Slazenger Hockey Club

Driffield

Report: 04-12-2011 – Boys U12’s at Leeds University

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On a very wet Sunday 4th December Slazeneger’s Under 12 boys took to the field at Leeds University. It hadn’t been a great start to the season as only Elliot Kaye had managed to find the net on the previous two outings.

Slazenger (1) vs. (0) Bradford
As the rain and cold started to bite Slazengers’s showed a greater determination and discipline to their game. The first match against Bradford was a good start with Slazengers coming out on top after squashing counter attacks from two talented Bradford players and switching from defense to attack quickly with Harry Gunning using a clear push into the goal that ran through all the defenders and goalie. The boys felt nervous and thought they should have gotten more from the game but were happy with the win. Bradford 0 Slaz 1

Slazenger (1) vs. (1) Driffield
Starting against Driffield Joshua Coe produced some great positional play and ran the full length of the pitch looking for the ball from Jacob Dennison behind him and Harry in the centre. His patience paid off with his first goal for the club slotting home a rebound from a shot off the goalie. An fine individual effort from a Driffield player caught us on the counter and the game finished honours even at Slaz 1 Driffield1.

Slazenger (0) vs. (2) Leeds
The top team of the league Leeds had been sweeping everyone before them so the boys knew they were up against a challenge. Tom Atkinson did a great job in Eliots position on the left wing working the field well. We tried to man mark the mecurial number 8 but his fine individual talent undid us twice. We had plenty of chances but couldn’t pull a goal back. Leeds took the honours Slaz 0 Leeds 2.

Slazenger (3) vs. (1) Airedale
Sheltering against the frozen rain for half an hour seemed to galvanise the boys as they needed now to pick up some points from the league to stay or move up. Next up were Airedale who had beaten the boys recently in the Yorkshire Minis. A warmed up Elliot Kaye was in action straight away scoring two quick goals after great clearences from Ryan Denton and Chris Gasgoine in defense. Jacob was solid in defense but fast footwork from Airedale left him chasing back and although generally untroubled in goal Daniel Alderson couldn’t save a well taken Airedale goal. With minutes remaining Elliot and Harry played some neat triangular passes around the D with Matthew Chilton and Harry finished with a flicked goal leaving the Airedale goalie dazed as to where it had come from. Slaz 3 Airedale 1.

Slazenger (2) vs. (1) Thirsk
The final game against Thirsk and the boys were keen to finish with a win. The Thirsk team were strong and quick but so were Slazengers. With Elliot knowing he only had half the game he quickly made his mark with a hard driven goal before Tom took his berth on left wing. Matthew Chilton took Joshua’s postion on right wing after a quick Thirsk goal a final one two move between him and Harry saw him score his first goal for the club before the whistle blew. Slaz 2 Thirsk 1.

Report: 19-11-2011 – Ladies 1st’s (4) vs (1) Driffield 1st’s

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Slazenger Lades 1st’s picked up their second win in as many weeks with a 4-1 win over Driffield 1st’s. In a fast pace game, Slaz dominated play and added another 3 points to the North League Div 2 (East) campaign.
 
Though Slaz were quick to get going, a tough defence from Driffield meant that it was not until 20 minutes in that the first goal was scored. Pressure from the midfield, forced the ball into the D, where Laura Teasdale was in position to lift the ball over the keeper, allowing Jessica Rudge to tap the ball into the net.
 
Further pressure from the team was rewarded by a second goal, 20 minutes later. A single handed effort from Ailish Hendry took on several players, before smashing the ball into the back of the net.
 
Slaz went into the break 2-0 up, but were well aware of Driffield’s potential. With play resuming after the break, this was realised as continued pressure gave Driffield their first goal. Attacking into the D, the ball was fired into the net, only to be stopped on the line by a Slaz foot. A penalty flick was awarded, which was almost saved by the keeper, but found a space through the pads.
 
At 2-1, Slaz redoubled their efforts, and fired in 2 more goals in quick succession. Building from the back, the ball was played out to Elle Poskett, with a dicisive pass picking out Jessice Rudge in the D, smashing it home to pick up her brace.
 
Ths 4th was definitely one of the goals of the season! Mandy Smith showed off her 3D skills by lobbing the goal keeper from the top of the D!
 
Slaz were unable to capitalise on any of their pressure, but were happy to take the 4-1 win. Next week, the Horbury side host Roseberry 1st’s – a strong North East operation.

Report: 13-11-2011 – Boys U10’s at Weetwood

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Slazengers having moved up a Division and holding their own last time out; again faced tough opposition against some more well established teams. With an excellent squad turnout once again, Slazenger were warmed up and ready to go…

Slazenger (0) v (0) Leeds

Leeds pushed hard, but with good decisive tackling from the well organised Slazenger defence they stopped all attacks on goal and Harry Buttery made a great save against a well fought short corner. Slazengers were well disciplined and won numerous free hits to allow Will Gascoigne to get the ball wide up field to allow Charlie Bland into the D but no goal!

A good start to the day and at the final whistles all square.

Slazenger (0) v (3) Wakefield A

Slaz went out expecting tough opposition against local rivals Wakefield. They were difficult to contain and Slazenger were one down after an early goal. Slazengers were soon to be two goals down against a very strong attacking Wakefield side.

Slazengers defended well and created a chance when Niran Tejura passed to Owen Bland giving Slazengers a good attacking position only for Wakefield’s defence to nullify with a good tackle and drive the ball up field for their third and final goal. The 0-3 scoreline was disappointing for the team who had battled well in the game.

Slazenger (0) v (3) Airedale

Slazengers went out hoping for a good result but went one down quickly against the strongest team of the Division 2. Things got worse when, after an unfortunate rebound following a great save from Harry Buttery, Slazengers found themselves trailing by two.

Some great midfield play from Nat Gunning and Joe Minchella showed how well the younger players were developing, but the great positional awareness from the Airedale side showed up our own weaknesses in that area and they scored their third goal!

Slazengers knew they had a lot to do in their remaining games to stay in this division!

Slazenger (0)  v  (0) Driffield

The team formation was changed slightly with Owen Bland playing up front and dropping Niran Tejura to centre mid to give us a more attacking option against a very strong Driffield side.

After the start Slazengers were soon defending hard against the formidable attacking strength of Driffield with great stops and tackling from James Hayton and Will Fealy in defence backed up with determination and good communication in Midfield. The game finished with a well earned Draw but more importantly some really good Hockey from the boys.

Slazengers (2) v (0) Sheffield

Needing a win to stay in the 2nd division, the boys were told to “just go for it and play their best hockey!” Parents and players were well rewarded as the evenly matched teams fought for victory; both teams needing a win to stay in Div 2! Slazengers attacked from the start and a great cross from Niran Tejura allowed a strong goal from Owen Bland.

The game was end to end and great character from a confident Harry Buttery in goal showed him leave his line to clear a powerful Sheffield shot on target with two of their players closing on him! James Hayton then ensured Sheffield couldn’t equalize with a great stop and solid defending with Will F beside him. With a fast turnaround and good link play again wide allowed Lucas Smith to drive the ball to just outside the D and a neat pass allowed Owen to drive home number two. We could easily have had a couple more goals but for good defending from Sheffield keeping out both Smith’s and Niran Tejura’s shots.

The boys certainly enjoyed the day out, remained in division 2, and were beaming with pride for the journey back home. James was awarded ‘Player of the Tournament’ and Will F proved to be the most improved player.

Now beginning to form a good strong squad with an enhanced understanding of each other for set pieces and good field movement they are well placed for keeping their place in Division Two.

Report: 09-10-2011 – Slazenger Boys U10′s Tournament (Pocklington)

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A relatively young (Average age of 7!) and inexperienced Slazenger U10 boys team arrived at Pocklington full of energy and were rewarded with promotion.

Slazengers 0-0 York B
The boys started well and tried to get the ball into the oppositions half, but the play remained in the centre of mid field as they got used to playing together and the competiveness of tournament games. York had borrowed a couple of players from Sheffield and these posed the greatest threat. The Slazenger boys had practiced short corners and easily blunted any attack from the opposition – Will F directing the defensive back line. In the end, Slaz couldnt find the breakthrough ending in a draw.

Slazengers 3-0 Wakefield B
Second up, Slazenger faced their local rivals; a taller and older U10 Wakefield squad. Up stepped young star Charlie Bland. While shorter than most of the opposition, he put paid to any doubt to the laughing from the opposition, by dribbling the ball past 2 players and laying the ball off to his brother Owen Bland to score the first goal. A midfield line of Lucas Smith, Owen B and Niran Tejura took control with great tackling and good passing between themselves with Owen’s individual skills and strong hit netting him his second goal in quick succession. By now our defenders were getting stronger and more confident with Will Gascoigne being able to move further forward and cover for our midfielders has they attacked Wakefield in numbers with Owen firing in a great shot from the top of the D to net his third Goal and a well deserved hat trick!

Slazengers 1- 0 Driffield
Having watched Driffield play earlier; we considered them one of our strongest opposition and decided to play with 3 defenders; which snubbed out all their attacks and we started to get the ball out into the wide players. Joe Minchella, Will Gascoigne and Will Fealy cleared the defence well; Fealy feeding the ball wide to Tejura who layed on a short pass to Lucas Smith who passed forward onto Owen Bland who once again carried the ball forward and slotted in the only goal of the game.

Slazengers 0-0 Sheffield
Knowing that we had won promotion into the next division we decided to let the younger and less experienced boys have a game against the strongest team in our division as well as playing a few of our other players in different positions.

James Hayton showed his tenacity in tackling, and his hard work fed the ball to Nat Gunning, playing centre forward. Unfortunately, Sheffield were too strong for our ‘Little Uns’, preventing Slaz breaking the deadlock. Superstar ‘keeper Harry Buttery, now full of confidence made this game his by a number of fantastic saves and great kicking out that more senior senior goalies would have very proud of! We held off the attacks well and came away with a fantastic draw which earned Harry Man of the tournament and next tournament’s captaincy!

Report: 18-09-2011 – U16 Boys at KC Stadium

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We had a squad of 12 boys at the KC Stadium yesterday. As the morning progressed they began to gel as a team, and made significant progress against sides which in the main were physically bigger and stronger and more experienced.
Results:
Slazenger (0) v (3) Driffield
Slazenger (0) v (0) Bradford
Slazenger (0) v (1) Doncaster
Slazenger (2) v (0) Sheffield
Slazenger (0) v (1) Wakefield A
The team started slowly against a skillful and well organised Driffield side spending most of the 17 minutes penned back in our own half.
A much better performance followed against Bradford, where we competed far better in midfield and contained our long-standing adversaries, Spike and Ethan, with more comfort. Tim Hunter and Isaac Fisher began to work more instinctively together and Rowan Tejura, James Higgins and Alex Calderley were more solid and better-organised in defence. They in their turn were able to snuff out our attacks, as we failed fully to exploit the width our formation gave us.
A really strong performance followed against Doncaster, who were head and shoulders the best team of the morning. Ralph Toon kept the team in the game with string after string of saves and Slaz troubled the Doncaster defence with quick breaks down left and right releasing Robin Brearton through the middle. Our passing game developed well and the boys were really combative, which promises well.
A good win against a depleted (and young) Sheffield team followed, where we really made our passing game tell with good pressure, leading to two cracking strikes from Robin. However, as we realised we were on top, we lapsed into bad habits of carrying the ball too far and into contact.
The final game was a true local derby with end to end play as the boys tired, and numerous chances created at both ends. With two minutes to go, a sloppy pass let in a Wakefiled forward, who miss-hit his shot from a couple of feet inside the D – I looked on disbelievingly as the side-spin took it beyond Ralph’s reach to clip the inside of the far post and scuttle over the line. The boys responded bravely and Robin had a strong shot well-saved by the goalkeeper. With 30 seconds remaining Danny Croxall was through on the left and laid a precision lateral to Peter Gunning, but the ‘keeper was wise to it and was out and down quickly enough to smother the shot. Time expired – but the ‘keeper had conceded a penalty corner. Rowan injected short to Luke who fired the ball across goal, just beyond Peter’s outstretched stick and the ball ran out of play. A disappointing end to a thrilling tournament.
Thank you to all the boys and to the parents who turned up to support.