A mixed bag to say the least
It is fair to say that the 2015/16 season was one of contrasting emotions for LUMHC's 3 BUCS teams. Whilst the 2nd and 3rd XI battled for promotion, the 1st XI struggled near the bottom of the table on both a Wednesday and a Saturday, not helped by injuries, poor availability and tough opposition. Nevertheless, there were countless great memories for all 3 teams over the course of the season.
1st XI
Having not gained a BUCS point throughout the 2014/15 season, the 1st XI were looking to make amends during the 2015/16 season. A good intake of fresh(er) talent, including Rossall School mates Liam Ganose and Dylan Jordan, joined ranks alongside seasoned veterans Matthew Bridger, Harry Carpenter and Matt Davies, meaning that optimism was high heading into the new season. A 3-1 home loss at the hands of Manchester 1s offered signs of encouragment, with the freshers gelling well with the team after only a few training sessions together. Unfortunately, 4 heavy losses before Christmas meant that a second season in a row without a BUCS point was looking likely.
3 more losses after Christmas meant that confidence in the squad was low, even though performances were not as bad as the results would suggest. 2 years of heavy losses meant that as soon as a goal was conceded, heads dropped and more goals for the opposition were inevitable, even if the squad technically were as good as the opposition. One of the best performances of the season came against Durham at home, where the boys showed great resilience against a really strong Durham side, who eventually ran out 3-1 winners. The final game of the season also resulted in a loss, meaning that the 1st XI were relegated from Northern 1A without earning a point. Whilst a number of key players are leaving the squad this summer, with a good quality intake of freshers in September/October, the boys should be aiming to bounce back straight back into 1A.
League Table and Results
Roses report
1st XI
Having not gained a BUCS point throughout the 2014/15 season, the 1st XI were looking to make amends during the 2015/16 season. A good intake of fresh(er) talent, including Rossall School mates Liam Ganose and Dylan Jordan, joined ranks alongside seasoned veterans Matthew Bridger, Harry Carpenter and Matt Davies, meaning that optimism was high heading into the new season. A 3-1 home loss at the hands of Manchester 1s offered signs of encouragment, with the freshers gelling well with the team after only a few training sessions together. Unfortunately, 4 heavy losses before Christmas meant that a second season in a row without a BUCS point was looking likely.
3 more losses after Christmas meant that confidence in the squad was low, even though performances were not as bad as the results would suggest. 2 years of heavy losses meant that as soon as a goal was conceded, heads dropped and more goals for the opposition were inevitable, even if the squad technically were as good as the opposition. One of the best performances of the season came against Durham at home, where the boys showed great resilience against a really strong Durham side, who eventually ran out 3-1 winners. The final game of the season also resulted in a loss, meaning that the 1st XI were relegated from Northern 1A without earning a point. Whilst a number of key players are leaving the squad this summer, with a good quality intake of freshers in September/October, the boys should be aiming to bounce back straight back into 1A.
League Table and Results
Roses report
2nd XI
In James Bushby's 2nd year in charge of the 2nd XI, the boys were looking to push on from a disappointing 2014/15 season, which resulted in the team narrowly avoiding relegation from Northern Division 4A. The season started off strongly with a 3-1 away win at Man Met, and a strong showing from the 2nd XI Freshers on the bus journey back, even if silly freshling Ben Foreman (freshly christened as Disco Fingers) felt the effects when returning home. However, a 3-1 home defeat against Man 4s on the next matchday gave the boys a nasty surprise, seriously affecting their promotion ambitions, given that every match is vital in the short BUCS season. An away trip to Manchester 3s beckoned, with optimism low given the result against Manchester's 4th team and the fact that Captain Bushy was away on business in Spain. However, the lads pulled out probably their most impressive result of the season, keeping a dangerous Manchester side relatively quiet whilst Dexter and Bowyer scored two of the best goals of the season. Bowyer left three defenders trailing in his wake before slamming a reverse stick finish into the net, whilst Dexter capitalised on a poor save by the Manchester keeper to put a reverse stick finish into the proverbial 'postage stamp' to spark wild scenes amongst the Lancaster players and 'supporters'. Whilst not his best performance on the pitch, Haggis certainly performed well on his first Fun-J as a member of LUMHC, managing to finish two thirds of his concoction before the coach had left Manchester.
Bowyer was called up to the 1st XI after such a magical goal, with Mikel Arteta wannabe Ted Clifton dropping down to join the 2nd XI. This transfer paid dividends straight away, as in his first match Ted guided Lancaster to a 9-0 win over Bolton, whilst Haggis grabbed 4 goals, which contained a cumulative yardage of 8 yards. The last game before Christmas resulted in a hard fought 2-0 win against Liverpool, where Ed Dunn and goalkeeper Cal Simpson particularly stood out, leaving the 2nd XI in a strong position to carry on their promotion charge after Christmas.
A trip to Manchester 4s awaited the team after the long Christmas break, with the People's Captain Ben Hope taking over whilst Bushy was once again sunning himself in Spain. The side suffered because of this long break and a number of key absentees, eventually going down 3-2 to a side they should have beaten. All possible hope of promotion was extinguished when Manchester 3s left Lancaster as victors by 5 goals to 1 the week after, as the gap between the 2nd XI and Man 3s was too big to bridge, given that only one team is promoted from each division. The 2s next game was away at Bolton, who provided a much sterner test at their home ground, which can only be described as an 'acquired taste'. A peach of a strike from stand-in super-sub Bellend saw the boys go 1-0 up, before Disco scored to make the score 2-1. Bolton equalised for the second time in the match, meaning that Lancaster needed a goal to salvage some pride and leave victorious. A wonderful passing move saw Haggis find Disco on the baseline with an inch-perfect pass, before Disco squared the ball to self-proclaimed match winner Pete, who slotted the ball under the Bolton 'keeper to spark raucous scenes on the sideline and on the pitch. A 3-2 win gave the team much needed momentum, after two losses to start the Rueckrunde.
The 2nd XI had little to play for in the league during the last two games, but good performances were needed in the run-up to Roses. A 7-2 victory against Man Met certainly helped, with Chris Hall bagging two goals whilst Haggis astounded everybody by scoring from outside the proverbial 6 yard box. The team were looking to implement Coach Dan's gegenpressing philosophy before the Roses match, with defenders Edward Chunderhands and Shanksy particularly excelling in this respect. Self-proclaimed bargain hunter Shopping was also improving game by game, looking more confident as the weeks went by, guided by the experienced hand of Rory, playing his last season for the club, passing on all of his experience to future LUMHC torchbearers (as well as all of his genes to a certain member of LUWHC). The last game of the season resulted in an encouraging 4-2 victory against Liverpool, with Chris Hall controlling the midfield alongside Joey Barton. Zac Hesketh also had one of his strongest games of the season, whilst Kleetus was wizardly as always.
All in all, a disappointing season considering that the aim of the squad was promotion. It will be difficult to fill the shoes of goalkeeper Cal Simpson and creative lynchpin Dexter next season, but the boys should feel confident given that the spine of the squad will still be present next year.
Results and League Table
Roses report
In James Bushby's 2nd year in charge of the 2nd XI, the boys were looking to push on from a disappointing 2014/15 season, which resulted in the team narrowly avoiding relegation from Northern Division 4A. The season started off strongly with a 3-1 away win at Man Met, and a strong showing from the 2nd XI Freshers on the bus journey back, even if silly freshling Ben Foreman (freshly christened as Disco Fingers) felt the effects when returning home. However, a 3-1 home defeat against Man 4s on the next matchday gave the boys a nasty surprise, seriously affecting their promotion ambitions, given that every match is vital in the short BUCS season. An away trip to Manchester 3s beckoned, with optimism low given the result against Manchester's 4th team and the fact that Captain Bushy was away on business in Spain. However, the lads pulled out probably their most impressive result of the season, keeping a dangerous Manchester side relatively quiet whilst Dexter and Bowyer scored two of the best goals of the season. Bowyer left three defenders trailing in his wake before slamming a reverse stick finish into the net, whilst Dexter capitalised on a poor save by the Manchester keeper to put a reverse stick finish into the proverbial 'postage stamp' to spark wild scenes amongst the Lancaster players and 'supporters'. Whilst not his best performance on the pitch, Haggis certainly performed well on his first Fun-J as a member of LUMHC, managing to finish two thirds of his concoction before the coach had left Manchester.
Bowyer was called up to the 1st XI after such a magical goal, with Mikel Arteta wannabe Ted Clifton dropping down to join the 2nd XI. This transfer paid dividends straight away, as in his first match Ted guided Lancaster to a 9-0 win over Bolton, whilst Haggis grabbed 4 goals, which contained a cumulative yardage of 8 yards. The last game before Christmas resulted in a hard fought 2-0 win against Liverpool, where Ed Dunn and goalkeeper Cal Simpson particularly stood out, leaving the 2nd XI in a strong position to carry on their promotion charge after Christmas.
A trip to Manchester 4s awaited the team after the long Christmas break, with the People's Captain Ben Hope taking over whilst Bushy was once again sunning himself in Spain. The side suffered because of this long break and a number of key absentees, eventually going down 3-2 to a side they should have beaten. All possible hope of promotion was extinguished when Manchester 3s left Lancaster as victors by 5 goals to 1 the week after, as the gap between the 2nd XI and Man 3s was too big to bridge, given that only one team is promoted from each division. The 2s next game was away at Bolton, who provided a much sterner test at their home ground, which can only be described as an 'acquired taste'. A peach of a strike from stand-in super-sub Bellend saw the boys go 1-0 up, before Disco scored to make the score 2-1. Bolton equalised for the second time in the match, meaning that Lancaster needed a goal to salvage some pride and leave victorious. A wonderful passing move saw Haggis find Disco on the baseline with an inch-perfect pass, before Disco squared the ball to self-proclaimed match winner Pete, who slotted the ball under the Bolton 'keeper to spark raucous scenes on the sideline and on the pitch. A 3-2 win gave the team much needed momentum, after two losses to start the Rueckrunde.
The 2nd XI had little to play for in the league during the last two games, but good performances were needed in the run-up to Roses. A 7-2 victory against Man Met certainly helped, with Chris Hall bagging two goals whilst Haggis astounded everybody by scoring from outside the proverbial 6 yard box. The team were looking to implement Coach Dan's gegenpressing philosophy before the Roses match, with defenders Edward Chunderhands and Shanksy particularly excelling in this respect. Self-proclaimed bargain hunter Shopping was also improving game by game, looking more confident as the weeks went by, guided by the experienced hand of Rory, playing his last season for the club, passing on all of his experience to future LUMHC torchbearers (as well as all of his genes to a certain member of LUWHC). The last game of the season resulted in an encouraging 4-2 victory against Liverpool, with Chris Hall controlling the midfield alongside Joey Barton. Zac Hesketh also had one of his strongest games of the season, whilst Kleetus was wizardly as always.
All in all, a disappointing season considering that the aim of the squad was promotion. It will be difficult to fill the shoes of goalkeeper Cal Simpson and creative lynchpin Dexter next season, but the boys should feel confident given that the spine of the squad will still be present next year.
Results and League Table
Roses report
3rd XI
The 2015/16 season was a strange one for the 3rd XI, as they only had 3 other teams in their league, one of whom didn't bother to turn up most of the time. For example, their first game against Salford ended in a walkover as the other team didn't turn up. It then went to the other end of the spectrum as their next game was away in Wales, where they lost 15-1 to a very strong team from Bangor. A 1-0 loss against Chester in their last game before Christmas meant that they had collected 3 points, courtesy of a walkover.
Their first game after Christmas saw the 3rd XI pick up their first deserved 3 points of the season, a 3-1 win against Salford. Another walkover against Bangor meant that the 'Pride' needed to win by 15 goals on the last day of the season against Chester to secure promotion. A 2-2 draw on the pitch was followed by a 10 yard win in the boat race, meaning that Lancaster left Chester with the moral victory.
Although it may be hard to prove with actual results, everyone at the club feels that the 3rd XI came on leaps and bounds over the course of the season, helped by the addition of January transfer window signings Bambi, Conor, Rango and Coach Dan. The 3s will hopefully benefit from a more structured league next year, and will show everyone what they are capable of if they actually manage to play fixtures regularly. If they improve at the rate they did this year, they will certainly challenge for silverware next year.
Results and League Table
Roses report
The 2015/16 season was a strange one for the 3rd XI, as they only had 3 other teams in their league, one of whom didn't bother to turn up most of the time. For example, their first game against Salford ended in a walkover as the other team didn't turn up. It then went to the other end of the spectrum as their next game was away in Wales, where they lost 15-1 to a very strong team from Bangor. A 1-0 loss against Chester in their last game before Christmas meant that they had collected 3 points, courtesy of a walkover.
Their first game after Christmas saw the 3rd XI pick up their first deserved 3 points of the season, a 3-1 win against Salford. Another walkover against Bangor meant that the 'Pride' needed to win by 15 goals on the last day of the season against Chester to secure promotion. A 2-2 draw on the pitch was followed by a 10 yard win in the boat race, meaning that Lancaster left Chester with the moral victory.
Although it may be hard to prove with actual results, everyone at the club feels that the 3rd XI came on leaps and bounds over the course of the season, helped by the addition of January transfer window signings Bambi, Conor, Rango and Coach Dan. The 3s will hopefully benefit from a more structured league next year, and will show everyone what they are capable of if they actually manage to play fixtures regularly. If they improve at the rate they did this year, they will certainly challenge for silverware next year.
Results and League Table
Roses report
Roses 2016 Archive here