Some great results this week with a few draws and near misses included.
Great defence from Kirsty in the D2 Women’s game to pluck the ball out of the air and prevent a short corner goal.
Under 6 Joeys
Joeys players are enjoying playing games which are moving toward full game rules, with Joeys (but not adults) allowed to dribble and to steal the ball from the opponents. Looking for players in space is improving and stronger passes are reaching team mates well. Great calling from players in good positions is a feature. Well done to Alex S, Violet V, Alex A, David A for their efforts this week.
Under 10 Stead Park
Newtown Strikers Bye
Under 10 Lloyd Reserve
Newtown Rebels vs Newtown Spirit 3-2
Excellent play from Rebels this week, who are developing really well and produced some excellent passing, tackling and link up play leading to some great team goals. Even some one/two passing combinations which had the crowd cheering.
Charlie and Harry linked up well as our attackers for the game, midfield was controlled well by Beatrix, Jem and Esther who really controlled the ball and completed some excellent passes to our forwards.
Great game from Fred and Caspar in defence, held out some great attacking play from Spirit.
Great game, played in a great spirit with plenty of play through the wings which was great to watch.
Newtown Spirit vs Newtown Rebels 2-3
Newtown Spirit played Newtown Rebels on Saturday morning. It was a great game, with both teams showing improvements from training and playing. Tess scored Spirit’s first goal.
Hugo and Hayden work well together down the right side, setting up scoring opportunities. Leila scored Spirit’s second goal with a great finish. Hayden was unlucky not to score our third goal, having taken a shot just outside the circle.
Newtown Rockets vs Newtown Dynamos 0-1
There were 5 players today for Rockets: Austin, Elspeth, Harry, Nora and Tom. We also had Will and Nadia fill in for us for the whole game.
Rockets worked really well together again today and have improved so much compared to the first round. Lots of calling out to each other and supporting each other on the field.
The focus after half time was to look for space and send the ball out to the wing, which everyone did in the second half. There was excellent work on short corners with Harry passing the ball to Elspeth. There were a few stick obstructions so need to make sure to keep the stick on the ground. No score for Rockets this game, although there was a very near miss just before the end of the game. Dynamos scored 1 goal. Well done Dynamos!
Thanks Will and Nadia for filling in, you both had a great game and really helped Rockets out.
Under 12
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 3-0
The winning streak continued, with a solid 3-0 win against Torquay. The highlight of the game was our teams’ want to pass the ball wide to players in space. Mitchell, Eliza, Eddy, Georgia and Paddy held their position well all game and featured in multiple attacking plays because of it.
Once again our defensive unit in Eva, Alex, Joey and Jack tackled well and provided the foundations for many of our scoring opportunities. Alex and Eddy seemed to have the ball on a string, both playing some of their best hockey of the year. Once again, our goalie Albie kept a clean sheet.
Goal scorers: Joey 2, Eddy 1
Special thanks to Lexie and Thomas for filling in, both had some nice moments within the game.
Newtown Spirit vs Kardinia 3-1
Spirit had a full team with the help of 2 under 10 players. Spirit dominated early with lots of space down the wings. Spirit won the midfield battle and got the ball to Georgia on the right wing who capitalised twice in what were really good team goals before half time.
The second half started well with lots of space behind Kardinia’s back line. Jack capitalised with a goal but there probably should have been at least 2 more from Spirit. Kardinia rallied and scored from a short corner and dominated the last 10 minutes with Harriett making a couple of nice saves. A good team effort overall.
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 1-1
Under 17
Newtown Strikers vs Kardinia White 4-6
A Sunday fixture severely depleted the Newtown Strikers team, who unfortunately lost a close game to Kardinia White who were able to top up with some key talent from the other Kardinia U17 team. A big thanks to our fill-ins Parker, Ved, Ollie and Kashvi who were able to help out this week and all played great games.
Kardinia struck early in the first quarter to take the lead, but Newtown with some great ball movement and running struck back with three goals in the second quarter, some great saves by Madden and finishing from Max and Zac seeing Newtown lead 3-2 at halftime.
The third quarter was a very tight encounter. Parker, playing his first U17’s game, scored a brilliant goal from a fast break, but Kardinia managed to equalize late in the quarter from another short corner. Kardinia finished stronger in the last quarter, ultimately winning 6-4. Despite being undermanned, the Newtown Strikers played very well and more than held their own in general play, with Kardinia gaining the edge by converting five short corners.
Well done to all those who were available, both regulars and fill-ins. We look forward to another challenging Sunday game next week.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 2-2
Now that we’re a few games into the season, our game versus Saints was a good test to see how far the team had progressed, particularly given that the last time we came up against Saints they were able to win in the final moments of the game.
The game kicked off at a fast pace, with both teams having numerous attacking plays and at least one shot from each hitting the edge of the goals and ricocheting away.
Defensively, Beth, Ainsley, Neve and Hannah did a fantastic job of absorbing the offensive pressure applied by Saints, backed by Rachel in goals who kept us in contention blocking a number of shots.
Through the midfield, Rosie, Georgie, Jane, Ruby and Audrey provided great linking between the back line and forward. This involved a lot of hard running, chasing down attackers and intercepting balls to constantly put pressure on the opposition.
On the forward line, Amber and Tess (and others who rotated through this line) worked tirelessly to push Saints defensive structure which resulted in 2 goals being scored for the team.
Although Saints were able to score 2 goals of their own, it was very clear how much our team has improved since earlier in the season, particularly with our 1-2 passing and general pressure applied across the field (resulting in a number of unforced errors from the opposition).
The end result was a very entertaining game of hockey which we’ll continue to build upon as the season progresses.
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Geelong 2-3
Solid defence was needed and given by Kirsty and Alex with plenty of Geelong attacks early in the game. Great co-operation between Kirsty and Hannah got the ball out of defence and into our forward line on many occasions. Paige, Rickie and Rachel were also kept busy in the midfield, meeting the Geelong attack up field to delay their progress.
The forward line worked hard, with Georgie always giving a fantastic effort, and working well with teammates. Great positioning and teamwork from Kim, Claudia, Hanna, Charlotte and Sofa was a feature. Excellent running and ball control from Sofia saw her score a goal, to the delight of all.
Fantastic focus on the ball from Kirsty saw her stop a shot at goal in the air late in the second half. Well done to all.
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Geelong White 3-1
Newtown Falcons played Geelong on a sunny Saturday afternoon. We started well and won several short corners. Tom E scored first with a nice low flick past the keeper. Parker and Hamish combined for our second goal, with a great ball to the post and then a tap in. We conceded an interesting goal – a shot from very close to the baseline. Andrew floated down from full back to score our third goal for a strong 3-1 win. Despite feeling the heat with a clear sunny afternoon, we maintained our structure and moved the ball well through the game.
