Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 10

And… we’re back!!

U12B v Haslemere.jpeg — U12 boys set up for a short corner

It was fantastic to see junior hockey up and running again at the weekend. The enthusiasm of all the children is clear to see and we must continue to give them as many opportunities as we can. Many thanks to Haslemere and Romsey for hosting or travelling, and their contributions to making these matches happen. Against both opponents, we won some and lost some, but the most important thing is that the players left the pitches tired, but buzzing. Long may that continue!

The rearranged Hampshire Development Centre sessions have added a complication to planning next weekend’s fixtures, but we will try to play as many of the games as possible. Our U14 boys and girls have also been invited to take part in an innovative new 5-aside tournament by King Edward School.

Good luck to those players taking part in DC. These sessions are an important first step for players in the England Hockey talent pathway, and we applaud those involved in making these happen under difficult circumstances.

England Hockey is planning fundamental changes to the wider player pathway over the next couple of years. This will impact all players that are motivated to achieve their hockey potential, and is also likely to have consequences for all clubs, include Winchester. Although changes are still some way off, we have started the planning process to make sure we, as a club, can deliver a high-quality hockey programme for all of our junior players. We will update you more on this over the next few weeks

Weekend Results

Sunday 6th December:

U12 Girls A 1-1 Trojans

U12 Girls B 0-3 Romsey

U12 Boys A 1-2 Haslemere

U12 Boys B 4-9 Romsey

U14 Boys A 1-0 Haslemere

U14 Boys B 2-1 Romsey

Team Summit U14 Girls B 1-4 Romsey

Saturday 12th December

U14 Boys v KES, Trojans and Fareham - 5-a-side 9:30

Team Summit U14 Girls v KES, Trojans and Fareham - 5-a-side 10:30

Sunday 13th December

U12 Girls C v Aldershot & Farnham 9:30 Kings

U12 Girls B v Aldershot & Farnham 11:00 Bar End

U12 Boys A v Aldershot & Farnham 13:30 Kings

Team Summit U14 Girls B v Havant 14:30 Bar End

Kings School request - please wear a face mask on site

We’ve received a request from Kings this week asking all club members to wear a face covering when on site (inside and out), except when playing or for medical reasons. To avoid complaints from other facility users, please help us follow the school’s request.

Many thanks for your co-operation!

Stocking fillers - WHC bobble hats and socks

Winchester HC bobble hats are now available, again. Price this batch: £12 (N.B. “One size fits all” !)

As ever club socks also available. Price: all sizes £10.

Please contact Stuart Swift stuart@swiftyboy.co.uk or Richard Macer richard.macer@btinternet.com to order yours now.

Under 12 Girls

B Team v Romsey - Score 0 - 3

It was great to have everyone back playing on Sunday. The B team took on a strong Romsey A team and showed some real determination in stopping a good Romsey attacking side.

Understandably the girls start slowly and unfortunately conceded an early goal. However, a defence marshalled by the superb Ally Bell soon started to play the ball out from the back and were unlucky that their interlinking play did not lead to a goal.

Unfortunately Romsey scored two quick goals on the break as the girls began to tire to make the final score 3-0. This is a young side who have not been able to train as much as we would like this season but they have shown a real effort to listen to the coaches advice and we look forward to the next game.

A Team v Trojans A - Score 1 - 1

(Scorer: Russell)

Pass and Possession but would the U12's have forgotten this during Lockdown 2! The short answer is no - they must have all been practicing in their bedrooms. Trojans is always a tough match but Winchester started really confidently maybe a little too confidently as their enthusiasm got the better of them and they forgot about the Trojan's centre forward who raced through unmarked to score.

For the rest of the first third the game was end to end, Saoirse Redican making a couple of really good saves.

Winchester again started the second third strongly and began to dominate the game. Francesca Bradley and Poppy Russell both went close before finally a great pass from Anna Dale Smith put Poppy clean through to score.

Despite more pressure in the final third Winchester just could not find the winner. This really was an entertaining match with both sides playing some great hockey. The girls should all be really proud of their efforts.

Under 12 Boys

B Team v Romsey - Score 4 - 9

Winchester U12B travelled to Romsey to face their A team following the enforced 4 week lockdown, so it was always going to be a tough game. The team however rose to the occasion and put up a valiant effort.

The attacking was all one way in the first half of the game with Romsey going ahead. However in the second half Winchester fought back to narrow the gap.

There was plenty of strong play and positives to take away. The performance was epitomised by Woody's efforts at centre back who had a man of the match performance.

A Team v Haslemere – score 1 - 2

(Scorer: Lander)

Winchester under 12s hosted their Haslemere counterparts on Sunday, with both sets of players raring to go again after the latest lockdown. In a very entertaining and even game, both teams were keen to showcase their attacking prowess. Ultimately, it was Haslemere who edged it, with their rapid counter attacking strategy catching the Winchester defence outnumbered a few too many times.

Winchester dominated possession for large parts of the game, but couldn’t find too many clear scoring chances against a well drilled Haslemere team that was well organised in defence. Winchester did win several penalty corners, which the boys executed well, but could not beat the excellent Haslemere goalkeeper. As the pressure built at the Haslemere end, more and more players were sucked forward looking to break the deadlock. The warning signs were evident, with a couple of fast Haslemere breakouts saved by the quick reactions of Harrison in goal. The game continued with a similar pattern of Winchester pressure punctuated with Haslemere fast breaks. Eventually, Haslemere took one of their chances with an unstoppable shot into Harrison’s bottom corner.

As the final period of play started the game remained in the balance, but that changed when Haslemere scored again from another breakaway attack. Winchester redoubled their efforts to get themselves back into the game, and were finally rewarded when Bertie sent an unstoppable reverse hit shot into the bottom corner from a well worked penalty corner. The boys were now fired up to rescue the game, but despite a couple of half chances, it was not to be.

This is a team developing into a strong outfit that has the potential to perform well over the coming years. Many of the boys haven’t been playing hockey long, but their enthusiasm and willingness to learn will stand them in good stead.

Team Summit Under 14 Girls

v Romsey- Score 1 - 4

(Goal scorer - Cecily Wilson)

We started the match well ending the first half 1:1. As we came back into the 2nd half, Romsey played well and managed to score 3 goals. We regained our spirits in the last 15 minutes when we played mainly in Romsey’s half and put them under pressure but unfortunately didn’t manage to score again. An enjoyable match despite our loss and we learnt lots!

Match report written by Zara

Under 14 Boys

B Team v Romsey U14B - 2 - 1

(Scorers: Bulstrode, Kileff)

A much-changed B squad played 3 x 20-minute sessions at Romsey which enabled players to swap around positions each period.

From an early ‘head down and run approach’ in the first few minutes the team gradually opened up the pitch with good team passing to stretch their hosts in all 3 sessions. They took the lead from some determined play by Eddie Bulstrode after some excellent build up play.

Dylan in goal looked in good form on the occasions the Romsey forwards occasionally broke through and it was no surprise when Josh Kileff extended the lead to take a deserved 2 goal lead after the home keeper had made several strong saves.

Romsey worked hard to get a goal back and did so from an excellent right wing move 2 minutes from time, finishing with a very strong shot at goal giving the keeper little chance.

A Team v Haslemere U14A - score 1 - 0

(Scorer: Nolan)

A revised squad of U14A boys played Haslemere U14A and although all the players have been without match play for some weeks, they put a credible performance to win 1-0.

The side contained many Yr. 8 players and in fact a Yr. 7 player Tom Nolan popped up to score the only goal of the game. Many boys played well and the team as a whole need to work on simple patterns of play much better in order to work out how to breakdown and counter whatever their oppositions are trying to achieve.

The A squad rotates players in and out each week by blending new players from the large U14 boys pool with great effect and it is also good to see some of Yr. 9 boys performing well as the backbone of the side.

Are you missing a hooded jumper?

Several hoodies have been left behind after matches.

If your child has a hoodie, can you please ensure it does have a surname in it - to ease future returns!

Current Stock !!

a) New Masuri style, size 13-14 years with initials on front MS

b) Old style (inner hood yellow) size XS - no name

c) Old style (inner hood yellow) size XS - no name (left earlier in the year, before the March Covid lockdown).

d) Another old style (inner hood grey) with number 15 on one sleeve - no name and has been unclaimed for a long while, size L

Please contact Richard Macer (richard.macer@btinternet.com) to claim any of the above and the return can be arranged.

Sponsorship Opportunities

As we look to invest in the coaching programme and resources, we are giving local business an opportunity to sponsor individual teams or the entire junior section.

For a modest contribution, sponsors will have:

Their name associated with specific teams
Bespoke coverage in newsletters and social media
Recognition of their sponsorship in local press coverage

We would very much like to hear from you if you are interested, or have contacts at local business which may be prepared to get involved. Please do get in touch.