Happy new year to all at Winchester Hockey Club!

Congratulations

National Selection Success for two WHC Old Boys

Congratulations to two WHC old boys have achieved selection success at the highest level. The two players started at WHC with the U8s and played through all age groups up to U16s. Both also played for the men's section, playing their final seasons at the club with the men's 1s before moving onwards and upwards.

Ollie Lander (17 yrs) has been selected for the England U18s playing squad. The squad consists of around 25 players and Ollie is certain to get his first international caps before the end of this cycle in July.

Rory Penrose (18 yrs) has been selected for the GB Men's Elite Development Programme (EDP). This programme incorporates regular training camps throughout the year and fixtures for both the England U21s and GB U23s. See link for more details.

Under 18 Boys

Indoor National Finals

The U18 boys travelled to Wolverhampton on Sunday to compete in the indoor national finals. This was the first time that the boys had reassembled as a team since their successes as U16s last season, and it was clear from the atmosphere that they were enjoying the reunion! The changing room sounds and banter preceded a relatively light-hearted opening match, against East Grinstead.

Winchester were cruising, but goals from Dylan Coleman (2), Marsh and Lander saw them through to a comfortable 4-0 victory. It was clear from the quality of the other pool match between Brooklands & Old Loughtonians that the intensity was only going to increase. Next up was Brooklands, and this immediately became a very physical, feisty affair with the umpires struggling to maintain control. Winchester found themselves on the wrong end of the decisions and at half time were 2-0 down with Dylan Coleman off with a yellow card, adjudged to have barged an opponent in a challenge for the ball. Things evened up at the start of the second half with a yellow for an identical Brooklands offence, but Winchester couldn't take advantage and it was Brooklands who scored next to make the game safe. A consolation short corner goal slotted by Lander made the final score 3-1. The final pool match against eventual champions, Old Loughtonians, started evenly matched with another Lander short corner cancelling out an early OL goal. Unfortunately Winchester had a terrible period either side of half time, with a loss of concentration presenting OL's with several easy chances and 4 quickfire goals. Coach Chaplin-White went for broke, replacing Winchester's goalkeeper with an extra outfield player, which initially paid dividends with a penalty flick award and dispatched by Lander. However, it was always going to be high risk, and two more OL goals finished Winchester off. The final score 7-2 was not representative of the standard of the sides, but was a lesson in concentration at critical points in the game. So, finishing 3rd in the pool qualified Winchester for 5th/6th play-off against Clifton Robinson. Inevitably, both sides were more relaxed knowing the national title was out of reach, but the game was high quality with both teams showing great hockey skill and teamwork. Lander scored another, and CR responded with a short corner. Both sides had chances to score again but the game ended 1-1 for a share of 5th place.

Winchester's finishing position felt about right. The players competed well, but with many players relatively inexperienced at indoor hockey and all but one at the younger end of the age bracket, they were not quite at a level to challenge the top 3-4 sides. Still, 5th place in a national event is still a good achievement for this successful group.

Under 16 Girls

EH Cup Round 3 VS Bournemouth - 1-2 (9 January)

Scorer: Viv Sriminger

What an exciting game. The first quarter was largely played in the opposition’s half of the pitch with three short corners for Bournemouth, but none of them led to any goals as Chloe had several moments of showing off her superb skills in goal. With time the Winchester girls grew in confidence and started to attack causing the game to move over to the other end of the pitch. Unfortunately, nevertheless, in the 25th minute Bournemouth scored their first goal.

Undeterred and after some good talking to from Neil during half time they came back strong gaining an equaliser by Viv during a short corner after 15 minutes. Some intense playing from both sides ensued which saw a green card for both teams from the Hampshire Umpire in relatively short succession. Only a few minutes before the final whistle Bournemouth managed to score a second goal. Regardless the girls should feel proud of themselves for putting up a very strong fight.

Under 16 Boys

vs Surbiton - 3-1 (9 January)

Scorers: Alex Potts, Joe Jenkinson (2)

Winchester U16 boys hosted a friendly against Surbiton boys on Sunday, as a post-Christmas warm up before their last 16 EH cup game next month.

As expected from any Surbiton team, although this was not their full A team they were well organised and structured in their play so presented a good challenge for the Winchester lads. Winchester initially showed some rustiness in their own structure and game management but showed some good individual skills. Chances came and went at both ends of the pitch but the deadlock was broken when Joe burst into the D, drove the ball across the goal and Alex ‘fox in the box’ Potts was there to get something on to it and divert it in.

Surbiton showed their attacking intent and Winchester faced a number of short corners in both halves, stubbornly defended by Stanley, Tom and others and with some great goalkeeping by Seb. Eventually the Winchester defence was breached by a direct flick from one of those short corners. However Winchester grew stronger as the game wore on and showed their own attacking ability, supported by tireless running in midfield by Harry. Winchester had a number of chances all saved by another good goalkeeping performance by the Surbiton keeper but eventually took the lead with a powerful shot from Joe from the edge of the D. The game was then wrapped up in the last few minutes when Joe beat the keeper again, with Alex on hand to make sure.

With special thanks to Matt de Lara for doing a great job umpiring.

Under 14 Girls

vs Alton - 4-1

Scorers: Erin Gateley, Arabella Crompton, Bea Eaton (2)

Winchester started off well with 90% possession in the first ten minutes. However Alton managed to get a breakaway goal which resulted in a 1-0 lead at the half time break. After a constructive half time team chat, Winchester emerged a very different side. By playing with great structure and keeping possession they managed to secure a brilliant win with four goals in the second half.

Players of the match were Bea Eaton and Amelie Carter.

Written by Amelia Wakely

Vs Andover - 3-8

Scorers: Poppy Russell, Millie Morgan, Isla Stavonhagen

It was a cold but sunny day when we went to Andover. The first half of the match was fast paced with some strong passing. By the end of the first half, it was 3-1 to Andover but by the second half, there were a lot more goals as we all got more tired. It was our new goalie Jenny’s first time playing a match with Winchester and she played really well, saving lots of goals and was one of the players of the match. The other player of the match was Emily Hodgkinson who made some great tackles, passed the ball strongly and moved into space well. The score ended 8-3 to Andover.

Written by Poppy Burrows

Under 14 Boys

vs Salisbury - 3-3

Scorers: Oscar Kipps, Tom Nolan, Oscar Robertson

The U14 boys’ squad team put up another fine display away at (unbeaten in the league) Salisbury. As ever, each match for this Winchester team uses a blend of new players through to a few experienced heads and again this week, to great effect. The team was set the target of building from the back with width and quick passing, using minimal dribble skills and in the most part the objectives were achieved. The backs were well marshalled by Luke, with Matthew having an outstanding game as the sweeper as they formed a solid defensive unit, often starting off good attacks, as per the game plan. A solid midfield platform gave Oscar K the chance to open the scoring with a fine shot from distance. That was soon followed by one of several determined runs by Tom N to then extend the lead. Salisbury too had several quality players and in an end to end game the in-form keeper Harrison was at last, beaten. Winchester attacks also created plenty of pressure and Oscar R was on hand to deftly score a third just before half-time.

After the break, the team operated with lots of rotation for several players to try out new positions. That disruption did give the hosts a chance to create pressure and indeed they scored twice without reply to level the scores. The Winchester boys then began to press for the winner with effective use of Jude and Morgan on the wings, well supported by Monty, Tom and the two Oscars. Both sides’ defences held out in the end for a much deserved draw. It was great to see strong performances from defenders Harrison (GK), Tom D, Matthew and Hugo and with Monty elsewhere quickly adapting to several roles and different positions throughout the game.

Under 12 Girls

vs Petersfield - 4-0

Scorer: Emma Latima (4)

Winchester As dominated this match from the outset scoring four goals in quick succession in the first half, all scored by Emma Latima. Winchester rested on their laurels for the second half and although were dominant, did not capitalise on being the superior team. A strong first half but disappointing second.

vs Trojans - 3-1

This time the opposition was stronger but Winchester As stepped into a different gear compared to their preceding match and again dominated, displaying some superb hockey. A text book short corner with a solid hit from the D into the corner of the goal as well as a dynamic series of clinical passes from the middle, down the left to a cross and in the back of the net clearly demonstrated the capability of this team. Solid defence and marking, gritty hard work, excellent distribution in midfield and a hunger upfront to score prevailed for Winchester. Well done! Goal scorers included Thea Middleton, Ally Bell and Rosanna Fox-Robinson.

vs Trojans B - 7-0

Scorers: Daisy Russell (3), Sophie B (3), Charlotte Tyers

A dominant performance from the B team saw some great passing attacking hockey. The defence were left with very little to do with a 7-0 win.

Under 10s

vs Basingstoke HC

Winchester U10 A team put in an amazing performance winning three and drawing one out of their six games. The all-girls team played as a cohesive, disciplined unit, moving up and down the pitch together with strong ball control, roll outs and fast passing. The defence was formidable with Florence at its centre and Emily A, Seren and Sofia creating a virtually impenetrable wall. Charlotte, Lana, Jemima and Millie teamed up well in the midfield feeding the attack force of Emily K and Bea. A terrific morning of competitive mini hockey. Well done girls!

Winchester U10 B team won five out of six twelve-minute games with Eva and Rosie adding to the eight lads and performing well. Top scorer James B netted six with Bertie B, Sam D and Wilf B relentless in their energy, tackling and driving play. Rory H was solid at the back and the team made one wonder goal to remember, slick passing and a right wing cross to make the coach delighted. A fantastic performance all round. Well done team!

Under 8s

Vs Basingstoke HC and Yateley HC

We took four teams (6-a-side) to play away against Basingstoke HC & Yately HC. After the uninitiated had made the long walk from the car park to Basingstoke HC, we were ready for another U8’s tournament!

After the teams had warmed up they each played four matches in total against Basingstoke & Yately. All the teams played really well and showed no sign of the Christmas excesses, putting the skills they have learnt into practice. It was especially pleasing to see the players finding space and not just all crowding around the ball. Further skills involved some great roll-outs to evade tacklers and it was amazing to see the ball transitioned across the pitch.

As with all U8’s tournaments, ‘hockey is the winner’ but it was great to see the Winchester teams winning the vast majority of their matches! The U8’s sense of game has really improved and they are looking forward to their next tournament against Haslemere & Andover on the 30th Jan at home.

And Finally… the Bobble Hats are Back!

About half of body heat loss is from your head! So WHC bobble hats are now available again, just in time for the current cold spell.

Price remains £15 each and they can be purchased from Stuart Swift or Richard Macer from this Saturday onwards.

Winchester Hockey Club Oracle Edition 29