Unlikely scorers to the rescue

The men’s 1st team hosted top of the league Oxted a week after they played them in the cup, suffering a heavy defeat. The men in purple knew that they’d have to battle and play at their best in order to get something out of the game. Despite the dreary day, fans turned out in their 10s to support as Loughts aimed to distance themselves from the relegation fight.

The game was an even affair to begin with, both teams creating chances. Elliott Smith (junior) having a drag-flick emphatically saved before George Lilley was unable to squeeze his volley past the keeper from close range. As Oxted started to find their way, a mistake from Loughts allowed their striker through on goal, who chipped the ball past birthday boy Frank Whitefield’s helmet into the top of the net, first blood Oxted.

A rousing half time team talk from coach Mike Williamson inspired further passion in the purples and once again Loughts started moving the ball around with great confidence. Kevin Ross, fired up to be the best Saffa on the pitch, bundled and bullied his way through many Oxted defenders, bamboozling them with guile and a hunger for a goal; the ball made it through to the D and dropped at the feet of lifetime Old Loughtonian Harry Kempe, the crowd watched with baited breath, clearly worried that it was at the feet of a man with 1 goal all season. However, like Tiger Woods in his pomp, the ball was bludgeoned (imagine a caveman using a club) past the keepers ear at a rate of knots and into the back of the net, such was the force of the strike that the umpires debated re-netting the goal.

This fired up the team and soon after Loughts were on the attack again with a fast counter attack led by the returning Will Hopkins. The whole team were bewildered and appalled to see the man in support was twig legged William Smith, powering up the pitch (not very quickly). Hopkins found him with a pinpoint pass, Will just as quickly bundled the ball towards the goal. It looped up from a defending stick and crossed the line with Max Sydenham following up. Congratulations to Will on his first (and likely last) National League goal.

Oxted were keen to reply and were camped in Loughts’ half, the men in purple were likened to Leonidis and his 300, such was the ferocity of the defending. Despite this, Oxted were able to find a way through right at the last, with a deflection finding its way into the D and gobbled up by the Oxted player for 2-2. The game finished honours even, a deserved point against a tough opponent.

Post-game Kevin Ross stated ‘Look, it was a battle out there but we held on and put away our chances. I’m disappointed not to have gotten on the scoresheet but I’ve scored a few times already in 2018, quite the conversion rate so far due to expanding my radius as a player on and off the pitch. We look forward to the last few games of the season’.

Loughts face Southgate away on Thursday before Old Georgians next Sunday.

 

U16 Boys reach England Hockey Cup Tier 1 National Finals weekend.

On Sunday the U16 Boys finally exorcised the' Curse of Canterbury ' for their coach Duane Robinson, to reach the Finals weekend at Nottingham in April.

They put in three wonderful performances to beat Spencers ( 4-1 ), London Wayfarers ( 8-0 ) and finally Canterbury ( 3-0 ), playing at times the best hockey of the season ( so far !! ).

There were really too many great individual displays to list, but needless to say they exemplified not only an outstanding self-belief and composure, but also maintained exceptional discipline enabling them to play with eleven men on the pitch throughout all their matches.

One area that must be awarded the highest praise, was the conversion of short corners, with some truly memorable goals. Oh and why I'm at it , the defence were virtually impenetrable, which sadly did not prevent Duane from becoming the proud parent of numerous kittens on the touchline !!

Thanks must be awarded to all the parental support provided with exceptionally polite words of encouragement.

This squad is a tremendous credit to the club. Roll on Nottingham.

Squad..   Barney Tedder, Joseph Ahern ( Captain ), Freddie Britt ( vice captain ), Fergus Wootton, Zak Bowyer, Dan Karr, Luis Black, A J Ashaye, Max Garner, James Beardwell, Matt Lewis, Will Baldwin, Fergus Strelley-Jones, Jacob Jayaraj, Henry Dean, Ben Chillingworth, Patrick Duke.

A special mention of thanks must be extended to Ray Joslin who braved missing Mother's Day to accompany us to Canterbury, where he officiated in his usual superlative, unbiased manner.

 

U14 Boys

Congratulations to the U14 boys who beat Teddington 6:1 today in the quarter final of the Mercian League play offs. The boys started really well with some fantastic passing and great movement, but despite their early pressure they struggled to find the back of the net. However, they remained patient and eventually they broke through the Teddington defence and forced the ball over the line to take a 1:0 lead. They managed to add to this shortly afterwards to take a 2:0 lead in to half time.

They added another goal early on in the second half, but then lost their shape a little, and tired legs struggled to track back when Teddington broke. Following a couple of attacks, Teddington eventually capitalised and pulled a goal back and for a while looked like possibly adding to it.

However, the boys rallied, re-gained their team composure, and went on to score another 3 goals. It was a strong performance, they played really well as a team throughout the match, moved the ball around nicely and showed some great individual skill which lead to them creating lots of opportunities. With some slightly tighter finishing they could have won by more, but they finished as 6:1 winners and earned a place in a semi-final on Sunday 8th April.

Well played boys and good luck in the next round.

 

U12 Boys

This Sunday it was the turn of the U12 boys to compete in the Essex Cup and, having all assembled and warmed up, they faced their first match against local rivals Crostyx, keen to get off to a good start. This they did, passing the ball really well around the back to create the space for opportunities at the other end. It wasn’t long before their pressure told and they were 2:0 up. A few changes affected the team shape slightly and Crostyx fought back and managed to get a goal back which made for a few nervous minutes at the end of the match. The boys saw the match out and it finished 2:1, and they had a first win under their belt.

Next up they played Chelmsford who held out early on, but eventually the Old Loughts’ pressure paid off and they scored. They quickly went on to stretch their lead to 2:0 but Chelmsford did not give up and came back to score a goal of their own. However, Loughts’ quickly responded with a third goal and the game finished 3:1 to Loughts’.

The games came thick and fast with no gaps between and next up they faced a very strong Brentwood team. The boys battled really hard and eventually gained the first break through, but Brentwood fought back and equalised. The boys kept their composure produced some good hockey to take the lead back with another goal. Brentwood came back even stronger and managed to catch Loughts’ on the break to equalise again. With only a couple of minutes to go, the boys produced one of their best moves of the tournament and in five quick passes forced the ball in to the back of the oppositions net securing a 3:2 win in the last minute of the match.

Three games, three wins and the boys confidence was high going in to their forth match against Waltham Forest, but in the early part of the match, despite exerting lots of pressure, things weren’t quite working for them and in the end Waltham Forest broke out of defence to score the first goal. This shook the boys a little and they resorted to individual attempts to try and run through the opposition, but fortunately they re-grouped and got back to their passing game to equalise and then score another to go ahead. In the last few minutes they added another 2 goals to finish the game 4:1.

The last match was against Blue Hornets who they have battled with all season, with Blue Hornets needing a win to be sure of securing a place at the regionals. The Blue Hornets team clearly meant business from the first whistle and came out of the blocks quickly. The Loughts’ boys soaked up the initial pressure, fought really hard and then broke forward at pace to score 2 cracking goals to take a 2:0 lead and pile the pressure on Blue Hornets. They responded with a goal of their own, but then Loughts’ boys produced a moment of team brilliance to score a great goal and they managed to close the game out and finish 3:1 winners.

Five consecutive matches, five wins and a great all round performance. They played some fantastic hockey with great passing movements at times when they were fully focused. They had some moments when their intensity dropped and they let other teams back in, but throughout the tournament they worked extremely hard, did not buckle under pressure and showed a great spirit to find what was needed when it mattered.

They finished well deserved winners of the Essex Cup and earned their place in the regional finals on 28th April.

Well played to all the boys and good luck at the regionals.

 

Under 18 Girls through to Semi Finals of EH Cup Tier 2

The match started evenly with both sides closing play down quickly. Eventually the Loughts’ girls broke the deadline with Chloe Stack neatly slotting the ball into the net. Saffron Walden countered quickly and gained a penalty corner. Imogen made a valiant save on the line, but Saffron Walden calmly converted the resulting flick to bring the scores level. Loughts’ piled on the pressure and started to find their ‘passing game’. From a move starting in their defensive circle and involving 6 players, Kiera Dawes found the net with a well taken flick. Again, Saffron Walden came back and a hard ball into the D was deflected past an outstretched Charlie in the Loughts’ goal. With half time closing in, JP broke away at speed and got in a lifted shot – the keeper had no chance but just when we thought it was passing the post, up popped Kiera to volley into the net.

In the second half the Loughts’ team settled and as the Saffron Walden squad tired, the Loughts girls were able to bring on fresh legs and take the tie beyond doubt with 2 more goals. Captain Liv Corry converted a penalty corner and Chloe finished off a fine move again starting from the back with a high aerial pass, and some composed running on the ball from Zoe Wright.

Full credit to the girls who now progress to the semi-finals on 8th April.

Squad:

Charlie Nash; Caitlin Black; Charlotte Collier; Charlotte JP; Chloe Stack; Imogen Cayley; Jenny Goodson; Kiera Dawes; Liv Corry; Millie Woods; Pena Iiyambo; Stevie Southall; Venetia Bailey; Zara White; Zoe Wright

 

This week’s fixtures:

Home

Pitch 1                                                                                   Pitch 2                                  

11:15      No Game                                                           11:15      No Game

13:00      Ladies 3 v Harlow                                              13:00      Loppers v Thurrock2         

14:30      Ladies 2 v Chelmsford 2                                    14:30      Supervets v BromBeck Ravens

16:00      No Game                                                            16:00      Willows v Saffron Walden 8             

 

Away

Mens 2s v Oxted                             15:00

Mens 3s v Wimbledon                     15:00

Academy v Havering                       16:00     

Ladies 1s v St Albans                      12:15     

Ladies 4s v Redbridge & I               12:00

Ladies 5s v Old Southendians         10:30 

Sunday

Pitch 1                                                                                                                                                  

11:00      U14 Girls Essex League                   

12:00      Men’s 3 v Indian Gymkhana                                                                                                                                            

Away

Mens 1s v Old Georgians                  12:00

 

Lost Property

Old Loughts club rain jacket gone missing. It is adult size and has the initials BN on the arm. If found or if you know if anyone with it, please contact Chris Gladman on 07941500551.

The lost property box is now very full so if you have lost anything during the course of the season please contact the office to see if you can be reunited with your possessions.

 

Items for HH to office by Monday 10am please