18 January 2018
Abingdon Hockey Club started the term with a fantastic block fixture against St Edward's, with the 1st XI playing a ‘Friday night lights’ game – the scene was set for a great few days of hockey.
Under the lights of St Edward’s the 1st team played in front of a big crowd; with music blaring and the boys warmed up the match started at an electric pace. Some great passing through mid-field, direct running from the forwards and strong defence, Abingdon took the lead early through a great poached goal. The dominance continued with some well run through short corner moves. Abingdon pulled clear and went on to win the match 4-1. A big well done must go to Nathan Hudson who played up two years and to Toby Pratt for getting MOM.
On Saturday the 2nds played their first match, with a brace of goals from Will Franklin and a sturdy performance from the boys, the team won convincingly 3-0.
The U16s were away and faced a tough St Edward's opposition. The As (without any training that week due to exams), took a while to get going, with the score 1-1 at half time. After a good team talk the boys went on to win the game 6-1, with some fine flowing hockey. The unbeaten team from last year, the U16Bs faced tough opposition, trailing twice, they managed to claw the game back and draw 2-2.
At home the U15 As played some of the best hockey that I have seen a team of that age play, passing the ball early, they created chance after chance. After a relentless few minutes, the boys scored. Once the first had gone in, their confidence grew and grew, winning the game a staggering 14-0. The U15Bs, had a tough game against a direct and physical St Edward's side. Although playing a lot of the hockey, they did not take their chances and ended up losing the game 2-1, lots to learn and we look forward to them bouncing back immediately. The U15Cs had, what can only be described as a classic, with some pupils playing hockey for the first time, they gelled well and created chances. With the result in the balance throughout the whole game, it ended 3-3. A great performance by all.
The U14s had a tough week, the As created lots of chances, but were in the end beaten by a strong St Edward’s side. Lots to work on, but plenty of potential to work with, we look forward to seeing how they develop throughout the season. The B and C teams both played some fantastic hockey resulting in 2-2 and 0-0 draws.
Overall a fantastic weekend, 10 matches played, 4 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, scoring 35 goals in total and conceding 13. Well done to all those involved!
