Week 1: Opening Matchday of the Season!
To the joy and relief of all bored witches and wizards, the 2019-20 Quidditch season kicked off in earnest this past weekend! Each week we will bring you a review of the matchday’s results, including events noteworthy, controversial, and just plain surprising. Here we go!
Saturday at Westwind — Tutshill 200, Appleby 60: Tutshill opened their campaign with a home win Saturday. It was a defensive struggle, with only 11 goals being scored between the two teams. Appleby’s Beaters Kieran Fitzwater and Rakeem Edwards were particularly effective in this game, repeatedly dispossessing the Tornado Chasers whenever they approached the goal hoops. Nevertheless, Tutshill’s veteran Chaser April Austin kept her team in the match with four goals, and Tornado Chaser Roderick Plumpton IV sealed the tie by securing the Snitch just after the one-hour mark.
Saturday at Anglesey Arena — Caerphilly 270, Holyhead 130: Caerphilly also got off to a winning start, this time on the road with a victory over the Harpies. Like the Tutshill-Appleby affair, this match was close the entire way, but with far more goals being scored. Caerphilly spent their summer clearly attempting to rectify their offensive struggles from last season, bringing in an entirely new starting Chaser trio, and promoting their reserve Seeker to the starting role. And the Catapult Chasers did indeed show improvement, as each scored at least twice, with Olivier Bordeaux leading all scorers with six goals. However, it was ultimately Caerphilly’s Seeker Rhys Brookwell who ended the match with a slick capture of the Snitch.
Saturday at Dumbledore’s Den — Puddlemere United 350, Wigtown 140: Puddlemere reversed their fortunes from last weekend’s loss to Ballycastle in the Wright’s Cup by defeating Wigtown at home. This match was much more one-sided than the other Saturday fixtures, with United Chasers Sarah Moore and David Duffy staking their squad to a quick 50-0 lead inside of fifteen minutes. After falling behind by as much as 100 points, Wigtown did stage a minor comeback thanks to goals from Chaser Dwight Carroll. However, the Wanderers could get no closer than 30 points before Moore and Duffy opened the lead back out to sixty, and then Seeker Jaime Garcia ended all debate by snagging the Snitch right in front of his own coach’s box.
Sunday at Exmoor — Portree 370, Chudley 190: Unfortunately for Chudley, as predicted here in this blog’s Matchday 1 Preview, Pride Chaser Lewis Simpson did in fact make hay against the Cannons defense. Simpson surpassed his season high from last year by scoring a full dozen goals — and all in the first forty-five minutes of the match! From there, the fixture lost much of its luster, with both teams trading goals while the Seekers searched for the Snitch. Chudley’s rookie Chaser Lloyd Stacey did acquit himself well in the second half of the match, helping the Cannons eventually to cut their deficit to 30 points. However, in an exciting end to the match, Pride Seeker Catriona Stuart performed an acrobatic barrel roll with one hand outstretched to catch the Snitch upside-down, thus securing the victory for Portree.
Sunday at Witchampton — Wimbourne 430, Falmouth 300: Wimbourne opened their season with a home victory over Falmouth. This match featured the weekend’s largest comeback, as Falmouth jumped out to a 110-point lead while the Wasp Keeper James Morgan faced the sun in the first 90 minutes of the match. However, by mid-afternoon, cloud cover had returned, and the Wimbourne Chasers mirrored their Keeper’s improved performance. The attacking duo of Ricardo Perez and Dennis Evans partnered well in this match, eventually bringing the Wasps to within 20 points of the Falcons. Wimbourne Seeker Hans Müller captured the Snitch just as bad weather was starting to threaten, and the Wasps went home to their hive, happy but exhausted.
Sunday at The Cave — Ballycastle 230, Kenmare 130: This blog picked the Irish derby as its “Match of the Weekend,” and the fixture did not disappoint. Both teams played exceptional defense throughout the match, although the Chasers for both squads were admittedly hindered by high winds coming off the North Atlantic. Kenmare’s defense centered around Keeper Dylan McCleary and Beater Michaela Kelly, and they were able to limit the potent Bat offense to just eight goals. However, in the end, it was Ballycastle Seeker Brigid O’Neill who decided the match, as she fought off a stiff challenge from Kenmare Seeker Jamie Boyle — and the 45-mile-per-hour winds — to snatch the Snitch and clinch a fourth straight Irish derby victory for the Bats.
Match of the Weekend: Undoubtedly, it would have to be Ballycastle vs. Kenmare. The build-up was exceptional, the crowds were passionate, and the Quidditch was outstanding. Our blogger lost multiple pieces of headwear due to the high winds (and his weakness with executing Summoning Charms over long distances), but he did enjoy multiple pints of butterbeer with the Ballycastle faithful after the match was over.
Player of the Weekend: Simpson, Chaser, Pride of Portree. See the match summary above. Simpson came into the season with some pressure, as Portree are looking to improve on their mid-table finish from last year, and as he finished last year’s campaign with such improvement. His dozen goals early on set the table for his team to win, and he was clearly the most valuable player on this first matchday.
Weasleys’ Wheeze of the Weekend™: As usual, the first matchday did not contain too many weather-related mishaps, with the still-balmy summer weather holding over most of the British Isles. However, the warm weather all summer did encourage widespread breeding of Glumbumbles. As a result, the Tutshill faithful enjoyed a great laugh at Appleby’s expense about forty-five minutes into their match, as Arrow Chaser Harriet Evans ended up flying a full 1000 meters away from the pitch while trying to shoo away a swarm of Glumbumbles that had decided to accompany her on her flight — biting her all the way.
