Slazenger 1 – 1 Wakefield
This was a hard fought game with plenty of quality hockey on show from both teams. Slazenger opened the scoring after 10 minutes winning a short corner after an excellent attack down the right with Captain Luke Gueli & Tom Pitchforth continuing their partnership from the last fixtures. Once again, the time practicing short corners paid off with Aidan’s shot finding the bottom left corner. This was followed by sustained pressure at both ends. Matthew Feather & James Higgins defended very effectively and at the other end, Matthew Smith, Alex Caulderley and Luke Gueli all came close at the oppositiion’s end.
Wakefield had been dangerous on the counter attack throughout the game, which was not surprising given their physical size and pace. Ralph Toon had already made a number of excellent saves to keep us in front. Then 2 minutes from the end, a Slazenger short corner broke down Wakefield mounted a counter attack, carrying the ball the length of the field with much of our defence still in the Wakefield half. Ralph stopped the charge but the ball went loose and it was a Wakefield players that responded fastest to score an equalizer.
A draw was a fair result given the balance of play.
Slazenger 2 – 2 Leeds/Adel
Slazenger’s second match was also a close fought encounter, with sustained pressure at both ends. Within minutes of the start, Isaac Fisher had a shot saved by the goal keeper, but on 6 minutes, Leeds converted a short corner taking the lead. However, Slazenger did not panic and were rewarded 5 minutes later when Captain Luke Gueli showed great composure in front of goal to fire a shot into the right corner.
Slazenger had a majority of the play so it was no surprise when they took the lead on 17 minutes. Isaac received a pass outside the circle, running in past several Leeds players and scoring in the right corner. Unfortunately, following a broken attack, Leeds made a fast break, leaving James & Matthew Feather exposed against 3 Leeds attackers. Leeds passed to the spare player on the left wing who managed to squeeze it past Ralph Toon into the right corner.
Slazenger 1 – 0 Rotherham
Slazenger put together some outstanding moves right from the start, with Alex Cauderley coming close to scoring his first goal after just 3 minutes. It was Tom Pitchforth who got a well deserved goal after 5 minutes. His shot/cross from right on the outside of the ‘D’ somehow made it’s way through several Rotherham players into the left corner of the goal.
Slazenger continued to dominate play, but were unable to finish. The main threat from Rotherham came from a half back with a very hard hit and an effective aerial shot; not something that much of Slazenger had encountered before. Aidan, Rowan & Alex Cauderley followed instructions perfectly to close him down quickly, preventing him from using the aerial shots and when he did, Isaac, Matthew Feather & James dealt with them safely.
The final play of the game almost resulted in a well deserved second goal. As promised before the game, Isaac used his own aerial shot from just inside our half. Aidan received the aerial and V-dragged a defender before passing to Tom at right wing. Tom slipped passed his defender to fire in a hard cross which Luke deflected towards the goal, narrowly missing the left post.
Overall
Overall, the Slazenger team played some very good hockey, moving the ball around well. The games were much closer than expected, with every team winning one game each, however, Slazenger were the only team to remain unbeaten. All three coaches from the other teams commented on the quality of hockey played by the Slazenger team which is probably the best indication that we are developing into a strong team.
‘Man of the matches’ was Tom Pitchforth for his boundless energy on the right wing, always being available for a pass.
‘Most improved player’ was James Higgins who gained confidence with every game.
Squad: Ralph Toon (GK), James Higgins, Matthew Feather, Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura, Luke Gueli (capt.), Aidan Hopkinson, Isaac Fisher, Matthew Smith, Sam Bland, Tom Pitchforth, Alex Caulderley, Dan Croxall & Ben Black
