The first weekend of league action kicked off with the ladies 1,2 & 3’s all hosting teams at Addingford and racking up a significant goal tally. The Mens 4th’s also registered their first point of the league campaign on home turf.
For the travelling teams, it was a little tougher. While the Men’s 1st’s put up an impressive score against a tough side in Driffield 1st’s, the 2nds and 3rds suffered on the road. Similarly, the Ladies 4ths had a tough game at Storthes Hall. Read on for the full match reports….
Ladies 1st’s (8) vs. (2) Brigg 1st’s
For the opening game of the season, the ladies 1sts hosted Brigg 1sts. Slaz were dominant from the off, playing fast and flowing hockey. Goals came at regular intervals from Jessica Rudge (5), Hannah Field (2) and Millie Brierley.
Ladies 2nd’s (4) vs. (0) Skipton 1st’s
The match started with Skipton getting past Slaz a few times, though Lucy Howarth soon brought it back with a shot on goal, secured in the back of the net by Lou. Defence and mid worked brilliantly, tracking back and carefully marking players. Halftime finished 1-0.
In the opening minutes of the second half, new player Lucy Hodson went and scored the second goal for Slaz. Whilst Slaz felt more tired in the second half, Skipton were equally as tired. Slaz continued to work hard and pushed through, with Ni making a brilliant assist for Hodson to finish with a second goal! 3-0 up, the defence was working tirelessly to keep a clean sheet. Ruby Rogers also made some fantastic runs down the pitch, keeping control of the ball. Tracy made some fantastic saves and we also had some short corners awarded to us but we were unfortunate to not score on any. Near the end of the game Lucy Howarth scored our final goal, bringing Slaz to a 4-0 win.
Ladies 3rd’s (3) vs. (0) Huddersfield Dragons 2’s (0)
The first game of the season brought scorchio weather and with this, the removal of all skins after warm up. The first 10 minutes was grid locked with both teams finding their feet. When Slazenger attacked it was great triangle play and when Mia eventually turned up, she took the ball down the wing and into the D, her pass somehow found its way slowly over the line and Slazenger were on the scoreboard.
The dragons were constantly putting pressure on the Slazenger defence of Ritchtea, Zoe, Lucy and player of the match Thea. They worked as a team and attacks were thwarted, with Ritchtea made a fantastic goal mouth save. GK also needed to make numerous crucial saves and with even greater vocals. There were two further goals for Slazenger as Mia’s banging cross made a great conversion for Coops and Caro also got on the scoreboard making it 3-0 moving into half time. Huddersfield Dragons continued to put Slazenger under pressure during the second half and gained numerous short corners. However Slazenger defended well and were able to retain their clean sheet and the final score was 3-0.
Ladies 4th’s (1) vs. (4) Huddersfield Dragons 3rd’s
The Ladies 4’s were away against Huddersfield Dragon’s this weekend. Despite having the majority of possession in the first half Slazenger were unable to convert opportunities, unfortunately Huddersfield Dragons did not have the same problem and went into the second half already 3-0 up.
An early rebound in the 2nd half slotted away by Becky Wade gave Slazenger a glimmer of hope, but a further goal from Huddersfield Dragons with only 10 minutes left to play was too big of an ask. Special mention to Tori in goal who was playing her first senior hockey match.
Mens 1st’s (7) vs. (4) Driffield 1st’s
Slaz took a long drive up to Driffield for the opening game of the season, and came away with all 3 points. It was an impressive performance against a traditionally strong opposition. Slaz goals came from Danny Perry (3), Asad Baig (2), Amar Khalil, Isaac Fisher.
Mens 2nds (0) vs. (4) Horncastle 1st’s
Saturday was a fixture to forget for the 2nds. The team struggled to get going and find any rhythm after the 2 hour drive. With the home site having a full bench of substitutes, they enjoyed extra legs in the unseasonably warm sun. Daz Buttery put in an incredible shift in goals to keep the scoreline lower than it would have been otherwise.
Mens 3rd’s (1) vs. (8) Kingston-Upon-Hull 3rd’s
Slaz headed out to Hull for their opener. A strong home side enjoyed the majority of play, with Slaz only getting a single goal in response from John Sykes.
Mens 4th’s (1) vs. (1) Leeds Adel 6th’s
On Saturday, Slaz hosted Leeds Adel 6ths. It was a tough opening game for the home side, as Adel came with plenty of youth and legs in their side. The 4ths defended well, but trailed most of the game from an early goal. However, late in the second half, a moment of inspiration drew the teams level as Scott Carruthers netted for the hosts. A well earned draw for Slaz saw them pick up the first point of the season.