Only 2 rounds to go before the end of the hockey season and then into finals, and the games don’t get any easier. But the effort from our teams is superb as always.
Under 8
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia
U/8 Strikers were evenly matched against Kardinia, with some quick scores on turnover by Kardinia the only real difference. Vicki put in a superb defensive effort in the first half, clearing many Kardinia shots on goals. A great run down the wing by Paddy towards the end of the first half would have resulted in a magnificent goal, only he was just a touch outside the scoring area.
Paddy, Dot and Ewan combined well in attack during the second half, with great positioning by Dot and good passing between Paddy and Ewan resulting in multiple goals. Paddy had another great run towards goal later in the second half, but again was just outside the scoring area. Ewan and Blair were both tenacious throughout the match, with really pleasing second and third efforts, and Sophie put in some great defensive efforts, too.
Newtown Spirit/ Navigators vs Torquay
A shortage of players for both our teams and the 2 Torquay teams led to a game in which the teams combined to get the players on the field.
Spirit/ Navigators showed great endeavour and enthusiasm to get the ball and when the players began to spread out, the passing began to happen. There was some excellent tackling and good positioning to help move the ball forward. Spirit/ Navigators defence was sound, stopping a number of Torquay attempts at goal.
Under 10
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 5-0
Newtown Spirit vs Geelong Jaguars 0-1
A great game by Spirit with a more settled structure and players maintaining position well to create opportunities. Geelong had plenty of attack but Evelyn, Mackenzie and Oskar managed to deflect many of the forward moves. Good positioning and perseverance in the midfield by Lucas was well supported by Binuli and Chelsea, and Spirit were able to create some forward moves of our own. Excellent positioning and ball control by Emily and Jess allowed some great cooperation with Leo and Jack on the wings. There were a number of promising attacks using the width of the field to pass the crowds in the middle, but without any result on the scoreboard.
Best team player awards to Jess, Emily and Lucas.
Under 12
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong Jaguars 1-1
This week’s game against Geelong Jaguars was hard fought. Regular goal keeper James was away this week, but Lucy bravely stepped up to defend the goal. With some regular players away, Strikers were helped out by Ved and Poppy who had just played their U12 Spirit game minutes before. Also joining the team were Eva and Joe from the under 10 Strikers.
The first goal of the game was scored by Jaguars, with an unmarked left winger sneaking in close to goal. Harrison levelled the score with a great team goal showing the Strikers persistence in the D. With a solid defence from Ved and Charles, there was no score recorded in the second half.
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 1-3
Torquay was on the ball scoring the 1 st goal with the ball being in their most of the half. A great pass by Bella to Hamish saw him take the ball down to Newtown’s end then passed it back to Bella to go on to score Newtown’s 1 st goal. Newtown got the ball down to their end a couple of times but no luck getting it into the goal. Torquay had a couple of more players than Newtown. At half time the score was Newtown 1 to Torquay 2.
In the second half Newtown got the ball down to their goals but again had no luck in scoring any goals, while Torquay came out fighting scoring one more goal. Final score was Newtown 1 to Torquay 3. This was a great effort by all Newtown players as we only had 9 players and so no one was in the goals.
Thanks to Audrey, Harrison and Elizabeth for filling in for Spirit.
Under 14
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 2-8
Congratulations on resilience and smiles. It was a tough game on Sunday against a strong Torquay team, especially when we were a number of players down. A huge effort form Madden in goals – even a dive to save a goal.
There were some really great passages of play that started with wide clearances from Amelia and Baxter. Jett and Felix were consistently in fabulous positions for when the ball got through. Hamish, Aimee, Ruby and Declan combined well when the opportunities were there, creating some triangles of play.
Player’s player for the day was Hamish
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia Blue 6-1
A nice Saturday morning welcomed us this week for an early start on Pitch 1, very un-Stead Park like weather with no wind or rain, and even a little sunshine!
Being the first game for the day, we got in a good warm up session, having the team primed to hit the game running. Coach Kurt’s pre-game work paid off, with Strikers having good ball movement right from the get-go.
Our defence was strong, with Isabel and Kashvi ensuring there was not a lot of work for Charlotte for the bulk of the game. Surry was linking up well with Brandon and Ollie moving the ball into attack. Will and Zak provided excellent run through the middle being rewarded with 2 goals each, with Ved playing an excellent game as centre forward, stopping the Kardinia mids on multiple occasions, and some excellent intercepts from reading the play. Ivy and Matilda provided great run all game, excellent calls and positioning on the post saw Matilda score a double, and Ivy was very close on multiple occasions. Well done Strikers, keep up the great work, and let’s make the enthusiasm in our warm up sessions a focus for the weeks leading into finals.
Newtown Rebels vs Kardinia White 0-5
Under 17
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 1-11
Newtown Strikers Bye
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 0-11
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Red 4-3
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay Tornadoes 0-5
Unfortunately a severe shortage of players lead to us having to forfeit this game. We might all be fantastic players (??) but it’s hard to play a game with 1 keeper, 1 midfield and 1 forward!!
Looking forward to a more enjoyable game this week.
