Weekly Update
An update of this weeks fixtures and last weeks results
Last Week’s Results
The “Team of the week” result this week goes to the Ladies 3rd’s, for their 11 goal scoreline last Saturday. Notable mentions go to Men’s 1st’s, Ladies 1st’s and 2nd’s for continuing their winning runs. Last weekend also saw the first games of February, with the top scorers below:
February Top Goalscorers
7 Goals – Caro Schofield, Aleks Kapinska
5 Goals – James Swinden, Mia Davies, Masie Davies
4 Goals – Ashleigh Jones, Claire Dunstan
Last Week’s Match Reports
Marching on towards a promotion spot the Firsts were at home to Brigg last Saturday – a club that don’t usually shy away from the physical side of the game.
It’s not often that Slazenger Men’s First Team come up against a side with a higher average age and waistline than themselves, but Brigg’s stating eleven certainly broke those statistics last week. It’s difficult to say whether it was a lacklustre start from Slazenger, or that Brigg were really pushing the press on, but the first ten minutes of the game saw Slazenger predominantly defending. That was until a fantastic breakaway goal from Swinden let the visitors know just what Slaz are capable of. Despite Slazenger not appearing to find their best form in the first half they still managed to put a further two goals past Brigg curtesy of Perry and Tuddenham.
In the second half however the Firsts came alive through some great spells of hockey. Superb short sharp link up play through Chilton, Chamberlain, Swinden, and Gunning lead to wave after wave of positive attacking hockey. Further goals followed through Swinden, and Gunning in what was a second half for the spectators. Final score 6 – 0 to Slazenger and rare clean sheet for Loftus.
Mens 2nd’s (2) vs. (0) Leeds 6th’s
Slazenger 2nds marked a return to form, with a 2-0 victory over Leeds 6th’s. Slaz got off to a quick start and moved the ball around well, keeping pressure on the Leeds side. This pressure allowed Asad Baig to steal the ball inside the opposition half, and beat the keeper with a shot rifled in from the edge of the area.
With the home team ahead, they continued to press, but some impressive goalkeeping from the Leeds keeper kept the scores at 1-0 going into the break.
The second half was similar, with Slaz controlling much of the play, snuffing out counter-attacks, but a superb performance from the keeper kept out a dozen more chances. In the end however, they could not keep out a second goal, hammered in from Paul Wiper with 10 minutes left on the clock. Leeds tried to reply, but a committed defence kept a clean sheet for keeper Daz Buttery.
Mens 3rd’s (1) vs. (1) Leeds 7th’s
Slazenger 3s hosted top-of-the-table Leeds 7’s on cold Saturday afternoon. Leeds coming out strong straight from the whistle, pressuring the Slazenger defence causing them to panic and give away a penalty corner which Leeds securely converted banging the goal in the bottom right hand corner. In the second half the Tim Carr scored with a top corner screamer, bringing it back to 1-1. Leeds was pushing for this victory which they thought they would easily get but however the man of the match, star keeper Harry Buttery pulled off some world class saves, insuring they claimed one point from the game as tough game as everyone knew it was going to be. The game resulted into a draw at 1-1.
Men’s 4th’s (0) vs. (2) Sheffield Hallam 7th’s
Slaz faced a tough challenge as they hosted the promotion chasing Sheffield Hallam. Slaz were under a barrage of pressure in the first 10 minutes as Hallam managed to get the ball in the Slaz circle in numerous times but were unable to convert. Slaz were then able to counter attack and managed to create a few good opportunities through Peter Gunning and Steve Johnson. However, neither team could take that pivotal chance and it was 0-0 at half time.
In the second half Slaz knew they were right in the game and looked to score first in the opening minutes. However after many end to end chances, it was the away side who managed to open the scoring through a great strike from the top of the circle. Slaz looked to get one back but pushing forward left the exposed at the back and Hallam put the game to bed with a second goal. The game finished 2-0.
Slaz were very happy with a solid performance which arguably didn’t justify the result. Man of the match went to Dene Minichella for his great work in midfield.
Men’s 5th’s (1) vs. (0) City of York 9th’s
After a few trips around the mulberry bush (it was a cold and frosty morning) we arrived at York ready to face a tough side – the two previous encounters ending in 1-1 draws. This game went the same way good skills but also frantic defending from both sides throughout the first half meaning the score at the break was 0-0.
Both sides had a strong chance to break the deadlock in the second half – Alex Stacey being foiled by the York keeper in a on-on-one and Aidan Coughtrey keeping Slaz in it with an outstanding save. But it was teamwork that ultimatley made the difference. A Slaz move started by Will Gascoigne resulted in Tommy Randal squaring the ball for Tyler Townend to slap home – final score York 0-1 Slaz.
The vote for Green Army Man of the Match was tight but went to Aidan Coughtrey for his second clean sheet in a row.
Against the run of play a number of short corners were given against Slaz, but all were defended by great saves from Keeper Wilson and Wallace on the back line. At the other end Slaz created a number of chances but were unlucky not to convert. The first short corner awarded to Slaz came mid way through the second half, after an early break saw a defender sent to the half way line Slaz took advantage and expertly put the ball in the net courtesy of Field. The University hit back soon after and managed to break through the defence and a superb shot from the byline found the top corner of the net.
Not wanting to settle for a point, Slaz continued to press. With some great build up from the back, the midfield sent the ball goal bound and after a shot saved by the keeper lead to a second, by Mvp Gilbert the elder, and was lifted towards the corner of the net – this was saved by the keepers hand. Not one to give up, Gilbert the elder caught the ball on the volley and fired the ball home. Final score 2:1.
With a break next weekend, the ladies take on opposite ends of the table the following week. Travelling to Titus Salt School to take on Airedale on Saturday 24th and then playing host to Adel on Sunday the 25th.
Ladies 2nd’s (1) vs. (0) Sheffield Uni Bankers 2nd’s
Another 6 point weekend for Slaz ladies 2’s continuing their winning form and taking them to mid table safety.
Sheffield Uni Bankers were the visitors on Saturday and turned up with their usual army of players, probably expecting a repeat performance of their home leg where they beat a struggling Slaz 2nd team 4-0. However that wasn’t to be the case. Still buzzing from 5 wins in a row Slaz took to the field in high spirits oozing strength and confidence and dominated the majority of play. There were plenty of circle penetrations in the first half from the home side, coming from great passages of play and rhubarb triangles from defence through the midfield to attack and Slaz were unlucky not to convert a couple of early chances. At the other end any chances Bankers had were thwarted by the solid Slaz defence and keeper Tracy Lorriman who made some excellent saves throughout the game.
With the half time score a stale mate Slaz knew they had to keep their heads and continue to play hard in the second half as Bankers were becoming frustrated that they couldn’t break the Slaz spirit. There were numerous short corner chances for the visitors but the Slaz backline’s awesome PC routine was no match. Utilising opportunities to break early Slaz continued to attack through great confident passing and were rewarded with a short corner of their own which was converted by Claire Dunstan. Final score 1-0 to Slaz and another well deserved 3 points.
Ladies 2nd’s (4) vs. (3) Thirsk 2nd’s
On Sunday Slaz ladies 2s travelled to Thirsk, where Thirsk were immediately pressuring Slazengers with an early break but Slazenger’s strong defence foiled any attempts at scoring. Slazenger’s quick play proved a testament to their fitness throughout the entire first half with Claire Dunston putting 2 past the keeper before half time, though a lapse in concentration just before half time led to Thirsk getting one back after an exhilarating 1 on 1 with keeper Lorriman which ended with both players on the deck and the ball in the back of the net. Starting 2-1 up into the second half, both teams battled tirelessly in what was a very evenly matched end to end contest for those essential 3 points. Thirsk equalised again from a penalty flick awarded against captain Ritchey who, having made an impressive mid air save on the line couldn’t do anything to stop the rebound. But yet again Slazenger’s determination prevailed, with Naomi Frith utilising the rebound from a short corner to reclaim the lead. At the other end a short corner awarded to Thirsk took an unlucky deflection from the slaz number 2 runner and brought Thirsk back level. With minutes to go Slazenger’s gave their everything in one final attack, setting up Claire Dunston for her hatrick and game winning goal. Final score 4-3, another 3 points for Slaz with player of the match going to defender Stacey Drake.
Ladies 3rd’s (0) vs. (1) Huddersfield Dragons 3rd’s
After a previous victory over Huddersfield Dragons, Slazengers were keen to uphold their reputation, unfortunately it was not to be as the final score was a 1-0 defeat over the ladies team who battled hard. With a strong start from Slazengers the game looked good, Caro Schofield, Josie Hughes and Aleks Karpinska kept the ball up high and fought hard to get it in the net. Despite their best efforts the Dragons keeper fought back and unfortunately kept the attack from scoring a goal. Slazengers continued fight and Aleks was quickly on the attack again only to be taken out by the keeper. Slazengers had plenty of chances on goal with a few short corners being given however the dragons defence kept the ball out of the goal time after time. Eventually, dragons had the ball down the pitch and managed to get it around the Slazenger defence and a small tap sent it into the goal, bringing the score to 1-0, despite best efforts from goal keeper Lizzie Tunstall who made some excellent saves throughout the game.
During the second half Slazengers upped their game to try and level the score, the attackers continued to have plenty of shots on goal but the dragons keeper was strong and made some great saves stopping the Slazenger ladies from scoring, much to their frustration. Slazengers defence fought hard in the second half to keep the ball out of the D and prevent any further goals being scored against them. The game came to end with the score still at 1-0 and Slazengers ladies 3s suffering their 2nd loss of the season. Player of the match was awarded to Emma Eley.
Ladies 3rd’s (7) vs. (2) Sheffield Uni Bankers 5th’s
Slazenger’s Ladies 3’s wanted to continue with their winning run after drawing against Sheffield Hallam 5 last time they met. It didnt take long for Slazenger’s to open the score as their ‘attacking-style’ of play gave opportunity to the first 2 goals with ease from Aleks Karpinska. Sheffield Hallam attacked hard and moved the ball up the pitch, however this was quickly thwarted by Aleks Karpinska making a counter attack and collecting the ball just below the half way line powering it all the way up the right wing before firing it into the back board of the goal to complete her first half hattrick. Making the half time score 3-0 to Slazenger’s.
The second half saw Sheffield Hallam fight back and they were awarded a short corner after an amazing save by Captain Lizzie Tunstall the rebound shot managed to be lifted over the line. But not to be undone, Slazenger’s responded instantly as Natasha Wiper lift a high ball into the Sheffield ‘D’ to be beautifully controlled by Caro Schofield, who completed with perfect composure aiming the ball past the goalkeeper to net her first of the game. Excellant link-up play from midfield players -Lauren Fealy, Justine Birkett, Emily Entwistle, Natasha Wiper with Cherry Bedford supporting gave way to another goal for Caro Schofield. Sheffield Hallam came back fighting and managed to slip one past the Slazenger’s defence and keeper. This didn’t deter the Slazenger’s attack who quickly moved the ball back up the pitch allowing Aleks to gain one more. Sheffield went on the attack but the powerhouse of defenders lead by Sarah Hobbs, Jess Downing, Emma Eley and Lizzie Tunstall in goal battled their lines galantly to enable Aleks a further goal earning her a very well deserved ‘Player of The Match’. Final score Slazenger’s 7 – 2 Sheffield Hallam. Aleks – 5 goals, Caro – 2 goals
Ladies 4th’s (13) vs. (0) Leeds University 8th’s
The ladies 4th Team travelled to Weetwood this weekend to face the University of Leeds 8th Team. With what can only be described as goal chaos, the final score remains an issue for debate and has left captain Julie Bailey wondering how 3rd Team captain Lizzie Tunstall managed to write such a splendid match report last week when they hit similar numbers. Slazengers were on the attack immediately but took some time to find the net for the first time. Mia Davis finally broke the stalemate, spurring the team on, quickly followed by Linda Stacey and by half time, Slazengers left the pitch 5:0 up.
The second half started with an immediate goal from the pushback and from there on in, the University side struggled to get anything through the Slazenger ladies and the goals just kept coming with Ashliegh Jones, Mia Davis and Maisie Davis taking control up front and working hard to confuse the opponents defence. Mid field player Lyn Wood also managed to find the net.
Sara Chilton, Jo Pitchforth, Emily Craven and Nicole Hirst in defence kept keeper Lauren Hattersley company and supported her first clean sheet for the 4th Team. The problem came at the end of the game, Slazengers recording 5 goals for Maisie Davis, 4 for Mia Davis, 4 for Ashleigh Jones and Linda Stacey and Lyn Wood one each. A total of 15! Unfortunately the umpires only noted 13. Final score agreed 13:0. Players award was shared with the super 3 up front – Maisie Davis, Mia Davis and Ashleigh Jones.
