The weather gods turned on the sun for this weekend and we weren’t sure if we were playing the summer or the winter hockey season.
Under 8 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars
A great game by Newtown Spirit as players are learning more about the game, the positions and the strategies involved. Excellent passing by all players and good chasing by Nina saw Newtown maintain possession well. Immy was in good position, enabling some good passing to Heidi on the wing. Olivia and Lucas showed great focus, and were always ready whenever the ball came near them. Kyra defended well in front of goal and made some good passes to team mates, with good awareness of her best options. Flat stick tackles by Mitchell allowed him to gain control and make timely and effective passes to team mates, using square passes well.
Best Team Player Awards to Nina and Mitchell.
Newtown Strikers – Bye.
Under 10 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 0-4
This was a more focused game from Newtown Spirit players, with many players making good position. Kardinia attacked frequently, but solid defence by Patrick stopped many of their attempts to score. Patrick was well supported by Lucy and Lilly, with a number of first saves on the goal line.
Excellent strong passes from Patrick found team mates in position, with Poppy, Maia and Ved always ready to assist. Great positioning and working back in defence by Ved, Poppy and Maia deflected many Kardinia forward moves.
Will was in great position on the wing and provided a number of moves out of defence, with Ellie and Olive ready to help too. Tom and Hamish worked well together on the right and initiated some excellent runs toward goal. A tendency to pass the ball to the centre allowed Kardinia to regain momentum, but when we used the wings, we saw forward progress for Newtown Spirit.
A focus on second and third attempts will result in a more satisfying game and more forward movement.
Best Team Players Awards to Patrick and Tom.
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 1-2
Today was a completely different game against Torquay. We had to get used to their strong playing. Because of great defending by all, the score was just 2-0 at half time.
In the second half we really knew what to do. Defence was still strong, especially Elizabeth (in her first game!) and Charlie were great in keeping the ball out of the goal. And there was far more attacking from Newtown. Great to see! Eddie did great in getting the ball to the front and Josien scored a very good goal from a penalty corner. Unfortunately time was a bit short to score an equaliser. Great game by all!
Under 12 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 1-1
After having a bye in week 1, Spirit had a good game to kick off the 2021 hockey season. We had 3 players away, so it was looking concerning if we were going to have
the numbers for a game, given we only have 10 on the list. Thanks to Maia for stepping up from U10 to help with the numbers, and Poppy for coming down to help also, playing with her sister on Strikers, to even up the numbers. Both U10 players did not look out of place playing with the U12 players, well done girls!
The game was very evenly matched, both teams playing with only 8 on the pitch, and no goalies. With the reduced numbers on the field, there was plenty of space, and it was excellent to see the ball movement right from the start. Lots of changes in direction, using the angles, and plenty of running.
Some great tackling, and forward movement had us in attack on many occasions. Some nice rebound out of defence, with Kashvi and Audrey working together as a solid defence, moving the ball out to the wings. Some close chances almost saw us open the scoring for the season, but Strikers were defending well. All our midfielders were running hard, with Ivy, Zac, Will and Charlotte all working well, rebounding out of defence, and putting us back into attack through lots of two way running. Oliver and Maia were doing a great job staying out wide and chipping in to defend on any Strikers rebound. Some great defence from both teams had us going into half time 0-0.
All the kids were very tired, but Kurt did a great job to rally the troops and get them focused for the second half. Some players seemed to get a good break, as they came out running hard both forward and to defend. Spirit got some incredibly good break away plays and we were getting shots that were just going wide. The team was again doing an excellent job defending, having to defend multiple short corners, and not letting the Strikers get one through. Some great fast ball movement saw Will get a pass through to Zac, who had Ivy and Charlotte running in support. Some nice evasive work saw Zac get a shot on goal, and we were finally on the board.
Both teams kept pushing hard. With only a few minutes to go Strikers managed to get in behind our defence, and even with some excellent defence, they managed to get a ball through and score to level up the score board.
It was pleasing to see the Spirit players keep their heads and keep fighting right to the final siren. The Spirit kids were strong in defence, rebounding many Strikers forward thrusts. A late Spirit short corner play was played very well by both teams, with Charlotte getting a nice push out to Zac, who got a nice crisp shot away, but an excellent clean save by Jacob saw the game end on a fitting draw (1-1).
Well done Spirit (and Strikers) it was great to finally be watching some hockey, especially with the great skills you all showed!
Newtown Spirit v Newtown Strikers 1-1
With only seven players compared to Spirit’s eight, it was a tough start for Strikers. Then Poppy came to the rescue to strengthen the front line and evened up the numbers. There was lots of good passing and strength in the defence but the team struggled to get the ball up into the D.
After lots of running in the first half, the team soon realised that big hits were required to help get ball across the distance and to save everyone’s legs. Spirit took the lead but Strikers bounced back with a period of good pressure. They have several attempts on goal but just couldn’t convert them into a goal. Finally all their hard work paid off with a goal from Madison. Another great effort by the team in just their second week. Lots of good learnings from playing with a reduced team and some good skills on display.
Under 14 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 4-0
A great game in very warm conditions with Newtown Spirit coming away with the win. Goal scorers for Newtown were Liam, Surry, Brandon and Tilly. Lachlan provided a great set up to the goal made by Tilly. Amelia worked very hard in defence and the team all worked together throughout the game. Well done Newtown Spirit!
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia White 0-1
A warm day for round 2 had our Strikers very hot under the collar! There was some great work done in the midfield, Ruby and Peri worked hard to hold the centre. Great passing from the backline, and solid defence by Thamindu and Adrian. Chloe held good positioning throughout and Eoin was very fast with great control.
Great defence work by Strikers in the short corner and a brilliant save from our GK Elliott in a penalty stroke.
Strikers played well as a team in this very even competition, a quick goal in the last couple of minutes saw Kardinia finish on top with a final score of 1 – 0. Such a credit to the players to walk off the ground with their heads held high and telling the supporters how much fun they had had out on the field.
Under 17 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia White 3-0
The Spirit side ran out deserved winners, with great ball movement and solid defence against Kardinia. There were no heroics, just everyone playing their roles and positions to create multiple scoring chances. Sam and Luca were again strong and composed in defence, and the halves controlled the pace of play and distributed well to both sides of the pitch. A deflection from Tilly saw us go 1 goal up by half time thanks to great anticipation and positioning inside the right post.
We had numerous penalty corners that were well struck by Charlie and Tilly, and terrific ball control on the left from Oskar and Mitchell and from Will at right inside that allowed Oliver to slot one past the keeper, followed later by some Hayes magic combining to land our third. A thoroughly satisfying team effort.
Newtwon Strikers vs Torquay 0-5
Saturday 1st May, saw the Under 17 Strikers come up against a strong Torquay side. In the first half Strikers held Torquay to a 0-3 game and our defence of Sam, Tom, Phillip and Anya held off strong attack from the Torquay forwards. Without a goal keeper, Sam’s many saves on the goal line meant the team felt positive going into the second half. A change of game plan by the coach to use the wings and playing the switch more often, created space and nice passing. Amber was rewarded with a penalty short corner in the second half creating an opportunity, whilst Surry, Liam and Scarlett tackled well, pressuring the Torquay players. However, Strikers went down 0-5 at the final whistle. Thanks to the many U14 and U17 Spirit players who helped field a team.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 1-12
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons – Bye
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay Tornadoes 1-2
The game began well with both teams having similar amounts of play in their forward areas. Newtown moved the ball well with great movement by Deanne, Peta and Deb running to meet passes out of defence. Improved positioning and co-operation in defence limited the effectiveness of Torquay’s attack when they did enter the circle. Hillary, Tracey and Kirsty worked well together, meeting Torquay attacks well up the field and turning them back to our advantage.
Torquay scored the first goal from a pass across the goal, finding a player on the right post to tip the ball in. But Newtown redoubled their efforts and great midfield work by Andie, Kate (playing amazingly well in her first season) and Hannah continued to block Torquay’s advance and send the ball forward. 200% efforts from Georgie and Emily in both defence and attack created links to get the ball forward. Emma A, returning for the first time in two years since breaking her ankle, looked as if she had just played last week, with some excellent running and great passing.
Torquay scored a second goal from a penalty stroke in the second half, making the score 2-0. But Newtown Strikers continued to work hard, and earned a penalty corner late in the game. A nice combination of passes from Georgie and Peta saw Peta in the right spot to slot the ball home for a goal. Well done Strikers! A great game by all.
