Under 8
Newtown Strikers vs Newtown Spirit
What a great first game this was for both teams!
With 6 players in their first ever U8 game, coaches and spectators were super impressed with how well the players worked together. Passing and running to spaces improved as the game went along. Tackling was a highlight with Flynn demonstrating a perfect poke tackle, learnt during the Hookin2Hockey program.
James and Caspar worked really well together for Spirit, both showing great focus on the ball and making good runs toward goal. Thomas and Henry in defence for Strikers were up to the job though and successfully blocked a number of shots.
Some good passing from Miriam to reach Eliza on the wing allowed Strikers to move into attack, and with Nadia, Tess and Charlie in support, there was some great play in front of goals.
Spirit were well served by Claire, Cohan and Leila who were in great position and looking for team mates to pass to. Special thanks to Will for stepping in to help Spirit, co-operating well with big brother James.
Looking forward to next week!
Under 10
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 2-1
The U/10 Strikers had a great first match against the Geelong Jaguars. Paige was brave in attack early in the first half, whilst Vicki showed true grit and persistence in defence.
A fantastic run by Paddy from about half way, well supported by Dot who ran alongside, was rewarded with a first half goal.
Strikers scored again early in the second half, thanks to a great effort by Paige. This was followed up by some excellent work by Joe and Paddy in attack, resulting in a number of short corners. Geelong scored midway through the second half, but a huge defensive effort by the whole team in the last 5 minutes of the game prevented any further score.
A fantastic final team effort from a short corner was a great way to finish off the game.
Best Team Player Awards to Joe, Dot and Paige.
Under 12
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia 1-2
Newtown Spirit vs Torquay 0-1
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia Blue 4-4
A great start to the season for the U14 Newtown Strikers with lots of positives to take out of the first game for the season. The Strikers had a terrific first half with the players using lots of width and then bringing the ball back through the middle. The attackers held their positions well and allowed the Strikers to charge forward on several occasions resulting in four first half goals with Zac scoring three times and George once. The defence was resolute with Kashvi and Ruby strong at full back and Letto making a number of saves in goals enabling the Strikers to take a 4-1 lead into half time.
In the second half Kardinia applied enormous pressure and opened up a number of scoring opportunities to bring themselves back into the game. With just 1 minute remaining, Kardinia managed to score a deflection for a game equalling goal with the scores finishing at a tie of 4-4.
With many team-mates playing together for the first time and some taking on new positions, it was a great first game from the Strikers and almost a first win. Kurt was pleased with the passing and quick ball movement and closing defensive space will be a focus at training this week as the Strikers will aim to record their first win.
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-8
Saturday greeted us back to a new season and a chilly start. Our coach Harry was surprised with his new team and how well they were passing the ball to each other. The team were great in defence and throughout the middle.
Mai was peppered with Torquay’s goal attempts and was amazing in the role of goal keeper.
Serena spoke at half time about using their voices around the field. Brandon had nice deflection skills on show. Will and Surry were great with passing and connecting through the middle of the field.
The score didn’t reflect how well the team played, and all players played the whole game as there was no bench.
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia Blue 1-7
The sun was shining and it was great to see so many smiling faces back at Stead Park.
A new format for U17 this year… quarters. Our opening quarter was fabulous. Georgia grabbed some early intercepts, Madden had some huge saves, Leo cleared the ball effectively and Max capped off a great quarter with a team goal.
Kardinia came out strong from the second quarter. There were 13 defensive corners and we did well to keep the pressure on. Karla, Max and Georgia continued to break into our circle.
Zac and Ruby played some safe hockey and continued to feed the ball through to Nate, Felix and Hamish in the front line.
We are extremely grateful to have had young George join us and continue to provide us options in the front line. Unfortunately the power of the Kardinia strikers left the score at 7-1.
A huge thank you to Zac and George from U14s for playing with us.
Player’s player was close this week and goes very deservedly to Max (followed closely by Nate.)
Division 1 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Geelong White 4-1
Newtown’s D1 men’s team had a strong start to the 2023 season with a 4-1 win over Geelong Jaguars White.
It was exciting to field two Newtown’s men’s team, which was a result of considerable recruiting efforts in the offseason.
Newtown scored in the first minute with a sequence of passes down the left-hand side of the field followed by a great pass across goals to Nik on the right post (for a simple tap in). Geelong worked their way into the game through their strong midfield players. It felt like a long game in the hot April sun with a lack of match fitness. In the second half, Newtown pulled away with a couple of goals including one from Harry W from the baseline.
Throughout the game we had strong leadership from the back of the field with Wade in goals and Andrew and Luca at full back.
We are looking forward to playing Golden Plains on Sunday.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay 0-3
Division 2 Men
Newtown Strikers vs Saints White 0-3
The line up for the Newtown Division 2 Mens team had many new faces for their first game of the season. This included Madden, an under 17 goalie playing his first senior game, as well as new-to-hockey players Dane and Callum.
Despite the Strikers not scoring against the Saints White team and conceding one goal in the first half and two in the second, there was much to be encouraged by, with all the newcomers doing well. This was especially true of Dane and Callum, who more than made up for their lack of hockey experience with athleticism and determination.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Saints 0-3
In the first three quarters we held our own, passing round the opponents, great marking and awesome team play. Peta and Deb had the middle covered working as a team and moving round between CF and CH, delivering the ball out wide where Claire was waiting to inject the perfect run-on pass to the other forwards. Hanna was giving the opposition so much trouble running into space on the right side that you could see the steam coming out of their ears.
Grace has learnt the fine art of ‘that’s my ball’. Not only doing second and third tackles but continuing to tackle them until she gets the ball back. This was a great relief to those of us that are not yet game fit as she goes flying past to cover our behinds.
Welcome to our new team members Adriana and Katrina who slotted right into our structure, passing wide and covering the loose players. Joining the defensive “A minus team” up back lead by Jeanie aka “the divine Mean Jean”. Back from injury, Andie “the Wilde child” Wilde were assisted by our ring in Ainsley the “cucumber” Stuart due her calm presence under pressure.
We ran out of steam in the last quarter despite Paul and assistant coach Tash’s support and cheering. A couple of run ons past us and a short corner shot had the score at 2-0. A last minute deflection from Kirsty was unable to even up the score 😉. Great first round effort guys, once we get our game fitness up (or a bigger bench) we should have a really competitive season. Thanks for a great game, everyone had fun and we all came off smiling (while limping, but still smiling).
