Highlight of the week: a win for Newtown Falcons in D2 Men.
Under 10 Stead Park
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 6-3
Ready to go after the school holiday break, the Strikers started strong with Georgia and Lily working the ball into our D early, and Lily scoring the opening goal!
Torquay responded by taking the ball down their end, however Elspeth was too good in the goals and cleared the ball out. This was the start of a great team play, with Georgia and Lily working the ball back into the D, and Georgia scoring our second.
Ryder and Harry worked hard in the midfield and were both unlucky on goal, but after a Torquay short corner was cleared out of their D by our defenders, Harry was able to receive the ball and run it all the way into our D for his first goal – a great outcome for us from their short corner!!
Torquay were able to find some momentum after the three unanswered goals, and started to keep Will and Zach busy in the back half. Zach’s pressure forced a miss by the Torquay striker, but they did manage to get one through late in the half, with the score 3-1 at half time.
The second half was a much closer game, seeing Torquay force a lot of our plays into our defensive half. Zach continued to work hard and stopped several Torquay opportunities, with Will, Harry and Georgia all having to assist in defense. Torquay broke through again, and the game was suddenly very close: 3-2!
Sensing our nine game winning streak might be coming to an end, the team dug deep. Most impressive was Will – defending hard with some great tackles and pressure. Will’s work was soon rewarded when he ran the ball from the back half all the way up the pitch for a nice pass to Harry in the D. Harry completed the job with a lovely goal, and it was back to a two goal lead. Ryder then joined the goal scorers with a great second-effort hit after his first attempt was blocked, and we’d taken the win out of Torquay’s sails.
A final Torquay goal was quickly negated by Harry with his third (another from the crumbs of a Torquay short corner!) and that was the Strikers’ 10th win in a row – an amazing effort!
Newtown Spirit vs Corio 9-1
Under 10 Lloyd Reserve
Newtown Dynamos/ Rebels vs Newtown Jets/Rockets 7-0
Another crisp morning at Lloyd Reserve for Under 10s Junior division this week.
Despite the reshuffled squads due to school holiday absences, the merged teams—Jets and Rockets forming one side, Dynamos and Rebels the other—delivered an energetic showdown filled with fast-paced action and fierce determination. Playing 8-a-side created a buzzing field atmosphere, with players constantly swarming the ball and diving into tackles.
By full-time, the scoreboard read a resounding 7–0 victory to the Dynamos/ Rebels, but both sides showed immense heart. Shout outs to Flynn, Michaela, Mathilda and Esther who scored goals . Each goal was a product of swift transitions, smart positioning, and tireless team support. Whether it was backing up a teammate or hustling back in defense, the match showcased youth hockey. Tessa, Florence and Alex all showing some fantastic defence skills. Even without their usual lineups, players rose to the occasion—sharing the ball, celebrating each other’s efforts, and reminding everyone that the real win is in playing together. Thanks to the coaches for helping support during the game and upskilling our teams.
Under 12
Newtown Spirit vs Corio 2-3
On a very icy morning at Stead Park, Spirit took to the field with a lot of energy. Were they ready to defeat Corio? Or were they afraid that if they stood still they’d freeze in place?
It warmed all hearts to see Hugo back on the field after recovering from his hamstring injury in round 9.
The game started and the ball immediately went into Corio’s half (for maybe two seconds) before Spirit and all that energy brought it straight into their half. They were running at top speed, they were passing, tackling and defending like it was a practice drill- quite simply, they were performing at their best!
Corio scored the first goal then Paddy quickly pushed one through to equalise. At half time the score was 1-1. The second half was just as tough with the ball being pushed around the pitch. Corio scored then Caspar equalised.
With four minutes to go a ball was hit at speed straight into Samuel’s lower jaw. The crowd gasped, Sam was visibly in pain, his jaw immediately swelled and started to bruise. A short corner was given to Corio which was converted. In the final seconds there was a big push out of defence and the ball ran all the way into Spirit’s goal without being touched, thus no goal was allowed. The final result was a win to Corio.
We have heard that Samuel’s jaw is healing well. It’ll be a long week of recovery but are all sending best wishes and hoping he can take to the pitch this week.
Newtown Strikers vs Torquay 0-0
What a game! The Newtown Strikers held off a strong Torquay side in a thrilling 0–0 draw. The first half was all about rock-solid defence from Edward, Paddy, Joe, James and Henry, with clever wide passes and confident clearances setting the tone. Miriam ran her little legs off up forward, while Ruby was always in the right spot, creating great opportunities. Dot was cool under pressure in goals, pulling off some brilliant saves.
In the second half, Henry stepped up the defensive pressure, while Ruby and Thomas found fantastic space up forward, sparking some dangerous attacks. Mitch and Paddy continued to clear strongly from the back, and once again Dot stood tall in goals. A huge team effort and a well-earned result – a nil-all draw against a tough Torquay side!
Under 14
Newtown Strikers vs Corio White 0-8
We had a slow start in the first half. We made several errors in our half and Corio was quick to pounce on them and make it count. In the second half, we played much bettter and had more control of the ball. However we failed to convert the opportunities we had.
Strikers ran hard and played hard but Corio played smart. They controlled the centre of the field and prevented Strikers from launching any attacks through the centre. They also intercepted many of our passes and clearances from defence.
Albie had a good game and made many saves. We had Lucy, Lucas, Emily, Eva, Alex L, Jack H and Jack F in defence and Mitchell, Chelsea, Jack P and Alex H in the forward line.
Under 16
Newtown Strikers vs Corio White 3-14
The Strikers had a great first quarter against second-on-the-ladder Corio White this week, with Oliver scoring a goal in a penalty 1v1, and good tackling pressure from Sofia and Cormac plus more saves from Kayden restricting Corio to only two goals for the quarter.
Early goals from Corio in the second had the Strikers on the back foot, and despite some great plays and unlucky attempts on goal from Jess and Oliver we were unable to answer any of Corio’s four goals.
After the half time break and some great analysis and encouragement from our captain Sidak, the Strikers started strong and opened the quarter with a goal from Parker (nicely assisted by Oliver). Sidak was true to his words with some huge efforts to win the ball and even had a shot on goal himself, and Kayden continued to make some awesome saves in goal. A closer third quarter, with Corio only scoring three.
With perhaps tired legs and too much winter sun, the Strikers were unable to keep up the pressure on Corio in the fourth. Parker tried hard in the goals but met tough resistance from their goalie, whilst down the other end Corio made the most of several penalty 1v1s. Oliver scored his second from another penalty 1v1, but it was Corio with a big win over Newtown, 14-3.
Division 1 Women
Newtown Falcons vs Saints Black 1-2
Division 2 Men
Newtown Falcons vs Torquay Tornadoes 2-1
Division 2 Women
Newtown Strikers vs Saints 4-0
A fantastic game for Strikers this week, with great co-ordination and connections between defence and attack. The defence was well up to the task with the midfield controlled by Andie, Hannah, Tash and Sarah, turning back any Saints attacks which crossed the half line. This left Kirsty, Kayla and Claire in the last line of defence with very little to do – only 2 defensive short corners for the game, and not a single touch for Claire. If anything did get into the Saints attack zone it was efficiently dealt with by Kirsty and Kayla.
Strong forward passes from Tash, Andie and Hannah found our forwards with space and room to move the ball into attack. Great running and positioning coupled with excellent ball control from Hanna, Tilly, Chelsea and Jess created lots of opportunities in our attacking zone. We had lots of passes coming from the wings across the front of the goal from Gemma, Kristy and Peta to try and get a score on the board. Unfortunately many of these were intercepted by Saints defenders before they reached the goal. There were also lots of attempts to score with a scramble directly in front of the goal which seemed as if there surely must be a score! Goals scored by Tash, Hanna and Jess (2).
Welcome back to Gemma for her first game for Newtown since 2020.
