Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 32


The WHC Holiday Camp is Back…

Monday 11th - Wednesday 13th April

We are pleased to announce we will be once again running some Easter Hockey camps! All the information, including dates and times, can be found on Teamo. Tickets can also be booked via Teamo, if you scroll down the calendar to April.

Pick and choose what days you want to attend - all four days will include a variety of hockey skills.

Any questions please get in contact with Howard Chaplin-White.


Under 16 Girls

Vs Andover - 3-2 (6 February)

Scorers: Alice (2), Eva A

A closely fought and fast-paced match in which Winchester just kept their nose in front. Winchester attacked and defended well, occupying the Andover D for long passages of play, trying to break through their stubborn defence and taking multiple shots on goal. Winchester was 2-0 up at half time, following goals by Alice and Eva A, but then saw Andover equalising, the second goal coming from a break away. Were we going to be left with a cruel draw? After three short corners and a lot of goalmouth pressure our third and final winning goal came from Alice threading the ball high to the goalkeeper's left. An excellent demonstration of skill, determination and stamina by our girls – well done.


vs Fareham - 11-0

Scorers: Georgie (3), Esther (2), Alice (1), Amelie (1), Lexi (1), Viv (1), Lizzy (1)

On a miserable wet morning the girls travelled to Fareham to play. We started brightly and soon pushed the opposition back deep into their own half. Good pressure soon led to a short corner which was converted by Viv. Further goals followed with Esther scoring two either side of two goals from Georgie, and with Georgie adding her third - and the team’s sixth - before half time. Good passing and pressure kept the ball in the opposition's half, leaving little for Chloe to do in goal.

The girls were so eager in the second half that at times they were getting in each other's way to get to the ball and goal. The heavy rain didn’t stop Amelie, Viv, Alice and Lizzy scoring, with Lexi scoring the final goal to leave us with an 11-0 victory.


Under 14 Boys

EH Cup Plate vs Bournemouth - 7-1 (6 Feburary)

Scorers: Ollie, Charlie (3), Will, Tom, Oscar

Winchester continued their run in the England Hockey tier 1 plate competition with a stunning victory, which took them to the semi-final stage.

After the recent Tier 2 league successes this was a step up in challenge for the boys U14 team, with Bournemouth in second place in the South Central Tier 1 league and now competing in the West of England tier 1 supra-league. It was clear that the boys felt a little over-awed, with the big, talented Bournemouth players dominating the early stages of the match. Although Bournemouth took the lead with a well taken short corner, Winchester gradually began to establish a foothold in the match and their confidence started to emerge. Ollie S clinically finished off a chance from a rare visit to the opposition D, and the first half finished all square at 1-1.

Winchester now realised that they deserved to be playing teams of this calibre. As the second half unfolded, Winchester became more and more dominant, scoring six unanswered goals and reducing Bournemouth to a shadow of the team of the first half. Will was imperious in the middle and Eddie B created chance after chance with his marauding runs down the right.

This team has shown outstanding development this season and looks forward to the semi-final with great confidence.


vs Alton - 4-2

Scorers: George, Monty, Tom, Bertie

Where last week's performance was joyful, this week's was all about grit and resilience in the face of the worst weather that this beautiful and unpredictable island can throw at us. Heavy rain and driving wind made this more a physical test than one of hockey ability. As bodies froze, so did minds and the boys reverted to route one, which didn't work! Fortunately Winchester managed to carve out and finish off more chances than Alton, so that - when the coaches agreed that player welfare was more important than finishing off the allotted time - Winchester were 4-2 to the good.

The result takes Winchester to the top of the Tier 2 South Central league, with one match to play against second place Chichester.