Hockey League Weekend Report
This past weekend [Nov.26/27] a number of hockey games took place, the results follow below:
Ravens 1 Canaries 2
In a very tight match where both teams were psyched to win, Canaries were lucky to edge ahead in the 25th minute when the shot from a penalty corner by Natasha Hallinan, deflected off of the leg of a Ravens defender and into the goal. Ravens attempted to pull back a goal with some hard work by Georgia Harris paying off when a short corner was awarded in the final seconds of the first half, however, Ravens were unable to convert. Natasha Hallinan proved her short corner scoring ability was no fluke when she scored her second goal of the day from a fast, first time shot landing inside the left post. Ravens continued to play a fine passing game with Amori Venter and
Amber Port proving to be a handy partnership and able to penetrate the Canaries defence on several occasions and Ravens were duly rewarded with a field goal from Emma Simmons in the 44th minute. In the dying seconds of the game, the tension was palpable with Ravens being awarded a penalty corner and in spite of having 10 players in the attacking D, Ravens were unable to find the net giving Canaries their first win of the season.
Budgies 2 Wildcats 0
Wildcats were keen to set the pace of the match by coming out on the attack from the first whistle. Some fine play from Liz Stewart, Alicia Holder and Danni Harker caused some headaches for Budgies who at one stage had all 11 players in their defensive zone. In the 34th minute, however, Budgies counter attacked with Francesca Cacace edging the ball into the attacking circle from a 16 yard hit out and Budgies were duly rewarded when Keishae Robinson was perfectly positioned to intercept a defensive clearance ball and returned it to the back of the net with a powerful shot. In the last minute of the game, Iman Smith took advantage of a defensive error and scored after the ball was not adequately passed out of the circle giving Budgies their second consecutive A league win. Michelle Ming made a supreme effort to get Wildcats on the scoreboard with a final shot on goal, however, Budgies keeper, Toni Fray made the save on the line.
Bluebirds 3 Wildcats 1
Bluebirds applied the early pressure on the Wildcats defence and were rewarded when Andrea Cann latched onto a great cross from Sarah Smith in the 50th minute to give the Bluebirds the lead. Wildcats came back fighting but Joanne Smith Barrow doubled the Bluebirds lead when she took full advantage of a cross from Cann and fired home a shot in the 59th minute. Laura Bardgett made it 3 – 0 to the Bluebirds when she deflected a cross from Cann passed the goalie in 61st minute. Wildcats did well to keep the score 0-0 in the first half with many of their players having played in the previous A game and managed to pull one goal back when Suzanne Moniz scored in the final 5 minutes of the game.
Cardinals 0 Longtail Canaries 0
The Longtails Canaries had a goal disallowed for ball not coming out circle in a tight game with the Cardinals that ended in a scoreless draw.
Men’s Division
Spartans 0 Chameleons 2
Playing in their first Bermuda Hockey Federation game the Spartans went down 2 – 0 to the Chameleons 2 – 0. After a scoreless first half, Richard Cox scored from a Penalty Corner in the 41st minute to give the Chameleons the lead, and Billy Spencer doubled the lead in the 70th minute when he scored from a Penalty Corner.
Upstarts 3 Panthers 3
In a high tempo game, these evenly matched teams produced end to end action with Panthers being rewarded in the 24th minute after Tony Ward beat the last defender and ended with his signature reverse hit shot beating the Upstarts keeper. Upstarts answered 6 minutes later after being awarded a short corner with Adrian Beasley placing the ball in the back of net and John Thompson enhancing the Upstarts lead with a field goal with just seconds to go in the first half. It seemed all over for Panthers when Ian Port took less than 5 minutes in the second half to net Upstarts 3rd and final goal, but Panther Dave Horan started their comeback with a goal on the 56th minute. Tony Ward produced the final goal of the day from a penalty corner being the final score to 3-3.
Women’s B Division
Budgies 2 Swallows 0
The teams traded the first ten minutes without any goalmouth action with Budgies gaining the first penalty corner in the 11th minute but were unable to convert. After 19 minutes Latonia Fray shot wide of the left post but a minute later Jaselle Smith scored a field goal. Budgies were awarded another penalty corner as the half time whistle had blown but failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
Budgies went on the attack for most of the second half gaining a penalty corner in the 37th minute but the shot was deflected wide. In the 43rd minute Iman Smith’s shot was deflected into the net by Jaselle Smith to give Budgies a 2-0 lead. Although Budgies gained 2 more penalty corners and had several other shots at goal, the final score remained 2-0.
Ravens 3 Canaries 1
With both teams taking a little time to settle into the game, Canaries were the first to apply pressure to the Ravens defence utilising the skills of their midfielders, Rebecca Gibson and Chloe Pullen resulting in some well placed shots that were saved by the Ravens keeper. This partnership was evident throughout the match with most of the Canaries play coming through the middle of the pitch.
The Ravens backline remained unflustered and were key in incepting the long balls intended for the Canaries front line enabling the midfield to build up their attacking play which paid off in the 35th minute when junior Kristen Inglemann slipped the ball past the Canaries keeper. It took Amber Port less than 2 minutes in the second half to score her first goal of the day with a field goal, with Canaries answering 20 minutes later when Lauren Faris hammered the ball passed the keeper from a slipped pass on a penalty corner. Some fine passing between Amori Venter and Amber Port sealed the Ravens victory when Amber Port was able to convert from the last short corner of the day.
