Under 16 Girls

EH CUP 1st round Vs Havant - Won 2-1

Scorers: Vivien Scriminger, Lexi Montgomery

Havant made a quick start, applying pressure and scoring within the first ten minutes. Winchester got back into the game with some good passing down the left hand side. The torrential rain, followed by hail, made playing conditions difficult but just before half time Viv scored from the first short corner of the match.

More heavy rain delayed the start of the second half but Winchester fought hard, with better movement off the ball and improved crossing and passing down the right hand side resulting in far more opportunities in the D and with Lexi eventually scoring in the last ten minutes of the game. The girls defended the short corners well and Chloe made some excellent saves.

Alice did a great job of organising the team and a big thanks to Swifty for umpiring. Almost more of a swimming gala than a hockey match, well done ladies!

Under 14 Boys

EH Cup 1st Round vs Guildford - Lost 1-9

Scorer: Bertie Lander

Our U14 Boys were dealt a very tough draw in the EH Cup against Guildford on Sunday for their first match of the season.

They started on the back foot and unfortunately conceded three very quick goals. Once settled, our boys battled to keep Guildford at bay with some great play out from the 16, and we managed to defend a number of penalty corners fearlessly!

All the boys kept working so hard throughout the game and we had a number of chances on goal with the midfield and forwards breaking through the Guildford defence. Their efforts were finally rewarded with the last goal of the match; a real team effort finished off cleanly by Bertie, with the ball flying into the roof of the net. Well done to all the boys for showing their resilience and spirit throughout.

Under 12 Girls

We had a difficult lead up to the start of the U12 league games with many players dropping out during the week due to positive Covid tests, so it was just great to actually be able to field three U12 teams. And what a promising start to the season it actually turned out to be.

U12A VS TROJANS - WON 6-4

Scorers: Emma Latimer (3), Thea Middleton (2), Freya Balme

A tough and physical match played by all, but Winchester maintained their lead throughout the match with Emma, Thea and Freya B all scoring for Winchester and Saoirse in goal keeping in the girls in front.

In attack, Emma, Charlotte and Thea were kept busy all through the match with a strong Trojans defence but managed enough goals to end the first period Winchester 3 - Trojans 2.

Freya P and Esme were the main mids and run off their feet trying to defend all the Trojan fast breaks (lots), but had great help from Thea & Ally as well.

Playing the match across three periods, the second period was the toughest for all on both teams but ended Winchester 4 - Trojans 2. Freya P and Ally B were the main defence players and had their hands full with a series of fast breaks that left them outmanned but they covered and cleared incredibly well. Esme and Freya B dropped back onto defence leaving Freya P and Ally in the last period to cover a stronger Trojans attack formation. Winchester matched Trojans attacks and ended the match Winchester 6 - Trojans 4.

Great match by all who played and significant improvements on both short corners as well bringing the ball in from the 16!

The U12B Girls team travelled away to Andover to play Bournemouth 3’s and Andover 2’s in the first triangular match of the season. As a team, the girls know each other well, having played together since U8s and were looking forward to the new challenge of 30 minute matches on half a pitch. It was a great team performance that saw us keep a clean sheet in both games.

Well done to all who played, a great performance for so early in the season!

U12B VS BOURNEMOUTH 3S - WON 2-0

Scorers: Sophie Butcher, Isabella Peters

Everyone worked hard on and off the ball, enjoying their first taste of competitive hockey this season. Once the girls got used to the extra width available they started to use the space well with strong and accurate distribution out from defence, through midfield into attack. The defence were impenetrable with the ever reliable Sophie, Poppy and Ella stopping many of the attacking moves with well anticipated interceptions and timely tackles. On the occasions that the opposition did make it into the D, they were met by Lara in her new role as GK. Lara had to make well executed saves to keep a clean sheet; she impressed, playing with confidence and skill way above her goalkeeping experience.

In the midfield, Venne and Isabella worked tirelessly and skilfully to help move the ball through to attack with great effect. Attackers Daisy and Sophie demonstrated great speed and stick skills to take on defenders with confidence and made several shots at goal. To open the scoring in the first game against Bournemouth we saw a great, instinctive strike from Sophie as the ball came loose in the D.

The second goal came from a well taken long corner that cut through the opposition’s defence for Isabella to sweep into the goal. 2-0 win to Winchester against a strong Bournemouth team who didn’t give up and challenged hard for every ball.

With a team combining experience and beginners, the Cs were always going to have a challenge on their hands - four players in the squad of eight had either never played a match before or had very limited experience. However all the girls battled hard, with Lottie providing some outstanding saves in goal and great defending from Alice keeping the score sheet significantly lower than it may have been.

U12B VS ANDOVER 2S - WON 3-0

Scorers: Daisy Russell (2), Poppy Watson

In the second match against Andover the team continued to work well together, pressing the opposition well, with a quick ball turnover into attack. We saw more threatening runs from our midfield and attack with several opportunities going just wide or cleared by a strong Andover defence. Our defence remained solid with Sophie reading the game so well and using her speed to cover a large area of our half as we started to push up more as a team. Lara continued where she left off in the first match, commanding her goal with great awareness and agility when the need arose. Two well taken goals from Daisy put us ahead in the first half only to have a third power strike from Ella disallowed as her great individual run had ended with a strike taken just outside the D. A well deserved third goal did come in the second half though; a quickly taken free hit bobbled in the D and was beautifully hit on the half-volley by Poppy. Final score 3-0 to Winchester.

With a team combining experience and beginners, the Cs were always going to have a challenge on their hands - four players in the squad of eight had either never played a match before or had very limited experience. However all the girls battled hard, with Lottie providing some outstanding saves in goal and great defending from Alice keeping the score sheet significantly lower than it may have been.

U12C VS ANDOVER 1S - LOST 2-4

In the second match, Andover 1s started strongly with Winchester again starting on a back foot conceding three well worked goals before half time. However, the girls came into the second half determined to score… and score they did, first with Charlotte putting away a hard-fought goal in a crowded D. Andover responded to quickly score a fourth, but Ella finished with a great second goal for Winchester, hitting the ball in from the top of the D. Final score 4-2 to Andover.

U12C VS BOURNEMOUTH 2S - LOST 1-3

The first match against Bournemouth 2s saw two Bournemouth goals in quite quick succession, but the Winchester girls settled into the game and by half time were only those two goals down. In the second half, Ella made a great through ball to Aggie who coolly collected it and scored her first ever goal in her first match for Winchester. Nearing the end of full time, Bournemouth slotted away a third goal to leave the final score 3-1 to Bournemouth.