Abingdonian 2018

39 www.abingdon.org.uk Lent Term the game in a draw. With Bloxham next, the boys needed to secure a win, which they did in style, playing some lovely flowing hockey. Against Radley the boys played well, solid in defence and dangerous in attack. Again it was another close encounter, ending in a draw. In the final match against MCS, Abingdon needed a win to go through. The boys played some attacking hockey, but were caught on the break to concede an early goal. They managed to re-group, playing some good hockey, and got one goal back, ending the game with another draw. So overall we were unbeaten, and had put in a good performance all round. U13s County Tournament The U13’s first game against was against New College. Barnaby Hindley made a couple of good saves, one outstanding one with his stick, to keep us in contention and then Luke Hooper produced a good finish to nick it at the death to earn Abingdon a draw. Next up were MCS. We started strongly, taking the lead with a very composed finish by Ollie Northwood as he lifted it over the advancing keeper. We continued to dominate but unfortunately didn’t convert our pressure into the vital second goal. The final result was a 2-1 defeat but we deserved at least a draw if not better from the game. Then came St Hugh’s, fresh from a 5-3 victory over MCS. The boys knew they had to win to have any hope of progressing and stepped up really well, producing a solid and organised display at the back. Max Siriwardene was outstanding both in his positional play and his distribution and was ably supported by Thomas Wilson and Tom Robson who marked their strikers out of the game to the extent that they didn’t have a single shot on target. Joshua Mensah carried well from right back and was a constant threat, whilst the movement and inter-play up front from Luke Hooper, Ollie Northwood, Sam Inskip and Stefano Rajasundaram were excellent, carving out numerous opportunities. The result was a comprehensive 3-0 win. To win the tournament the boys needed a convincing win against Bloxham. Abingdon started strongly and dominated the game from start to finish. The result was another awesome display with some well worked attacks and 4 clinically taken goals. Abingdon was crowned as County Champions ahead of MCS courtesy of their far superior goal difference of plus 7. The team then went on to play in the U13 Regional Tournament where they won the shield final in convincing fashion 5 - 1 against St Benedict’s. We have been very fortunate to welcome several top hockey players to work with the boys this year. International coaches Lee Morton, Dan Kyriakedes and Ben Francis came in and did some coaching with our teams before the Commonwealth Games fixtures in Australia. GB player Tom Carson delivered a goal scoring Master-class and GB Olympic Coach Jason Lee was guest speaker at our end of season dinner. Overall it has been another magnificent season for the Hockey Club as we have played 140 fixtures, with all age groups and abilities getting plenty of games. The U15s won their ISHL league for the second season running, scoring 68 goals in 10 games and only conceding 12. This U16As came second in their league for the second year running, scoring 39 goals in 10 games and conceding 9. The Club had 22 players represent the county squad over all age groups, with 8 players progressing to represent their regions. Max Carter-Keall represented England U18 and Freddie Smith is currently trialling for a place in the England U16 squad. A huge thank you to the parents, players and coaches for all their hard work - bring on next year. Olly Deasy