Men’s 1st’s (2) vs. (1) Huddersfield 1st’s
Men’s 1st’s took a rare 3 points from their encounter away at Huddersfield 1st’s. Goals came from Owen Smith and Jimmy Swinden to give the side a 2-1 victory.
Men’s 2nd’s (1) vs. (3) Leeds 5th’s
Mens seconds travelled to Leeds for a 10:30 start. Slaz struggled to get into gear, and a judicious interpretation of the rules saw Leeds with an early short corner which was duly converted. This put the visitors on the back foot, and when Leeds took advantage of another fortuitous decision, it was looking like an uphill battle.
A formation change at half time gave the team a much needed boost. Alex Stacey converted an Asad Baig strike. A second goal looked to have been scored before it was disallowed, but Leeds scored a third from a defensive mix up. Slaz battled on, but to no avail. The real highlight of the game were the debut perfrmances from Joe Minchella and Max Godley.
Men’s 3rd’s
Game cancelled. Opposition withdrawn from league
Mens 4th’s (6) vs. (2) Leeds 8th’s
Leeds 8 had previously met Slazenger’s 4/5 team in a pre-season friendly which it is fair to say did not end well for the home team with a 9 – 0 defeat. It was “suspected” that there may well have been one or two ringers in the team that day, but with Leeds sitting above Slaz in the table it was expected to be tough game.
This was exasperated further when a poorly (man flu is suspected, though at this point unconfirmed) Josh Hujwan had to drop out at the last minute. It was therefore convenient that the devs/3’s were playing a friendly before our game and a quick word brought the numbers back up with Jack Lee stepping into shore up the defence with Tony (T Dog) Walker. It goes without saying that the two of them had plenty of work to do throughout the game with both of them valiantly disrupting the swift breaks that Leeds put together. A minute silence was observed by all before the push back commenced with Slaz in control. Quick initial balls and movement kept both sides guessing where the break would come but it was Leeds who struck first on the break for what must have been a relatively easy goal for them. Slaz have learnt quickly this season that this does not mean the game is lost and quickly went to work, pressing every opportunity and a break by Slaz put Scott Carruthers in the perfect position to score.
The keeper had other ideas and decided that Scott would be much better off on his backside than on his feet but mistimed and took player before ball, resulting in a flick being awarded. John Sykes made short work of the opportunity and the score evened. This seemed to be a significant turning point for Slaz, as the pressure continued to mount. Up front George Bentley was on fire every time the ball touched his stick and he made sure that this was not wasted with 2 superb goals, one which left the back boards rattling. Into the second half and it was much the same, with Slaz piling on the pressure Leeds did manage to regain one further consolation goal towards the end of the game but it was all they could manage under the relentless attacks from the midfield and forwards.
By the end of the game, further goals had been netted by John and Scott leaving the final result a thrilling 6 – 2 victory to Slazengers. Goals: Scott Carruthers 2, John Sykes 2, George Bentley 2. MOM unanimously went to George for 2 cracking goals and an outstanding overall performance. Our wally of the week went to Scott Carruthers for many amusing reasons, but the one that stood out the most; “because he runs like Kermit the frog”. Slazengers ended the week having leap frogged (no pun intended Scott) Leeds to take 3 rd overall and an away game on the 16 th at Harrogate to look forward to.
Mens 5th’s (3) vs. (3) Lindum 5th’s
The omens were good for this game. We were up against a team with an equally dodgy record.
Lincoln Green, Slaz Green and debutant Simon Taylor turned a lovely shade of green due to Blockers driving skills and particularly enjoyable bonfire party refreshments. Indeed the omens were so great Blocker did his best to scupper our chances by getting lost 3 times in Horbury and then locking the goalie kit in the car 5 mins before push back and running away to hide.
His plans were foiled and Slaz began this game by managing to pass to each other and even ventured into the opponents half. True to form we showed Lindum into our D and invited them to take shooting practice on numerous occasions, fortunately their attack played with Corinthian spirit and only scored 3. Slaz did play some nice hockey with Mr PJ spraying the ball to all parts of the pitch. Slaz forced a short corner, from which Pyjamas scored, indeed it was so well worked it looked like we had practiced. Second half came and Slaz steamed ahead and despite 2 green cards, did not concede and scored 2 more through “Not so green by now” Taylor and birthday boy Chugger Chilton.
M.O.M. Neil “Scoopy Doo” Stacey, lived up to family name, worked hard and made some fine dribbles. Chugger Chilton 2nd week on run. Fine goal great work rate, put up with Topper’s djing on journey back. C.O.M. Simon “nauseous” Taylor, missed open goal from 3 inches
Ladies 1st’s (2) vs. (4) Sheffield Hallam 2nd’s
Ladies 1sts lost 4-2 to Sheffield Hallam. Goals came from Nicci Swinden and Holly Tyers
Ladies 2nd’s (2) vs. (7) Doncaster
Slazengers Ladies 2’s game against Doncaster started off with a strong attack from Slazenger’s attack. Within the first 10 minutes they had their first short corner, allowing Maisie to reverse sweep the ball into the net through a deflection. Soon after Doncaster came back with fast attack after fast attack, despite amazing saves from Slazenger’s Kepper Tracy they scored an equaliser.
The opposition were relentless on their attack and scored goal after goal. By the second half Slazenger were losing 3-1. Slazenger started off strongly with Mush scoring their second goal through an excellent sweep. Despite amazing clearance and tackles from Slaz’s defence Doncaster managed to score again and again. In the end, the score was 7-2. Player of the match went to GK Tracy for her amazing saves.
Ladies 3rds (1) vs. (2) Pudsey 1st’s
Ladies 3’s embraced the bleak weather against Pudsey during Saturday’s afternoon match. With a strong start from all the team and accurate passing made by the midfielders, Slaz was dominating the first half. Quick runs made by Caro Schofield , Caitlin McGrath and Jules Measuresmeant that we secured a goal first from Ellie McWilliams making it 1-0. But Pudsey weren’t done as by half-time they had equalised. The weather and strong hits began to test our limits as Linda Stacey endured plenty of hits from our opposition. Although we kept preserving throughout with short corners being taken from each end. Unfortunately Pudsey managed to recover a deflection during one of their short corners which concluded the overall score as being 2-1. Despite the loss all the ladies should be commended for their excellent play and maintaining strong players throughout.
Ladies 4th’s (1) vs. (2) Wakefield 5th’s
The ladies 4th team played at home this weekend against Wakefield 5th team and got off to a promising start. Slazenger’s dominated much of the first half, despite Di Jones leaving the pitch within minutes due to a ball on the ankle (hope it feels better soon Di).
Forwards Josie Hughes and Lyn Wood we’re kept busy up front with the Wakefield team struggling to break through mid field -Hannah Tindall-Miller and Emily Craven working particularly hard.
Lyn Wood had a shot on goal soon after the start and continued to find herself one on one with the keeper. Josie Hughes made several shots on goal but failed to get it past the keeper. Slazenger’s were awarded several short corners but Ingrid Coughtrey’s goal power couldn’t match last weeks. Finally, 20 minutes in and the Slazenger efforts paid off with Lyn Wood netting a goal.
Wakefield came out with renewed efforts for the second half and scored two goals in quick succession. Slazenger’s struggled to recover but held the rest of the game. Lyn Wood came close to the draw but it wasn’t to be. Slazenger’s lost 2:1. Player – Lyn Wood.