Hockey Weekend Reports: Dec 11/12
Women’s A League, Canaries A vs Swifts A, Final score: 3-1
Swifts played the first 29 minutes of this game with only nine players. Canaries got off to a good start and gained a penalty corner in the 2nd minute and another five minutes later, but could not convert. Swifts gained a penalty corner in the 17th minute and Lorina Harvey’s shot went wide of the goal. Canaries then pounced on 2 defensive errors in the 23rd minute when Joanne Smith-Barrow scored from a field goal and Mary-Ellen Jackson doubled the lead in the 25th minute. Despite 2 more penalty corners in the 26th and 36th minute Canaries could not add to their lead.
The second half developed into a midfield affair and it was not until the 65th minute that Canaries’ Jackson found a way to breach Swifts defense and scored her team’s third goal for a 3 – 0 lead. In the last minute Iman Smith, who was outstanding throughout, picked up the ball on the halfway and beat the entire Canaries defense only to be fouled in front of goal. She calmly converted the resulting penalty stroke in the 70th minute to give Swifts a consolation goal.
Ravens A vs Wildcats A, Final score: 1-1
The first half saw both teams battle to gain control in an evenly match affair. It was Wildcats who broke through first with seconds at the end of the first half when Belthea Pringle pushed up from defense into the midfield and hit the ball from the halfway line into the circle to Karen Campbell. Campbell collected the ball and drove to her left and fired off a thunderous strike into the far corner passed the outstretch Ravens’ ‘keeper’ Jennifer Adderley. The teams came out in the second half which was much like the first, and became a battle in the midfield field. In the 58th minute the Ravens were awarded a penalty corner after a bad stick tackle by the Wildcats defender. The penalty corner was converted by Alex Wheatley whose well place hit found the corner of the goal to equalize the game at 1-1. In the final minutes the Wildcats created several breakaway opportunities which they failed to convert due to some solid work by the Raven’s ‘keeper’ and the game ended in a draw.
Swallows A vs Budgies A, Final score: 2-2
Budgies looked more comfortable and were working together well in this game against the Swallows moving the ball up the field with short passes between defender Jenn Beach and midfielder Amy Smith on the left as well as between Keishae Robinson and Lakae Dill in the middle. In the 5th minute the Budgies went in front from a Stephanie Adderley field goal assisted by Keishae Robinson who ran the ball up the field, but two minutes later the scores were level when Swallows’ Liz Stewart scored from a penalty corner. Swallows were quick on the counter attack which forced the Budgies defense to step up to the play. The Swallows then went in front in the 13th minute when Rebecca Payne scored from a field goal, but in the 41st minute Budgies’ Keishae Robinson put pressure on a Swallows free hit and were able to regain possession which led to Keishae Robinson scoring a field goal assisted by Angela Dunstan to end the game 2 – 2. Throughout there were some great saves by Swallows’ keeper Donna Nicholson from a few short corner shots by Budgies, and excellent defending by Liz Stewart, Kelli Nusum, Gemma Rowe and Heather Sinclair.
Women’s B League , Bluebirds B vs Longtail Canaries, Final score: 0-0
The young Longtail Canaries played extremely well against the 2nd placed team of Bluebirds. They had some breakaways against a strong Bluebirds defense but were unsuccessful in scoring. Neither team could beat the other’s goalkeeper and had to share the points.
Cardinals B vs Swallows B , Final score: 0-3
The Swallows dominated the first half of the game over an unusually sluggish looking Cardinals team. Despite this dominance the Swallows were unable to score in the first half and the teams when into the break all tied up. After an encouraging pep talk from the Cardinals coach at half time the team came out of the break with a little more life but this was still not enough as the Swallows continued to outplay and outwork their opponents. The Swallows started their scoring run in the 37th minute with Maria Dobinson scoring the first goal of the game taking Swallows 1 goal ahead. Some great long balls were executed from Cardinals ‘sweeper’ Wendy Cassidy to open spaces only to find Swallows’ defense there to collect and move the ball back up field towards Cardinals defensive area. In the 42nd minute it was Mallory Towlson who hit the short corner pass into the D and after a scramble it was collected by Jennifer Chisnall who tried to strike it home only to find Cardinals’ keeper Augustus, but the deflection off the keeper’s pads found Cardinals left defender Kaywell Outerbridge attempting to clear it out but the ball trickled into the back of the net taking the lead 2 – 0 to Swallows. There was some great individual play by Candy Foggo who received the ball in midfield and with trying to open up the field of play by spreading it wide only to find the ball going out of bounds. Adrien Lewis found her way dribbling towards the right of the Swallows circle to find her shot at goal go wide. The last goal of the game came in the 68th minute for Swallows after Olivia Moore who passed to Joanna Kingsbury at the top of the circle to end the game 3 – 0 to Swallows. There was great defending by Swallows Shallan Dennis, Mallory Towlson, Kelli Nusum and Heather Sinclair.
Ravens B vs Swifts B, Final score: 0-2
For the second time in as many weeks Swifts created numerous opportunities in this game but found it difficult to score a goal. In the first half Swifts saw the Ravens ‘keeper’ Kirsten Faria make six good saves, put seven shots wide of the target, failed to convert any of their six penalty corners and failed to convert a penalty stroke, some 20 good chances just in the first half.
Swifts Ryanne Bardgett finally converted a penalty corner in the 42nd minute and another in the 47th minute to squeak by Ravens 2-0. However Swifts wasted five other penalty corners, saw several more shots saved and wasted numerous other opportunities.
Men’s League:Polecats vs Chameleons, Final Score: 2-1
This was a much anticipated game between the first and second place teams in the standings and would prove to be a hard fought affair which delighted the large crowd present for the match. The game started evenly with both teams fighting hard. The Polecats dominated possession but Chameleons counter attacked well. The Chameleons were the first to draw blood when they converted a well worked short corner in the 25th minute which was scored by Richard Cox who deflected the ball into the net. The play continued at a hectic pace with the Polecats attacking at every opportunity in the hope of finding the equalizer before the first half was over. There were a number of missed opportunities from both teams but the Chameleons took the lead at the half. The second half saw the Polecats increase the tempo and this along with a subtle tactical change lead to the equalizer being converted from close range by Richard Marriott in the 39th minute. The game now hung in the balance as both teams pressed for the winner. The Polecats did just that through a swift counterattack down the middle of the park which left their center midfield player in a one on one situation with Andrew Holmes in the Chameleons goal. Polecats’ Shannon Simons took his chance with a deft scoop over the Chameleons custodian which sailed into the net from an almost impossible angle in the 46th minute which left those watching in awe. The momentum shifted back to the Chameleons who now had it all to play for and they were unlucky not to equalize when Neil Mountford fell in the circle just as he was about to slip the ball into the net with only Craig Burt to beat. Some more energetic build up play from the Chameleons lead to two late short corners which, unfortunately, they were unable to convert into an equalizer. The rest of the game saw the Polecats mount a stubborn rearguard action as they continued to foil the continued Chameleons onslaught and the final whistle brought to an end a most entertaining and hard fought affair.
