With one more round to go in the 2022 hockey season, the ladders are tightening up and finals participation for some teams depends on the results of the last round of home and away matches.
Under 8 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay
U/8 Strikers had a great game against Torquay. We were grateful to Lyndal (Vicki’s mum) for stepping as our coach for the day, whilst Dan was home unwell. Dot again displayed great sportsmanship by volunteering to boost Torquay’s numbers for the game. Vicki was strong again in defence, ably assisted by Blair and Ewan who were tenacious with their second and third effort tackles. A late goal by Paddy towards the end of the first half was followed up by a run of goals in the second half. A huge improvement on our first meeting with Torquay earlier in the year!
Newtown Navigators vs Newtown Spirit
Newtown Navigators had a good game against Newtown Spirit. Both teams are getting better at spreading out. Hunter always looked for a good position and did some great calling to his team mates to let them know where he was. Edward had some good runs in attack, helped by Eliza on the wing and Archie who gave great support and had some good runs of his own. Felix did a great job in defence and did some great pokes to get the ball away from the opponent. The Navigators are playing very well as a team.
Under 10 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 4-0
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-0
Under 12 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 1-2
Strikers had another tightly contested game this week. Most of the regular team were on deck, with Xavier from U12 Spirit and Jessica from U10 Spirit helping out. Strikers had the ball in their attacking half for most of the first half and had several short corners, but were unable to convert. Xavier had a good shot on goal but it was defended well by the Torquay goalie.
In the second half, Will scored a goal with a brilliant individual effort bringing the ball into the D from a free just outside. Other highlights were the strong tackles by Maia in defence and the tackling and ball movements of Lucy on the right wing and Sofia on the left wing.
Under 14 Mixed
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Strikers 0-9
Our U14 Spirit show lots of great resilience and sportsmanship.
It was a gorgeous day out on Saturday as we met Strikers. Madden saved a huge amount of shots on goals, and the Spirit team defended about 25 short corners. Maddison’s clearances from the back showed her experience and skill, and she was well supported by Inge from Rebels. We were also lucky to be joined by Bella from U12/ U14 Rebels who has been playing some great hockey.
The midline continued to tackle hard and Harry, Ruby and Declan all showed great improvement in their defensive game. Baxter moved easily through the middle of the field to push right up the the circle. Felix and Jett made themselves available on numerous occasions when the ball travelled into our attacking half. Maddi from Rebels also helped us out in the front line which was a great warm up for her next game.
A huge thank you to Bella, Maddi and Inge for supporting our relatively new team.
The score line did not reflect how well the team supported one another. Very proud of how you worked as a team, well done Spirit. Love that you all came off smiling !!! Players Player awards to Jett, Declan and Madden.
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit 9-0
We again had a few players away, including our goalie, meaning Kurt had to adjust the magnets to maintain our structure.
Strikers started with only 9 on the field, and early in the match Ivy left the field with a rolled ankle, requiring us to structure up for more defence. However, Will arrived just in time from his U12 game, to give Kurt another magnet on the board. The first half saw some good ball movement, with the ball being moved around the pitch, changing angles, looking for a way through the Spirit defence. As the half went on, Strikers started to hit more of our passes, providing some scoring opportunities, and we went into half time with a 2-goal lead.
Kurt had a good half time session with the team, talking about how to improve our ball movement, and better use the full width of the pitch. Leo and Kashvi worked well together all game, rotating who went high, and who stayed back, with Izzie intercepting the balls through the middle. Ivy came back on in the second half, and teamed up with Matilda on the opposite wing, providing the additional wide option the team needed. Zac, Max and Will were providing a strong centre structure. Two highlights of the match were the post work by Matilda, and the one-two passing between Surry and Ollie, eliminating the Spirit defenders from free hits on multiple occasions.
Newtown Rebels vs Kardinia Blue 4-0
Under 17 Mixed
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 5-0
Strikers played top of the ladder Torquay on Sunday with as close as we’ve had to a full team all season. Play was tense in the opening minutes but settled down when the controversy over the quality of the match ball was resolved. We had the bulk of possession, but Torquay full backs were defending well and, on many occasions, when our forwards managed to break through, we were denied a score by the work of their goalie. The stalemate was broken when Harry B managed to thread one through from a fairly tight angle following a short corner. He followed up shortly after with a second.
Torquay maintained their tight defensive posture, intercepting even well-timed passes to deny us finishing off what was good, well-structured hockey from defence through mid-
pitch. Strikers continued to improve their ball movement toward the end of the first half and were rewarded with a third goal. A “really good transition through mid-pitch coming wide off the backline” was the keen and insightful observation that rolled off the tongue of a nearby aficionado.
Half time score was 3-0. Niko asked the team to press harder into offense. In the second half, play continued much the same as the first with good passages of passing from
Strikers met with tight defence by Torquay. The stand-out piece of team play occurred when Tilly ran the ball off the baseline near the Torquay post and passed to Basyl. He then moved with the ball and found Mitchell in mid pitch who then gave it off to a running Charlotte who cleverly flicked the ball behind her to gain a short corner. The corner saw a pass from Charlotte find Amber near the post who slipped one past the goalie. Our final score came when Amber stripped a Torquay defender of the ball and passed to Harry B who finished off well.
Torquay came back at us before the whistle with their most attacking play for the match. Two great saves by Mai in goals within seconds of each other denied Torquay a score.
Final score was 5-0. A well-deserved win that showed promising signs heading into the finals.
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 7-0
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Geelong Jaguars 0-4
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay Tornadooes 3-3
Newtown and Torquay drew in a see-sawing match on Sunday. Newtown took the ‘brave’ decision to play without a keeper, with our regular keeper Marty injured. Newtown had most of the play early, but Torquay scored first. Newtown then scored the next two goals to take the lead.
Halfway through the game, Woody kitted up (thanks Woody). Newtown continued to move the ball well and play well, but Torquay scored two goals from turnovers to retake the lead. Very late in the game, Nik forced a goal to level the score. A draw was a fair result. Goals to Harry, Dom and Nik.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 0-6
