24 May 20052004/5 GBFF National Finals
Balwearie Floorball Club produced some of the best floorball in their three year existence as they finished 7th in the GBFF Finals in Chester on Saturday 21 st May 2005.
Four solid performances from the squad almost resulted in them qualifying for the semi-finals. But for a late goal from Basingstoke they would have at least had a 5th/6th Play-off to look forward to, however going in to the Glenrothes game they knew that a draw would still be enough to finish higher than both Basingstoke and Glenrothes. The final group game for both teams was a nail biting game and superb for the neutrals. Could Balwearie get the point needed to reach the semi-finals or would Glenrothes show their Northern League form and produce the expected win? In a cracking competitive game of floorball with so much at stake for both teams, for Balwearie sadly, it was not to be, as Glenrothes rushed to an early two goal lead thanks to Scott Ferguson - who went on to get a hat trick. Balwearie playing three forward lines throughout came from behind to put Glenrothes under pressure at 2-3, however, with the next goal crucial Glenrothes scored the game winning goal to secure their place in the semi-finals with a 4-2 win.
Earlier Balwearie ran tournament favourites London Vikings closer than the 4-1 result showed. Indeed Vikings needed 3 power play goals to pull ahead in this tight game. Had Balwearie not taken the penalties the game may have been very close.
Balwearie finished bottom of their group with 1 point but in no way were disgraced and their performances points to a positive future North of the Border. The 7th/8th Play-off against Campden Dragons went as expected with a comfortable 5-0 win for Balwearie. Some may have questioned whether in other years Balwearie would have been good enough to play at such a level but on this showing they demonstrated that they could match the best when it is required.
Scores were:
- Basingstoke 2 Balwearie 2
- London Vikings 4 Balwearie 1
- Balwearie 2 Glenrothes 4
- 7th/8th Playoff - Campden Dragons 0 Balwearie 5
Top scorers were Jason and Adam with 2 goals, Fabrice, Graeme, Neil, Colin, Clint and Darren all with one goal. Derek had an outstanding day in goals and the defence was the best yet seen at Balwearie - Clint, Darren, Peter and Jens proved a solid backbone to the team and all teams found them difficult to get around. Whilst not on the score sheet himself Steve Barrie ran himself into the ground for the cause and proved what a good centre he has become. In particular praise must go to the third line of Kenny, Fabrice and Kevin who did not get much time in the early matches. They waited for their moment and produced solid performances.
On a sad note poor Kenny fractured a rib against Campden Dragons. No doubt the big man will be back soon to torment defences.
The future is bright at Balwearie Floorball Club with a second team - BEES forming and due to compete in the new season. As a club we feel the commitment is there to run two squads and maybe next year both teams will be aiming to get to the finals.
15 May 2005GBFF National Finals Travel
The bus to Chester will leave the Chapel bus stand which is across the roundabout from the John Smith business park. (Adjacent to the entrance to Sainsburys.) At 14:00 on Friday 20/5/05.
Also all requests for the Northern League night out at the Strathearn hotel should be in by Thursday 19/5/05.
01 May 2005GBFF National Finals Details
Please find below full details of the 2005 National Championship Finals. The entry fee is £85 per team payable on the day.
Date and Time
The national finals will be played on Saturday 21 st May 2005. All teams should arrive at the venue no later than 8:15am.
Venue
Northgate Arena , Victoria Road, Chester , Cheshire , England , CH2 2AU. Tel. 01244 380444. Please see direction sheet attached.
Referees/Scribes
Teams are expected to provide referees / scribes although the number of matches each team is expected to referee / scribe will be limited due to the involvement of some non-playing referees. Please see the relevant sheet on the day.
Format
The tournament will be played on one large rink. This will be a greater spectacle for people to watch and will allow for better Floorball.
There will be two groups of 4 teams. A round-robin will occur with each team playing other teams in their group once. After this the top two teams from each group will progress to semi-finals and final. The 4 th placed team in each group will play off for 7 th /8 th place. The 3 rd placed team in each group will play off for 5 th /6 th place. There will also be a 3 rd /4 th place play off. This will give a full ranking to the finals.
Teams will be awarded 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a defeat. At the end of the round-robin stage the group positions will be decided on the following criteria:
- Points
- Result between the two teams in group match
- Goal difference
- Goals scored
Groups
| Group One | Group Two |
|---|---|
| Balwearie | Campden Dragons |
| Basingstoke Demons | Chapel |
| Glenrothes | Cotswold Cobras |
| London Vikings | TVT |
Schedule of Play
| Time | Home | vs. | Away | Match | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Balwearie | vs. | Bas. Demons | Group One | |
| 09:30 | London Vikings | vs. | Glenrothes | Group One | |
| 10:00 | Chapel | vs. | Cotswold Cobras | Group Two | |
| 10:30 | Campden Dragons | vs. | TVT | Group Two | |
| 11:00 | Balwearie | vs. | London Vikings | Group One | |
| 11:30 | Bas. Demons | vs. | Glenrothes | Group One | |
| 12:00 | Chapel | vs. | Campden Dragons | Group Two | |
| 12:30 | Cotswold Cobras | vs. | TVT | Group Two | |
| 13:00 | Glenrothes | vs. | Balwearie | Group One | |
| 13:30 | Bas. Demons | vs. | London Vikings | Group One | |
| 14:00 | Cotswold Cobras | vs. | Campden Dragons | Group Two | |
| 14:30 | TVT | vs. | Chapel | Group Two | |
| 15:00 | 4th Place G1 | vs. | 4th Place G2 | 7th/8th Playoff | |
| 15:30 | 1st Place G1 | vs. | 2nd Place G2 | Semi Final 1 | |
| 16:00 | 1st Place G2 | vs. | 2nd Place G1 | Semi Final 2 | |
| 16:30 | 3rd Place G1 | vs. | 3rd Place G2 | 5th/6th Playoff | |
| 17:00 | Loser Semi 1 | vs. | Loser Semi 2 | 3rd/4th Playoff | |
| 17:30 | Winner Semi 1 | vs. | Winner Semi 2 | Final |
Match Times
All group / semi finals matches will be 1 x 20 minutes (continuous clock)
- Final will be 2 x 15 minutes
10 April 20052004/5 Northern League Cup
The Growl came out top on this occasion with solid team work throughout the day, scoring a barrow load and letting very few in, until the final match with Dundee. (Tiredness Lads?)
Chapel Runners up, were without Gavin Baillie but had regained a long lost son in Big Chris Smith.Unfortunately the big man couldn't help Chapel pull it off on the day, so they will just have to be content with winning the league.
Dundee worked hard and it was clear to see the Northern Lights had taken on board the pointers from Andrew Clough's observations at the qualifiers, they still had good results against Chapel and Balwearie before the Growl took them to task at the end. It will be interesting to see if Dundee can build on this very good introductory season for next year.
Balwearie are still churning out the up and down results against the top two; one match close with few goals in it, the next, losing by the proverbial bucket load. However maybe the lines can be sorted out for next season as Floorballing maniac Colin Bell is taking a B' team into the league.
Results on the day were:-
- Chapel 6 Dundee 0
- Glenrothes 10 Balwearie 2
- Chapel 1 Glenrothes 6
- Dundee 4 Balwearie 6
- Chapel 5 Balwearie 1
- Dundee 6 Glenrothes 18
02 April 20052004/5 GBFF National Finals Qualifiers
The National Cup show came to FIPRE in Glenrothes. There was a disappointing turn out from the Southern League largely due to the Easter holidays but the teams which did travel thoroughly enjoyed the day. The competition took place at Fife Institute of Physical & Recreational Education in Glenrothes last Saturday 2nd April.
Four Teams had already qualified through league standings. one of which was NL team Chapel. The other three were the three top teams from the English Southern league.
On the day, local teams Balwearie FBC, Glenrothes and Dundee Northern Lights were joined by Teams from the Southern league:- Thames Valley Tornadoes, Basingstoke Demons and Camden Dragons.
Four teams would qualify to join the others in the National Cup Final at Chester on 21st May.
After along hard day the top four in the semis were Glenrothes v TVT and Balwearie v Basingstoke
Glenrothes overcame a tiring TVT Squad who had traveled with a short
line up due to the holiday weekend 8 - 2.
While Basingstoke came from 2 goals behind to win 3 - 2 against Balwearie.
The final was a triumph for (unbeaten on the day) Glenrothes Grrrowl who overcame Basingstoke by 6 Goals to 3.
Scores on the day were:-
- Glenrothes v Balwearie 3 - 1
- Balwearie v TVT 1 - 1
- Dundee v Camden 3 - 0
- Basingstoke v Glenrothes 0 - 3
- Balwearie v Camden 4 - 0
- TVT v Basingstoke 0 - 2
- Glenrothes v Dundee 3 - 0
- Basingstoke v Dundee 2 - 1
- Camden v Glenrothes 0 - 6
- TVT v Dundee 3 - 0
- Camden v Basingstoke 1 - 3
- TVT v Glenrothes 1 - 2
- Dundee v Balwearie 0 - 4
- Camden v TVT 1 - 1
- Balwearie v Basingstoke 1 - 2
Top scorer on the day was Kevin Blyth of Glenrothes with 13 goals and 6 assists. The Dragons players were well received by the local crowd and the future looks bright as they were excellent players for their age group.
The GBFF Northern League would like to thank Sam Wilson and staff of FIPRE for their help on the day and also the teams who traveled and made it an excellent day for all.
24 March 20052004/5 Northern League Summary
After years of coming fourth in competitions in the Northern league, Balwearie actually managed a third place this year. This was largely due to the demise of Trinity and the emergence of Dundee Northern Lights, who were very competitive but found out , as Balwearie did all those years, that a bit of experience goes a long way.