The Bristol Pitbulls debuted their new kit at the Div 2 South West Regional in Cheltenham on January 11th. Seven players all in new purple rash vests took to the water to face Wellington, who were joined by some Avon players. The game saw Tom roll and Nick roll onto a boat. Despite two shots from Lewis and a shot from John which ended up stuck on top of the goal, Wellington put the boot in and the match ended a 0-5 loss for the Pitbulls. But the local derby match against Avon saw the Pitbulls score their first goal of the tournament, with Lewis thumping one into the back of Avon’s net. Nick again ended up on a boat, this time binned onto John’s. The foul won the Pitbulls possession but we soon made the same mistake, with Lewis giving away a penalty by pushing an Avon player onto James’ boat. Despite some valiant action blocking Avon’s shots by Lewis, Nick, and James, the match was a 1-8 loss for the Pitbulls.

Swansea was the hardest team of the day. On the sprint in the second half, Tom managed a spectacular bin on their sprinter, meanwhile James was binned by Swansea player but handrolled back up with (his words) “a L’Oréal swish of the hair.” But the game ended a punishing 0-9 loss.

One Welsh team was followed by another as we were up against the Dragons next. The first half had us down three goals but after switching ends it was a much more even affair. Mike sent the ball into the back of their net. Shortly after, Lewis found himself racing towards the open Dragon’s goal on the break and scored (on the second attempt after a first shot rebounded). Another goal from Lewis brought the Bristolians up to three goals, but Dragon scored another four themselves and binned John, with the match ending 7-3 for the Dragons.

The final match of the day saw the Pitbulls face the Bude Smugglers. After a day playing together, Pitbulls went into the game a stronger more cohesive team. Despite good possession and some shots on target in the first half, Pitbulls scored no goals by half time while Bude managed to smuggle some past the Pitbulls. But in the second half, the team’s work was rewarded when a Smuggler interfered with Lewis’ shot, winning the Pitbulls a penalty which Lewis scored. Then, amid intense attacking below the Bude goal, Lisa sent the ball straight from the corner of the pitch to the corner of the net. While Bude won the game 4-2, it was stronger play from the Pitbulls and a game that could have narrowly gone the other way if some shots on target had been luckier. Despite five losses, the Pitbulls showed no mercy to their next target: curry in Cheltenham.

By John Wimperis

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