Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 37
Competition Results!
Drumroll please…
Thanks to an overwhelming response to the competition, we have awarded two prizes. A free day at one of our summer camps goes to both Monty and Campbell from our U14 Boys group. As we suggested in the question, there is no right answer and the responses received were split evenly between the two options. A couple of the answers received were as follows:
"Ed should have pushed it into the bottom left corner because the goalie could have blocked the pass. Although the other side of the goal was open, the pass was risky."
"I think Ed made the right decision to pass in this situation. Ed should have made the pass because the keeper was in front of him when he got the ball. It would have been hard to get the shot off in that position so passing it gave the team a better chance at scoring. The keeper would not be as close to the other player when they received the ball making for an easier shot on goal."
Thanks to everyone who entered the competition. If you haven't won the prize this time, watch out for more opportunities.
U16 Girls
Bs vs Trojans Bs - 0-5
A beautiful sunny afternoon for the last game of the season but it was always going to be tough against Trojans, especially with the rest of the U16s playing away in Marlow. A massive thank you to all of the U14 girls who stayed on to play for us after their earlier match; Tilly S, Bea, Imogen, Francesca, Amelia W and Amelie C. They were brilliant.
Trojans started strongly and after a period of sustained pressure had their first goal, followed by another 10 minutes later. Winchester fought back with a good run of play from Lucy, a shot on goal by Amelie that was just wide and a great save by Tilly. Unfortunately, a short corner just before half time led to Trojans third goal.
The girls played much better as a team in the second half, with the midfield working hard and producing some good breaks. The best chance was Kyra’s great run from behind the half way line, she was clear on goal but the Trojans keeper made a great save. The defence were kept busy by a series of short corners and sustained pressure from Trojans, with Bea making some impressive tackles and clearances and another great save by Tilly. Despite the great job they did in repelling most of these, Trojans scored another two goals. The score line doesn’t do justice to the amount of effort and determination the team put in.
U14 Boys
triangular vs Wycombe and Marlow - 9-0 and 0-1
Scorers: Will (3), Tom (2), Ollie S (2), Charlie, Bertie
The U14 boys travelled to Marlow for a friendly triangular, designed to provide some strong opposition as a warm up for the tier 1 plate final next weekend.
Winchester dominated Wycombe right from the start of the match, and were able to move the ball freely and practise some of the strategies that the boys have been working on in recent weeks. In particular, the press was particularly effective with Wycombe regularly pinned back in their own 22, with Winchester winning possession at will and quickly turning defence into attack. Goals came at regular intervals, with all of the front players contributing.
The second game against Marlow was a much stiffer challenge. Their strong centre back took a different, and less subtle, approach to breaking the press - smash it as hard as he could! It understandably put the boys on the back foot and meant that, whilst they had lots of possession, much of it was from deep positions. From one of their few attacks, Marlow won a penalty corner and a clinical shot gave them the lead.
The second half was all Winchester but, despite lots of good movement and pressure, Winchester failed to create many clear-cut chances, and those that did arise went begging. It finished 1-0 to Marlow, but it felt like Winchester were the better team.
The boys are now looking forward to their tier 1 plate national final at Lee Valley on Sunday. They have prepared well and developed nicely as a team over the season, and so are as ready as they will ever be. Good luck boys!!
U12 Girls
season finale
The U12 girls have had quite a season, with the restructure of hockey at this age group meaning that, rather than playing 11-aside hockey, they have been playing 7-aside half-pitch hockey. Winchester has had three teams playing in Hampshire leagues and, wow, what a season they have had!
Last Sunday saw the A team play their final two league matches. From the moment the girls walked onto the pitch they completely dominated both games. The first match against Bournemouth A saw the girls apply consistent effective attacks, driving down the right and crossing into the D. There were a few close misses and then the forwards got their eye on the goal and these dominating attacks paid off. The Winchester team demonstrated some super hockey and deserved a 4–0 win with a hat trick from Thea M and one goal from Rosanna FR.
With their confidence high (Bournemouth had been sitting just above them in the league), the second match against Chichester 1’s saw the girls play some rapid, dynamic passing hockey showcasing what a highly capable team they have become since the start of the season. Solid in defence and clinical in attack they scored a whopping 10 goals. Chichester did have a couple of chances to pull a goal or two back, but the ever-reliable defensive trio of Ally B, Freya P and Ella R in goal quickly put paid to this. The 10 goals were shared across the whole team - Orla E x 2, Isla B x 3, Thea x 2, Isla T x 2 and Freya P x 1.
Disappointingly, the B and C team final fixtures of the season were cancelled last Sunday, and points conceded by the opposition, but this left both teams in great league positions at the end of what has been a hugely successful U12 season.
Hampshire Div 1 – Winchester A - 2nd Place
Hampshire Div 2a – Winchester B - 2nd Place
Hampshire Div 2b – Winchester C - Champions!!
With strength and depth across the whole of U12s, it has been a real pleasure to see the girls all develop not only as individuals but also gel into three fantastic teams. It hasn’t all been about league hockey, with our newer less experienced Year 6s playing in friendly fixtures too.
We will be sad to see the Year 7s move onto U14s next season but excited at the potential of the Year 6s (the B team) who will be looking to fill the shoes of the A team and the new Year 5s coming to join the U12s.
Finally, a BIG thank you to John FR, Celine B, Claire W, Tom B and Sarah W for all the time and effort you have put into coaching and developing the girls over the past season.