Men’s 1st’s (1) vs. (2) Leeds 4th’s
The men’s 1st team faced Leeds HC in their second game of the season, Leeds had most of the possession in the first 15 minutes but slaz held strong and pressed hard keeping them in their own half.
Slazenger got the first dangerous attack of the half but nothing came of it. Leeds then won a short corner and got the first goal but slazenger replied fast with Chris and Emmett linking up then Tidily finished by Jordan. Leeds then got another goal in the second half but Slazenger could not match it with tired legs kicking in. The game ended 2-1 to Leeds. Man of the match went to Tommy Randle on his 18th birthday!
Men’s 2nd’s (0) vs. (4) Lindum 3rds
Slazenger men’s 2’s travelled to league favourites Lindum 3’s on Saturday and despite coming away with a 4-0 loss, could take a number of positives from the game. Conner Browett did an excellent job across the top line combining well with Ollie Leonard and Pete Gunning to create a some good chances. Despite being under pressure for the majority of the game, the defence and midfield battled well with Andy Fisher doing a great job stepping into the midfield. The scoreline was 1-0 at half time and it was only the fact that Lindum had 4 subs (compared to Slazengers no subs) that allowed them to create more chances in the 2nd half to eventually end the game 4-0 to the good. Josh Hujwan had an excellent debut in goal making a number of quality saves throughout. Slazengers travel to another of the league favorites, Scarborough 1’s on Saturday but will be buoyed by a positive performance against an excellent Lindum side.
Men’s 3rd’s (8) vs. (4) Boston Spa 2nds
Slazengers hosted visiting side Boston Spa, coming running out 8-4 victors. Goals came from Rob Brear, Jack Sumner John Sykes Mark Hammond, Trevor Armitage and a hat-trick from Damian Greig. Special mention to Darren Saxton who had his first appearance for the club in net.
Men’s 4th’s (0) vs. (4) Chapeltown 2nds
The deadlock lasted just 10 minutes before the first of the Chapeltown goals trickled over the goal line. The second goal followed just a few short minutes later signalling what could have been a long afternoon for Slazenger. The response however, was defiant as the deficit lead to a number of chances for the front line who were unable to capitalise. The opposition were more clinical as the score-line 4-0 at half time. A much more positive second half kept the result the same with good chances at both ends final score 4-0 Chapeltown.
Development (2) vs. (1) Doncaster Development
This was the Development teams first game of the season and with some of the older juniors having been promoted to higher teams, this was a new look side.
However, any doubts quickly faded as the team clicked immediately and produced a great team performance. The midfield of Amelia Sykes, Declan Buxton, Ollie Tuddenham and Aidy Buckley controlled the game throughout, whilst Beth Buckley and Lucas Thickett kept the Doncaster keeper busy. However, it was a goal from Declan Buxton which opened the scoring, taking the ball on the edge of the D and beating a defender and the keeper to score. Declan’s second goal quickly followed in similar circumstances to make it 2-0 at half time.
As the second half progressed, Doncaster worked their way into the game, testing the Slaz defence of George Garside, Harry Firth, Lorna Godson, Ben Garside and Richard Coughtrey on a number of occasions. Player of the game and keeper Lillianna Burrows made a number of crucial saves to limit Doncaster to just one goal and deny Doncaster many more to ensure that Slazenger’s took the points and a 2-1 win. A great way to start the season for the Slaz youngsters.
Ladies 1sts (2) vs. (3) Harrogate 2nd’s
Ladies 1sts lost 3-2 to Harrogate 2nds. Goals from Lou Haigh & Hannah Field
Ladies 2nd’s (1) vs. (0) Doncaster 3rd’s
The game started with automatic pressure from slaz, keeping it mostly in Doncaster’s half. The midfielders kept busy with constant runs up and down the pitch, helping defence keep it out of our D. Laura sweeped the stage with a cracking shot, giving slaz our goal! Morale stayed consecutive all throughout the first half with fantastic hits up the pitch from Michelle and Rachel to upfront. Defence stayed strong, dominating the D and some great saves from Tracey.
Going into the second half, Slaz’s morale stayed incredibly high. We worked together to get it back up to the attacking half, moving fast paced. With only 10 minutes left, a few free hits were awarded to Doncaster after Ruby R decided to play a bit of football, seeing the ball hit her feet. However, Slaz held strong all the way to the last second of the match. Slaz’s spirit stayed incredibly high throughout and we PASSED WITH PURPOSE!!!! We were all relieved when the whistle blew giving us our first win of the season, 1-0.
Ladies 3rd’s (9) vs. (0) Ladies 4th’s
Saturday kicked off to an excellent example of the Slazenger’s club spirit with the Ladies 4th Team supporting a convincing win for the 3rd Team in their quest to be top of the league by losing 9-0. Ladies Chair – Lisa GK, helped out too as the 3rd Team keeper. Obviously playing at home, the 3rd Team took full advantage of the clubs’ hospitality and sporting the red kit, waited patiently for the 4th Team to get the pitch ready to play.
The game started on time and almost immediately, the Bailey girls started their on-pitch battle. Mum, and 4th Team captain – Julie Bailey was clearly a match for her daughter and 3rd Team player – May Bailey, requiring the umpire mother-daughter duo – Lou and Erin – to intervene. May was warned for pushing her mother and will not be receiving any pocket money this week!
The 3rd Team were clearly focussed on the win and it wasn’t long until their first goal was scored by Evie Mollart. However, it was another 20 minutes until they found the net again with a goal from Maisie Davis and then another from Lucy England. Leaving the pitch at half time, the 4th Team 3-0 down, kept their heads up and acknowledged their hard work with mid-field player Rebecca Green and goal keeper, Charlotte Richardson putting in superb performances.
Returning to the pitch for the second half, Slazenger’s 3rd Team piled on the pressure and Charlotte was kept busy. The 3rd Team were relentless in their attack although the 4th Team forwards did have some excellent runs with Lisa GK at one point fearing she may need to dive for the shot.
3rd Team players Evie Mollart and Maisie Davis fired 2 more goals in each. Gemma Syrett popped one in too and the grand finale came with the final and 9th goal for the 3’s with Stacey Drake hammering a high one home. Whilst the score-line did not reflect the effort of the 4th Team – the 3’s deserved the win and it was a good game of hockey, well umpired and teas were enjoyed afterwards!
4th Team player – Keeper, Charlotte Richardson who most definitely saved more than went in and played a brilliant game. 4th Team tart – Mandy Greenwood who just needed to check which colour lines we played to! The 3rd Team were clearly exhausted by the effort imposed by the 4’s – only having the energy to vote for one player as both player and tart – Maisie Davis.
