Slazenger Hockey Club

Mens Development

Report: 19-11-2011 – Mens 4’s Dev. (1) vs (0) York 10’s

by

It must have been the early start that was the reason for Slazenger’s starting sluggishly against York in their latest development league fixture. Despite dominating possession the team never converted this dominance into goals. York were a young, well organised team with a pair of good central defenders who Slazengers struggled to get past.

That said, Aidan Hopkinson never stopped working hard in midfield and Dave Smyth was always available to link play between midfield and attack. The first and only goal of the game came after a tactical switch saw captain for the day Matthew Stacey switch from the left to right wing. Almost immediately he began rampaging down the right-hand side and started to put in telling crosses for the forwards to try and get on the end of. Eventually Robert Cann was in the right place to convert one of these chances. Half-time score 1-0.

Second half Slazengers increased the work rate and showed more urgency. They were first into the tackle and made themselves available for passes. That said the majority of attacks continued down the right hand side and numerous chances were created and squandered. Debutant Danny Ryan Smith came close with a snap shot inside the goalmouth and Harry Bullock saw a tame shot deflected wide by the keeper.

Best effort of the day was missed when Matthew Stacey was put in clear by Dave Smyth, only for his pass to evade a team mate in front of an open goal.

Slazenger 4’s next game is at home against Doncaster, 4.30 pm pushback.

Report: 12-11-2011 – Mens 4th’s Dev. (2) vs (2) Rotherham 5th’s

by

Slazenger’s 4’s endured a tough, gruelling encounter with Rotherham 5’s in their latest development league fixture. Both sides were evenly matched and despite playing some good passing hockey in the first 10 minutes it was the away side who dominated most of the first half.

Slazengers battled well and were resolute in defence without really imposing themselves on the game.

So it was against the run of play that they went into the half-time break 1-0 up. Matthew Stacey received the ball just inside the opposition half and broke past several players before reaching the Rotherham by-line and putting in a telling pass that Peter Gunning managed to convert.
Second half Slazengers bolstered their midfield and managed to stifle a lot of the oppositions attacks, although they remained susceptible to the occasional breakaway attack. It was from one of these attacks that the home side conceded an equaliser.

However, this set back only served to make the home side more determind and Slazengers enjoyed the majority of possession from then on and it was no surprise when Robert Cann cooly deflected, a well drilled hit into the goalmouth by veteran Geoff Birkett, over the top of the goalkeeper into the net. Slazengers continued to press but there was one last twist to the game when the away team managed to snatch a last gasp equaliser right at the end of the game. Final score 2-2.

Slazenger’s next game is away to York.

Report: 29-10-2011 – Mens 4th’s (0) vs. (0) Airedale 3rd’s

by

Slazenger 4’s played well against Airedale 3’s in short spells but appeared anxious during the rest of the game. The team managed to play the occasional good passage of play but it was too often interspersed with sloppy play that allowed the opposition to defend deeply and hit the home side on the break.

Matthew Stacey and Aidan Hopkinson played well in midfield and Matthew Smith stuck to his man-marking task well. There were very few scoring chances for the home side despite Peter Gunning and Robert Cann working tirelessly upfront. The home side lacked a cutting edge in the final 3rd of the field.

The defence was solid and helped mount several attacks but time after time they petered out without scoring. The away team only managed to force Richard Smyth in goal to make a couple of sharp saves, other than that he was a spectator for the rest of the game.

The nearest Slazenger’s came to scoring was when Rowan Tejura thought he had successfully converted a penalty corner only for it to be disallowed for being hit just outside the penalty area. Next game is away against Bradford at 3.00pm.

Report: 15-10-2011 – Mens 4th’s (1) vs. (0) Barnsley 2nd’s

by

Slazengers continued in the same good form that they showed in their previous game, against this week’s opponents Barnsley. Again making good use of the flanks the Horbury side enjoyed the majority of the possession and created 5 good goal scoring chances within the first 25 minutes. Rowan Tejura and Robert Cann linked well on the right side and Tim Hunter was a constant threat on the left.

With Tom Pitchforth and debutant Matthew Stacey working well in midfield supporting striker Aidan Hopkinson it was a disappointed Slazengers that went into the half time interval with the score level. Second half Slazenger’s didn’t start as well and allowed the home side back into the game who were firing long range passes into the goal, hoping to pick up any loose balls. But for the composure of Danny Croxall and Chris Hopkinson in the Slaz defence the away team would have been struggling.

However, they persevered and started to get their passing game back and created several chances before a precise shot on goal by Tom Pitchforth was put into their own net by the Barnsley defence. There was time for a final scare when keeper Paul Corney had to keep 4 Barnsley attackers successfully at bay when the Slazenger defence decided to go AWOL.

Final score 1-0. Slazenger 4’s next game is at home against Airedale on 29/10 at 3.00pm.

Report: 08-10-2011 – Mens 4th’s (5) vs. (1) Huddersfield 7th’s

by

On a miserable afternoon Slazenger 4th’s played some excellent, flowing hockey and won away from home 5-1 against local rivals Huddersfield.

Making excellent use of the wings and keeping possession well Slazenger’s got quickly into their stride and created several early chances without finding the back of the net.

Aidan Hopkinson had lots of success on the left wing and was ably supported by captain Tim Hunter in midfield.

On the odd occasion that the opposition did break into the Slazenger half, Danny Croxall and Chris Hopkinson were able to nullify any danger.

The first goal came from a direct hit into the goal area which was cooly deflected into the goal by Tom Pitchforth.

This then quickly led to the second goal when Robert Cann smacked the ball into the back of the net from a sideline ball into the goal area.

Half-time score was 2-0 to the away team.

The second half began with Slazengers in confident mood, taking the game to Huddersfield and trying to retain good possession at all times.

Despite conceeding an unfortunate goal against the run of play they continued to press home the advantage. Making excellent use of the width of the pitch and winning several short corners to maintain the pressure.

Slazengers scored 3 mores goals in the last quarter of the game as the opposition tired, with goals from Tim Hunter, Aidan Hopkinson and another from Robert Cann.

Slazenger 4th’s next game is away to Barnsley at 12.00pm.