Boys Under 12’s
It was a case of ‘Rock On, Tommy’ as Slazengers under-12s won promotion back to the top division of the Yorkshire Youth Hockey League ahead of the end-of-season finals day in April.
Tommy Randle scored four of the Slaz boys’ seven goals as they finished runners-up to Sheffield in the six-team second tier after relegation in the previous month’s seven-a-side tournament.
Two of Randle’s goals came in the opening match against Driffield, with Alex Stacey assisting both and adding one of his own in a 3-1 victory.
A 0-0 draw against York followed but Slazengers then won the next 2-1 against Doncaster. Stacey set up Randle again for the opener and then, after keeper Aidan Coughtrey had made a series of saves to preserve the lead, Stacey finished off his own bludgeoning run with a spectacular reverse-stick strike to double the lead. Doncaster pulled one back but could not find an equaliser.
Randle converted again against Ben Rhydding 2nds after Stacey’s initial shot had been saved and Frazer Cass made the final score 2-0 after a shot from a short corner was only half cleared.
The final game against Sheffield would determine which side finished top of the round-robin group and unfortunately Slazengers appeared to switch off as they conceded three goals without reply in rapid succession.
The 3-0 defeat was tough on the team after they had battled well all tournament in the blizzard conditions at Weetwood in Leeds, with Lewis Killey, Sam Alderson and Joe Minchella also impressing throughout an impressive Slazengers display.
