Men’s 1st’s (1) vs. (2) Doncaster 3rd’s
Slaz started the game off with mixed attention, several none forced errors in passing. Mark Swindon glided through the Doncaster midfield and defence to rocket the ball into the bottom left hand corner. But from that moment on slaz looked sluggish and vulnerable all over the pitch. Doncaster were not particularly any better but slaz failed to seal the game by half time with a few open chances missed.
Doncaster pressed up in the second half and slaz imploded for the first time since Christmas. Two players were sent off and slaz tried to fight off a 1 goal lead but Doncaster capitalised with the space to claim one back, and later took a second goal. The game ended with slaz still failing to control the game.
James Cowden had another great game making a few vital saves.
Mens 2nd’s (11) vs. (1) L.A.Carnegie 4th’s
Slaz 2nds hosted a 10 man L.A Carnegie 4ths outfit. Goals came from John Sykes, and Byron Dean among others.
Mens 3rd’s (3) vs. (5) Garforth 1st’s
Slazenger 3’s faced a top of the table clash away against Garforth in their latest division 6 south encounter and made the worst sort of starts when conceding an early goal to the hosts.
Fortunately, Slazengers weren’t behind for long when Dan Levitt managed to nudge the ball over the goal line after an earlier effort from skipper Andy Fisher hit the post and rebounded across the goal.
However, the warning signs were there for Slazengers that this was going to be a long afternoon. Time and again Garforth continued to break from deep, at pace and always had options to pass. Slazengers were having to work very hard to get a foothold in the game and whilst they did create several chances to score themselves during the first half, they failed to convert these chances. Tellingly Garforth didn’t miss their opportunities and went into the half time break 3-1 up. The score would have been much worse but for a Man of the Match performance from keeper Richard Smyth who time and again had to provide the last desperate line of defence.
Second half Slazengers tried to play with more composure, keep possession better and pass to people in space. Whilst, there was a slight improvement, the away team continued to conceded soft goals, often reacting second to loose balls or falling foul of a dodgy playing surface.
However, after going 5-1 down Slazengers suddenly woke up and began to compete, playing to restore a little pride. The passing was better, the away team made better use of Ian Hedges and Dan Levitt on the wings, with Robin Whawell and Ste Roberts working hard in midfield.
Aidan Hopkinson managed to convert after a long period of pressure and when Luke Gueli scored a third with 10 minutes to go, the hosts had to dig deep and defend in numbers to fend off a late resurgence.
Final score 5-3.
Mens 4th’s (6) v. (2) Ben Rhydding 7th’s
After losing earlier in the season to a penalty flick slaz got of to flying start and where 3.0 up after 20 minutes, playing some good hockey.
By half time it was 5 – 2. Slaz eased off in the 2nd half and only scored 1.more the final score was 6.2
James Lavy got 1, Darren buttery got 2 and James Walker got a hat trick and the mom award.
Mens 5th’s (2) vs. (5) Kingston Upon Hull 5th’s
Slazenger Men’s 5’s faced a tough task in their latest development fixture against Kingston Upon Hull when the opposition turned up with only 11 players but 6 of them were adults. That said, the first half saw an encouraging display from the youngsters against a physically stronger team. Matthew Chilton and Elliot Golding were particularly energetic, with Harry Gunning authoritative in midfield. It was good to see the home team go into the half time break 2-1 up after strikes from centre forward Peter Gunning and George Fealy.
Second half was a much different proposition as all the hardworking the young players had put into the first half began to tell and the adult opposition started to dominate. They snuffed out most of the home attacks and hit long passes to the skilful junior strikers who created lost of scoring chances. But for the composure and concentration of keeper Harry Buttery, Slazengers would have conceded more than the four goals they did. Heads didn’t drop against such strong opposition but it did prove to be a long and very cold afternoon for the home team. Final score 5-2.
Ladies 2nd’s (2) vs. (0) Doncaster Independent
The Ladies second team enjoyed a 2-0 win at home to Doncaster Independent at the weekend. The first half was dominated by Slazenger with great play from the midfield particularly Stacey Binns producing some great crosses into the D.
The pressure eventually paid off with the goal coming from Daisy Gee-Sanders midway through the first half, flicking the ball past the opposition keeper. Shortly afterwards Daisy found the net again with a great shot firing into the top right hand corner. Further pressure came from the home side with numerous short corners but failed to make the most of them.
Throughout the second half the opposition stepped up a gear and threatened the home team’s line on numerous occasions however solid defending by Julie Finch and Heather Bates ensured that the opposition remained goalless.
Slazengers also had a number of chances in the second half, with some great running by Nerys Roberts and man of the match Chatlotte Gunn however some brilliant goalkeeping from Doncaster Independent meant that the second half remained scoreless.
Ladies 3rd’s – Cancelled
Boys U10’s Tournament Report
Back to div 2! Roll on the England Hockey cup!
Squad: Charlie Bland, Alex Stacey, Lucas Smith, Will Gascoigne, Niran Tajura, Josh Green, James Hayton, Joseph Gueli, Lillie Gilbert,
Slazenger v Doncaster
Presented with some changes to the usual team, Slazenger soon settled down to their first match against Doncaster. The opposition had several attempts at goal, but all were just off target. Alex, Lucas and Ashley made great headway pushing forward, with Will finally having a great shot at goal, only to be saved by the Doncaster keeper. Lucas was there for the rebound and tidily put the ball in to the back of the net. Slazenger remained the more dominant team and the final score was 1-0 to Slazenger.
Slazenger v Leeds
Good play from Slazenger saw plenty of chances to score early on in the match and they were rewarded with an early goal. Fortunes soon shifted and play was end to end with both teams putting in lots of effort. Two short corners for Leeds were held off with great play from James, Josh and Niran. Leeds did just manage to break though with an unstoppable strike at goal to even the score. Slazenger were soon back on top with shots at goal from Alex and Will, skilfully converting one to end the game 2-1.
Slazenger v Wakefield
Slazenger and Wakefield were fairly evenly matched and both eager to win. Support from Lillie and Ashley saw Will have a chance to score, however Leeds took control and soon had their own shot at goal. Missing by only inches, Slazenger gained possession with good defence from James and Joshua and good centre play from Niran, Lucas and Will, saw play shift end to end. Both teams had numerous chances but neither were rewarded with a goal and the score finished at 0-0.
Slazenger v Rotherham
Knowing that promotion in to League 2 was guaranteed, this game gave the opportunity for Slazenger players to try alternate positions. Rotherham had an early shot at goal putting them ahead, and a second super strike at goal put them convincingly in the lead. Slazenger, not a team to give up easily, were soon battling in Rotherham’s half when Lucas scored. Alex soon followed with another goal, which was just after the referee’s whistle had gone, disallowing it. Slazenger were given two short corners but unluckily Rotherham’s defence was too good. Hard fought, this game gave Slazenger their only defeat of the day at 1-2.