Ladies 2nd’s (0) vs. (4) Scarborough 1st’s
Slaz went up to Scarborough for the return fixture. The game started evenly, with good play from both sides, and opportunities for both teams to get on the scoreboard. Scarborough went ahead after about 10 min through a lucky deflection. Slaz continued to battle and had chances of their own. Towards the end of the first half, Scarborough scored again through high ball that was directed towards the goal.
Second half, Slazenger didn’t start well and a goal was quickly scored by Scarborough within seconds. After giving our heads a shake, Slazenger then woke up and continued to battle hard, create chances. Scarborough scored a 4th goal from a short corner ending with the game ending 4-0. The result did not reflect the heart, determination and team play of Slaz, who battled to the end. Player was Ni for great running.
Ladies 3rd’s (8) vs. (0) Huddersfield Dragons
Slazenger attended at Huddersfield Dragons to find the pitch transformed into a winter wonderland; snow everywhere, chaos in the air, and players armed with brooms, leaf blowers, and even a John Deere turf brusher! As the umpires whistle pierced the wintry air to start the game, the Slaz team momentarily drifted away to a tropical paradise, dreaming of sipping piña coladas by the sea. Little did they know, the dragons were ready to breathe fire on the field, launching credible attacks on the Slaz defence forcing some crucial saves from Lauren, the Slaz keeper. . But fear not! Once the Slaz Ladies snapped out of their tropical trance, they began thwarting every dragon assault showing flair and tenacity.
Slazenger regained control of the game with Mia leading the charge and scoring first. Gemma executed a heroic fall that would make any Hollywood stunt double jealous, whilst also stopping dragons’ attacks with panache and helping Slazenger push forward and towards a goal from Maisie! Lucy H then added her name to the list of scorers with a delightful goal from a short corner routine. Maisie netted another and Loz, not wanting to feel left out added her name to the list of goal scorers to round off the first half 5-0 to Slaz. At halftime, amidst jubilant celebrations and pep talks, the team resolved to maintain their momentum. However, as they returned to the pitch, they found themselves momentarily lost in their daydream once more, only to be jolted back to reality by the dragons’ relentless onslaught.
Richie converted defence to attack with an impeccable pass to Maisie set the stage for another spectacular goal, giving Maisie her hat-trick for the match. Then, not long after, a hilarious mishap saw Maisie smashing another goal past the keeper as the dragons took a hard ball to the foot, much to their dismay. As the clock ticked down, Caro patiently awaited her chance, seizing the opportunity to add her name to the scoresheet, bringing the total goals to 8! IAs they celebrated with post-game chili courtesy of the away team, they raised a toast to Gemma the “tart” for the game for her spectacular fall and player, Maisie for those goals again!
U10 Boys
The boys were playing in Division 2 and it was the finals round this time and they played absolutely brilliantly winning all their games!
Aire Valley 1 – 3 Slazenger
Slaz got off to a great start and some accurate passing between Zach, Matthew and Noah led to a sneaky ball round the keeper for Dom who had got himself into space on the back post securing the opening goal. On the restart the boys immediately put pressure on Aire Valley, a quick interception led to Alistair making a run down the right wing past 3 of the opposition players and feeding the ball across the D for Noah to get the boys a 2-0 advantage. Aire Valley weren’t going to make the same mistake again and came out firing on the restart, despite the relentless efforts of the defence and some super saves from Ninja Nikolai, Aire Valley managed to get themselves a goal back! Slaz picked themselves up and some skilful hockey by Dom on the left wing led to another chance which Noah converted. A great start to the tournament!
Leeds Adel 0 – 1 Slazenger
Leeds Adel were the most challenging opposition for the boys today, luckily the defence of Freddie and Zach was mainly like a brick wall to the Adel attack with some perfectly timed tackles and clearances out wide. Adel did manage to get a few shots at goal but Nikolai had it covered and it was in fact a clearance from Nikolai that launched a counter attack; picking the ball up on the halfway line Noah took the ball into the attacking D, around the keeper and finished it off with a cheeky reverse flick, the only goal of the game.
Halifax 0 – 3 Slazenger
From the start some quick balls from midfield led to a 1st minute goal from Matthew which he put in the bottom corner, followed by the most impressive celebration of the day! Alistair continued to own the right wing with his pace and skill, and got a cross through the D to Dom who was once again positioned perfectly to slot the ball past the keeper. Both the Harry’s worked tirelessly winning the ball back when Halifax won possession and got some great balls through to their teammates! The final goal of the game came with the last hit of the game and it was Matthew who chipped the ball at pace into the back of the net!
Slazenger 3 – 0 Aire Valley
Starting the second round of games undefeated was a great confidence boost to the boys and it wasn’t long before Dom managed to create some space in the D to get on the receiving end of a ball that had been driven in from a long corner, Dom quickly got his shot away before any of the Aire Valley defence could react and gave the goalie no chance of stopping his shot. Shortly after, a great interception by Harry S and pass down the line to Dom led to a few consecutive attempts on goal but it was the resilience of Matthew that paid off when he managed to get the ball over the goal line! Aire Valley worked their way into the Slaz defensive D but it wasn’t long before Alistair gained control of the ball and ran it to the attacking D before taking the ball round the keeper to secure another goal for the boys.
Slazenger 2 – 0 Leeds Adel
Once again Adel made the boys earn their win. Slaz continued to make the ball do the work, passing more than they ever have and a great sequence of play starting from Zach in defence, out to Alistair on the right wing, back to Noah into centre mid and finally through to Matthew upfront who put the ball in the back of the net secured the boys another well deserved goal. Adel came back fighting and Ninja Nikolai was soon diving full stretch, making superb stick saves to keep the boys in it! Goalkeepers cannot win the game but Nikolai certainly saved us the game today! Harry S and Dom worked relentlessly down the left intercepting balls and limiting Adel’s attacks! The final goal came from a long corner picked up outside the D by Matthew who took the ball around the perimeter of the D on his reverse before scooping it across the D past 3 opposition players for Noah to slot in the bottom corner.
Slazenger 2 – 0 Halifax
The boys were tiring by the final game but some great play between midfield set Noah up for the opening opportunity which he managed to lift over the goalies head into the back of the net (the keeper was only tiny but had a brilliant tournament). Shortly after, another of Zach’s consistently powerful and accurate free hits made it through to Noah who then drove the ball from the halfway line, just inside the D and found the bottom corner for the final time in the tournament.
Despite the boys not having anymore attempts on goal they managed to keep most of the possession and continued to work together as a team. Little Harry got himself into some great positions and made some crucial tackles. The boys had an amazing tournament, not only were they unbeaten but they really started putting into practise things they have been working on in training which made us super proud! Player of the tournament when to Dom who played some outstanding hockey today and constantly got himself in the right place at the right time. Not only did Dom play some fantastic hockey for Slaz, he, Harry S and little Harry also stepped in to help other teams who were short of players. Nikolai also helped out but was rather more chilled in goal! Well done boys! Thanks to Gemma for helping me manage the team and Amelia for umpiring with some great feedback from the opposition coaches.
U10 Girls Match Reports
U10 Girls A Team
Slazenger (0) vs. (1) Kingston-Upon-Hull
Having had the first two matches off, the girls had a slow start and Hull took advantage coming out strong. Despite fighting hard from defence, through the middle and up into attack, Hull managed to sneak a ball through to an attacking player who scored.
Slazenger (3) vs. (1) City of York
After heads going down from the first match result, we had a team talk and came back fighting. The girls worked hard and really fought for the ball. Using the width of the pitch and creating more space allowed the ball to move up the field and making shots on goal as soon as they were in the D both Darcie and Edie scored goals relatively close to each other. York came back managing to get a lucky goal. But, we weren’t letting another in with some great tackles & clearances from defence from Katie, Ella & Maia, with Lydia making some great saves. Edie worked hard midfield picking the ball up from defensive clearances and working up into the D. Georgie, Sophie & Penny working hard on the wings doing lots of running, great pass in from Edie to Darcie top of the D to score the final goal.
Slazenger vs Thirsk
Quoted from Emma Hammond ‘Best match I’ve seen them play, they really wanted it!’ – it really was. We’re always closely matched with Thirsk, but the girls stepped it up again, really working hard and coming together as a team. We had lots of shots on goal as we moved the ball up the field well. We were super unlucky not to score, with a few very close misses. Georgie working hard upfront, following up on rebounds and fighting hard to keep the ball in our attacking D. Penny had a stint in defence, pushing them out to the side and then pushed out to the wing, making some great tackles and tracking back to support. Sophie made some great tackles on the wings and with both Maia & Sophie running their legs off. Held the game at 0-0.
Slazenger (3) vs. (0) Ben Rhydding
The girls came out on fire, more fantastic play. We saw some great runs down the wing from Katie and crossed into the D for shots on goal – I’m sure this is soon to become a signature move for them as the girls seem to have got this down to a tee with both Darcie & Edie scoring from a cross in and the Darcie scoring again.
Overall the girls smashed it, really grew throughout the tournament in confidence, determination and teamwork. The showed fantastic resilience and really battled. We all watched eagerly at the end to await the final results and therefore the result of the league ‘finals’ – of which I, I mean the girls (sorry, I get too excited) came top! Well done girls I’m so proud of every single one of you – super work! Player went to Sophie, for growing in confidence and determination through the tournament. Thanks to Mark Hammond for umpiring!
U10 B Team (at Chesterfield)
The Slazenger B side were at Chesterfield again this week and due to it being school holidays and a few illnesses they went with no subs. The team have been building in confidence week on week and this week they showed amazing skill and determination all over the pitch . We saw great attacking performances from Frances, Sophie, Savannah and Madison. Madison was our high attacker and had lots of chances in the goal area. Frances was in great positions and was an outlet for our middle players.
We saw strong passes forward and tackles from Sophie and Savannah in the middle of the pitch. Matilda and Isabella were solid in defence, putting great tackles and pressure on any attackers that dare come near the Slazenger D. William as always was strong in goal, making some crucial saves and accurate clearances out wide. The Slazenger team showed amazing attacking play with some great opportunities on goal. Today’s tournament saw the team draw twice, lose three and win the final game. The last win came from a clearance from the back from Matilda, which made its way across to Frances on the left hand side. Frances battled with the opposition and managed to cross it across the D where Madison had perfectly positioned herself to slot it in the left hand corner with power.
Results were:
Rotherham v Slaz (2-0)
Chesterfield v Slaz (0-0)
Chapeltown v Slaz (2-0)
Rotherham v Slaz (2-0)
Chesterfield v Slaz (0-0)
Chapeltown v Slaz (0-1)
Player went to Matilda who was solid in defence and instrumental in getting the ball from the defence up to Madison and the other attacking players. Thank you to Richard Andrew Syrett for coaching, Will for umpiring and Donna for the match report.
