Ladies 1s
L1s didn’t get off to the post-Xmas start we wanted with a 0-1 loss. Won’t go on about it as it’s onwards and upwards tomorrow when we play again!
MOM:Dobby
DOD: Rebecca Charlootey A for her fashion pearl dangly earrings – standard hockey kit.
Well L1s went onwards rather than upwards as we lost 2-3 in the last minutes to a strong St Albans team. Good news is we played better than yesterday so positives to take but more to do. We didn’t vote after the game so think we should carry over the results from yesterday: MOM me, DOD Rebecca Charlootey A!!
Ladies 2s
Ladies 2s were still in holiday mode at the start of the match today and were 2-0 down to Wapping at half time. We picked it up in the second half with a winning short strike from Emma Jane and some great team play but couldn’t quite get it back losing 2-1.
MOM: Nicky Palmer (slowly making her way into the forwards)
DOD: Emma for her jazz hand dancing post tackle
Men’s 2s
Miserable day, miserable result. 2-0 up and we lost 5-3.
Well done to Nate who played well on his debut. Also, congrats to Kristis Bubnelis, Jack Jacey and Imran Arshad. Matt O’Hara showed us he can tackle today, winning MOM. Jack didn’t turn up until half time, earning a well-deserved POP.
Ladies 3s
L3s went out fighting yesterday but unfortunately we came away with the loss against a strong Colne 1st team.
We started well and had some really good opportunities with Rindi Schutte opening the scoring making it 1-0. A head injury from the opposition meant we had some thinking time however this didn’t seem to be enough and eventually Colne equalised. We continued to work hard and keep our shape but unfortunately Colne scored again seconds before the final whistle.
We went into the second half determined and strong and as a team played some really fantastic hockey. We held our shape, supported each other and moved the ball well. However fitness got the better of us and Colne scored a few more goals to make the final score 6-1. However, there were some excellent individual performances and the score line doesn’t reflect how we played. Onwards and upwards.
MOM to Rindi for her goal and a shout out to Colne for the best teas – pizza and chips in a fab country pub!!!
Men’s 3s
Men’s 3’s hosted East London 5’s today at the academy. The game was tough with end to end hockey. A great team performance with plenty of attacks but unable to consolidate many of our chances. With the keeper making many superb saves and keeping the team in the game, a momentary lack of concentration by three of our defenders left 3 East London attackers alone in front of goal allowing them to play pinball with the keeper which resulted in a goal.
We defended short corners well until East London managed to somehow get a lucky ricochet from one which slipped into the goal. The game continued with more champagne attacking hockey and prosecco keeping but still unable to score goals. Towards the end of the game, we finally got 2 short corners and managed to score a Paul special on the 2nd one.
Final result: 1-2 loss
Overall, a great game played by both teams in a competitive spirit. Well played to Gavin and Alex for stepping up and fitting straight into the team.
Goals: Paul
MOM: Steve (many great saves)
POP: Tim (missed goal chance putting himself over the line with an in off the post)
Ladies 4s
No Game
Men’s 4s
Today the Men’s 4s resumed after our festive break, with a home game v Old Southendian 4s.
For us today was a game of two halves of two halves.
First half of the first half, we were superb, looked as if we’d never been away, fluid expansive hockey, and took a deserved early lead with Alex Heath giving us that 1-0 lead. Still playing well and dominating, the first of two big turning points occurred. After some glorious passing and movement, we took the opposition keeper out the game, set up our striker, with an empty goal to roll it into, and he missed it. After this we completely lost our way, let the opposition get a foothold in the game, and through many periods of poor play, from ourselves, we went in at halftime 2-1.
First half of the second half, started brilliantly again, in fact it was a carbon copy of the first half, playing well with fluid expansive hockey and our play getting the equaliser we deserved, 2-2 finished well by Jon Sidwell.
We the proceeded to shoot ourselves in the foot again, missing another completely empty goal from yards out. Then we capitulated again conceding 4 goals, with Alex Heath getting us a late consolation.
So we lost 6-3, to a team who were never 3 goals better than us, and if we had played with the intensity we started each half with, for the whole of the game, think we would have won comfortably.
We have to learn the lessons of today’s game, you have to play for 70 minutes, you can’t make basic errors, you will get punished more often than not, at this level and finally we got to be more clinical in front of goal. We have to learn the lessons quickly, otherwise we will find ourselves in a relegation battle. We can still achieve our main season’s aim, which was always to stay in 6SE.
MOTM, Captains choice this week: Alex Heath, 2 goals and a great all round performance.
Goals: Alex Heath (2), Jon Sidwell.
Ladies 5s
No Game
Men’s 5s
The 5’s welcomed Phoenix to Lea Valley for the first game of the New Year.
After starting very slowly the 5’s found themselves 2 down within the first 10 minutes. Heads didn’t drop and the 5’s began to work their way into the game. The first half was very even and Shaun Crowe pulled off a couple of fine saves. The 5’s finally pulled a goal back after a short corner from which Rob Humphrey injected to Aamir Sultan who hit the ball toward goal which Rob then ran onto to flick past the keeper, the first half finishing 2-1 to Phoenix.
The 5’s started on the second half on the front foot and were soon rewarded with an equaliser after a great J run from Rob Humphrey who found Aamir in the D to slot home. As the 5’s started to dominate the game and push for a winner the effort was rewarded after a short corner which was injected by Rob Humphrey for Aamir Sultan to smash home. Josh Rennie-Smith almost scored what would have been goal of the season after picking the ball up near the half way line beating 5 or 6 players before shooting narrowly wide.
The 5’s game management was excellent after getting the lead, with great tackling and shadowing at the back. The 5’s were awarded another short corner and this time the Captain injected to Aamir who slipped the ball to Hashim Sultan who took the ball past 3 players to slot home. There was still the opportunity for Shaun Crowe to pull off one more fine save.
Even after the slow start to the game as Captain I was pleased with the effort shown by all, not letting their heads drop after falling behind and having the belief we could turn the game around.
The game finished with a 4-2 win for the 5’s.
Goals: Rob Humphrey, Aamir Sultan (2), Hashim Aamir.
MOM: Hashim Aamir
Otters
After a really good first half away at Old Southendians the Otters were 0-0 and defensively comfortable. Unfortunately the side tired in difficult conditions in the second half with only one substitute and left players unmarked in the box, particularly once we had fallen behind and started committing more players forward to try to get back into the game. The fact we won more short corners than the opposition was a reflection of the balance of play, and we got one back from one of those, but they took their chances more efficiently and we finished up losing 4-1.
Adam was man of the match for a battling and skillful performance, while Zain and Mudassar played well in unaccustomed midfield positions alongside him, and Emran’s tireless running provided a constant outlet on the wing.
Mixed
The mixed team put in a blinding performance this afternoon against a very strong Wapping Pirates team. We were 2-2 at half time and ended up 4-4 with us just unable to keep Wapping out two minutes before the end.
A special thank you/mention has to go to the ladies who absolutely worked their socks off with only one sub (Suzy) who had already played two games this weekend, one just before this match! An amazing performance guys and thank you enormously for playing!
Goals: Emma, Joe, Suzy and Harriet.
