OTTERS SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE IN WAKE OF SPORTING CUTBACKS

Pride, passion and hard work are just three of the qualities that are required to reach the Olympic Games, the pinnacle of an athlete’s career.

All three it would seem were in abundance in the case of Josh Smith, formerly of Huddersfield Otters water polo club.

Smith was a young Olympic hopeful who had been called up to the Great Britain side, after a string of impressive displays for the West Yorkshire outfit.

The dream, however, turned sour in early 2009. Paul Bentley, coach at the Otters explains: “Josh was training with the GB team in Manchester, although he was only third choice. However, the funding for it went and that was a big blow”.

A cut in funding to the sport, in preparation for 2012, meant that Smith became disillusioned with the sport, and headed for pastures new, which is an extremely sad state of affairs when you consider the amount of talent that seems to be slipping through the grasps of British sport, not only in water polo.

In an ailing sport, Bentley and other volunteers are seemingly swimming against the tide, with regards to the resources at their disposal. “We have to train in shallow pools (here at the Sports Centre) which isn’t ideal as water polo should be played in deep pools really.

Despite working on a shoestring budget with limited resources, it is a testament to Bentley and his team, that players like Smith can even think of entering the “Greatest show on earth”. It would certainly seem that they punch above their weight and only last year, the Otters claimed the under-16 Yorkshire championship, which just foes to show the potential that exists within the club.

Despite that success, the veteran coach confesses that the club does face a struggle to attract new blood: “we do find it hard to attract new members, as it is hard to teach good swimmers to be good at water polo, and vice versa.”

“We are always looking to improve, but as lads get older they’ve got families and friends and it becomes harder to remain dedicated.

However, instead of trying to find ways to combat that, it seems the club cannot compete with its more popular counterpart – swimming. Bentley states: “the difference in sports is massive: Swimming (in Kirklees) gets 20 hours a week, whilst we get only 2½ hours.”

That revealing figure highlights the struggles that water polo faces in the coming years.

However, money is not necessarily the answer, although it does help.

It is dedication shown by clubs like the Otters that is keeping the sport afloat.

AND TO THINK, THIS IS ANFIELD?

First of all, it is worth saying that Liverpool Football Club will not be relegated this season, no matter how many people try and convince you otherwise.

Yes, their problems have been catastrophic but even a nine-point deduction (although unlikely as it is) will not mean that they end up in the Championship next year.

That is because unlike Portsmouth, LFC still have the resources of a certain Mr Gerrard on their books to drag them kicking and screaming through every game seemingly.

Supporters at Anfield remain disillusioned with the situation both on and off the pitch and rightly so.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett have successfully negotiated a way to run a once-illustrious English club into the ground in no time at all. Even the much-maligned Glazers have not managed that feat in their tenure at Old Trafford (so far).

As far as playing matters are concerned, there is no doubting that the Kop have fallen down the Premier League pecking order, not only in positional sense, but also in terms of fear factor.

Supporters that once prided themselves on following a club that considered itself like a magnet to trophies are now faced with turning up at home games and being happy to take a point from sides such as Sunderland at the end of 90 minutes, a scenario that would have seemed unthinkable to the loyal band of Merseysiders not so long ago when they were flirting with top spot on a regular basis.

It is now more interesting, it would seem, to discuss the antics in the boardroom as opposed to on the pitch. The sorry state of affairs that has taken place has ripped the club apart from the inside out.

There is of course no doubt that Liverpool is still a massive club and the sooner the ownership issue is resolved, then the quicker their return to form will correlate.

Whether Roy Hodgson will be given time to turn the situation around, only time will tell, but surely a managerial change will bring with it only more upheaval. What is certain in this farcical daily drama is that the Reds will definitely not be pitching up in the second tier come next season, something they should be thankful for.

Hudd-P'Boro

TERRIERS MOVE A LICK OF PAINT CLOSER TO WEMBLEY

HUDDERSFIELD 3-2 PETERBOROUGH

It was a tale of two halves as Huddersfield scraped into the last eight of the Northern section of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

In front of barely 3,000 inside the Galpharm stadium, the Terriers survived a second half onslaught from the visitors as they nearly let slip a 3-0 lead after a dominant first half performance.

Graham Carey opened the scoring for Town with a long range effort that opposite keeper Joe Lewis should have dealt with, as oppose to let slip through his hands.

Fellow Town winger Anthony Pilkington then doubled the lead after shimmying into the area and letting rip an unstoppable shot that flew into the top corner. He added another shortly after to effectively wrap up the game.

Many a time in the first period, Town used the channels as their major outlet, with front man Alan Lee winning countless headers and playing in Carey and Pilkington on the wings.

However, complacency set in after the break. A triple substitution by Posh boss Gary Johnson at half-time freshened them up, and it wasn’t long before they found a route back into the game when Aaron McLean, one of the subs, headed home via the post.

Peterborough continued their quest to draw level as the half grew, with McLean and Craig Mackail-Smith looking the most likely to strike.

Some smart goalkeeping was required from home keeper Ian Bennett, when he cleverly palmed away two corners that swept into the penalty spot region.

The removal of Lee with a quarter of the game to go meant that Town’s main outlet had departed, and as a result, Peterborough reduced the deficit furthermore, when Mark Little nodded from close range.

Just when Posh looked like staging a remarkable comeback, Lee’s replacement, Jordan Rhodes, spurned the chance to kill the game off, when he fizzed an effort just over the bar.

That was to prove the last major incident of the game, as Town held on to reach the quarter-finals and move one step closer to Wembley.

NOTTS COUNTY MATCH REPORT

With a new month comes a new start.

That is certainly what Alan Irvine will be hoping for after a resurgent performance that was more than welcomed after a nightmare September.

In a month which saw four defeats on the trot, car park protests and questions raised over the shelf life of Irvine, the Owls will have been glad to see the 1^st of October arrive on their calendar.

How ironic that the goalscorers on Saturday were two players that have been much-maligned recently during that pitiful run.

Marcus Tudgay finally scored his first goal in open play since April, whilst Darren Potter went some way to restoring his reputation among disillusioned supporters.

After soaking up the pressure in the first half, Wednesday came out and took initiative after the break, with Marcus Tudgay scoring from outside the area with a finely placed effort. Not since fourteen games back has the striker netted (Excluding penalties).

The goal allowed Wednesday to relax slightly, however County gave them a scare when they were denied an equaliser when the flag was raised to quash Lee Hughes headed goal.

Both sides continued to threaten in patches, with Neil Mellor hauling his shot wide and the ever-dangerous Hughes always looking a threat to the Owls backline.

With little under five minutes remaining, County were reduced to ten men when Alan Judge was shown red for a clash with Potter. The decision looked extremely harsh especially when considering it was a straight dismissal.

Nevertheless Wednesday used the sending-off to their advantage, when Potter, on a substitute, slotted home past ex-Owls keeper Rob Burch to seal the first maximum haulage since late August.