Counting down to the finals and the end of this hockey season now.
Under 8 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia
The U8 Newtown Strikers played a skilful Kardinia team this week. Kardinia started very strong, with an early goal, but as Strikers warmed up they began to take back control.
Hunter gave some spark to Strikers with his great efforts to keep the ball in play in the forward line, with a few attempts at goal before he finally scored. Josien showed some run with the ball, with a well-executed pass to Charlie, who then scored another goal.
In the first half, boys were in the forward positions and the girls in the back, but this swapped over for the 2nd half. The 2nd half saw no score from either team. Charlie made some good stops in the middle of the ground, and some right on the goal line. Joseph was also very strong in defence and made some well-directed passes after stopping the ball, including some reverse stick passes.
Josien, Lucy and Audrey were all running well to positions to allow their team mates to pass to them. Audrey was often in great attacking positions and was very persistent at the ball but was unlucky to not get a goal.
The team were all very happy with how the game went and had a great time, enjoying the pace and passing between teammates. The Subway and Best Team Player awards this week went to Joseph and Audrey.
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels
After initially falling into the trap of crowding the ball, the Spirit were able to improve their defence throughout the game. When defending free hits, the team is developing their ability to guard space and this is making it difficult for Spirit’s opponents to attack.
One thing Spirit is working on at present is transitioning from attack to defence without the prompting of the coach throughout the game. This week the Best Team Player award was given to Paige and the Subway award was presented to Summah.
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit
This week was another great game for Rebels, with all players showing improved focus on the ball and some great supporting moves for teammates with the ball. Marking of the opposition players improved in the second half especially, and there were some great passages of play which moved the ball into attack. Good positioning and backup by Kasey, Jake and some excellent work in front of goal by Albie, with Lennie and Manny showing their speed and ball control skills. Isaac was showing great awareness of the movement of the ball and gained possession, making some good passes to team mates. Awards to Isaac and Manny.
Under 10 Mixed
Newtown Strikers v Newtown Spirit 6-1
Players were primed for what was to be a tough clash between the two Newtown teams who have both had fantastic seasons so far. The first half was evenly matched with end to end Hockey keeping players and spectators on their toes. Spirit took the lead with a breakaway goal, but Strikers fought back with an equalising goal to take them into the half time break 1-1.
Strikers came out firing in the second half playing some of their best Hockey for this hockey season, showcasing skills and systems that have been building throughout the season. All goals scored were “team goals” featuring impressive passing between team mates with tidy finishing from Jacob (3), Zac (2) and Madison (1).
Subway Award to Jacob who displayed impressive distribution skills and Best Team Player Award to Edward who was able to turn defence into attack with his tackles and passing going forward.
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 1-6
Newtown Spirit started the game well and had a few good chances in the first 10 minutes of the game. A few good breaks took them up the field but they just couldn’t get the ball in the net. Some good passing between Michael and Matilda finally saw them get a goal. Unfortunately they couldn’t keep up the pressure and a lack of discipline in marking and positioning saw Strikers take the lead 1-2 at half time.
Spirit put up a good fight in the second half but Strikers took advantage of gaps in the Spirit defence to take the score to 1-6.
Under 12 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Golden Plains 0-9
Despite being short two players and a one sided score line, the team played as always with 100% effort and enthusiasm. Ruben is a keen team captain who displayed sportsmanship with a resounding 3 cheers and team handshakes. Hamish S in goals had his work cut out and made many great saves; we just need two of him! It was another heavy defensive game with Leo and Ruben kept busy on the back line, Lucy, Grace and Charlotte worked hard to try to get the ball out to our forwards: Hamish K, Emme and Annabelle who were ready and willing to get the ball to our end when the chances came.
By half time the team were missing their talented and tireless attacker Nate who turned up to limit the score line and strengthen the attack. A tough season with numerous significant losses hasn’t dampened the commitment of this young team even in cold, wet conditions, well done all!
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Strikers 0-2
Hockey is a funny game sometimes. Rebels probably played their best game of the hockey season so far, but went down in a tight tussle with Strikers.
Rebels came out firing early in the game, pushing forward as a team and looking for attacking passes into goal scoring areas. Despite multiple shots they couldn’t quite score. The hockey gods seemed to be against us (although the Strikers defenders and Mai in goals might have also had something to do with it).
Strikers then scored with a fast break and the game turned into a tight tussle for the rest of the game with a number of fast breaks from both sides. Rebels’ best team passage of play for the year came just before half time when a number of pin point passes and aggressive running saw the ball moved from full back to a shot on goal. Unfortunately another near miss, but a pleasure to watch from the sidelines.
The players did seem to gravitate towards the wing on the cheering parents’ side of the ground. At times there were free players and plenty of space on the other wing that might have been an option. MVP this week was Gil who worked hard in both defence and attack. Eliza, Trey and Toby were also recognised for their efforts.
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Rebels 2-0
The kids all came together well this week. Some excellent running right from the start, and the ball movement from late in last week’s game was a pleasure to watch from the outset. Again the Strikers were running in waves, with excellent passes out in front of the leading forwards.
We switched some of the positions around today, and it was great to see that everyone took on the challenges. Sam was keen for a run at full back, and he and Amber rebounded the ball out of defence very effectively, keeping the ball away from the Rebels forwards. Thamindu did a stellar job in centre half, despite telling me he wasn’t sure about the role, his ability to find a leading player with clean passes was a real asset to the Strikers breaking the Rebels defensive lines, linking up with Kye, Brandon, Surry, Charlie W and Scarlett. Nice positioning of Isabel and Charlotte B out wide saw us move the ball into attack on several occasions, and some excellent forward running from Zac had the Rebels defence working hard. Some nice movement of the ball resulted in a deep pass to Charlie W, with a nice tap past the keeper getting us on the board.
The Strikers hard running and ball movement kept the Rebels at bay, and some good work from Mai, meant we went into half time with a 1-0 lead.
An early mixup saw Charlie W break away at the start of the second half and put a second goal on the board. Surry followed in Sam’s defensive footprints and made some excellent transitions out of defence. Isabel was moved back into her usual CH position, keeping much of the play out of our defensive 25. Some great ball movement between Chloe, Amber and Charlotte B had us moving forward, looking like we might get another score on the board on several occasions, but the Rebels defence were doing a solid job. Despite his great work in the middle, Thamindu was keen to go back into FB. He was again a rock in defence, working well with Scarlett late in the game, when
the Rebels looked like they might get a late goal, clearing the ball wide out of defence.
A job well done today Strikers, you should all be very proud of the way you played together as a team.
Under 14 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs GBS Black 2-0
At the half time whistle, scores were nil all. The team reflected on what was working well and where they needed to improve.
With renewed enthusiasm they hit the pitch again. Sam took possession of the ball, played on quickly, passed to Brandon who in turn hit a clean shot to Max and… score! A nice set up by Basyl saw Brandon get Newtown’s second goal. Maggie and Charlie displayed good ball control skills and a big thanks to Liam who volunteered to be goalie. Bringing the ball back to the half line when required rather than moving forward, is something for the team to work on in the next match.
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia Blue 2-3
Under 17 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 0-2
Round 11 saw Newtown Spirit take on Kardinia. Again Spirit had to gain assistance from other teams to give them two on the bench.
The first half saw many short corners for Kardinia, none of which produced a goal. One short corner was given by the umpire for Spirit not being 5 metres away. With Spirit not being 5 once again, Angus was given a green card and was sent off for 2 minutes, and with Spirit now losing a player on the field Kardinia was able to score with just minutes left on the clock. With Spirit not able to get the ball past Kardinia’s defence they were not able to put it in the net.
With the first half over Kardinia had a lead of just 1-0, meaning Spirit still had a chance. The second half started and within seconds the rain started to pour down. Even with the wet turf moving the ball faster, it slowed down the Spirit players as some of them slipped over and made it difficult to see. Within the first couple of minutes Kardinia had the ball in the ‘D’ and missed a goal opportunity, determined to score they fought hard against Max who at one stage dropped to the ground to keep the ball out of the goals.
Moving forward Amelia chased and got control of the ball, she was then able to have a shot at goal which turned into a short corner that Spirit couldn’t score from.
Max and Caleb had their work cut out for them in defence as Kardinia gave it their all. With just nine and a half minutes left Kardinia scored, giving them their second goal for the game. Spirit reactedto this goal, with Tom running the ball up to Spirit’s forward and towards an open goal, Nick was on the post ready for a deflection and only just missed. Kardinia won the game 2-0.
Newtown Spirit would like to thank their extra players, Mitchell, Amelia, Isabel and Matilda, for helping out to field a side.
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-2
Newtown Strikers played Torquay in a highly anticipated match on Sunday. As expected Torquay came out hard and fast from the outset and although the pace was quick and the attacking unrelenting, Strikers were terrific in defence and played their best game of the hockey season. A fantastic game to watch, Strikers held Torquay to 1:0 in the first half with good clearances and great goal keeping by EJ.
At half time coach Gordon told players their defence was really good, though they could attack a bit more, and gave them instructions to find their opposition and mark-up
tightly. The second half was just as exciting as the first with attempts on goal by both sides, including solid attempts by Ben and Riley. Strikers held off Torquay until the last two minutes when they managed to get another ball through to end the game the 2:0 up.
Another great effort for an emerging team, well done Strikers. Special thanks to Harry for putting some skin in the game (literally) and to Kate for playing up
from U14’s.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Geelong Jaguars 0-7
Division 2 Women
Two games for Newtown Spirit this weekend, with the rained out game against Torquay being replayed. Unfortunately, neither of these games went to plan but the effort of all the players cannot be faulted.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-5
There were some great moves and passing between the midfield and forwards, with Georgie, Isabel and Maryanne doing some great running. Hannah’s confidence in gaining and holding possession until the appropriate moment was an advantage. Loose marking in the midfield however allowed Torquay to use their pace to get behind the defence and some slick moves on the short corners paid off in goals for them.
The second half saw some improved defence with Amelia, Tracey, Beth and Kellie putting pressure on Torquay opponents, but lack of pressure on the ball carrier at Torquay free hits proved costly. Strong passes from Peta gave Deanne and Kate some hope in attack but without result on the board.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-7
With plenty of interchange players available, Spirit had some hope of reversing the trend of the previous day. However, it was not to be. Torquay used speed and accurate passing, finding plenty of gaps despite the best efforts of the team. Torquay had plenty of attack, and if not for the strong defence lead by Kylie, Amelia and Andie, the score may have been higher. Despite the score, the marking had improved from the previous game and there was more pressure on the ball carrier, but Torquay were just too quick and too accurate.
Claudia, Isabel and Deb created some forward movement, with Maryanne again showing great anticipation and movement to the ball. We will recoup this weekend, with still a chance to make the four and the finals. Well done to all.
Senior Men
Newtown Strikers vs Golden Plains 10-
The team was bolstered back close to full strength again with Luke and Peter returning from injury whilst Carl and Will returned from holidays. Welcome back also to Gordo who has been itching to get back after watching from the sidelines all year.
It was pretty clear at the start that we were likely to dominate the game when Golden Plains took to the field with only 9 players whilst we had 4 on the bench. However the Navigators defended well by flooding their defensive 25m zone and made it challenging for us to score. The opposition goalie played a great game and forced us to have to try and get around him if we wanted to score. Nevertheless, our numerous scoring opportunities eventually paid off and we managed to score 10 goals within a good distribution across the forwards and midfielders.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2 3-4
