Disappointing draw for Bears

7:10am Thursday 20th November 2008

Penarth Bears 5

Bristol Sharks 5

THE Bristol Sharks travelled to Penarth for what, on paper, should have been an easy victory for the Bears -­ but the Sharks were having none of it.

From the whistle the Sharks came out all guns blazing, with a quick goal in the opening minutes followed by another before the quarter break, leaving the Bears in limbo 0-2 down.

A few carefully chosen words during the break seemed to do the trick and Penarth redressed the balance with three decent goals to the Sharks' one to go into the half break 3-3.

If it hadn't been for goalie James Richardson's efforts, and newly married Mike Vodden doing a sterling job in defence, things would have been much worse.

The Bears' problems stemmed from trouble with basic lacrosse, dropping catches and passes, and failing to pick up the ground balls.

It seemed that the prospect of an easy game had dulled the senses of the squad, and they were warned that the Sharks would put in an all-out attack to take this game.

In the third quarter the Sharks once again found the net, with the Bears trying but still way off form. The new Goalie for the Sharks was doing a great job repelling weak shots from the Bears.

The final period was make or break with the Bears a goal down at 4-3.

At last the Bears regained some spark and scored, but with the Sharks also scoring it took a final goal by Penarth in the dying minutes to save face, making the final score a 5-5 draw.

The score should have been much more for the Bears, but slack shots at goal and daft shots from far away were just a drain on energy with little hope of success.

The Bears still lead the West 2 league and they will have to pull their socks up to gain promotion next season. This was a disappointing match for a side that has so much promise and it is hoped that this was a one-off aberration.

This was the last home game for this year ­ next week the Bears are away to UWIC and then away to Reading to play in the Flags tournament (a strong test for the team).

The goal scorers were Josh Foley (2), Rhys Hill, Chris James, and Jonny Morris.

The Bears are looking for more players to come on board ­- if you have finished playing rugby or football or any other sport, or have some spare time and would like to participate in another sport, then why not give Lacrosse a go.

Please contact Chris on 029 2070 8966 for more info.