Penguin eased to a second win in men's Division 3 at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today - 15-9 against Birmingham.

Birmingham made the stronger start and it wasn't until midway through the second period that Penguin edged ahead for the first time at 5-4. The advantage quickly increased to 7-4, with Giampaolo de Rosa claiming two of his match tally of six goals.

Otter completed a highly successful weekend, beating Manchester Hawks 12-3 for their third victory. Later, Penguin won for the second time in the day, netting six in the last quarter in defeating Southampton 18-7. So old rivals Otter and Penguin finish level at the top after three matches - with the sides not due to meet before the final afternoon of Division 3 action at Haberdashers in Manchester on 17 November.

In Division 4, Josh Kirk netted five for York City in a 16-8 defeat of Tyldesley. Hucknall won for the third time - 14-13 against Bridgefield - and finished the first weekend as the only team with a 100 per cent record.

British League goalkeepers are beginning to enjoy the new rule that for the first time allows them to venture beyond half way - and score goals.

Surprise hero of Rotherham Metro's 14-13 win over Bridgefield in men's Division 4 was their keeper George Jackson. Bridgefield led 12-10 two minutes into the final period, but, in a nervy finish, Rotherham recovered to 13-13 - and then, with a mere four seconds to go, were awarded a penalty.

Who would take it? Rotherham were more than happy to hand the job to Jackson - and he made no mistake with the 5m shot.

He wasn't the only goalkeeper on target. In Division 3, Henry Redman (Photo: Trevor Hyde) slotted a late penalty for Cheltenham Spartans against Otter. But it didn't stop the London side winning for the second time in the day - 17-8.

Fielding virtually a full junior side, Manchester Hawks swept aside Cheltenham Spartans 24-11 in men's Division 3 at Ponds Forge today. Three Manchester players claimed four goals - Tom Simpson, David Teasdale and Ciaron Byrne.

Otter's strong finish earned an 11-7 victory over Croydon Amphibians. The game was even until Otter scored five in the final quarter. Penguin controlled the last period against Castleford, netting seven - through Giampaolo de Rosa (3), Lorenzo Cacciola (3) and Charles Kingsmill - to ensure a 17-10 win.

In men's Division 4, also at Ponds Forge, Iain Greig's five goals helped Hucknall beat Rotherham Metro 15-11. Bridgefield led Coventry 6-2 but were pegged back to 7-7 before goals in the third period by Jacob Graham, Harry Dunkerley and Peter Love secured Bridgefield's 12-10 win.

There was no difficult choosing a Man of the Match in Tyldesley's 18-10 defeat of Cambridge - Addison Brown scored TWELVE!

Men’s Division 5 is likely to be more keenly contested this year than in any previous season judging by the results of games during the opening weekend at Norwich Sportpark. These included a draw and no fewer than four wins by a single goal.

Day two certainly provided its share of nail-biting finishes.

Caledonia Storm defeated Newport 11-10 – thanks to Adam Heywood’s man-up goal just five seconds from the end. Photo (by Trevor Hyde) shows Newport goalkeeper Iwan Edwards watching in despair as Heywood's shot enters the net.

Chester edged out Sheffield Dolphins 11-10 – with a goal from Paul Williams 11 seconds from time.

Finally, Invicta Marlins recovered from 12-9 down in the final period against Chelmsford to draw 12-12 courtesy of goals by Dan Brown, Jamie Bailey and – with 1.26 remaining – Greg Jackson.

Cheltenham and Rotherham Metro were the only teams to complete the first weekend of games in women’s Division 3 at Northampton with 100 per cent records.

It was straightforward for Cheltenham against youthful Manchester Hawks – their 20-2 victory included four goals apiece for Rebecca Thomas, Priya Kennedy and Sofia Fountain.
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Rotherham were too good for Penguin Emperors, winning 16-10. Fourteen-year-old Emily Crossley scored six. Southampton's first win - 8-3 against Liverpool Water Beatles - featured five goals from Alison Mell.
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City of Newport made a spectacular start to their British League debut season at Norwich today, edging out men’s Division 5 opponents Sheffield Dolphins 13-12 in a real thriller.

They owed much to the inspiration of Chris Taylor, who has many years’ experience of playing at the top level, notably for City of Bristol. He scored nine of his team’s goals – just enough to ensure both points as Sheffield hit back from 11-7 down early in the last quarter to level at 12-12 thanks to a Nick Daly penalty with 1.16 to go.

The winner, with 57 seconds remaining, was scored for Newport by Matt Veale.

Later, Newport completed a second win - 17-9 against Watford Saxons. This time, Taylor scored eight, well supported by four-goal James Farror.

Chester, the other BWPL newcomers, followed the example of Newport, with a thrilling single-goal victory - 15-14 against Leeds. Quinn Walker's fourth goal put Leeds 11-7 ahead at one stage and they advanced to 14-12 early in the final period. Then Paul Williams took charge for Chester, scoring three of his seven goals - the winner, with 49 seconds remaining on the clock.

Chelmsford recovered from 3-1 down after the first quarter to beat Watford Saxons 12-10. Ben Chapman and Josh Mills both scored hat-tricks for the winners; Watford hat-tricks were claimed by Sam Parry and Ben Simkins.
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Photos (Trevor Hyde): Top: Sheffield's Arshia Kayghobadi prepares to shoot against Newport. Below: Watford’s George Sadler blocks a shot by Adam Lecomber, of Chelmsford.

Cheltenham are confident that their girls’ team will make a bigger impact in Division 3 this season – and they completed an emphatic start to the new campaign at Northampton today, beating Penguin Emperors 10-6.
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The result will have been particularly satisfying for Kate Read, granddaughter of Phil Jones, who was founder secretary of the former men’s National League way back in 1962 and, of course, is one of Cheltenham's outstanding ex-internationals.

Kate is a product of the Cheltenham club but has appeared in more recent times for Liverpool while completing her degree at Cambridge University. Now, the former GB under-19s goalkeeper, who also played in the World Student Games in Taipei, is back home – and, instantly, has been elected Cheltenham's captain.

Cheltenham almost didn’t make it into BWPL this season, failing to finish in the top three places in last season’s qualification tournament. However, the withdrawal of another club opened the League door again and, with Kate at the helm, they gave their season a great launch today with goals by Sofia Fountain (4), Priya Kennedy (3), Sophie Clink (2) and Megan Swinburn.

​Later, Cheltenham won again - 9-6 against Southampton. 

Newcomers Exeter were easy winners of their opening game - 17-3 against Southampton. The scoring was led by Jenny Herring (6), Ella-Louise Jones (5) and Jasmin Coleman (3). The division's other new team, Watford, also made a positive start, outplaying Manchester Comets 17-4.

We’re all set for another thrilling, all-action British League season!

The first matches take place this weekend at a new venue for the League, Norwich Sportspark (men’s Division 5) and at Northampton School for Boys (women’s Division 3).

A big thank-you once again to our official ball sponsors – Waterpolo Market.com – who supply the Mega ball.

There’s still time for table officials to sign up for the new rules seminar at Northampton on Saturday. A reminder, too, of table official courses to be run during BWPL weekends at Ponds Forge, Sheffield (12 October) and Haberdashers School (19 October). There are also plans for an additional course when BWPL matches take place in Wales at Newport International Sports Village (30 November). For information on all these events, please contact Mike Hesketh, [email protected].

And, looking further ahead . . . a provisional list of dates and venues for phase two of the season is now published in the information section.
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