Juniors: Under 12s Fixtures Round 2 at Louth HC
Match report for , Sunday October 21st, Louth Hockey Club.
I can own up to typing this lazily as I lounge on the settee waiting for everyone’s favourite programme…… Strictly!!! What a thoroughly enjoyable day AGAIN!! People could be forgiven for thinking that all junior tournaments are played in bright sunshine, feeling nice and warm! Who am I to dispel this clear myth? All I can say is that contrary to popular belief, I have many cold weather garments which will be spotted in deepest darkest winter! Oh dear.
However, back to the order of the day, the junior hockey. We had two teams out today, both of which showed quite a few changes to last month. The A team, led by Louie comprised of:- Tom, Kate, Louie, Angus, Charlotte, Gemma, Ben and Abbie.
The B team had far more changes and were led by Evie, with Ella, Molly, Ellie, Harvey, Orissa, Poppy, Isabelle and Anya.
Both teams were in the A league which made life a lot easier for Mark, Holly myself and all of the spectators as we didn’t have to run from pitch to pitch for a change! It was also however, a huge challenge for the B team which they handled rather well. Both teams played 5 games each, including a lovely game against each other.
For the first fifty minutes each team followed each other on and off the pitch, in effect not really having time for a huge break, or time to reflect on the instructions and advice that the three of us were giving them.
The B team played Alford first and were quickly under attack from a well balanced team who demonstrated good running both on and off the ball and good decision making in the D. As Mark quite rightly said before the game, all the games at the moment are a learning activity, and if we make mistakes, then we should act to try not to make those mistakes again. Ellie made a couple of good saves in that first game, and should take a little confidence from this, and perhaps do a spot of yelling to her defenders to ensure that she doesn’t get left on her own.
The A team were on next, against Spalding Tigers, and after their typical warm up Louie scored his first goal of the day, which turned out to be the only goal of the game. Lots of nice passing and good positioning on the pitch became the expected way of the rest of the matches for the rest of the day.
The B team were back on next against a well organised team from Louth. We were very impressed to see that despite being under pressure a lot of the time, some good clearance kicks from the back enabled the team to move up the pitch more and pressurize the d a little bit. A draw from this game was tantamount to a win for the B team, and we were all delighted, specifically because a short corner was given as the final whistle went, and a calm, collected Evie took the ball at the top of the D and slotted it straight out over the sideline. Perfect!
Back with the A team, we faced Horncastle, quite a quick team but one that relied rather a lot on a couple of stronger players. We quickly realised that round them was better than through them! Louie gained two more goals in this game, and although the score remained at two nil by the final whistle, Angus in particular was thwarted by the post, wheel and edge of the goal on several occasions. From the spectators there were a lot of oohs and aaaghs and semi jumps which were styled out nicely when the post won! They then played Louth, and knowing how well the B team did, were determined to take the play to the opposition. Goals in this game came again from Louie, but two crackers were scored by Ben. It was during this game that we noticed that they were making great use of the quick take on any free hit, fab, but we needed to think about playing the ball around the back more when we got into trouble rather than persisting and getting stuck down one side. Final result three nil.
The B team played Spalding Tigers next, whom I will say had three excellent little players, however thanks to some excellent tackling from all of the team, allowed only one goal to pop over the line. It was clear by this stage of the day, that the seven younger players in the squad were beginning to really get a feel for where they were trying to put the ball, and the move from the second game onwards of Evie to centre midfield was allowing her greater experience, to control the run of the play a little more. Important to note here that Poppy played a great role collecting and running forward with the ball, perseverance will see her score in the next tournament I am sure.
We had now reached the game where A played B. It was superb to see all of the children trying their hardest to maintain control and really out- do one another. Whilst the A team won the battle, scoring 4 goals to the B teams nil, goals by Kate and Louie, apologies as I don’t know how many to whom, the B team played their best in this game, with well-timed tackles and breaks out of defence that surprised all of the A team.
The final two games were A against Alford where we happily won again, with the best game I have ever seen Charlotte play and a well-deserved goal for Gemma, who persistently put herself into good positions. The B team then played Horncastle and earned another great draw, where they were particularly unlucky not to translate three good runs forward.
In summary, the A team played five games and won all of them scoring 11 goals, and the B team lost three and drew two.
All of the children have things to work on from ball strength and pace, to looking prior to setting off on a mammoth dribble, to striking as soon as one enters the D. However the positives far outweigh these, great team work, determination and a desire to win, at the heart of which lies the point, that once again, I was incredibly proud to be a member of our club, where it is obvious that we are managing to make yet more youngsters love this sport. See you all next time.
Caz May
p.s Nice one again Jack, we all thoroughly appreciate you coming along every time to umpire, superb.

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