Report by John Connaghan and added to by Alan Parker
Teams captained and organised by Graham Dick and John Connaghan.
Images below
Thistles blue and white took to the field on Saturday with mixed results against two strong LX sides and a youthful looking reivers who eventually ran out winners.
Thistles blue had their best games against LX White and Reivers. However with the defense under almost continuous pressure and with few chances to hold the ball in midfield and service the forwards the Blues went down to two narrow losses. The last game of the first day against Reivers proved too much for a spirited Scotland Blue side who suffered their biggest defeat of the day in hot and humid conditions.
The head to head between Thistles white and blue saw white emerge the victors after a close game.
Thistles white lost narrowly to Reivers and LX White and drew against LX red to conclude the first days matches.
Both Thistles squads were glad to take to the celiedh floor on Saturday night against a backdrop of the magnificent scenery at loweswater hall with the hog roast washed down with the beers of Cumbria.
The Sunday was set up with two matches against England white and red vs Scottish Thistles wearing blue 1 and 2. The honours were more evenly spread with one loss against LX White and a win for Scotland who dominated most of the match against a strong English LX Red side.
The weekend saw the introduction of some welcome new players to Thistles who contributed strongly from the start of the tournament. We leave the weekend with good memories of the camaraderie that is the hallmark of playing for Thistles.
A special thanks to Graham and John for excellent organisation and communication via whatsapp.
Also sincere thanks to England LX and in particular Mike Patton for their organisation and excellent socials for both Players and their partners.
The Ceilidh and Hog roast on the Saturday evening was quite exceptional and gave our new players a taste of what seniors hockey also involves in the social aspect of playing. The teams and images speak for themselves
Images below by Paul Bateson, alan Parker and John Connaghan. Click on all images to enlarge
Slainte to Thistles
