Hockey Headlines
Posted by Nobody on 21 November 2017
A Game of Two Halves
The men’s 1st team hosted a Brighton & Hove team in a similar position on the East Conference ladder, making the match as important as ever.
Loughts held majority of possession early in the match by putting the Brighton midfield under pressure and forcing plenty of turnovers. The first good chance on goal came when South African/Singapore superstar Kevin Ross lobbed an overhead through to Jeremy Hopkins. With the goalkeeper backpedalling, the Aussie knocked a reverse stick shot into the centre of the backboard to put Loughts 1-0 up. The boys in purple continued to dictate the game and created a few huge chances to extend their lead. This came back to haunt them as Brighton earned a penalty stroke and slotted it away although goalkeeper Fred Whitfield picked the right way.
The second half was a much tighter affair and both sides found it difficult creating good goal chances. Loughts got back to their ways of the first half and began looking much more dangerous in their attacking half but to no avail. Once again, Brighton capitalised on the teams inability to put away chances and scored a scrappy back stick with 10 minutes to go. Loughts threw everything they had at Brighton in the remaining moments, including dragging the goalkeeper for an extra field player. Unfortunately the final score went down as a 2-1 loss to the purple lads who are now outright 9th in the league.
The final match before a two month break is away to Cambridge City on Sunday, where the team hopes to pick up some much needed points before the second half of the season.
Ladies 1s vs City of Peterborough
A grey and rainy setting at The Lane kicked off the 1st Team ladies this week against City of Peterborough. The girls started confidently with some excellent passing between the lines that freed up acres of space to exercise their skills in. A long stream of attacks and counters from JP and Z in particular finally resulted in a penalty, which can only be described as the perfect example of a 'tits up' short corner unbelievably well-salvaged! Miranda Weeks found the ball mid-air during the scramble, and before the umps could call it dangerous, she batted it into the net for a 1-0 lead. Keeping the defence composed in the run-up to half time, Smithy received the tamest green card ever awarded in her lifetime and gracefully crept off the pitch to think about what she'd said.
The second half saw Peterborough up their game and quickly they took a break away opportunity that levelled the score. Despite some excellent defending around the D Peterborough earned a couple of shorts of their own. The first was charged down by our 'burn survivor' Chelsey Toms sending the ball way over the crossbar, however the second made it through and was tipped in giving CoP the lead. Frustration kicked in for the Purples and the team started to counter well, but unfortunately no conversions came. With adrenaline running high, Venetia Bailey courteously waited to be shown her green card for some over-keen tackling, while 'Red Maz' (making her debut this season) effectively carded herself in a blaze of verbal glory and walked off the pitch. The game ended with the Loughts ladies on the wrong side of a 3-1 score-line as they head into next week's clash with Ipswich hungry for victory.
U14 Boys v Southgate
We thought this match would be a real test for the boys, as on paper they were two very evenly matched sides, and so it proved. Right from the first whistle both teams played at great pace with lots of running, some excellent passing exchanges and some robust defence. For the first 20 minutes despite, Lought’s having slightly more possession, both teams pretty much cancelled each other out and neither could make the break through. Unfortunately, in the 23rd minute it was Southgate who breached the Loughts's defence with a swift counter attack and managed to find the back of the net. To the boys credit they responded almost immediately to pull a goal back to make it 1:1 at half time.
The second half started much the same way as the first, but the Lought's boys kept their composure and started moving the ball around to increase the pressure on the opposition and work their defence even harder. Mid way through the second half the pressure started to tell and produced a short corner which Lought's scored from to take the lead. This helped the boys relax and gave them more confidence and they went on to score another 4 unanswered goals before Southgate managed a consolation goal with 4 minutes left to go. The boys composed themselves and saw the game out to finish with a fantastic 6:2 victory.
Some great performances all round, with some notable contributions from Finn in goal and Ethan especially down the left wing, Man of the match went to Will Holden for a fantastic defensive performance, whilst DOD went to Oscar for his impression of a dying swan whilst trying to burry a reverse stick hit in the back of the net. It was a great team performance, lots of energy, great commitment and a fantastic spirit, well done boys!!
Results 18/19th November
Men Ladies
1s v Brighton 1 - 2 1s v City of Peterborough 1 - 3
2s v Spencer 7 - 1 2s v Broxbourne 1 - 2
3s v Chiswick 0 - 2 3s v East London 0 - 1
Academy v Loppers - 7 4s v East London 5 2 - 0
5s v Waltham Forest 4 5 - 0
U16 Boys celebrate another win (4 – 0 v Old Merchant Taylors) and Duane’s 70th birthday!
Young Sports Award for Max
Max Garner (Old Loughts U16) wins the U16 Waltham Forest Sports Person of the Year award 2017. Max was nominated for the award by his school in recognition of his selection to the England Hockey NAGS (U16 boys) programme and his contribution to hockey coaching in primary schools within Waltham Forest.
Emergency First and & CPR Training
The club has agreed to deliver an emergency First Aid and basic life support training on Saturday 2nd December in the committee room. This is a certificated course lasting for 2 hours. Starting at 10.30am it will cover emergency 1st aid and basic life support. Emergency first aid is a requirement for any lead coaches and has to be updated every 3 years. It is also very useful for any assistant coaches and managers of teams or staff at the club as well as any member who would like to their expand their knowledge - as you never know when you might need it. It is Free of charge to our members but we will be taking any donations for Tom Wilson Memorial fund if you feel would like to donate. It will be limited to only 20 spaces so if interested please contact the office and confirm you place.
Epping Forest Young Sports Awards
Only a week left for nominations to be submitted to Epping Forest Young Sports Awards where young talented athletes could receive up to £1,000 bursary to help them progress in their sport.
To be eligible for the award young people must;
- Be aged 13-25 (inclusive) on the closing date for applications (30th November)
- Live in the Epping Forest District (or if at Collage/University return 'home' to Epping Forest District during the holidays)
- Competing at county, regional or national level in a nationally governed sport
Mayor of Redbridge Festive Runs
Sunday 3 December 2017. 2 Festive Runs from Beal High School, Woodford Bridge Road, IG4 5LP
10am - 10km Race for adults - £10 per participant & 12 noon - 2km family Santa fun run for children accompanied by an adult. £10 entry fee per team of one child (under 16) with one adult.
All money raised will go to the Mayor’s charities: Haven House and St Francis Hospice.
Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mayors-fun-run-tickets-38297578087. Free Santa Hat and medal for all participants and a prize for the best festive costume. NB. Elves, Christmas Puddings, Snowmen, Reindeer and Angels are all welcome!
Christmas Jumpers and Quiz Night – Friday 8th December
It’s time to dust off those Christmas jumpers and brush up on your general knowledge in preparation for the club quiz. In a break with tradition this social event will take place on a Friday evening! In exchange for £5 you will receive an evening’s entertainment as well as a mince pie and mulled wine but most importantly you will be making a donation to the Tom Wilson Memorial Fund. Tickets are available from the bar and as numbers are limited you are encouraged to buy yours now!
Items for HH to office by Monday 10 am please
