U16 Boys Mercian League Champions!

The U16 boys beat both the National Champions Surbiton and the Premier League Champions Fareham to become the Mercian League Champions 2018.  Full report and pictures to follow next week.

 

U12 Boys Regional Runners-Up

Having won the Essex cup, the boys headed to Harleston Magpies HC for the regionals. It was a miserable cold wet day, but nothing was going to dampen the spirits of the boys. After an impressive warm up they set about their business in their first match against Bourne Deeping. A great display of attacking hockey, spreading the ball around, making the ball do the work and scoring 3 goals. The final result 3:0 and a great start.

This inspired them and their confidence grew and they came out with all guns blazing against Saffron Walden and scored 4 unanswered goals in the first half. Saffron Walden rallied and produced a much stronger second half performance, but neither team managed to score any goals and the game finished 4:0 to Loughts.

They went straight into a match against Bury and played well to score 2 goals in the first half, but in the second half the boys visibly began to tire and mid-way through the second half Bury got a goal back which made for a nervy finish to the match. The boys held out and for a 2:1 win.

One more win against St Albans would guarantee them a place in the semi-final and after a short break they set about their business. Tiredness was beginning to show and though the boys created chances they struggled to find the back of the net, eventually mid-way through the second half they found the goal they had been looking for and managed to hold out for a narrow win. Despite not playing their best hockey, the boys ground out a 1:0 victory which set them up for a show down with Norwich Dragons who had also gone through their other pool matches without a loss.

It proved to be a very high quality game with some fantastic play from both teams, but Dragons got the first break through. In searching for an equalizer late in the game the boys got caught on the counter and it finished 0:2 to Norwich Dragons. Not much in it at all but they took their chances better than Loughts. Despite the disappointment the boys had made it to the semi-final stage and a timely break in play gave them the chance to regroup and prepare themselves for a semi-final clash against Cambridge City.

The rest had clearly done them a world of good, as the boys played their best hockey of the day so far. They marked key players for the opposition out of the game and played the ball around fantastically in attack. They created opportunity after opportunity and the only thing that stopped them surging ahead was Cambridge City’s goal keeper who had a fantastic game. Eventually the boys took an opportunity from a short corner to take a 1:0 lead and held on for that to be the final score.

They had earned their place in the final with some fantastic hockey, great tenacity and a great team spirit, and now they had the chance to settle the score with Norwich Dragons who also made it through to the final. It proved to be a real battle, both teams going all out for a win. Loughts got the first breakthrough to take a 1:0 lead in the first half, but Dragons equalised early in the second half. Despite their best efforts neither team managed to convert any further chances and the game finished 1:1. The final was going to be settled by penalty flicks. The tension mounted as the boys stepped up and each team took 3 flicks. With both teams scoring 2 and missing 1, it was all square, and we moved to sudden death. The excitement was unbearable, but still the boys showed great bravery to step up to the mark, it could go either way, but eventually, Loughts missed a flick and Dragons scored, and victory was theirs.

Despite the disappointment, the boys were able to hold their heads high as they had performed fantastically well throughout the day and only just missed out by the smallest or margins. They had however, earned themselves a place in the National finals to be played on Saturday 12th May. This was thoroughly well deserved, the boys did themselves, their parents and the club proud and we wish them all the best of luck in a few week’s time. CONGRATULATIONS.

                            

 

The two pictures above are of the two Essex U13 squads that played in the East Championships on 22nd April. One team became East Champions, the team with our players Nathan Gladman, Archie Crowley, Luca Gormley and Guy Garner. The other team played in the plate competition and finished 3rd, our players are Caspian Coupe, Sammy Redley, William Hall, Leo Kendrick and Arvind Singh Aujla. The two coaches were Sanjoy Kumar and Bobby Narwal with Chris Gladman as head coach on the day.

 

U10’s Boys Regional Finals

The U10’s boys made their way to Harleston Magpies HC on Sunday 29th April and yet you would have been forgiven for thinking it was the middle of winter, as it was wet and miserable with a bitter wind blowing. Despite this the boys put on their layers, warmed up their hands as best they could, and took to the pitch for their first match against Hertford, who they have had tough battles with all season.

This match proved to be no different, and despite the boys getting off to a slightly slow start, it was end to end stuff and both teams created chances at either end. Eventually, it was Hertford that got the first break through and despite battling hard the Loughts boys failed to find an equaliser. Not a bad performance but not the start they wanted a 0:1 loss.

For a long while their second game against Bury looked like it was heading the same way as the boys launched many attacks, but failed to convert the chances, it wasn’t until a penalty corner was awarded on the final whistle that the boys managed to force the ball over line in the final moments of the game. A 1:0 victory which clearly lifted their spirits and the confidence came flooding back.

They took this confidence in to the next match and played their best match of the day against Norwich City. They really took the game to them, showed some great fight and created some excellent opportunities, and were only foiled by some great goal keeping. Unfortunately, in the closing minutes of the match Norwich City broke out and scored a goal to finish with a 1:0 victory. A really disappointing result, considering they had played so well.

They took their frustrations out on Saffron Walden in their final pool match and produced a comprehensive 2:0 win and then had to wait to see how the other matches played out to see if they had made it in to the semi-final. However, when all the results came in both Norwich City and Hertford finished first and second and secured the 2 semi-final places. In fact they went on to play each other in the final. Loughts had only lost 0:1 to each of these teams, so it shows how close it all was and on what such small margins it all hinges.

The boys had to settle for third place in their pool which booked them a match against Blue Hornets, who they have battled with all season. This match was no different and despite Blue Hornets taking a 2:0 lead the boys fought back admirably and responded with a great goal, but then just run out of time to find the equaliser. The final score 2:1 to Hornets.

The boys should be really proud of themselves, as they battled the elements bravely, many of them could not feel their hands and had to put lots of extra energy in to shivering in order to keep warm. They worked really hard for each other and put together some very nice moves and scored some good goals. I am sure they learned a lot about the things they need to work on to improve, and if they work hard on these in training, they will become a very strong team.

Well done to all the boys, a great performance and thank you to all the parents for their support.

Top Goal Scorers 2017/18

Congratulations to Karen Leach and to Freddie Britt as top goal scorers this season.

Here is the list of everyone who scored three or more.

Ladies                                                                                  

Karen Leach 17

13 Sarah-Jayne Donaghey, 9 Laura Blatter, 7 Chloe Stack, 6 Julie Warwick-Munday,

3 Rosie Bristow, Susy Harrison, Kiera Dawes

Men

Freddie Britt 21

18 Matthew Lewis, 14 Charlie Britt, Max Sydenham, 13 Max Garner, Rob Simmons, 11 Oliver Eldridge, Nathan Rose, 10 Jacob Jayaraj, 9 Elliot Mapes Smith, 7 Mark Donnelly, Edward Padfield, Ben Wakeley, 6 Andrew Foinette, Toby Gayler, Oscar King, 5 AJ Ashaye, Jeremy Hopkins, Patrick Longson, 4 James Baldwin, James Browne, Leo Kendrick, Shaun Moody, Matthew Punt, Azam Sheikh, 3 Christian Cartwright, Mitchell Jones, Daniel Karr, Harry Kempe, Shane Martin, Kevin Ross, Tom Tudor

 

Social Hockey

Social Hockey is back and will run alongside Back to Hockey at 7:45pm on Tuesday evenings starting on 1st May.  The session is open to all abilities, ages and sexes.  Players are divided equally to form teams to enable a good run around that is enjoyable and fun.  After the game it’s into the bar to talk through who scored the most goals over a pint or two!  Unfortunately, this week the bar isn’t available so all the talking will have to be done on the pitch!

 

Volunteers required

On 19th and 20th May the Club will be playing host to the Ladies O55s Regional Championships.  To help the event run smoothly willing volunteers are needed to act as Match Officials.  This would involve being pitch side to keep the score and monitor substitutions (full training available!).  If you would like to get involved, please contact Jane Blake who will be able to give you all the details – email  Janelesley.blake@tiscali.co.uk

England Hockey Club Survey

As the season comes to a close it is time for the annual club survey, your thoughts and members feedback can go a long way in influencing the running of your club and enable us to work closer with clubs in order to help them keep improving. If you complete the survey as a thank you your name will be entered into a draw to win one of 10 pairs of tickets for the Vitality Hockey Women's World Cup 2018 on Wednesday 25th July, featuring England!

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3059088/EHPlayerSurvey18

Coming up………………..

7th May – OLHC Minis Festival – spectators and volunteers welcome

10th May – Essex County Hockey Association AGM – Chelmer Park 19:30

11th May – Charity fundraiser @ Blakes Golf Club in aid of Scope – about disability. For tickets and further information contact: Caroline on 07947679612 or Paige on 07921 259 119

25th – 28th May – Fun in the Forest – volunteers still required

4th July - Old Loughtonians Hockey Club AGM 19:30 @ OLHC, Luxborough Lane

7th July – Ford Festival @ OLHC – team entries welcome

21st – 23rd July – Indoor Hockey Senior Summer Series @ The Copper Box – click here to enter

 

 

Items for HH to office by Monday 10am please