It took 4 cars to get Si, Matt, Sean, Duncan, Brasse, Sarah K and Paddy up to the Oxford for this tourny on a cold, foggy, windy and rainy day that said – thank god we are not playing outdoors. The schedule had us playing first game on both Saturday and Sunday – surely a breach of our human rights? There were 2 pools of 7; we were seeded 3rd in our pool, 5th overall, behind 1st seeds BAF and 3rd seeds Yo Mama.

First game was against BAF. We had a quick reminder of what to do and off we went. Game was tight, we played hard and simple, made space and connections and D’d them pretty hard. This got us turnovers while we scored on every possession that we started. On O we played mainly rolling stack with maybe one fake stack iso. After trading we scored on a couple of turnovers to get 2 up, then held on to win by 2, about 8-6. Great start.

Next up were Playthings. They had a very tall and experienced team but despite this we were expecting to beat them. Of course the only way Angels play is to give every team we should beat a head start and a sense of confidence and this weekend was no exception. We spotted them a lead before turning it up a notch. Again it was our fast D that got us turnovers and the iso is always good for a couple of easy points. We pulled ahead but then dropped our game to keep it tight – in the end we beat them by one.

The Albatross/Bad Habits combo ABH gave us a chance to show again just how much we need to suffer. We gave these guys a 0-2 lead, enough for them to really believe they could have a go and give it everything they had. We made a long hard struggle of it and again beat them by a point.

Yo Mama had a strong squad as usual. The first point was very long with a couple of turnovers, we should have scored but had a terrible drop in the end-zone, they did score. And that was the pattern the game followed, as it always seems to against them. All the first four points were long and tight and could have gone either way – but they scored all of them and we were 0-4 down with only a few minutes left. Then the game opened up a bit and with a score on the buzzer we went down 3-6.

Last game of the day was against Sublime 2 – there was no Sublime 1 in this tourny but they were evidently playing elsewhere as this really was a second string team. We talked a lot before the game about how to approach it, taking the easy options until the point scored itself and all that. And as soon as we got onto the pitch we started forcing the disc in and taking unwise and unnecessary options. These young Sublime turks were not gonna let that go unpunished and they didn’t, taking the lead. The long hard road beckoned again and we dutifully climbed it, spurred on perhaps by the thought that if we lost this we’d never be able to face their first team again. Eventually we beat them by… yes, one point.

We were being accommodated by Matt’s brother Nick and his very friendly and accommodating housemates. Back to their’s for beer and biccies, then out for a curry and on to the pub. The great thing about Oxford is that everything seems to be on one road, so you always know were you are and can walk it if you have to. The pub was a student pit but it sold beer and we found a table. We also got to meet one on Duncan’s legendary exes who was every bit as good looking and top draw as he had always told us – of course we had always believed him. The humble captain went home at this point to conserve brain-power for the next day, the remaining A’s stayed til the close and some went clubbing and kebabing.

First game was the final pool game against Skunks 2, the beginner whipping boys (and several girls) of the tournament thus far. We decided that we had had enough of all these one point wins against weaker opposition and decided to do something about it – that something being drawing 5-5 with the weakest team in the tournament. We threw away, we took bad options, we didn’t mark their guys in the end-zone, we dropped disc after disc after disc, they scored on the open side, they broke markers who were late setting up and they walked through our zone. It wasn’t funny; with other good teams on the sidelines watching us it was just embarrassing. The most disappointing thing was the inability of many individuals to realise what was shit and make the necessary adjustments. To cap it off Duncan got an ankle injury an a messy end-zone pile-up and was out for the rest of the day.

Next match was the semi-final against Skunks 1. It could only get better and it did. We played a good game against a Skunks team whose only play was to throw the disc to the tall American. We worked hard to stop this pass at the thrower end but from the very beginning whenever they could they shot it to the zone whether he was open or not and he came down with it, even when we had two of our players waiting with him. We scored our points the more trad way and kept it close, they did get one point that wasn’t a blind huck, and beat us by a couple. Oh well, at least the sideline loved us.

Final game was against Smash and Grab. They were fast and tricky and confident as usual which made it all the more fun beating them 8-4. We were really in sync for this last game, making all their right decisions, and it was a lot of fun.

So we finished third and qualified for nationals. It was an enjoyable weekend and the bigger pools and the straight-to-semis format made a refreshing change from the Sunday morning quarter-final dramas that we usually endure/enjoy. We have not practised as hard as in the past – it showed - but what also showed was how much some of our players have improved and how well we can play together. A lot of this comes from playing together over the years and having a consistent team culture that gets into you when you play in it season after season. Look forward to more.