EKL History
EKL History
2006-2007
A change in the league structure saw both divisions split into 2 groups of 4 after 7 games, with the top 4 playing each other again while the lower 4 did likewise. In both divisions, the same four clubs, Bristol University, Bristol City, Cardiff City and Cardiff Dragons filled the top places.
At the bottom of the table, Taunton became the first team to go all season without a victory since Cardiff City in 02-03. They were rarely outclassed, but their limited playing resources meant that they were unable to take the extra step to win games. Cardiff Uni were having another rebuilding season and the introduction of several new players meant the team took time to gel and they found goalscoring almost impossible early on. Later on they managed to beat each of the other teams in the bottom 4, but it was too little to drag them above 8th. Horfield were boosted by the return of Claire Chambers and in tandem with Hannah Marshall had the most potent pair of women attackers in the league. Unfortunately the team never managed to cope defensively against the top sides, though their record-breaking 31-1 defeat against Cardiff Dragons was with a team lacking half it’s best players. Exeter again managed to shock the Dragons at home, and showed strong signs of developing a number of female players who could grab some goals to complement the reliability of Alan Martin and Tony Fripp. Their fallibility on the road let them down again though, even if the new structure meant they only had one away match in Wales.
At the top half of the table, it remained close all season, with all 4 sides maintaining hopes of claiming the title until late on. Dragons, boosted by the arrival of Lee O’Sullivan and Rachel Knight from Cardiff City set the early pace, beating Bristol City and Cardiff City before losing a high-quality game at home to Bristol Uni and then their annual defeat at Exeter dragged them back. Bristol City, strengthened by having Kristina van Eker and Rachael Edwards join, rebounded from opening day defeat with 6 straight wins. Bristol Uni were second, having lost narrowly to Bristol City and drawn with Cardiff City, but won all their other games with Kevin Jones and Jay Nash scoring plenty of goals for them. Cardiff City were still in contention, 3 points off the lead, but the loss of half their first team from the previous year meant they were short of strength in depth and they hadn’t manage to beat any of the top teams so far.
After the split, the quirk of the fixtures calendar meant that Cardiff Dragons got to play their final 3 games before any of the other sides played each other. All of them were tight, particularly the away game at Bristol Uni, but by winning all of them they retained the title. The other teams each won one and lost one of their remaining games, highlighting how competitive the top of the table was, with Bristol City just pipping Bristol Uni to the runners-up spot.
Championship
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cardiff Dragons |
10 |
8 |
0 |
2 |
148 |
75 |
16 |
| Bristol City |
10 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
132 |
107 |
14 |
|
Bristol University |
10 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
120 |
98 |
13 |
|
Cardiff City |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
119 |
103 |
11 |
Plate
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter City |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
103 |
99 |
12 |
|
Horfield |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
90 |
139 |
8 |
|
Cardiff University |
10 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
61 |
104 |
6 |
|
Taunton |
10 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
73 |
121 |
0 |
League
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol City |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
98 |
69 |
12 |
|
Bristol University |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
87 |
63 |
11 |
|
Cardiff Dragons |
7 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
116 |
56 |
10 |
|
Cardiff City |
7 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
84 |
61 |
9 |
| Exeter City |
7 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
71 |
76 |
6 |
|
Cardiff University |
7 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
39 |
81 |
4 |
|
Horfield |
7 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
61 |
110 |
4 |
|
Taunton |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
49 |
89 |
0 |
Division 2
Championship
|
Division 2 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Dragons |
10 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
97 |
57 |
18 |
|
Cardiff City |
10 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
80 |
50 |
14 |
|
Bristol University |
10 |
6 |
1 |
3 |
96 |
47 |
13 |
|
Bristol City |
10 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
50 |
55 |
8 |
Plate
|
Division 2 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter City |
10 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
43 |
45 |
10 |
|
Horfield |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
56 |
55 |
8 |
|
Cardiff University |
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
39 |
62 |
7 |
|
Taunton |
10 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
0 |
80 |
2 |
League
|
Division 2 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Dragons |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
71 |
44 |
12 |
|
Bristol University |
7 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
77 |
30 |
11 |
|
Cardiff City |
7 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
53 |
34 |
10 |
|
Bristol City |
7 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
40 |
29 |
8 |
| Horfield |
7 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
42 |
48 |
6 |
|
Exeter City |
7 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
33 |
45 |
5 |
|
Cardiff University |
7 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
22 |
48 |
3 |
|
Taunton |
7 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
60 |
1 |
Awards:
Female MVP
Kristina van Eker, Bristol City
Male MVP
Dave Hall, Taunton
2nd Division Female MVP
Amy Shillabeer, Cardiff Dragons/Hazel Thornton, Exeter City
2nd Division Male MVP
Roman Christopher, Bristol Uni
Female Most Improved Player
Charlotte Goodrich, Bristol Uni
Male Most Improved Player
Joey Niblett, Cardiff Dragons
Fair Play Award
Exeter City
2005-2006
Another expansion of the league saw two new clubs enter. Stuart Allcock was the only player in the Taunton side with previous league experience, but with their scoring led by the prolific David Hill and some resilient defence they proved worthy debutants and finished ahead of two established clubs. These two, Horfield and Cardiff University had both lost several key players from their first teams and were unable to adequately replace them. Bristol University rebounded back up the table with a very athletic team that didn’t conceed many goals. They just lacked the scoring ability to regularly turn competetive games against the top sides into victories. Exeter continued their improvement, and proved particularly hard to beat at home. A lack of strength in depth though meant that they were vulnerable to upsets away from Devon. Cardiff City produced some strong performances, but injuries to key players like Harry Smyth and Dave Thomas for much of the season, with Ceri Jones and Kristina van Eker also missing crucial matches meant they were unable to retain their crown.
Which left Cardiff Dragons competing for the title with Bristol City. Bristol had an experienced core of players, to which they had added several players with high-level korfball experience elsewhere in the UK. Dave Edwards, Pippa Wallace and Sheryl Bradley all made significant contributions, but the key addition was Stu Hall who averaging over 5 goals a game was comfortably the top scorer in the league. Dragons contained several players who had been on the fringes of the Cardiff City first team the previous season, and their success was testament to the strength in depth of that club, but equally important was the contributions of players formely from Cardiff University, and in particular the experienced Remco Broekhuis and former basketballer Chris Gubby. These two had very different levels of korfball experience, but both were very effective scoring and rebounding all season.
Dragons took an initial advantage, beating a Bristol City side missing Hall in the opening week. But Bristol City responded by winning consistently from then on, while Dragons dropped points with draws against Cardiff City and Bristol University and a defeat at Exeter. A good winning run followed though and when Dragons won a tightly-fought rematch against Bristol City at home they had the edge, leading the league on head to head record. All that remained to seal the title was to beat Taunton at home, and though that game was also tight, Dragons secured the league.
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Dragons |
14 |
11 |
2 |
1 |
185 |
107 |
24 |
|
Bristol City |
14 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
195 |
116 |
24 |
|
Cardiff City |
14 |
9 |
2 |
3 |
178 |
103 |
20 |
|
Exeter City |
14 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
125 |
126 |
15 |
|
Bristol University |
14 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
99 |
114 |
13 |
|
Taunton Soul |
14 |
2 |
2 |
10 |
101 |
151 |
6 |
|
Horfield |
14 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
105 |
183 |
6 |
|
Cardiff University |
14 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
71 |
159 |
4 |
———
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals |
Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stu Hall | Bristol City |
10 |
54 |
5.40 |
|
Chris Gubby |
Cardiff Dragons |
13 |
42 |
3.23 |
|
Remco Broekhuis |
Cardiff Dragons |
9 |
34 |
3.78 |
|
David Hill |
Taunton |
14 |
32 |
2.29 |
|
Ramzi Barbir |
Cardiff City |
12 |
29 |
2.42 |
|
Ian Dellbridge |
Bristol City |
10 |
27 |
2.70 |
|
Susan Belfourd |
Cardiff City |
12 |
25 |
2.08 |
|
Josh Cockburn |
Cardiff Dragons |
13 |
25 |
1.92 |
|
Alan Martin |
Exeter City |
9 |
24 |
2.67 |
|
Lee O’Sullivan |
Cardiff City |
10 |
24 |
2.40 |
|
Hannah Marshall |
Horfield |
11 |
24 |
2.18 |
——-
In the second division, newly tightened rules on eligibility had a significant impact with clubs like Bristol City and Exeter City that were rather short of players forfeiting several matches. These rules didn’t apply to Taunton and Dragons as new clubs and both benefitted accordingly, with Taunto climbing the table rapidly in the second half of the season while Dragons were the dominant side all season, helped by very rarely having to use inexperienced players. To split those two clubs, and be the only side to beat the Dragons all year was an exceptional effort by Cardiff City seconds.
|
Division 2 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff Dragons II |
14 |
13 |
0 |
1 |
185 |
51 |
26 |
|
Cardiff City II |
14 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
113 |
52 |
21 |
|
Taunton II |
14 |
8 |
1 |
5 |
90 |
74 |
17 |
|
Horfield II |
14 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
77 |
72 |
14 |
|
Cardiff University II |
14 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
59 |
103 |
11 |
|
Bristol City II |
14 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
46 |
99 |
9 |
|
Exeter City II |
14 |
4 |
1 |
9 |
52 |
109 |
9 |
|
Bristol University II |
14 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
38 |
100 |
5 |
——-
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Niblett | Cardiff Dragons |
9 |
22 |
2.44 |
|
Angharad Morgan |
Cardiff Dragons |
11 |
20 |
1.82 |
|
James Frost |
Cardiff Dragons |
12 |
19 |
1.58 |
|
David Hill |
Taunton |
11 |
16 |
1.45 |
|
Ian O’Sullivan |
Cardiff Dragons |
11 |
15 |
1.36 |
|
Max Lloyd |
Cardiff City |
8 |
13 |
1.63 |
|
Helen Gubby |
Cardiff Dragons |
13 |
13 |
1.00 |
|
Josh Cockburn |
Cardiff Dragons |
8 |
12 |
1.50 |
|
Matt Hurford |
Cardiff City |
8 |
12 |
1.50 |
|
Dave Thomas |
Cardiff City |
4 |
10 |
2.50 |
|
Amy Willis |
Cardiff Dragons |
11 |
10 |
0.91 |
Awards
Female MVP
Rachael Edwards, Exeter City
Male MVP
Stu Hall, Bristol City
2nd Division Female MVP
Angharad Morgan, Cardiff Dragons
2nd Division Male MVP
Joey Niblett, Cardiff Dragons
Female Most Improved Player
Helen Gubby, Cardiff Dragons
Male Most Improved Player
Lee O’Sullivan, Cardiff City
Fair Play award
Dave Thomas, Cardiff City
Coach of the Year
Susan Belfourd, Cardiff City
2004-2005
In Division 1, the champions of the previous 2 seasons, Bristol University had seen almost their entire first team depart and they fell from first place to last. Just ahead of them were Exeter and Cardiff University who both had some strong players but were a bit short of depth. The fight for second place was between the two Bristol club sides, and showing a dramatic improvement from their debut season, it was Horfield who came second, led by Dave Hall who had joined from Bristol Uni. As in the preceeding season, Kevin Allen and Ian Dellbridge scored plenty of goals for Bristol City but they didn’t get enough support and an early win against Cardiff City wasn’t built on. As for Cardiff City themselves, they had great strength in depth, and that allowed them to respond to defeat by Bristol City in the first week by posting a 100% record after that and an impressive +70 goal difference.
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff City |
10 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
133 |
63 |
18 |
|
Horfield |
10 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
102 |
77 |
14 |
|
Bristol City |
10 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
91 |
94 |
11 |
|
Cardiff University |
10 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
71 |
91 |
7 |
|
Exeter City |
10 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
81 |
94 |
6 |
|
Bristol University |
10 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
49 |
108 |
4 |
——
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Allen | Bristol City |
9 |
32 |
3.56 |
|
Dave Thomas |
Cardiff City |
8 |
28 |
3.50 |
|
Susan Belfourd |
Cardiff City |
10 |
25 |
2.50 |
|
Ceri Jones |
Cardiff City |
9 |
22 |
2.44 |
|
Ian Dellbridge |
Bristol City |
8 |
21 |
2.63 |
|
Dave Hall |
Horfield |
8 |
17 |
2.13 |
|
Claire Chambers |
Horfield |
8 |
16 |
2.00 |
|
Harry Smyth |
Cardiff City |
8 |
16 |
2.00 |
|
Tony Fripp |
Exeter City |
9 |
15 |
1.67 |
|
Steve Conder |
Horfield |
4 |
14 |
3.50 |
|
Shane Jessop |
Horfield |
9 |
14 |
1.56 |
|
Guy Aked |
Horfield |
10 |
14 |
1.40 |
——-
For this season, the EKL doubled in size with each club entering a reserve team into a second division. While some of the club teams struggled to field two wholly separate sides, both universities as well as Cardiff City and to a lesser extent Horfield saw genuine second team players score the bulk of their goals. Cardiff were able to call on several players with plenty of first team experience and this was to prove crucial as they rebounded from an opening day defeat to go unbeaten for the rest of the season. The battle for second position was much closer, going to the last weekend of the season both universities as well as Horfield and Exeter were in with a chance. Bristol University lost to Cardiff City, while Cardiff Uni were thrashed 12-3 by Bristol City, meaning that the runners up position would go to the victor in the match between Horfield and Exeter. The game was close throughout, but Exeter prevailed 12-10.
|
Division 2 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff City II |
10 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
80 |
53 |
17 |
|
Exeter City II |
10 |
5 |
0 |
5 |
70 |
74 |
10 |
|
Cardiff University II |
10 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
52 |
53 |
9 |
|
Bristol University II |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
53 |
68 |
8 |
|
Horfield II |
10 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
52 |
56 |
8 |
|
Bristol City II |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
58 |
61 |
8 |
——-
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Cockburn | Cardiff City |
8 |
18 |
2.25 |
|
Alan Martin |
Exeter City |
7 |
16 |
2.29 |
|
Stuart Allcock |
Exeter City |
9 |
16 |
1.78 |
|
Terry Matthews |
Cardiff City |
7 |
12 |
1.71 |
|
Ian O’Sullivan |
Cardiff City |
7 |
9 |
1.29 |
|
James Frost |
Cardiff City |
6 |
7 |
1.17 |
|
Lee O’Sullivan |
Cardiff City |
6 |
7 |
1.17 |
|
Brendan Coopey |
Cardiff University |
6 |
7 |
1.17 |
|
Cath Maher |
Horfield |
7 |
7 |
1.00 |
|
Ann Leigh-Browne |
Bristol City |
8 |
7 |
0.88 |
Awards
Female MVP
Susan Belfourd, Cardiff City
Male MVP
Dave Thomas, Cardiff City
2nd Division Female MVP
Rachel Edwards, Horfield
2nd Division Male MVP
Bren Coopey, Cardiff University
Female Most Improved Player
Lisa Rowden, Exeter City
Male Most Improved Player
Lee O’Sullivan, Cardiff City
Fair Play award
Tony Fripp, Exeter City
2003-2004
The second season of the EKL saw two new teams Horfield and Exeter. Unsurprisingly, both teams found their first campaign a tough ordeal, but also made clear progress. Having won the league unbeaten the previous year, Bristol Uni went a step further by winning every game in an exceptional performance. They were pushed close in a few games and needed to score two late goals to come from behind away at Cardiff City, but generally the students outclassed all the competition. Cardiff City had improved dramatically from the previous year, but struggled to score against the athleticism of the student sides. Cardiff University retained third place, with inconsistency again a problem. However they could console themselves with a superb demolition of their city rivals. Probably the most disappointed side would be Bristol City who slipped from title challengers to fourth place. Despite boasting the two highest scoring players in the league, they lacked sufficient strength in depth to regularly challenge the top teams.
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol University |
10 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
120 |
38 |
20 |
|
Cardiff City |
10 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
109 |
69 |
14 |
|
Cardiff University |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
101 |
82 |
12 |
|
Bristol City |
10 |
4 |
0 |
6 |
85 |
70 |
8 |
|
Horfield |
10 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
47 |
145 |
3 |
|
Exeter City |
10 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
65 |
124 |
3 |
—–
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Allen | Bristol City |
10 |
25 |
2.50 |
|
Ian Dellbridge |
Bristol City |
8 |
24 |
3.00 |
|
Grace Stimpson |
Cardiff University |
9 |
22 |
2.44 |
|
Rachael Edwards |
Bristol University |
10 |
22 |
2.20 |
|
Ramzi Barbir |
Cardiff University |
10 |
21 |
2.10 |
|
Susan Belfourd |
Cardiff City |
9 |
21 |
2.33 |
|
Tony Fripp |
Exeter City |
10 |
18 |
1.80 |
|
Dave Hall |
Bristol University |
9 |
17 |
1.89 |
|
Vicky Bland |
Bristol University |
10 |
17 |
1.70 |
|
Alan Martin |
Exeter City |
9 |
16 |
1.78 |
|
Ceri Jones |
Cardiff University |
9 |
16 |
1.78 |
Awards
Female MVP
Rachael Edwards, Bristol University
Male MVP
Ian Dellbridge, Bristol City
Female Most Improved Player
Claire Chambers, Horfield
Male Most Improved Player
Ceri Jones, Cardiff University
Fair Play award
Nick Leighton, Horfield
2002-2003
The first full season of the league featured a newly established Cardiff City team and a re-invigorated Bristol City join with the two well-established university sides. Cardiff City proved generally able to compete with the rest of the league, but ultimately fielded too many beginners to have a chance of beating them. Cardiff University had a very strong side, but in 3 games against Bristol City and Bristol University they managed to draw one and lose the others by one goal margins. A final game against Bristol University was forfeited. This left the two Bristol sides competing for the title, and the race went to the final day of the season. Bristol City needed to win it, and led for most of the game, but a very late equaliser handed the title to the students.
|
Division 1 |
P | W | D | L | Gs | Gc | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol University |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
58 |
33 |
10 |
|
Bristol City |
6 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
54 |
46 |
9 |
|
Cardiff University |
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
49 |
47 |
5 |
|
Cardiff City |
6 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
39 |
74 |
0 |
—-
|
Top Goalscorers |
Club | Apps | Goals | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave Thomas | Cardiff City |
5 |
12 |
2.40 |
|
Ian Dellbridge |
Bristol City |
6 |
10 |
1.67 |
|
Dave Hall |
Bristol University |
5 |
9 |
1.80 |
|
Mark Fenton |
Bristol University |
3 |
7 |
2.33 |
|
Steve Conder |
Bristol City |
3 |
7 |
2.33 |
|
Terry Hill |
Bristol University |
5 |
7 |
1.40 |
|
Vicky Bland |
Bristol University |
5 |
7 |
1.40 |
|
Bryan Simpson |
Bristol City |
4 |
6 |
1.50 |
|
Elaine Hutchings |
Cardiff City |
5 |
6 |
1.20 |
|
Laura Pratt |
Bristol City |
5 |
6 |
1.20 |
|
Ann Leigh-Browne |
Bristol City |
6 |
6 |
1.00 |
