Slazenger Hockey Club

Boys U14's

Report: 18-10-2015 – Boys U14 Tournament

by

U14’s tournament at Darton, vs Driffield, Chapeltown and Bradford.

You know it’s going to be hard day when the body mass of the opposition back four equals that of your whole team! Slazenger U14s approached what was the first 11 a side tournament for many of the players, looking a little small by comparison to the competition, but they made up for their physique with skill, passion, energy and teamwork.

Up first was a very strong Driffield side who were very quickly 2 ahead, but Slaz organised, shut them out and eventually took the game to the opposition, conceding no more.

Second was Chapeltown, the boys fed off their first performance and bossed the game, but good keeping continually prevented a Slaz goal, final score 0-0.

Finally a game vs our (friendly) rivals Bradford, a game too far for young Slaz players when playing at such high energy – soon two down and under lots of pressure. Slaz did lift themselves thanks to skipper Josh Dunstan and created some chances, but an ex Slaz keeper denied them to the end. So a losing tournament (just one point) but lots to build on. Only three players played in what they said was their natural position but we learned a lot about where they really should play. Only 11 players travelled, but we wouldn’t have subb’d of anyone anyway, everyone played their part to the max.

Player of the day was Jack Lee.

Report: 14-10-2012 – Boys U14’s

by

The under 14’s started brightly this season in their first encounter. The squad is a new one but the welcome addition of Dan Levitt and Matt Stacey made all the difference.

The back 4 consisted of Tom Atkinson, Ben Stevenson, Jacob Dennison and young Chris Gascoigne with Danny Alderson in goals. In midfield the team started with Dan Levitt, Alice Gascoigne, Captain Matthew Stacey and Nick Caldersley with Matthew Chilton and Harry Gunning leading the forward line. Hannah Chilton started as substitute.

Airedale           2 – 1      Slazengers (Stacey 23’)

The first game against Airedale saw some settling in nerves as Slaz hadn’t played together as a team and many hadn’t played on a full pitch before. The back 4 coped well wit early pressure and Stacey and Gunning lead a good attacking line up the pitch. Airedale however had their own good players and after a disallowed goal Slaz were caught on the hop a quick attack from two talented Airedale midfielders. Slaz responded with some great triangular paces between Stacey, Levitt and Gunning through the centre and it was Captain Stacey who took his goal well to bring parity. Both teams were playing at their optimum now with goal chances at both ends but it was Airedale who took their chance with Slaz left high up the pitch looking for a goal making up the hole left in midfield and scoring past Danny Alderson.

Slazengers       5 – 0     Pocklington (Levitt 5’, Stacey 7’ 12’, Calderley 22’, A. Gascoigne 25’)

The team performance had been good and switching around Harry Gunning to a more sweeping role whilst pushing forward Dan Levitt made the difference in the second game. Slaz were in charge against Pocklington. Dominating for 90% of the game Dan Levitt and Matt Stacey drove attack after attack onto the Pocklington keeper. Dan scored first with Matthew following with 2 in quick succession. Then the wingers started to show their in fluence with Matt and Stacey supporting Alice and Nick both to score giving Slaz a very healthy 5-0 win.

Bradford           0 – 3     Slazengers (Levitt 3’ 20’, M. Chilton 25’)

Dan Levitt wasn’t going to let Captain Stacey have the share of the goals so against a tougher Bradford side he pounced early to score against a sluggish defence. Bradford responded well but couldn’t get past Jacob Dennison or Chris Gascoinge at the back. A counter attack by Slaz gave Dan another goal and in the dying minutes the whole team combined in a flowing counter attack to push the ball to Hannah playing up front for her to scramble in a final goal.

A cracking start to the year with Matthew Stacey leading the line well as captain, however for her encouragement and vocalisation throughout the match the Coach’s Player of the Tournament was Alice Gascoigne. Well done everyone a superb U14 team performance.

Slazenger Juniors Selected for Yorkshire

by

On Sunday, 8 of the current Slazenger boys U14’s squad competed in Durham at the Nothern Region County JAC tournament for West Yorkshire. 5 played for the U14 team, 3 for the U15 team; Aidan Hopkinson, Ralph Toon, Rowan Tejura, Matthew Stacey and Luke Gueli, Isaac Fisher, Matthew Feather and Robert Caan.

All 5 U14 Slaz players have been selected to join the Leeds Puma’s Northern Region JRPC training squad (Yorkshire & Humberside U14’s).  2 of the U15 players have also been selected to progress.

U14’s Report

The tournament was held between West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and East Cheshire, with West Yorkshire ultimately coming out victors. A thrilling afternoon’s hockey saw West Yorkshire U14’s score a dramatic last-minute equaliser against a strong Greater Manchester team in their semi-final, leading to penalty flicks. A perfect four saves from four flicks by ‘keeper Ralph Toon saw Rowan Tejura duly net past the dispairing GM ‘keeper’s left hand to seal victory.

[singlepic=2304,450,300,,center]

 

In the final, the teamwork of the Slazenger boys, captained by Aidan Hopkinson, led West Yorkshire to a convincing win over North West Champions East Cheshire, who were penned back and 3-0 down within ten minutes, which is how it finished.

Aidan Hopkinson, Ralph Toon, Rowan Tejura, Matthew Stacey and Luke Gueli have all been selected to go through.

[singlepic=2303,450,300,,center]

 

U15’s

From the Under 15’s boys, Issac Fisher, and Matthew Feather have been selected to go through

Congratulations to all players!

Report: 04-03-2012 – Boys U14’s Tournament at Harrogate

by

In my match report after our last trip to Harrogate in December, I noted that our next tournament was just 2 weeks away. How wrong could I be? With three successive cancelled tournaments, Slazenger travelled to Harrogate 3 months later with 16 boys including two boys on their first tournament; Elliot Golding & Lee Stringer.

The only player missing was Jack Garside who was taken ill the day before. Prior to the tournament, we had arranged to loan players to Huddersfield and Bridlington. However, Bridlington pulled out at short notice as they could field only 4 players, conceding their games 3 – 0 as per league rules.

On our previous visit to Harrogate, we experienced “cold weather but were spared rain or sleet”. This time we were not so lucky with the weather playing a major part in the tournament.Squad: Aidan Hopkinson, Alex King, Ben Stevenson, Elliott Golding, Isaac Fisher (Capt), James Higgins, Lee Stringer, Luke Gueli, Matthew Feather, Matthew Stacey, Mayank Gupta, Nick Calderley, Ralph Toon (GK), Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura & Tom Pitchforth

The first game between Huddersfield and Harrogate was played in freezing rain and was won 2 – 0 by Harrogate, with both Elliot & Nick acquitting themselves well for Huddersfield, particularly Elliot, who made some well timed runs at centre forward which were not picked out by the other Huddersfield players.

Slazenger (5) vs. (1) Huddersfield
Slazenger were quick to take control of the mid field, stringing together passes well and creating scoring opportunities right from the start, We quickly moved into a 2 – 0 lead within the first 5 minutes thanks to goals from Isaac and Matthew Stacey which raised a small smile as he scored against his old club. As the cold rain turn to sleet, Slazenger continued to push hard for another goal, working play towards the left to bring Lee & Ben into play. Pushing so hard for another goal left us open to counter attack and we played the price when Huddersfield managed to ‘bungle’ the ball over the line on about 10 minutes.The team reacted well, without panicking and continued to play good passing hockey which resulted in 3 goals in quick succession from Isaac, Robert and Tom to win the game convincingly.

Slazenger (2) vs. (1) Harrogate
While Slazenger were taking on Huddersfield in freezing rain and sleet, Harrogate were sheltering and resting in the warm club house. This advantage showed as Slazenger started a little slower than in their previous game coming under pressure, particularly down the Harrogate left. It was from one of these attacks that Slazenger failed to clear the ball fully leaving a Harrogate player with space and time at the top of the circle to score.

Again Slazenger did not panic, passing the ball and threatening down both flanks as well as down the middle of the pitch but as the sleet turned to snow, Slazenger clearly had the upper hand. Several shots were saved or missed by very little and Harrogate attacks became less frequent and less likely to score. However, it was not until 8 minutes from the end that a passing move through mid field led to the ball being played wide on the right where Matthew Stacey and Luke worked the ball around behind the defence before Luke laid it back for Isaac to finish almost unchallenged to equalise.

Straight from the restart, Slazenger pressed hard, with Aidan winning the ball well inside the Harrogate half leading to a string of short corners one of which Isaac slotted away convincingly to give Slazenger the lead. Harrogate then pressed hard in the last few minutes with Slazenger defending in numbers to record a deserved win.

It is worth noting that most of the Harrogate parents/supporters stayed in the warmth of the club house while the hardy Slazenger parents braved the elements (under the covered stand) to cheer on their team which might well have been the deciding factor.In the circumstances, the friendly that had been arranged between Harrogate and Slazenger in order to give some of the less experienced players in both squads more pitch time was called off so that everyone could get dried out and warm.

Player of the Tournament was Isaac Fisher who not only scored 4 goals but also controlled the midfield superbly and passed the ball around.

Most Improved Player was Alex King who is growing in confidence and skill to match his determination to win the ball, particularly against Harrogate.Thanks to John Toon who umpired three matches in succession.

I umpired just the first match so can appreciate how cold he must have been.Slazenger U14 boys finished 2nd in the YYH league, securing a second successive place in the playoffs which will take place on 29th April at Halifax HC. Congratulations to the team! Please keep this date free in your diaries!

Report: 04-12-2011 – U14 Boys triumph in Harrogate

by

We travelled to Harrogate for fixtures against local rivals, Wakefield, Bradford and Doncaster with a squad of 14 players. Although the weather was cold and windy, we were spared the rain/sleet that other squads and training at Slazenger encountered.

Squad:Aidan Hopkinson, Alex King, Isaac Fisher (Capt), James Higgins, Luke Gueli, Matthew Feather, Ralph Toon (GK), Robert Cann, Rowan Tejura, Tom Pitchforth, Matthew Stacey, Jack Garside, Mayank Gupta & Ben Stevenson

Slazenger (4) vs. (0) Wakefield
Wakefield had a large squad with some strong individual players, however, Slazenger quickly took control of the mid field with the effect that most of the game was played inside the Wakefield half. Early pressure was rewarded when Robert Cann, well positioned in the ‘D’, picked up a rebound from a Matthew Stacey cross to strike home. Five minutes later Isaac Fisher’s well struck shot came back off the post and was bungled away by the defence. Isaac also had a goal disallowed, being judged to be a high shot from a penalty corner.

The relentless Slazenger pressure was rewarded again after 16 minutes when Tom Pitchforth finished off a good passing move between Aidan Hopkinson & Isaac Fisher and again on 20 minutes when Luke recycled a half cleared penalty corner for Matthew Stacey to tip home.At 3 – 0 Wakefield did manage a couple of break away attacks which were dealt with by the full backs, Matthew Feather & James Higgins with the help of Ralph Toon in goal.

The final goal came in the last minute when Alex King, playing at inside left placed a very intelligent pass back out to Aidan Hopkinson on the top of the ‘D’, who had plenty of time to get a strong shot away through the mass of Wakefield defenders.A great start to the day, especially as the newer members of the squad were able to take part and contribute to the win.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Bradford
Bradford were short of players so borrowed from Wakefield, however, they had a number for JAC players in their team. However, Slazenger got the best possible start when their central midfielder showed too much off the ball to Isaac Fisher straight from the push back. Isaac won the ball just inside the Bradford half and carried it through the defence to score a great solo goal.Just a minute later Slazenger went two up with another Matthew Stacey goal.Bradford then managed to steady themselves and absorbed a lot of Slazenger pressure. We also took the opportunity to get our newer team members onto the pitch, allowing us to rest players for the Doncaster match immediately afterwards. We were even able to loan Mayank Gupta to play (rather too well!) for Bradford against his own team.With the sides now more evenly matched, the rest of the game saw several chances at both ends but no more goals.

Slazenger (2) vs. (0) Doncaster
Playing a strong Doncaster side who had also won twice on the day and without a break was not ideal, but our boys dug deep and really stepped up to the challenge. They also displayed some of the best team play that I have seen for many years, running into space and moving the ball easily. We did not have things all our own way as Doncaster mounted several strong attack, mostly straight down the middle and focused on a single HIPAC player which brought outstanding saves from Ralph Toon in goal.

After 10 minutes Slazenger mounted a strong attack down the left wing which was being defended well by Doncaster when the ball was passed back to Rowan Tejura at left half (90°) who passed the width of the field to pick out right half Luke Gueli in space. Luke kept his composure to drive into the ‘D’ and get a strong shot away which beat all the defenders and the keeper.The teams continued to be evenly matched and it was good to see Slazenger defending as a unit and mounting attacks down both flanks.

It was from one of these attacks on the right that Matthew Stacey’s cross from inside the ‘D’ was turned in his own goal by a Doncaster defender. The presence of Robert Cann on the defenders shoulder no doubt contributed to the goal. Slazenger could have scored a third when the second of three penalty corners after the final whistle was stopped despite Isaac Fisher being clear on the ball just 1.5 meters from the goal line.

Overall, a fantastic morning of hockey, complimenting similar good results from U16 Girls & U12 Boys. Slazenger played well as a team and improved as the day went on, mainly by passing earlier. The quality of our play was also recognized by two of the other team coaches.

Player of the Tournament was Ralph Toon who, despite long period of inactivity in the first two games was up to the challenge, making a couple of saves early in the last game which undoubtedly changed the course of the game.

Most Improved Player was Robert Cann, who worked hard at inside forward and was always well placed to receive a pass, even in a very crowded ‘D’. Thanks to our regular travelling army of supporters who could be heard above any other supporters and John Toon for umpiring and helping on the sidelines. Our next tournament is just 2 weeks away on 18th December.