Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 40
Player Pathway Assessments
It is wonderful to see our young players achieving success in the England Hockey player pathway. This season a staggering 55 Winchester junior players have been invited to AC assessments, across U13 - U17 age groups, with this Sunday being the final assessment. We also have 12 players trialling for the newly formed South Coast Talent Academy. These trials are also coming to a conclusion over the next few weeks. We wish all of those involved our support and best wishes.
U18 Girls
vs Oxford Hockey Club - 4-0
After several seasons without a girls U18 team it was great to have a team playing. Despite the long journey to Oxford, the girls started quickly and the game was evenly matched with end to end play from both teams. Elizabeth got the scoring off to a great start in the first half with a goal from open play. Just before half-time a we had a short corner which eventually lead to Viv scoring our second goal.
The midfield worked tirelessly with excellent runs of passing leading to a third goal early in the second half from Megan. The opposition continued to press and the defence were made to work hard with Chloe making several excellent saves. With growing confidence we continued to press forward, with Alice producing two great aerial passes. Elizabeth finished as she started with another goal. A big thank you to Esther and Eva for stepping up from the U16s to play for us.
Opposition’s players of the match were Amelie & Viv.
U16 Girls
Vs Trojans - 4-0
Scorers: Rosie H, Cecily M (2), Millie M
On Sunday we played our first league match against Trojans. The early pushback showed for some with a slow start, but Winchester took control and played some great hockey to secure a win. The team showed great promise with high hopes for a brilliant season ahead.
Players of the match - Bea E and Zara B
Written by Amelia W
U16 Boys
Vs Trojans - 7-0
The first league fixture was a tough test for the Winch lads. Sporting their new shirts, the boys were determined to show their opponents that they can play amongst the strongest teams in the South. With a few regulars missing through injury, work rate was what coach Howard asked for.
From the whistle, possession was key. With Will and Eddie being the anchors at the back rotating play from left to right, Winch kept the ball and kept Trojans at bay for the first ten minutes, but then showed how quickly it can change. A pass inside the Winch half, quickly intercepted, found the back of the net followed by another in the same way and a short corner meaning Winch went into half-time 3-0 down.
Trojans found another two quickly into the second half. A change was required but as Winch had no subs Howard swapped a few lads’ positions. This started to work as Oliver burst through the centre only to be thwarted by the Trojans centre back. James also found himself able to run the right flank and around the baseline and we all felt a goal was coming but Trojans countered and scored. 6-0 down and a Trojans clear win, Winch were still giving everything - Eddie running the wing found James who hit the keepers’ pads. George nearly tapped in a loose ball with Trojans’ defender clearing the goal line. Tired legs were visible as the Trojans’ centre back ran the length of the pitch and found the back of the net.
The boys can be very proud of their efforts and look forward to rest of the season. We go against Trojans again in two weeks in the EH cup. Game on.
U14 Girls
Vs Isle of Wight - 1-3
Winchester hosted the Isle of Wight girls for their first of two league matches on Sunday.
The IOW were strong from the start and secured two goals in the first half and a third in the second half. Winchester showed some good skills and had shots at the goal but unfortunately the IOW keeper was on top form and saved lots of them. Esme did manage to secure a goal for Winchester within the last 30 seconds of the game so the girls ended on a high!
Written by Connie W
Vs Havant - 1-3
It just seemed one of those days - it was the first time the team had played together and we played well, but Havant got some lucky breakaway goals and Winchester missed a few too many chances. Havant scored the first goal but Winchester played on, defending other chances Havant had in the first half. At half-time, the girls agreed they were going to give it their all. Despite lots of chances, Havant broke away to make the score 2-0. However, we kept fighting and Francesca scored from a short corner for Winchester to make the score 2-1. Again, we pushed for the equaliser and again we got hit on the break by Havant 3-1. The final score definitely did not reflect the game.
Bring on Trojans in two weeks’ time in the EH Cup!
Players of the Match - Francesca B and Thea M
Written by Francesca B
U14 Boys
A’s vs Bournemouth - 1-5
Winchester travelled to Bournemouth for their first Tier 1 league game of the season, taking on a very strong, well organised opposition. It remains to be seen how other teams shape up, but in all likelihood Bournemouth will be the strongest team that we will face in the South Central region. Half of the Winchester team have moved up from U12s this season and this was a reality check for them, giving an indication of the step up in standard that they now face. They are all quality hockey players with the desire to develop, and so will no doubt improve rapidly as the season progresses.
Winchester competed bravely for three quarters of the game and it was only in the last quarter that legs tired and Bournemouth added three late goals to give the scoreline a slightly misleading impression of the balance of the game.
It was pleasing to see the older boys step up and show great leadership from the start. Harrison pulled off some fabulous saves. Matthew and Henry were mostly calm and commanding at the back, and Bertie and Tom showed determination and skill in a titanic battle against Bournemouth's strongest players in the middle. Rory, "I'm fine, it's only a flesh wound", added flashes of flair and energy for a brief time before injury got the better of him; a time that only served to highlight how much he was missed when he hobbled off. Of the younger players, Vinny slotted in like he has always played at this level, and Shayan showed touches of real quality up front.
Bertie scored early from a short corner, and at half time it was close at 2-1. Bournemouth finished stronger and scored three late goals to close out the game.
All in all, there was much to be encouraged about. There are organisational issues to work on in training, and cohesion to develop. Exciting times, for a motivated group of boys!
Bs vs Southampton A - 3-2
The U14 boys B squad travelled for their first match of the season to Southampton, but initially sadly to the wrong venue, due to a small Teamo hiccup (now resolved!). Many thanks to the Winchester parents for bearing with that issue.
With both squads having players who were mostly new to 11-a-side matches - having either just joined or more familiar with half-pitch matches - it was agreed to start off with a half-pitch game to allow Hugo (the Winchester goalkeeper) to put his kit on and to ensure maximum playing time after the delayed start. That proved to be a well fought contest with remarkably a 0-0 score line.
As soon as the Winchester GK was ready, the match switched to a full pitch game and a great flowing, evenly matched contest with the score line switching regularly. The Winchester lads finally secured a good 3-2 win with Ollie M scoring twice and Tom the winner. There were some great Winchester debuts all round, not least Hugo in goal and of course some Happy Hot Tub sponsored shirts on show!
U12 Girls
The U12 girls started their season with a series of friendly fixtures against Haslemere U12s and a really promising start with two out of our three teams winning their games convincingly. It was great to see the girls back out on the pitch working together and improving massively as the games progressed. Still lots to work on before the league starts in a couple of weeks.