With Chelmsford arriving on Sunday afternoon, a light-hearted Tourno in the evening with Mixed Casuals/Chelmsford teams was just about right to stretch some muscles. However on Monday morning the two Boys U18 sides played a highly competitive match. Chelmsford opened the scoring after a defensive lapse on 14 mins and, despite some sustained pressure, Casuals were only able to equalise 10 mins into the second half from an excellent reverse-stick drive. However 5 mins before the end Chelmsford sealed a 2-1 win with a sharp deflection in front of goal. The evening Mixed match saw Casuals gain some consolation with a 4-3 win in a very open game, and this was followed by a fun evening in Cascais.

In today’s final Mixed game neither side was able to score – hardly surprising, given the lunch-time heat and some very tired legs. This led to an impromptu shoot out, which Chelmsford edged 7-6. These 3 days  were another short but memorable exchange between the two Clubs, hopefully soon to be repeated.

Last weekend the British and Portuguese teams drew an exciting match for the Pringsheim Cup. After the Brits lead 2-1 at half time, the Portuguese built up strong pressure to lead 5-2. But the British managed to score 3 times on the break for a final 5-5 score line and a share of the trophy.

In today’s Veterans fixture, Casuals went 1-0 ahead against Belenenses, but allowed their opponents to equalise before the break. Casuals then took the lead again, before Belenenses made it 2-2 from a penalty corner.

At this morning’s end-of-season Hockey Feast there were games for all the Casuals juniors. After an U11 game, there was a game between mixed teams of U13s, U15s and U18s. This was followed by the annual prize-giving, at which medals and trophies were presented to Top Scorers and to the Most Improved Player in each age group.

Finally the U18s played the Ladies, and were made to work hard for a 2-1 win.

After the Casuals’ British team reclaimed the Kuiper Cup from the Dutch last week with an exciting 3-2 victory, today saw the two Portuguese teams compete for the Camões Cup. Although the game was tied 1-1 at half time, the Whites appeared to have the edge and did go ahead after the break. But the Blues not only drew level, but eventually found a third goal for a 3-2 win and the right to play the British in the Pringsheim Cup in two weeks time.