It was Purley's first trip to East Grinstead, but due to EG having both of their teams at home the match was switched to an astroturf pitch just down the road. Since rumour has it the EG ground can be quite muddy, it can't be said Purley were unhappy with this arrangement. When the teams had met in a pre-season friendly Purley had only just squeaked a single goal victory, so this match-up would be a good barometer of how much they had improved since their poor start to the season.

Purley started steadily, and though their attack was slightly off the boil they had plenty of possession to work with, as their well organised defence was regularly turning the ball over. Purley also showed they had learnt from their previous encounter, as they assigned Dean Searle to stifle Grinstead's main attacking threat – a job which he excelled at all afternoon.

Being only 2-0 down at the quarter East Grinstead could well be forgiven for thinking they were still in with a shout, but it was the second quarter when Purley really started to dominate, and five goals saw them to a comfortable 7-0 half time lead. Tim Richmond also marked his return after 2 years out through injury and semi-retirement with 2 goals at the end of the quarter. The Thunder from Down Under had attempted to break his duck in style, first attempting a round the back shot, and then a flick on as he received the ball with his back to goal (though it did come off when he tried it again in the third quarter), but had to settle for finishing off a well worked team move in the end.

Purley continued to amass the goals in the third quarter, and even keeper Paul Terry managed to get himself an assist as Purley's set clear opened up the middle of the field for him to run up, and when it looked like he was going to run in to take a shot the defence swarmed to intercept him, which left the pass open to Graeme Holland close to goal, and he slotted home.

The final quarter was much of the same, though there was still one thing on the Purley defences' mind. No-one had even mentioned the S-word (Purley know how not to jinx the shut-out), but as the game approached the final whistle they made their defence sweat when after going man-down for 30 seconds they immediately went off-side to go two men down, but the defence managed to hold to bring the final score to 16-0.

To be fair East Grinstead probably didn't deserve the shut-out, having hustled and battled all game long, but as they found out the Premiership can be a tough place for newly promoted sides.

Goals: Dennis McKenna 5, Tim Richmond 3, Graeme Holland 3, John Maydick 2, Jamie Tasko 1, Mike Barrett 1, Jesse O'Hanley 1
Ref: Simon Peach

See also pictures.

17 November 2007 - Hillcroft at home, Prem

A gloomy day at Addiscombe saw Purley reverting to their purple uniforms to avoid a colour clash with the yellow of Hillcroft. With only 11 players and no ref it looked like Purley would have to stand a man down to referee, but fortunately for them Hillcroft coach Ray Nash agreed to don the stripes. A big thank you to him, especially as at the time Hillcroft only had 10 men, so by refereeing he was giving Purley a distinct advantage (though Hillcroft's 11th man did turn up during the 1st quarter).

Purley started well, controlling the ball from the first whistle, but initially their attack was not firing on all cylinders against Hillcroft's zone defence. They were however backing up the shots, which allowed them to maintain the pressure for most of the quarter, which resulted in a 4-0 lead.

It was the second quarter when Purley really started to pick apart the Hillcroft zone. Playing a 1-4-1 formation, good movement and picking off the ball saw them stretch the defence, and quick ball movement was finding the open man. Seven goals in the quarter to Hillcroft's one brought the half time score to 11-1.

In the second half Hillcroft modified their defensive zone to allow them to pressure the ball, but Purley adjusted to this well by keeping the ball moving, and Purley scored steadily to bring the final score to 20-1. For the second week in a row Dennis McKenna notched up 7 goals, with John Maydick (who makes a welcome return after a brief spell with Purley in 2004-5) close on his heels with 5.

Goals: Dennis McKenna 7, John Maydick 5, Graeme Holland 3, Mike Barrett 3, Matt Payne 2
Ref: Ray Nash

See also pictures.

10 November 2007 - Reading Wildcats away, Prem

In the glorious sunshine at the Ibis Club it was Purley who came out all guns blazing, with a completely dominant first quarter performance which saw them 5-0 up at the break. Plenty of possession allowed Purley the time to pick apart the usually stingy Reading defence, and Dennis McKenna showed he had brought his shooting boots today with 2 well taken goals (he ended with a grand total of 7 on the day).

Reading rallied in the second quarter, and scored their first early in a man-up play. They continued to dominate possession, but their attack lacked teeth, and all too frequently their plays ended with a long outside shot which Purley 'keeper Paul Terry dealt with easily. After weathering the storm, Purley scored late in the quarter to take the half time score to 6-1.

The second half saw Purley revert to their first quarter form – 6 goals in the 3rd quarter, and 5 in the last saw Purley coast to a 17-2 win. With the goals spread around most of the midfield and attack, Purley will be very pleased with this performance.

Play of the day had to be in the 3rd quarter when Jamie Tasko held the ball on the outside, jogged around a bit protecting his stick, and suddenly there was a cry of "Goal!". On inspection, the ball was indeed in the net – that sneaky Canuck had surreptitiously passed the ball to Mike Barrett, and while the defence was looking elsewhere all Mike had to do was make sure his shot avoided the 'keeper. It's not often you see the old hidden ball trick work that well.

Goals: Dennis McKenna 7, Matt Payne 2, Graeme Holland 2, Jamie Tasko 2, Mike Barrett 2, Jesse O'Hanley 2
Ref: Steve Jarvis

See also pictures.

3 November 2007 - Walcountian Blues at home, Prem

For the first time this season Purley had a decent sized squad with 14 players, though 5 of those were long sticks, and Dan Afoke was making his first appearance. On the other hand the Blues were missing a couple of players, and called up wily old-timers Justin Baronowski and Ian Ballantine.

Purley started well, and eased into a 2-0 lead before D man Denham Pope stripped the goalie on the clear, and then walked the ball into the net – not sure whether that was just to rub it in, or more likely that new stick head still needs some fine tuning (it would have been very embarrassing to miss an empty net). Purley continued to control the ball, but defensive lapses allowed the Blues to stay closer than they probably should have been, with the score 5-2 at the quarter.

For the next 2 quarters possession was pretty even, with both teams at times having long periods with the ball. But whereas the Purley defence was generally handling the Blues offense pretty well, at the other end the Purple and Gold kept the score ticking over nicely, and some fast ball movement, particularly on the clear, led to some very pretty team goals. Also, for some reason the Blues decided to pressure Graeme Holland throughout the game – a tactic which rather backfired as Graeme had an excellent game with 4 goals and 4 assists.

Purley won both the 2nd and 3rd quarters 4-1, to bring the score to 13-4 at three-quarter time. At that point Purley seemed to have decided the game was already won, and coasted through the final quarter to bring the score to 15-5.

Goals: Graeme Holland 4, Dennis McKenna 4, Jesse O'Hanley 3, Jamie Tasko 2, Matt Payne 1, Denham Pope 1
Ref: Simon Peach

See also pictures.

20 October 2007 - Hampstead at home, Prem

In contrast to their last meeting, this game was a fast-paced, free-flowing game of lacrosse right from the start. A frantic first quarter saw end-to-end action, with both teams creating many good scoring opportunities, but it was Hampstead who were making most of them as they eased into a 2-5 quarter time lead.

It was rapidly becoming apparent that while this was a competitive game in most departments, it was at the key moments where Hampstead were dominating. When it really mattered Purley were half a yard short, both physically and mentally. In attack Purley were creating scoring chances, but it was at that point that their decision making was letting them down. When it needed an extra pass to find a man in a better position a weak shot was going in, and when there was a good shot available too often the pass was made, or the shot was poor. In defence they failed to pressure the man up top, and Hampstead's recruit from Duke was giving a master class in how to find the top corners of the net.

The only part of the game where Purley were dominating was at the face-off, where Mike Barrett, Dave Cluney and Jamie Tasko combined to win the vast majority of possession. But with Purley having trouble scoring Hampstead never felt under pressure, which allowed them to be fluent in their play and they steadily increased their lead to 3-8 at half time, and 3-10 at three-quarters.

Purley showed some spirit in the final quarter as they battled hard, but though they edged the play in quarter they still only tied it 2-2 to bring the final score to 5-12. Though Purley are improving from game to game, they still have a ways to go if they want to get anything out of this season.

Goals: Graeme Holland 1, Matt Payne 1, Jamie Tasko 1, Mike Barrett 1, Dennis McKenna 1
Refs: Simon Peach, Adam Crowe

See also pictures.

13 October 2007 - Swansea Hawks away, Prem

It's a bit of a hike down to Swansea, and Purley only managed to take 11 men for the 4 hour trip down the M4, but at least they managed to out-number Swansea who only had 10. Swansea have plenty of numbers, but not experienced players who can play at premiership level, so while they may struggle to stay up, if they do they can only improve in the future.

For those of you who haven't been there, the Swansea pitch is on the carpet type astroturf with sand on top – nasty if you fall on it, but quite a good surface otherwise. However the pitch is quite small, and since the ball runs fast any missed passes are likely to go out of bounds, which tends to lead to an end-to-end type of game – not necessarily what you want with 11 v 10!

Purley started brightly, and though not firing on all cylinders they controlled the first quarter, ending it with a comfortable 4-0 lead. The second quarter was not so good, as Purley allowed Swansea much of the possession with far too many turnovers, and Swansea capitalised to bring the score back to 4-2 at the half.

Swansea had their tails up now, and sniffing an upset brought the game even closer to 3-4 at the beginning of the second half. But Purley weren't about to buckle, and showing their experience they started to build up a solid lead. They were particularly clinical on man-up offence, including scoring 2 goals in the same one minute penalty. With the score at 10-3 at three quarter time the game was effectively over as a contest, a fact which both sides seemed to recognise as they rather went through the motions in the final quarter to bring the score to 12-4 at the whistle.

Not a particularly impressive display from Purley, but they will be glad to have ground out a result after the long trip. One plus point was the Swansea hospitality after the game. A rather long trek around Swansea ultimately led to a sports bar with very comfy leather chairs, and to top it off (and much to Andy Booth's delight) they served up fried chicken and chips from the local fast food emporium. Nice.

Goals: Matt Payne 4, Jamie Tasko 2, Mike Barrett 2, Jesse O'Hanley 2, Bill Laidler 1, Dennis McKenna 1
Refs: Swansea x2

6 October 2007 - Spencer away, Prem

What can I say – it all looked so good for a quarter. After a tense and tight start Spencer took the lead 0-1, but then Purley slowly began to assert themselves. Good movement on and off the ball saw them stretch the Spencer defence, which allowed them to find men with space and time for a good shot. Mike Barrett duly profited from the good teamwork with 3 well taken goals, and at quarter time it was 4-1, and all was looking good.

It was the second quarter where it all fell apart. Good recruiting over the summer meant this year's Spencer team is a much better unit than last year, and they weren't about to give up on this contest. Spencer's attacking trio started to control the play up front, driving decisively from behind goal as well as up top. Added to that Purley's gave them plenty of possession to work with, as the good offensive play of the first quarter simply disappeared. Too often they forced the play or chose the wrong option, resulting in poor shots and easy turn-overs.

By half-time Spencer had edged in front 5-6, and Purley really needed up their play. But sadly they continued the third quarter where they had left off in the second, giving away too much possession, and playing the majority of the quarter in their own half. There were slight improvements at both ends however, as the defence stepped it up to reduce the flow of Spencer goals, and the attack was move clinical in their finishing, but they still lost the quarter 2-3 to bring the score to 7-9.

With only 2 goals in it, if Purley could turn their form around they were still in with a chance in the final quarter, but they were still giving the ball away far too easily, and Spencer played the possession game. Purley tried desperately to pressure the ball, but having played so much defence they just didn't have the legs to be effective, which gave Spencer plenty of space to add 2 more goals to their tally. Final score 7-11.

On the day Spencer were worthy winners, but apart from the first quarter Purley will not be happy with this performance. It will be interesting to see how Spencer match up against Hampstead and Hitchin – on this form they should be pretty good contests.

Goals: Mike Barrett 3, Jamie Tasko 1, Dennis McKenna 1, Chris Spence 1, Jesse O'Hanley 1
Ref: Simon Peach

See also pictures.

29 September 2007 - East Grinstead at home, Friendly

A fine sunny day and a pristine pitch at Addiscombe greeted both sides in their first ever encounter in this pre-season friendly. And it became quickly apparent that Purley needed the match practice, as they under-performed at both ends of the field. In fact the only area where Purley excelled was in the centre, where new recruit Bill Laidler won almost every face-off.

It was East Grinstead who opened the scoring to take a 0-1 lead, but Purley soon levelled, and barring a brief period at 3-3 they were always in front. However the could never put any distance between the teams, with their lead only ever as high as 2 goals. It was a story of East Grinstead punishing any Purley mistakes with good team play, unerringly finding the open man on any missed slides or defensive assignments, followed by Purley restoring their advantage with moments of individual flair, or more rarely with brief glimpses of their usual class.

If Purley continue like this next week then they could be in trouble against a re-vitalised Spencer. Final score 8-7.

Goals: Mike Barrett 3, Bill Laidler 3, Matt Payne 1, Dennis McKenna 1
Ref: Simon Peach

See also pictures.