Berlin Open 2000

Purley 11 - Vfk Berlin 3

We took some time to get going but ran out easy winners. Matt Payne had a great game, he dominated the midfield and top scored with five.

Scorers: Matt Payne 5, Tim Richmond 3 and Darren Novell 3.

Purley 14 - German All Stars 2

This was a far better game. The German All Stars turned out to be the majority of the German squad that will play in this years European Championships, but we moved the ball well and the tricks were beginning to come out the bag. Mike Barrett followed Matt's example from the first game and had a big game. Dave Arnot also opened his account for the tour and quickly followed it with a few more goals.

Scorers: Dave Arnot 4, Tim Richmond 4, Matt Payne 2, Mike Barrett 2 and The Mystery Man 2.

Purley 5 - Radotin 3

This was a scrappy game with the Czech's hitting hard. As a team we made too many errors but the defence held firm as we battled our way to another win. A major down side of this game was the fact that Dave Arnot damaged his knee ligaments and so would not play again on this tour.

Scorers: Mike Barrett 2, Dave Arnot 2 and Tim Richmond 1.

Purley 10 - LC Munchen 2

Following Daves injury Graeme Holland stepped into attack and opened the scoring with his first touch of the game! Once again our midfield dominated the opposition and scored a few as well.

Scorers: Graeme Holland 3, Tim Richmond 2, Matt Payne 2, Chris Spence 1, Mike Barrett 1 and Darren Novell 1.

Semi Finals : Purley 6 - Budweiser Rebels 11

This was a great game to play in. Team Budweiser were a very talented bunch of individuals and it was a very good spirited game. Paul Terry had a great game in goal and pulled off a few saves he had no right to make. Unfortunately this wasn't enough to stop the yanks, so sadly our defence of the Berlin Open ended here and we were denied the opportunity to play Cheadle. Oh yeah, and I must also mention Tim Richmond's 'Air Gait'. Good job Thunder!

Scorers: Tim Richmond 3, Mike Barrett 2 and Darren Novell 1.

Semi Final 2 : Cheadle 19 - Sundbyberg 1

Third Place Play-off : Purley 10 - Sundbyberg 1

This was our last game of the tour and it was time to have a bit of fun! Andy Booth got on the score sheet with his usual finish tucking one nicely in to the bottom left corner! Chris Spence also got a rather nice one and was also able to show off his great fake. Tim came up with another 3 to end the tournament as our top scorer on 16 goals. So the Berlin Open was over for another year, here's hoping we make it to Mardi Gras in New Orleans next year.

Scorers: Tim Richmond 3, Graeme Holland 2, Darren Novell 2, Chris Spence 1, Mike Barrett 1 and Andy Booth 1.

Final : Cheadle 13 - Team Budweiser 8

For the first quarter this looked like it could be a very close game. Cheadle opened the scoring with 2 goals, which Bud quickly equalled to their great delight. However after that Cheadle put on the pressure and started to build a commanding lead. Bud rallied in the third quarter, and managed to pull back to within a couple of goals, but Cheadle seemed to have an extra gear whenever the game got too close. The fourth quarter saw Cheadle controlling the game, as after a long weekend and with only 12 players in their squad Bud started to tire.

So, well done to Cheadle. We'll see you in the Iroquois Cup and Wilkinson Sword.