22 January 2018
The second week of term was a busy one for the Hockey Club with 25 fixtures across all age groups, plus the U16 county championships.
The week started with a fixture vs Stowe for the Senior School and vs St Hugh's for the Lower School.
The first fixture for the Lower School is always a fantastic affair. With the boys raring to go, Abingdon took on St Hugh's both away and home. The U13 As had a superb fixture, with both teams playing great attacking hockey. With some slick interplay, Abingdon managed to draw 3-3 against a strong St Hugh's side. The U13Bs had a tough game, but with some hard work we expect to see them come back fighting hard for the next fixture. At Tilsley Park (our fortress!), the U12s performed to a high level, with some fantastic passing and movement all three teams won. The U12As won 4-0, the U12Bs won 5-0 and the U12 Cs won 4-2. A fantastic first block fixture for them.
The seniors faced Stowe, and what a fixture it was for the school, winning 6 out of 7 games and drawing the other. The 2nds went to Stowe and played some fantastic hockey, running in 3 goals playing with width and pace. The 3rd XI won 6-0, again with some great interplay into mid-field, that sliced open the Stowe defence. The 1st XI remain unbeaten with a thumping 6-2 win against a well organised Stowe side. The U16As recorded a strong victory, winning 2-1 away from home, with the U16Bs battling hard to draw 2-2. Now onto the U15s who demolished St Edward's in their first game, they continued this with Stowe winning 10-0, now amassing 24 goals in two games, the U15Bs also played some fantastic hockey winning 2-1.
On Friday the U16s took part in the county tournament held at Oxford Hawks. Playing a round robin tournament they managed 2nd place, this puts them into the playoffs to go through to the regionals with a game in Sussex at the end of February.
On Saturday the Hockey Club had a block fixture against a very strong Eton. The biggest shout out of the weekend goes to the 4th XI who had their first fixture in 10 years, although on the wrong side of the result, the boys loved playing against one of the top schools in the country. Other noticeable performances were the U15As who won 6-3 in an all out attacking match and the U15Bs and Cs, who are playing at a level far higher than I have ever seen at their age. The 1st XI remain un-beaten after a hard fought 1-1 draw, with some heroic defending and a clinical performance the team played some of their best hockey this season.
Another busy week commences with the lower school county championships, block fixtures vs New College and Marlborough. Well done to all those involved, it really has been an excellent week.