Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 35
Congratulations!
junior players representing hampshire
Congratulations to the club’s junior members representing Hampshire at the weekend in AC matches!
Bea E and Amelia W (U14 girls) lost their first game to Kent 3-0 but won the second 4-1. Ollie S, Will L, Charlie, Finn L and Eddie B represented U14 boys and had a good day up at Stowe School, beating Bucks 9-1 and Kent 1-0. Rory, Tom N and Bertie (pictured) also debuted for Hampshire in the U13 boys’ team.
U14 Boys
vs Chichester - 3-0
Scorers: Ed S, Ollie S and Bertie
The U14 boys duly completed a clean sweep of wins in the South Central Tier 2 league, with a comfortable, if slightly scrappy 3-0 victory against Chichester. Played five, won five and winners of the league by some distance, this has been a dominant display of attacking hockey, especially in the second half season of the season.
This latest win was achieved with goals from Ed S, Ollie and Bertie, but in truth movement was lacking and the team rarely took advantage of the space on offer. Finn made some good saves at important times, and in the main the defence was solid.
The boys now look forward to this Sunday’s tier 1 plate semi final against Norwich.
U12 Girls
Old Georgians Tournament
Our U12 girls were invited to play in a new tournament hosted by the National League side Old Georgians in Weybridge. The event was scheduled before their National Premier League match against Holcombe so that the Juniors could stay on and see some top-level hockey.
What a day was had! The girls arrived with great excitement at the new challenge, a bit further afield than they are used to travelling for our matches. However, the impressive facilities and the new occasion inspired our girls and they played some fantastic hockey right from the start. The team included players from a mixture of our squads but they looked like a team that had played together many times before. Everyone worked hard on and off the ball to create space, allowing them to exploit the opponents’ defence with some lovely through balls. In defence (Ally, Poppy, Freya B) were strong and well organised with GK Ella making some excellent saves on the occasions that the opponents broke through.
The first of the group matches was against London Wayfarers (1-0 win). A well-taken goal by Charlotte B put the team ahead and there were a few more good attacking moves from both teams saved by the goal keepers. It was a close and exciting match, with a last minute short corner awarded to Wayfarers before WHC came out winners.
Old Georgians’ B were second up (9-0 win). WHC’s ball movement in this match was great to watch, from defence, through midfield and into attack with numerous switches of play to create sustained periods of dominance. The attack and midfield players took their goal scoring opportunities well, Esme (1), Charlotte B (3), Isla T (3) and Daisy (2).
The final group match was against Chertsey (0-0 draw). This was a tight and nervous match with both teams strong in defence and the few shots on goals well-saved by the keepers. WHC finished top of the group and were into the final against Old Georgians’ A.
The girls started the final well but it was clear that the girls had given their all in the group matches and were starting to tire. Despite tired legs they fought well against the strong home side. The final score was 2-0 to Old Georgians - a well-deserved win - but the Winchester girls can be very proud of their performance. They were certainly delighted with their prize, 24 donuts between a team of eight (plus their supporters!)
Fuelled with donuts, the team stayed to watch the Men's Premier League match. There was some fantastic skill and pace on show with 11 Olympians playing. The girls loved the occasion and can’t wait to return next year! Thank you to Old Georgians for being such welcoming hosts.
Bs vs Trojans - 3-1 and 1-1
The Winchester B team played two mixed Trojan A and B teams. In both games the Winchester team showed dominance, winning the first game 3-1 and drawing the second game 1-1. Winchester displayed some superb hockey with dynamic and aggressive attacks from both wings. Winchester had lots of chances but the Trojans goal keeper did a good job defending her goal. However, Zoe managed to get the goal they deserved giving them the confidence to press harder and get a few corners from which Rosanna scored. Trojans managed to counter attack a few times with Lara making some brilliant saves and they sneaked one in but Winchester quickly got back in their half with some strong passing and combinations between Alice, Venne and Sophie, nicely finished with a goal by Cecily.
Trojans realised they needed to put bigger guns in and swapped their team for the third and last 20 minutes. A tougher team, where Winchester had less space; more battles through the middle and a fair amount of chances before Zoe scored. Trojans added more pressure and equalised soon after. We nearly scored another goal but the umpire finished the match just in time (for Trojans!!)