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Essex Minis Hockey League - 13th November 2016

Essex Minis Hockey League - 13th November 2016

Simon Parsons19 Nov 2016 - 11:06
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Minis showing promise.

Old Southendians – Sunday 13th November

U10 Boys
The U10 boys were short of a couple of players on the day, so had to play all their matches with only 6 players. They started confidently with a 0-0 draw against Old Loughtonians, when they really should have won (Fraser, Samuel and Oliver all had chances but were thwarted each time). The second game against Old Southendians was very similar and also ended in a 0-0 draw. Next up was a tougher game against a robust Southend & Benfleet team with our young defence of Ethan and Lorcan called into action – this also ended in a 0-0 draw. By the final game the team had understandably run out of steam and despite a great effort and some good saves from George in goal Waltham Forest ran out 2-0 winners.

The boys worked tirelessly and we’ll have to make sure we have a full squad for the next tournament.

U10 Girls
The U10 girls managed the amazing feat of keeping a clean sheet at both ends of the pitch for the whole day! They started very slowly for some reason against Old Loughtonians and only some stout defending from Grace and Zahra kept the opposition out and it ended 0-0. The girls were warming up (probably down to the number of hot chocolates consumed) by the time they played Old Southendians and although it also ended in a 0-0 draw they played much better. Against Southend & Benfleet, Sophie, Brooke, Elisabeth and Imogen were starting to boss the midfield and it was a game that could have been won, but was another 0-0 draw. The final game against Waltham Forest was a tough one - Alyia was still working hard up front, but the heroics came from Katie in goal resulting in another 0-0 draw.

The girls got better throughout the day – we need to work on getting fired up before the start as they are good enough to win these games. Thanks to Ella for managing the team.

U12 Boys
14 into 7 doesn’t really go, so the order of the day was full team substitutions halfway through the match (plans are in place to get 2 teams entered for the next tournament). We split the teams evenly, whilst also trying to play people in their best positions.

The boys started with a 2-0 win v Southend & Benfleet A. We had paired up experienced and new at the back (Simon with James and Toby with Lucas) and we looked very solid defensively. There was some nice passing and some good dribbling skills, but the highlight was a reverse stick finish from Josh. Next up was a tougher game ending in a 1-1 draw against Southend & Benfleet 1. Again the team had the majority of chances, but the radar was a bit off and the Southend keeper played well – Brady and Harry both did well holding the middle of the pitch. The game against Old Southendians was a bit more frustrating. We played the better hockey using Ben and Henry on the right flank well with Frank and George playing well on the left. However, Old Southendians’ older player manage to snuff out our best attacks and it finished 0-0. The best game was against a quality Old Loughtonians side with the boys winning through a superb late Frank (or was it Harry) winner. It was a good game with Old Loughtonians scoring on the break (which hopefully taught us a lesson), so final score was 2-1. Last up was a game against Waltham Forest. Jacob and Josh were rampant up front and Fraser (stepping in for Brady) enjoyed himself in the middle. They ran out comfortable 3-0 winners. Both Hari and Daniel looked composed in goal all afternoon and kept their concentration well.

This is a very strong group of boys, many of whom I expect to go on to be good senior players. However, what was most pleasing was that they were starting to play some good hockey by moving into space and passing the ball around. It’s always good to finish the day unbeaten.

U12 Girls
We had quite a few players unavailable for this tournament, but we still managed to put out a strong squad.

The girls started with a 1-0 win v Old Loughtonians, which is always a good result. Maddy and Tess always looked threatening in and around the opposition D, whilst Grace, Daisy-Rose and Savannah got stuck into their midfield tasks. They followed this up with a 1-0 win v Old Southendians. Katie did not have too much to do in goal as Alice, Robyn and Pranita mopped up any loose balls in our ½, but she did it well. There followed a 0-0 draw v Southend & Benfleet, where we just could not seem to score, even with the vast majority or chances. This continued into the last game where we had multiple corners but could not score. Grace then suffered a horrible fall and had to come off, but Holly and the rest of the team stepped up. Unfortunately, a great piece of individual skill and a cool finish past ‘Daniella’ meant Waltham Forest won 1-0

This was the first loss for manager Monica in over a season (apparently the board have given her the dreaded vote of confidence), which shows what a good group of girls this is. We’ll keep working on the finishing….

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