again the O line were secure and when mistakes did happen they usually got the disc back - including a Callaghan by Wigsy (NB, Josh got one the previous day!). Again turnovers came thanks to great pressure defence and more mature offence from the D line allowed us to build a healthy lead. In the end it finished 15-10. A score last season we would of been on the receiving end of however a slightly older, fitter, hungrier Chevron came out on top breaking the curse of Clapgun.
Score 15-10
Final: Fire of London
So the final was a repeat of Tour 2, Mansfield 2007. Would the result be the same? Chevron coming off a good warm up looked and felt fresh. Starting on D we got the initial block and score. However things weren't going to be as simple in this game. The O line scored consistently with Dyno coming down with his fair share of the glory and the D line turned Fires offence on a number of occasions however Fire proved to be worthy opponents. They equally managed regular O & D scores which meant no team was able to establish a comfortable lead. At half we entered up by 1/2 and we were out on offence but a refreshed Fire clawed that lead back and started to trade up. This was the case until 15-15. The game was going all the way to 17. After a timeout Chevron came out on D all guns blazing. A huge D line forced the turn and dually converted. Meaning we had the opportunity to finish the game on D. Sadly (for us) Fire pulled out an 'unusual' throw by Whitehouse to take the game into sudden death - Chevron receiving. Our usual O line stepped up and comfortably worked the disc up field but then seemed to get trapped level with Fire's brick mark. A high stall and solid pressure from Fire created a turnover. However as with many times this weekend the defence put on by the line was immense. Fire got pinned in their own third and a wayward swing was seized upon. Chevron regained possession with the disc now centre field 10 yards from the endzone. Calmness ensued and eventually an opening occurred for a simple 2 yard pass. Chevron had won 17-16. An epic win which should go down as one of the great tour finals.
Score 17-16
So the first tour of 2008 and Chevron registered their first win!! As a squad we'd expected to make the final and challenge. What's even more exciting is that we still hadn't played a full game at 100% There was a lot more to come from the team which bodes well for the rest of the season. At this point I'd like to apologise for not mentioning specific people and plays, as usual there were too many to remember let alone mention individually. I do though have to mention out 2 MVP's:
Caesar - voted team MVP
Dav - voted MVP of the final.
Matt MacMacLog