Match Reports 9th & 10th October

Men’s 1st’s (2) vs. (1) Sheffield Uni Bankers 2nd’s
Much the same going into the second half, but Slazenger we’re on the back foot after going down to 10 men for a spell following a yellow card. Sheffield went 2-1 up as they continued to push with the extra man and converted a dubiously awarded short corner. Slazenger continued to push but couldn’t find the back of the goal to draw things level and will rue missing a number of half chances they created.

Thanks to Matt Smith and Rob Whawell for Umpiring.

Men’s 2nd’s (3) vs. (3) City of York 5th’s
A long aerial ball from Amir Khalil set up Richard Tuddenham to neatly slot away his first of the game. A similar move later in the first half gave Slaz a second. Ben Graham netted a third after a goalmouth scramble. 

However, just as in the previous week, the team found themselves struggling and conceeded 3 within a short period. While the visitors pressed into the final minutes, a few errors had been punished to leave them with only a single point from the match.

Men’s 3rd’s (3) vs. (1) Boston Spa 2nd’s
Slazenger 3rd’s hosted visitors Boston Spa 2nd’s. Boston Spa played a physical and direct game, which struggled with a possession based hockey which the 3rds displayed. Ultimately hard work in the face of a physical opposition paid off. Slazenger ran out victors with goals from Emmett Fearn, Keith Leonard and Damian Greig. 

Thanks to Tracey Lorriman and Ben Stevenson for umpiring.

Men’s 4th’s (0) vs. (10) Leeds Adel 5th’s
The men’s 4th’s travelled away to Leeds Adel with a scratch side, losing 10-0.

Men’s 5th’s (5) vs. (3) Leeds 8th’s
Slazenger Men’s 5th team welcomed league leaders Leeds 8 to Horbury, and Slaz were looking to build on some good performances in recent weeks.

Slaz built pressure in the early phases of the match, controlling midfield and getting lots of shots on target, but not scoring. Against the run of play, Leeds 8 sliced through the midfield and defence to score the opening goal.

For the rest of the first half, Slazenger 5 and Leeds 8 were closely matched but just before half time, Slazenger pressure led to a penalty flick being awarded. Damian Greig scored the flick to give Slazenger 5s a deserved equaliser.

Slazenger were quick off the blocks in the second half, building pressure and scoring three quick goals through Dene Michella (2) and Damian Greig to race to a 4-1 lead. Leeds gradually clawed their way back into the goal as Slazenger intensity dropped, and pulled the game back to 4-3 with 10 minutes to go.

Slazenger switched back on, and scored a 5th goal through some great running from John Sykes and ended up 5-3 winners, and moving up to 5th in the table.

Thanks to Alex Stacey and Chris Gascoigne for umpiring.

Men’s 6th’s (0) vs. (3) Bradford 4th’s
The Development team took on Bradford in this first league game of the season, fielding a young team with several debutants, in a fixture which always proves to be competitive.

The game started in end to end fashion as both teams strived for control of the midfield. Kurtiss Holliday, Owen Coughtrey and Dene Minchella created some early chances for Zach Parkinson and Seth Hoole, but the Bradford keeper could not be beaten, whilst Jack Sanderson and Harry Ashford showed stout defence to keep the Bradford attack at bay.

Bradford broke the deadlock half way through the first half however, with a good passing move creating space on the right allowing the Bradford striker to score in the corner. A second goal quickly followed for Bradford in similar fashion, whilst heroic keeping by player of the match, Jack Hancock, ensured that the half-time score remained 2-0. The second half saw an improved performance from Slaz as the young team began to find its feet. Aleks Thompson and Connor Browitt started to make some headway down the wings, whilst Lisa Minchella provided some much needed defensive
guidance.

Slaz created chance after chance and had the best of the half, but could not find the goal. Bradford finally broke the Slaz resolve scoring a third against the run of play towards the end of the half, to make the final score 3-0. This was
however, a good opening performance for the Development team, who showed great promise for the rest of the season.

Ladies 1st’s (4) vs. (2) Leeds Adel 2nd’s
Slazenger’s were up for their match, still buzzing from their triumph the week previous. Adel had been a worth adversary in past games so slaz knew they had to prepare for a tough game. The team arrived, confident. Their formidable leader had trained them hard in preparation – they were ready. This report must pay tribute to the amazing hockey played throughout the 70 minutes. Slazenger’s pieced together slick passes and drove hard with the ball. The defence were a metaphoric brick wall, to quote Gandalf the great “thou shall not pass”.

The goals did not match the intensity and brilliance of the Slaz performance, but when all is said and done a goal is a goal. Coops set the team off with a (poached) push in to the back of the net, swiftly followed by another (The Sykes house was in uproar that evening). It didn’t take long for Rudge to follow suit with her own little flick, not her usually extravagant style but she made up for it with 2 amazing drag flicks (Shame Adel’s keeper was on her game!!!). As always Ellie was in the right place at the right time and put Slaz’s final goal away.

Unfortunately, the umpires chose the wrong time to blink and Adel took advantage on 2 occasions, rounding the game off at 4-2. Honourable mention to Erin, the new keeper who proved skills trump experience – she was a little fire cracker and defiantly deserved her MOM badge. Not so honourable mentions to Hannah and Coops, who fancied themselves as roughians and were given green cards for their troubles!

Thanks to Lisa Chappell and Damian Greig for Umpiring.

Ladies 2nd’s (2) vs. (2) Thirsk 2nd’s
Slazenger’s dealt with the pressure but there was an unlucky deflection from keeper Tracy Lorriman into the foot of Michelle Adams on the goal line rewarding Thirsk with a Penalty flick. Tracy kept her cool and saved the penalty flick! Shortly after the penalty flick, Thirsk scored their 2nd goal. Slazengers seemed to settle after this and worked well as a team passing and moving off the ball to get into the visitors D with the first goal for Slazenger’s from Lucy Howarth. Slaz were trailing 2-1 at half time.

The second half brought Slaz out with added energy pressuring Thirsk from the off. Whilst Thirsk had some breaks Slaz kept their composure and continued to defend well. The pressure paid off and Hannah Kyle scored the 2nd goal for Slaz. Both teams had fair chances in the second half but the game ended 2-2 with Tracy Lorriman being recognised as player of the match.