Men’s 1st’s (3) vs. (5) Wakefield 2nd’s
Slazenger’s spotlight game against a big local rival, Wakefield, was a neck and neck game, with some fantastic hockey played. The game started off well with Slazenger’s having the majority possession, and a few good opportunities early on. Against a run of play, Wakefield won a corner, scoring with a drag flick. Slazenger’s quickly responded with Richard Tuddingham scoring the equaliser.
Slazenger’s then went 2-1 up with Danny Perry dribbling it round the goalkeeper and an effortless tap in. Wakefield equalised shortly after with a deflection, then added a 3rd, leaving it 3-2 at half time. The second half promised more excitement but ended in disappoint with a 5-3 win to Wakefield.
Mens 2nd’s (2) vs. (2) Leeds Adel 4th’s
The men’s 2nds hosted Leeds Adel for a close battle with the spoils being shared. The host side started strong, with some good passing and strong possession. Slaz took the lead from a breakdown in play with Damian Greig slotting home the ball to take the lead. Adel fought back and equalised in the first half.
Slaz fought back in the second half, but a combination of strong goalkeeping and less than accurate shooting ensured that score stayed level.
In the end a strong attack from Keith Leonard beat the defence, and slotted a cross through to Ian Hedges, who beat the keeper. Unfortunately, in the dying minutes of the game, Adel found an equaliser. Slaz continued to press, but to no avail. A final missed opportunity epitomised the agonizing experience of Slaz, unable to convert more opportunities. Slaz travel to York on Saturday on the hunt for more points.
Mens 3rd’s
Game postponed
Mens 4th’s (0) vs. (7) Chapeltown 2nd’s
Lost 7-0 to away at top of the league Chapeltown.
Ladies 1st’s (2) vs. (3) Halifax 1sts
Slazenger ladies lost 3-2 to Halifax. Goals came from Jess Rudge & Hannah Field
Ladies 2nd’s (3) vs. (2) Thirsk 2nd’s
After a number of good weeks and a catapult from the bottom of the league the ladies 2 travelled to Thirsk full of confidence.
In a welcome break from the norm Slaz started well, pressuring the Thirsk goal right from the start. Thirsk came in to the game more and part way though a fairly even first half snatched the lead, winning a short corner from a quick break which resulted in a goal mouth melee and in a nod to the World Cup a controversial had the ball crossed the line goal. Slaz continued to play well, with some great interplay from Kez and Ruby down the wings and were unlucky not to go in to the break level after some great passing round the ‘keeper the ball just stopping just shy of the line.
Slaz started the second half well and got on the score sheet early doors, with a great ball in from Stacey and the deftest of touches from Hannah drew them level. However maybe the celebrations went to their heads as they let Thirsk take the lead again from another short corner almost immediately.
Slaz knew this was against the run of play and kept playing good hockey, with some lovely interplay through Lucy and Phe in the midfield and Mia and Maisie keeping the Thirsk defence under all sorts of pressure. That pressure paid off, with Maisie finding the back of the net to draw us level again.
Despite been behind twice, Slaz never looked like settling for the draw. The defence were solid, with Rebecca and Michelle winning the ball high up the pitch, making Thisk less dangerous from the counter attack. The game was won for Slaz by a special goal, Maisie finding the top corner from sweet strike. Tracy made sure the 3 points were safe with an excellent save with her stick seconds before the final whistle. Player this week went to Maisie for her amazing 2nd goal! A well fought 2-3 win for Slaz, hopefully catapulting them even further up the league.
Ladies 3rd’s
Game Postponed
Ladies 4th’s (0) vs, (5)Sheffield Hallam
Saturdays ladies 4’s game had a late start over at Sheffield Halam. The women were the most cohesive yet and put up a brilliant fight against the opposition, who are top of the league. Ruby rogers kept the midfield dynamic, open to many long hits from Gemma Wroe. Lizzie played a brilliant game, making some fantastic saves in goal. Elizabeth’s skill shined through with some perfect tackles. It seemed however, that luck was on Sheffield’s side, ending in a 5-0 win to them.
Girls U10s
U10 Girls Match reports – thanks to Mark and Gemma.
The Girls Under 10 A team were in action again today in Wakefield, playing against Wakefield, Huddersfield and the Slaz B team. The girls started the tournament strongly by beating the Slaz B team 7-0, with Edie scoring 4 goals and Darcie scoring 3 goals. This result really set the tone for the rest of the day, as they continued to sweep their opposition aside.
They faced Huddersfield next and although defensively the girls were hardly troubled, when needed the defensive partnership of Katie and Matilda stood strong and stopped any real goal threat. Moving forward was where the girls were at their strongest with Edie commanding the midfield, linking the play from defence to attack. We dominated the midfield battles with Jess, Ruth and Eleanor working hard down the wings to create the chances for Edie and Darcie who scored 2 and 3 goals respectively. Final score was a well-deserved 5-0 win.
The next game saw us face Wakefield, in what is usually a close and evenly matched game. That said, we dominated the game throughout, although Lilliana was at last called into action and made some good saves when called upon. Again Katie and Matilda worked hard to ensure that the Wakefield opportunities were kept to a minimum. Ruth was excellent in midfield, working hard and showing great determination to work back and win the ball. All the front players caused problems throughout, with Edie, Jess and Eleanor making driving runs into the D, and causing the Wakefield defence all kind of problems, and if it was not for some good saves from the Wakefield keeper, we would have had a convincing win. That’s said, we won the game 1-0 with Darcie clinically slotting the ball home after working well with Edie in the build-up. (Love a win against Wakey 😉🥳). Midway through the tournament we sat top of the league, having won all 3 games and not conceding a goal.
As we moved into the second half of the tournament, this theme continued with us winning the next 3 games, scoring 9 goals and conceding none. This meant that the girls had played 6, won 6, scoring 22 goals and conceding none, which is a fantastic achievement. Top scorers were Edie on 11, Darcie 10 and Jess 1. 👏 Player of the tournament was Ruth for consistently showing the grit and determination needed to deliver her excellent performances throughout all the games. Well done Ruth. ⭐️
The girls have now been promoted to Div 1 and we could not be happier for them, as not only as they are super team on the pitch, they are a super team off it, supporting one another when needed, but more importantly, sharing lots of fun and laughs, helping build the great team spirt they have. I’m sure all the girls will look forward to testing themselves against the best teams when they next take to the field for the next tournament. Well done girls. 💚🏑
The B team also showed what a super group of girls they are as it was a tough division for the Slaz B team today, unfortunately losing all their games. But they didn’t let it faze them and we saw some great play, with the team improving massively from their first match to their last. Georgie started in goal, making some fab saves, coming out of goal to taken on a few one to one attacks and in the second half of the tournament moving to play upfront, she battled hard and displayed some real Slaz determination.
Savannah played up front initially getting into some great spaces and for the second half she swapped into goal, coming out with confidence to attack the ball and clearing any balls that came near her.
Bridget, Matilda, Holly swapped around and were kept busy in defence and midfield. They worked together making some great tackles and clearing the ball from the opposition’s attacks. A notable point in one game involved Matilda who made a great save from a flying ball through the air with a deflection off her stick. Holly’s confidence grew as the games progressed and Bridget was a solid support in midfield and defence for the team.
Upfront Madison, Ella, Savannah and Georgina swapped around to cover the positions. Ella grew in confidence game on game, going in for some fierce tackles and her work rate was outstanding. Madison demonstrated the skills she’d learnt at training and did some great roll outs to get past defenders. She was another player who worked hard throughout. And we cannot forget our supersub – William! He stepped in as a sub after illness meant we were missing a few girls (we hope you feel better soon!) and he played with improved confidence since last tournament. Well done William and all the Slaz B team girls, you should be so proud of yourselves as all the coaches are super proud! Player of the tournament was Matilda M who was outstanding in defence and her increased confidence was fantastic to see! Well done! Thanks to all our fabulous coaches – Mark, Gemma, Ben, James, Donna and Rich! And special thanks to the wonderful umpires – Amelia and Ruby FF who umpired every game in Div 2 for the girls! 👏
Boys U10s
U10 boys match report – thanks to Gemma Wroe. The under 10 boys were in action yesterday at Wakefield, this was their first tournament in Division 1 and due to sickness were without key players Nikolai and George, as well as coach Will 😢 – we hope you feel better soon!
The boys started the tournament playing Ben Rhydding. Ben Rhydding came out strong and despite the team working tirelessly Ben Rhydding managed to get a goal past Slazenger’s stand in keeper Harry. Some crucial defending and tackles from Alistair (who played on despite a stick to the head), Charlie L, Charley T and Alfie meant the boys were able to prevent Ben Rhydding from scoring any more goals. It was a great start to the tournament!
The next game was against York who managed to secure an early goal, but the Slazenger boys came back strong and managed to make a break down the right wing, a strong pass into Matthew who had found space in the D saw Slazenger’s first attempt on goal with Noah there to slot the rebound in. Charlie L and Alfie dominated in midfield and distributed the ball to the team. Final Score 1-1 🥳
The next game was against Wakefield. The Slazenger boys battled hard across the pitch and with Harry finding his confidence in goal, coming out to meet the ball and making some exciting saves. The boys put in a great performance and had some chances but Wakefield were physically bigger and stronger, managing to push the Slazenger boys off the ball and secured themselves a 3-0 win.
#The final game was against a skilful Sheffield side, with the Slazenger boys tiring having played a tournament with no subs they found themselves defending very deep and with six players when Charley T was injured but he bravely returned to the game. The whole team spent most of the game in the defensive half where they made some impressive tackles and tracked the ball remarkably well. Sadly, Sheffield’s precision and determination meant they won the game 4-0.
Player of the tournament went to Harry for his first tournament in goal, making some remarkable saves and growing in confidence throughout the day. Thanks to Keith for stepping in and helping me coach the boys throughout the day and to Ollie for helping umpire.
