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| Hockey 2nd XI Team 'Blog' |
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Match One Wednesday 25th January v Parkside, Away 1515 at Surbiton H.C Eagle House 2 Parkside 3 This, the first match of the season, turned out to be an exciting and well balanced match. The result of which could have gone either way and perhaps a score draw would have been a more reflective score line. Though Parkside have already played a few matches, they were slow to get into the game. Eagle House took their early pressure well and were organised enough to neutralise any such early threat on the goal. Eagle House warmed up to the game quicker and were soon containing Parkside in their own half. The pressure told and soon the first goal was conceded by Parkside. Nevertheless in the attempt to score the second a lot of energy was spent trying again to break down the Parkside defensive. Too many good opportunities were missed to score a few more goals. This unfortunately left the Eagle House defense rather exposed and three times Parkside were able to break away and score much against the run of play. To be honest the half time break could not have come quicker as both teams plus umpires need a rest to get their breathes back. I am pleased that heads did not go down but if anything a new vigour and determination was taken up by the team in the second half. Every attack was well supported. The defensive line was strong and fairly secure. I think that only once were Parkside able to shoot at the goal and even then Finlay made a great covering dive to stop the goal. As in the first half chance after chance came our way though only one resulted in a goal. Even in the dying minutes Parkside were hard pressed to stop the constant attacks. Who knows? With a few more minutes that drawing goal could have been scored. Perhaps Ali is correct? We need to practise our shooting. This game was a great display of skill by both sides. Though some of the Parkside players were quite big and easily towered over one of the umpires, the Eagle House players were not intimidated nor down cast when the goals were scored against them. This was a great performance upon which we can build for the remaining matches. Team: Captain Max Hammond. Finlay O'Kane, Robert Cootes, Harry Waters, Jamie Gibson, Ruairidh Whelan, Henry South, Robert Phillips, Jack Surrall, Mark Erridge, Alexander Tilmouth. Match Two Wednesday 1st February v Hoe Bridge, home at 1400 at Wellington College (new pitch) Eagle House 1 Hoe Bridge 1 This second match of the season proved to be an exciting display of good hockey and yet a little frustration. Eagle House’s excellent skills, support and positional play led to a near dominance of this game by the home side. It was the inability to score once inside the opposition’s circle that led to this match being a draw at the close. All credit to the Hoe Bridge defence who time after time had to resist the near constant onslaught. Perhaps we still need some shooting practice. But unfortunately there are a limited number of hours available. Mind you I am sure that the boys would much prefer a double lesson of extra hockey coaching to a double of Maths? The first ten minutes was a clear indication of intent by Eagle House. Hoe Bridge was pined back into their own circle as attack followed attack. The quick take of the free hits and the constant movement of the ball unsettled the opposition as they fought valiantly. The posts were hit twice and a very well taken penalty corner nearer opened up the scoring. Only twice was Hoe Bridge able to break over the half way line. On those occasions the back line was easily able to deal with the threat. At one stage of the match I am sure I saw Finlay take off his helmet, sit on the back boards and got out his exercise book in order to start his prep. Such was our dominance in the first half. A frustrated Eagle House team resumed the second half with the same vigour and duly the first goal was scored. Max did a wonderful job stopping Hoe Bridge breaking out of the half by sweeping up any possible breakout. Robert (Cootes) now on the right wing gave a bit more weight to the attack and had several good shots at the goal. On the left hand side Henry and Ruairidh ran rings around their opposition as they strung together a series a passes over and over again. Robert (Phillips) played well on the left wing in the first half played as well as full back. Ali also contributed both in attack and defence. The right hand side of defence was well marshalled by Jamie who did not panic when under pressure. Harry had some great breaks and swept up many an attack. Unfortunately the frustration and tiredness created by the constant attacks not ending up in goals led to the drawing goal much against the run of play. If only the goals were an extra foot wider I am sure that Mark and Jack would be able to score cleanly. Their positional play and support for each other was good. Less poking of the ball and stronger hitting would help. A bit more “controlled” aggression, more focus and a less gentleman like posture in front of goal will result in more goals. Finally we all need to look up more often! This was a great display of hockey and thoroughly enjoyed by all those watching the match, including me! Team: Captain Max Hammond. Finlay O'Kane, Robert Cootes, Harry Waters, Jamie Gibson, Ruairidh Whelan, Henry South, Robert Phillips, Jack Surrall, Mark Erridge, Alexander Tilmouth. Jonathan Foster.
Match Three Saturday 4th February v Cranleigh, away at 1400 Match cancelled due to heavy frost. Match Four Wednesday 8th February v St Andrew's, away at 1400, at Goldsworth Park Eagle House 3 St Andrew’s 1 And finally all the fine work and practiced paid off as the demons were put to bed in an outstanding display of hockey skills in which the opposition were fortunate that our goal scoring skills still need a fine–tuning. Unfortunately a mix up on the organisation front led to both coaches being disappointed as they had both planned this to be an eleven a-side match. So a slightly re-organised team began the first half very strongly and pressurised throughout. Even with the superior skills and positional play Eagle House were unable to score in the first half. Too many chances went amiss. Penalty corner after penalty corner should have ended up with a goal being scored. But on the other hand the St Andrew’s goal keeper was very good and ensured that no goals were conceded in the first half. The first part of the second half was much like the first until the deadlock was broken with some very well created goals. The swift moving of the ball, better skills and positional play finally proved to be the key. The play was very impressive indeed and St Andrew’s seemed unable to get back into the game. Throughout the second half St Andrew’s had push one if not two attackers forward in an attempt to score first and this had made them very exposed at the back. Nearly every time their tall back struck the ball up the field Harry Waters was there intercepting that pass. Not only did Harry intercept those crucial passes, he also made some cutting and dangerous runs from end to end. If it was not for Finlay in the goal, this match may have gone the other way as he made some great and desperate saves in the first part of the second half. Unfortunately a soft goal was conceded towards the end as tiredness crept in and Finlay has not 360 degree vision. Max, Jono, Mark, Ali and Ruairidh worked well in the midfield, some of them in unusual positions. It was nice to see that this did not affect their play in any way. The communication between players was very noticeable and it was good to see some great passing. Jamie and Robert at times had some quiet spells but when trouble threaten, it was nice to see them handle it with patience and great skill. I think Robert must have been bored at times, because like Harry, he decided every now and then to make an attack move up the field. Such a versatile player is Robert. Jack and Henry were very threatening up front and it was nice to see those two use all the space up front, ranging from corner to corner plus inside the circle. This has been a very good afternoon and it was pleasing to see the results of the past two weeks. The last two matches have been frustrating because we have dominated for long stretches of time. But the patience and the keep going persistence paid off today. Team: Captain Max Hammond. Finlay O'Kane, Robert Cootes, Harry Waters, Jamie Gibson, Ruairidh Whelan, Henry South, Jack Surrall, Mark Erridge, Alexander Tilmouth. Jonathan Foster. Match Five Wednesday 22nd February v Hall Grove, away at 1530 Eagle House 4 Hall Grove 2 Despite the half term break, this team has kept up its winning ways. It took a long time to break the opposition down in spite if the dominance, better skills and match experience that we had. Hall Grove used the home advantage well as they presented a solid defensive line. The narrowness of the pitch certainly helped them. In the first half attack after after failed because of the tightness of the space and because we were not using the width of the pitch. Eagle House went into the half time break with the very slender lead of one goal. Opportunities were there to score but a real lack of fire power and too much showing of the pretty skills left the door open for Hall Grove to come back into the game. The second half was much like the first and certainly a sense of frustration was beginning to grow. Nevertheless as the time went on, big gaps began to appear in the Hall Grove positional play as they surged forward to score that equalising goal. However it was Eagle House that added to their score but the dominance did not stay. Eagle House themselves were leaving massive gaps in the field which Hall Grove duly used and scored two good goals. The game became very open at the end with Eagle House finally able to finished the game with two very good and supported attacks, both of which resulted in goals. Finlay made some good saves during the match but was rather exposed by his midfield that led to the two goals conceded. Jamie and Robert were solid in defence and when bored, Harry decided to do the usual attack straight up the field. The combination of Henry and Ruairidh worked for most of the match. Mark and Jack had lots of action and still need to work out that the ball goes in between the white posts. I was quite impressed by Mark's with the midfield line. He was often to be found on halfway feeding the ball up the Henry or Jack. But why not Ali or Robert on the right! Max and Jono were fine in the midfield. Robert P and Ali had quite a quiet game but still on the left hand side were able to halt many an attack. Though a sort of exciting game with lots of goals, there is room for some improvement. This team has played better. Today too many passes went astray. Too many attacks went down the left hand side. Robert C on the right wing only had one shot at the goal. We must be prepared to get the legs around the ball to switch it to the stronger side. I think that this afternoon we were only on 80% power. This was a rather sluggish performance, but as one parent put it perhaps I high expectations, which may or may not be a good thing. At the end of the day it was a good win. Team: Captain Max Hammond. Finlay O'Kane, Robert Cootes, Harry Waters, Jamie Gibson, Ruairidh Whelan, Henry South, Robert Phillips, Jack Surrall, Mark Erridge, Alexander Tilmouth. Jonathan Foster. Match Six Wednesday 29th February V Highfield, at 1430, Home on Main Field Eagle House 1 Highfield 1 Under a rather dull sky, the main body of the 2nd XI squad played a rather agricultural game on Main field on grass. Four players from the full second squad had been chosen from this squad to play in an under 13A team as the bulk were playing at the Wellington tournament, so it was eight a side for 20 minutes each way. By the end of the match if the boys themselves were not tired, certainly the umpires were. Yet again early dominance from Eagle House did not result in a goal as the unfamiliar surface played its part in limiting the ability of the players. Pretty hockey does not really work on grass. So opportunities came and went. With the smaller number of players there were huge amounts of space which the opposition could exploit. As they were more familiar with the surface’ they took a well deserved lead into the break. Good positional play led to our halves and backs being out played. In the second half Eagle House began to dominate as they were able to pin back Highfield inside their own half. Some wonderful cut-outs by Robert and Harry at the back ensured that the pressure was kept up. Nevertheless Highfield did on several occasions come close to scoring their second goal as those back two were very stretched. Due to the constant pressure the equalising goal was scored although three times the ball had crossed the line. Two were not goals. The first because the shot had been made outside the circle and the second because the free hit was taken from the incorrect place. The mid field of Max, Jono and Ruairidh were kept very busy throughout most of the match linking between the back line and the front two of Mark and Henry. Again opportunities to score at both ends there were but neither side could really finish off that attacking move. A draw was a fair result. Certainly playing with eight players and on grass hindered the team but they rose to the challenge well and deserved the draw. Team: Captain Max Hammond. Finlay O'Kane, Robert Cootes, Harry Waters, Ruairidh Whelan, Henry South, Mark Erridge, Jonathan Foster
Match Seven Wednesday 7th March v Aldro, at 1430, at Wellington College Match Cancelled Match Eight Wednesday 14th March v Lambrook at 1400, at Wellington College Eagle House 2 Lambrook 0 The final game of the season proved to be yet another entertaining and enjoyable game of hockey played by both sides. It was also played in ideal conditions, blue sky and a touch of warmth in the air. Lambrook were quicker of the starting blocks and were able to mount several good attacks before Eagle House finally woke up to the fact that they were in the middle of a hockey match. Finlay had to make some good saves in order to keeo a clean sheet. As the match progressed Eagle House were able to exert their dominance over the game. With a scrappy goal scored, Eagle House went into the half time break with a very slender lead. In the second half Eagle House pressurised again and again to find that elusive second goal. Lambrook's defence proved to be up to the challenge and were able to thwart those threats over and over. Their right full back was very good as he tackled the attacker with stick flat on the floor. However it took a penalty corner to find that second goal. The penalty corner move originally did not work out as the defenders were quickly up on Robert Cootes. Nevertheless he managed to keep possession of the ball and he himself drove forward towards the goal to score that elusive second "helped" by Mark. Considering that Lambrook had only just begun their hockey season they played with good skills and tactical awareness. Behind our defensive line they had positioned a single attacker who would have been easily able to score had our back line been a little weaker. In the second half I do not remember seeing Finlay back in the goal. Had he gone off for an early match tea? Such was the dominance of the team in the second half. The back line of Jamie, Harry and Robert Cootes were as good as ever clearing up any possible attack confidently and calmly. Certainly one of the highlights of this match was Harry's drive from circle to circle which so nearly ended up in a goal as he dribbled through the Lambrook team. The middle field of Robert Phillips, Max and Jono proved vital in linking between the back and the front of the team. They fulfilled their roles admirable. The front line of Ali, Henry, Jack and Mark certainly had a busy second half and perhaps it is a shame that they did not make more of their opportunities. I certainly remember a great opportunity that Ali had to strike the ball with a reversed stick shot into the goal only to be beaten by a quicker defender to the ball. Unfortunately Ruairidh was not available for this match due to an injury. So ends a very successful season for this team who were one conceded goal away from an unbeaten season. I am pleased with how this team developed and played and I would like to thank the boys for all their contributions and especially the captain, Max. Well done to you all!
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