With one third of the season now finished, reports show that our teams are settling into some great game play, with some excellent hockey matches played again this week.
Play of the Week
A great effort this week by Jem Duff, a new member to the Club, playing in U11 Spirit. Jem volunteered to put on the goalkeeping pads, and did a fantastic job, with great anticipation and positioning to prevent the opposition scoring on many occasions.
Under 6
Our Joeys players are showing some great skills, learning to dribble and pass, with some excellent pushes.
Under 8
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit
Newtown Rebels played Newtown Spirit in a Newtown derby on Saturday morning. Both teams played a very fair and competitive game of minkey hockey. Eoin started in goal and held his position through the first half so when the ball did make its way down from the Spirit he was perfectly positioned to defend. Adrian’s running was a highlight up and down the field and he was able to score a goal. Alex joined us from the Strikers and was terrific, fitting in from the start and delivering the ball to the forwards. Mai was excellent in both halves setting up the play. Sadie passed the ball around and defended when the ball was cleared by the Spirit defence. Freddie ran forwards to create goal opportunities but also ran back to defend which was good team play.
In the second half Eoin was moved forward and was full of energy. He got the Best Team Player award this week for his concentration in the first half. In the second half the Rebels play got a bit messy because many players were crowding the person with the ball. The coaches tell the players to hold their position and side of the field so there is plenty of room to pass the ball around. Sometimes it is effective to pass backwards or across the field but this is difficult if players are out of position. All of the Rebels players are playing a terrific exciting brand of hockey this season. Well done to all of the kids.
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels
Newtown Spirit came up against a rampaging Newtown Rebels in a clash of Newtown stable mates in under-8 competition at the weekend. With much of the action centred in Spirit’s defensive half, the team dug deep and worked hard to shut down many fast breaks towards goal by their opposition. Charlie and Avah performed well at full back in the first half and saw plenty of play. The duo, using strong pushes and hits, fed the ball beautifully forward to players including Matilda, Max and Phoebe so they could run into attack. The team, capably aided by Strikers players Chris and Jakai, moved well across the ground and picked up players roaming free.
At half time Coach Kellie praised her charges for their work rate and urged them to come in closer when a member of their team was taking a free. She also stressed the need to cover opposition players quickly to counter the Rebels’ ability to take swift free hits. After a position reshuffle at half-time, Spirit battled hard until the final whistle. Despite being under fire for much of the half, the team managed several attacking forays and there was some lovely passing near goals. Phoebe showed true grit by refusing to give in, repeatedly trying to keep possession and back up fellow players while Matilda put in a strong two halves. Meyah took home the Best Team Player award for the game after her quality contribution characterised by her tenacity, her fight to cover opposition players, great blocking and strong clearing shots.
Newtown Strikers – Bye
Under 11
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels 0-1
Newtown Spirit played Newtown Rebels this week. We were down 5 players this week but a full team was made up with the help of Minkey player Matilda. She played so very well despite it only being her 3rd game ever! It was a very defensive game for us with the Rebels pushing our team greatly. Some wonderful play from our team saw only 1 blinding goal getting past our interim Goalie Jem. He played a fantastic game in goals following the ball very naturally. Short corners were dealt with well and there was some great calling from the entire team. Best Team Player awards went to John, who is really starting to find his feet on the field, and Harry, who played his position well.
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 1-0
What a tight game! Lots of good passing by Harry, Locke, Archie, Flynn, Taylah and Basyl. Excellent work in the forward line to gain a short corner where a goal was scored by Harry. Bailey & Luca provided such strong defence that our opponents were unable to have any shots at the goal. Even though we struggled to score another goal in the second half, in part due to the excellent work by the Spirit goalkeeper, all our team showed great improvement and determination. , which we will endeavour to do better in this coming match.â€
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 3-4
After a week off the Strikers delivered a great team game on Saturday. Skills across the board were superb. Captain for the day was Imogen who enjoyed some nice runs through the middle. Excellent running and passing, particularly using the space well on the wings, by Amity, Olivia, Sam, Sam and Samuel! As always some great pace through the middle and excellent passing to and from Harry to produce three terrific goals. There was also great work in defence, with Jonah displaying great skills again, Nathan and Brandon getting in the right spots and Izaak blocking and clearing a ball that was heading straight toward the goals. Great work too by Paige, who once again donned the goalie kit. This terrific play was almost (but not quite) enough to earn the Strikers a draw – the final result was 4-3 to Torquay in a very even and high skilled game. Congratulations to this weeks’ Best Team Players – Sam and Olivia.
Under 13
Newtown Spirit vs Bellarine 2 1-5
A great second half effort to keep Bellarine 2 goalless after conceding 5 in the first half was the highlight. After an even first 15 minutes with Olivia scoring a great goal, Bellarine 2 scored 4 quick goals to lead 5-1 at half time. With the focus on defence for the second half the team performed very well. Some great defensive efforts by Angus R & Sam with support from goalie James repelled many advances. With some great run provided by Harry, Isabel & Claudia the team created plenty of opportunities to score. Special thanks to Angus Ayerbe & Maggie Dawson for stepping up from U11 & playing so well
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 4-2
Strikers were on the attack from the whistle and were rewarded with an early goal to Tom following a great set up by Jamie. The remainder of the first half was a fairly even contest with play switching from one end of the field to the other. The Strikers were forced to play a defensive game by Kardinia, and as a result weren’t implementing their usual wide attacking style when in possession of the ball. Play was predominantly through the central corridor with little penetration of the D. Late in the first half, Strikers managed to spread the ball out to Olivia on the right wing and were eventually awarded a short corner. The first attempt was unsuccessful, however another short corner was awarded and resulted in a goal to Jamie, ending the first half 2:0.
Kardinia started the second half with renewed vigour and had scored two goals in the first 5 mins to equalise the score at 2:2. Play then mirrored the first half, being an even contest with great defensive work from the Strikers. Ella, Sarah and Caleb were having a busy time defending the goal with support from Amelia and Kasey at half back, and they withstood the pressure well for the remainder of the half. Strikers began to gain the upper hand towards the end of the second half and Jemma was well placed on the left post to deflect in a shot from Tom. A short corner came soon after with Jamie receiving and flicking left to Matthew for a clear shot on goal, ending the game at 4:2. This gamed proved to be the first real defensive test for the Strikers but they were equal to the task in the end and were able to counterattack once they had regained their composure. Keep up the great work Strikers.
Under 15
Newtown Spirit vs Saints 6-0
Newtown Spirit played Saints on Sunday in almost perfect conditions. Showing great confidence the team controlled the play and kept the game in the attacking half at all times. The 6 goals scored were shared across 5 players with Miles, Hudson, Monique, Tom and Jonah putting 2 away. Pressure whilst in the D offered numerous short corners with Jonah being able to capitalize on 2 of these. The constant pressure up forward meant the back row and goal was pretty quiet. A couple of spirited Saints breaks into the defensive half saw Eneko and Corey work together to close them down and had the ball turned back back up field before any real threat materialized. Final Score 6:0 win to Newtown Spirit.
Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains 4-0
It was a hard fought game to keep a Golden Plains team to a scoreless game. We had a great team who played as a team, just like all the training drills, to give us a 4-0 win. Without any interchange there were a few worn out players who just kept trying, and even after a smack to the foot, Chloe was still on to play as full back. With Will learning that it’s always good to be in the right spot at the right time, he was able to score his first goal since taking up hockey this year. With great forward movement and passing, the opposition were kept running in circles around our attacking play.
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 5-1
The first half was a very tight game, with the half time score at 2-1. We were playing far from our best, crowding the play and working more as individuals rather than as a team. We became more disciplined in the second half with some tight marking by Nathan which negated some of the easy turnovers that Kardinia were previously taking advantage of in the first half. After playing in defence for the first few games of the season, Hudson showed good versatility playing in the forward line scoring two creative goals. It was far from our best game but we won with hard work. This won’t always be enough to win games, so we will be focusing on team structure in order to find more opportunities to improve this talented team.
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 4-2
A tough fixture as always vs Saints Black for the Falcons. With a couple of outs for us and a near full-strength team for Saints, an intense and physical game was played out all the way through. The Falcons were able to use their younger legs and silky skills that comes with this young and exciting list to pull away with a really well worked 4-2 win. Goals to Lachlan Baensch (1), Jack Chadwick (1) and James Humphries (2)
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 2-2
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 1-5
It was always going to be tough coming up against competition leaders, Geelong, especially short a captain and with a reduced bench (thanks to Penny for boosting our bench to two at the last minute). We started well, enjoying most of the attack for the first 10 minutes, after which Geelong started to gain the ascendency and kept it up for the bulk of the game. Plenty of good running and skills, but a few too many rushed disposals picked off by Geelong attackers, resulting in several Geelong goals. One great strike from Peta straight into the backboard ensured we registered a score this time and several other close encounters came close to improving the margin – at the other end, some magnificent saves by Jess in front of goal, supported by great defensive work from Samantha, Jacqui and Penny, restricted the score line to a more respectable 5-1 (compared with our 8-0 first encounter against Geelong).
Division 2 Men
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-3
Yet another very tough game for Spirit, with ladder leaders Torquay proving too strong during the game. The defensive line did a great job keeping Torquay at bay and denying a lot of scoring opportunities but unfortunately we were unable to keep them at bay with one goal and two in the second half scored against us. During the match we had a few chances up forward but were unfortunately unable to convert these chances. It was a great effort by everyone throughout the game and hopefully we have an even better match next week.
Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains 5 – 1
Like many of the Strikers games, although the end result was a convincing win, the first half of the game was tightly fought, resulting in neither team scoring even though both had numerous opportunities. As the game progressed, Strikers started to improve their short passing which resulted in the majority of the 5 goals coming from the final 10 mins. Although there are a number of areas to improve upon, finishing the game in the way we did was a confidence builder and an indication of what the side is capable of.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels 2-1
The local derby is always a well contested game. Spirit came out fast but thwarted with sound defence and a strong centre presence. Just back from injury, Deanne went down with a ball to the knee. Donna on the other wing collected a hard ball to the foot and struggled. Rebel broke through for an early goal.
In the second half Spirit played wide with the walking wounded wingers sitting high and pretty. Strong play in the centre with Peta feeding up to the forwards. A quick smash from a corner saw Spirit on the board. Throughout the game Spirit’s strong defence smothered Rebel’s press into the circle. Great sweeps and saves from Sharon, Bron, Hil, Jac and Pam. A quick breakaway right through play saw a well deserved team goal to put Spirit ahead. Solid marking and pressure kept Spirit in the lead. A big welcome back to Pam. Hoping Deanne and Donna recover for the next game!
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 1-2
An excellent game from all the Rebels players, with great leading to receive the ball from Amber, Erin and Meredith. Great passing on the forward line and Amber’s speed and great ball control saw her score the first goal of the game. Quick passing and great position by Deb continued to create attacks for Rebels. Solid defence by Nerida, Tracey and Colleen blocked many of the Spirit attacks, and very effective passing out of defence by Dana and Remi was a feature of the second half. Kellie had begun the game well, with her usual determination and effort, but an injury before half time kept her from returning to the game, so a great effort by the team to play the second half with 10 players. Great effort all.
