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| Hockey 1st Girls Team 'Blog' |
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Wednesday 7th December 1st V Highfield Won 7-2 (Caitlyn 2, Tilda 4, Gabriella) Player of the match; Tilda Eagle House dominated most of this game. The girls demonstrated superior stick skills and speed to the ball, compared to Highfield, who normally play on grass. There were some excellent goals from Tilda (on her birthday!). One beautiful goal was set up by Gabriella who drew defenders away from the D and then passed an accurate ball in for Tilda to place cleanly in the back of the net. Despite showing good skills in both attack and defense, the Eagle House team were still a little positionally disorganised. This is where our weakness lies and it is something that we must work on next term. A great end to a good term of hockey, well done girls! Thanks also to all the spectators who braved the cold to cheer us on.
Wednesday 30th November 1st V Cranleigh Lost 2-9 (Olivia, Georgia) This was the third time that we have met Cranleigh this term and on both previous occasions they had beaten us, we therefore knew that it was going to be a tough match. The score does not really do us justice, as the game was very even in term of possession. However, Cranleigh were well organised and used the space on the pitch very effectively. This meant that they scored from a large proportion of their attacking moves, where as our shots were quickly cleared out of the D. Gabriella had a monumental fall that would have seen her going off in other circumstances, but with no reserves, she battled on stoically. With the score at 0-7 at half time, our heads were down. The score would have been even worse had Daisy not made some spectacular saves. However, yet again, our second half was a different game. We began to work more as a team and to use the width of the pitch. We passed effectively and put pressure on the Cranleigh defense. Tilda, Caitlyn and Gabriella worked tirelessly to both attack and defend and within five minutes we had been rewarded by a goal, put in by Olivia. With another, scored by Georgia, a couple of minutes later, things looked much brighter. Amynta was solid in defense and Cranleigh only scored two more goals in this half. You have so much potential girls! Let's hope that we can begin to put in all together in our last match of the term next Wednesday and end on a high.
Wednesday 16th November 1st V Lambrook Lost 5-8 (Caitlyn 2, Olivia, Tilda, Gabriella) This game was a bit of a turn around from the game on Saturday. The Lambrook team was very strong and made the most of their home pitch advantage - they play on a third of a full size pitch, bouncing the ball off the side boards in much the same way as an indoor game is played. Although a change in the rules such as this shouldn't be too much of a problem it did take our girls a while to understand it's implications. The Lambrook girls came out strongly and had scored two goals within the first couple of minutes. Unfortunately, our heads went down and the 'fight' seemed to disappear from the Eagle House team. We couldn't seem to keep possession of the ball and when we did have it we crowded each other, preventing good passes being made. Lambrook scored a couple of excellently struck goals from short corners. Defensively we were also allowing their attackers too much time and space in the D. By half time these problems meant that we were 6-0 down! A rallying half time talk and much encouragement from spectators lifted the spirits a little! Within a minute of the second half whistle being blown Olivia had positioned herself brilliantly in the D and scored from a deflection from an excellent shot from Caitlyn. The whole team began to work together better, calling and passing effectively in order to find space to make a shot. This more enthusiastic and positive attitude paid off and Caitlyn was rewarded by scoring two more goals. Gabriella worked very hard in mid-field and scored another goal from a short corner. Tilda stepped up the pace too and made it five! If this was a game of one half (I would choose the second of course!) we would have won 5-2! This was a good learning experience - a team can only win if they have focus, determination and teamwork throughout the game.
Saturday 12th November 1st V The Oratory Won 8-4 (Gabriella 2, Tilda 2, Caitlyn 2, Georgia 1, Olivia 1) This was a really exciting game where the ball moved end to end and there were plenty of shots from both teams. The Oratory's astro turf was quite small. This meant that we had to play a passing game in order to find space to build an attack. The Oratory girls were also very good in defense - not giving us any time on the ball. Early on in the game Daisy (GK) made an excellent save to prevent us from going 1-0 down. This shot was really against the run of play at the time. Caitlyn opened the scoring with an excellent goal after about ten minutes and Gabriella followed suit minutes later from an excellently struck short corner. Tilda also scored a great goal just before half time. The second half stepped up a notch in both pace and excitement - it was quite hard to keep track of the goals! Eagle House scored again (an excellently positioned Georgia making the deflection) to make it 4-0 before the Oratory fought back, scoring three in a row! However, the Eagle House girls kept their cool and continued to put the ball into the back of the net. The final score-line of 8-4 is an indication of just how exciting the game was. Thanks to all the spectators and to the team for a great display of hockey skill.
U12 Girls playing in the U13 IAPS Competition Tuesday 2nd November Team: Gabriella Dyer, Tilda Kneen, Georgia Valentine, Amynta Rimmer, Ella Dow, Daisy Robinson, Olivia Halcox, Sophie Bignell-Edwards Results: Knocked out in the Quarter finals V City of London Won 2 - 0 (Tilda) V Cokethorpe Won 1 - 0 (Gabriella) V Edgeborough Lost 1 - 0 Quarter Final V Junior Kings Lost 1 - 0 This was a fantastic rehearsal for the girls for next year. It was a shame that the Year 8's couldn't be with you today, but you certainly did yourselves proud and did not look a year young at all. It was great to watch you play as I haven't seen you play for a long time and it was incredible to see how much you have all improved and developed as players. Thank you so much to Mr Turner for umpiring for us, thank you to the sunshine for shining all day and finally thank you to the girls for playing lots of great hockey.
Pangbourne College Hockey Tournament Wednesday 12th October Results: Second overall V The Oratory: Won 2-0 (Caitlyn, Tilda) V Cheam: Won Lost 0-2 V Pangbourne: Won 3-0 (Gabriella, Tilda, Caitlyn) V St Andrew's: Won 7-0 (Caitlyn 3, Tilda 2, Georgia, Olivia) This was a great tournament as there was lots of hockey played. We started the afternoon with a good win against The Oratory. However, it wasn't the best hockey we could play. Positionally the girls were playing on top of one another and we were not getting the ball on our strong side in order to pass accurately. The two goals scored by Caitlyn and Tilda were excellent strikes. We had 90% of possession and therefore should have scored more. Our second game against Cheam was the most competitive of the afternoon. It was great to see the girls act on our team talk and structure themselves far better as a team. This game was fast and physical. However, Cheam seemed to be that fraction of a second quicker and therefore they won many of the loose balls and were able to capitalise on their free hits. The score line is not indicative of the game, as Eagle House again had much of the possession. However, Cheam's goaly made some excellent saves and Cheam scored twice, once from a break away free pass and once from a well taken short corner. In the final two games of the afternoon, Eagle House really started to play some excellent hockey. It was great to receive compliments from the opposition's coaches on the standard of the team's play and on how hard they worked for the ball. Goals were a plenty! All were well struck. It was good to see the girls playing a structured game of hockey, supporting each other and finding the space to show their growing skill. Well done, girls! Thanks to all the parents who were there to support. LSP Cranleigh Prep School U12 Hockey Tournament Wednesday 28th September Squad: Daisy Robinson (GK); Georgia Valentine; Amynta Rimmer; Olivia Halcox Gabriella Dyer (Capt); Sophie Bignell-Edwards; Tilda-Rose Kneen; Ella Dow Results: Hurstpierpoint: Won 1-0 Highfield: Won 2-0 Cranleigh B: Won 3-0 Westbourne House: Won 4-0 Eagle House finished 1st in their group and qualified for the Semi Finals S/F v Feltonfleet: Won 2-0 FINAL v Cranleigh Prep: Lost 0-1
Full report to follow asap....................
Wednesday 28th September 1st/2nd V Marleston House Eagle House 1, Marleston House 2
Player of the match: Alice This was a new team put together just for this match, as most of the U12s were playing in the Cranleigh tournament. It was a very hot afternoon! Eagle House had most of the possession. However, some of the girls found it hard to keep up with the pace of the game and unfortunately, we struggled to support each other when a player was looking for a pass. Sarah kept the sheet clean with two great saves early on. Caitlyn worked extremely hard throughout the game in attack and Megan was solid in defense. Just before half time Megan scored a great goal from a short corner - the ball was pushed out by her to Caitlyn who struck a good shot which Megan then deflected into the goal. Marleston House came out strongly after half time and scored almost immediately. Although the game remained quite even throughout this half Marleston House managed to score again just before the end. A disappointing score line but a good effort considering we were playing their 1st team. St Mary's Ascot 1 Eagle House 6 This was actually quite a well contested game with both teams showing some good skills. In the first half Eagle House tended to gather around the ball, usually in the centre of the pitch which was fine until we lost possession and St Mary's used the width with sympathetic quick passing. Sympathetic means that the weight of the pass ensures that the player receiving the ball has a chance of getting to the ball. We tended to blast the ball past our own players. Strong passes are required provide we have the width of the pitch to create the space for such passes. One-nil up at half time was a fair comment on the standard of St Mary's determination. The second half was better. We played wider and passed earlier and this opened up the opposing defence for shots on goal to be converted with greater consistency. We must be careful to keep our defensive alignment in that when we are attacking up the left, then the right back needs to move to cover and vice versa. When we concede possession we must NEVER turn our backs but jog backwards until we are five yards away and KEEP our sticks on the ground. As soon as the opposing player plays the ball, we must shut them down rather than let them dictate the game. As I said afterwards, we did play some great hockey and now we must try to play that standard all the time keeping the width, giving early passes and defend with much greater discipline.
Eagle House 1st VII v Cranleigh (home)Wednesday 14th September Eagle House 1 Cranleigh 6 (Kneen) Squad: Sarah Chapman (GK); Alice Jennings; Amynta Rimmer; Gabriella Dyer Caitlyn Earwaker (Capt); Olivia Halcox; Tilda-Rose Kneen Player of the match: Tilda After last weeks promising start the Eagles were brought down to Earth with a bit of a bump as they came up against a very talented Cranleigh team. However, it was not as one sided as the final score line suggests as Tilda's fine strike at goal, following Gaby's excellent run through the middle and quality pass, levelled the match up at 1-1. Only a couple of sharp saves by the alert Cranleigh keeper denied Eagle House the lead and it looked as though the scores would be tied at the half time interval. Unfortunately a lapse in concentration at the back left Sarah exposed in goal and even though she was able to get her stick on the shot, there was just enough power on it to get across the line and give Cranleigh a narrow 2-1 lead at the break. The second half started in the same fashion with chances to both sides as Caitlyn, Tilda and Gaby all had good opportunities to score for the Eagles. Cranleigh's left winger was having a outstanding match and she ended up as the difference between the two teams by scoring 3 and set up another during the half. These four goals by Cranleigh remained unanswered by Eagle House and the end result was a disappointing 1-6 defeat. Although the result was not one we were looking for, the effort from the girls cannot be faulted and there is now plenty to work on in training ahead of the next game. |
