MINIS GO TO NORFOLK FOR EAST REGION FINALS:

The Club is so proud of the mini section having all four of our club teams competing in the U10 and U12 age groups for Essex in the East Region Championships - a massive achievement.  

 

U10 Girls:  The U10 girls lost their first two games against the hosts and Norfolk champions Harleston Magpies and Kent's Tunbridge Wells.  They drew their next three games against Hertford, Cambridge City and finally Ipswich East Suffolk.  Congratulations to Maisie Crowley, Grace Simmons, Amelie MacKenzie, Eva Buenaventura, Hilary Howson, Harriet Heyburn, Isabelle Headlam, Harriet Harris and Cressida Jamieson for reaching the regional finals as Essex Champions and for battling on throughout the afternoon with great commitment!

U10 girls

 

 

U12 Girls:  The U12 girls had a tricky schedule with two lots of back to back matches, playing four out of the first five match slots on three different pitches!  They had a shaky start to the tournament narrowly losing their first two games to Ipswich and Pelicans.  The team kept at it and found some form, scoring three goals against regular opponents Saffron Walden.  Our more local rivals didn’t give in and pulled two goals back but Loughts managed to hold the end of the game to secure a 3-2 win.  

 

After rushing over to the far pitch, Loughts made a valiant start to their match against the eventual tournament winners, Canterbury.  Some momentum in the attack saw numerous shots on target, but great saves by the Canterbury goalkeeper ensured Canterbury kept a clean sheet and the game finished 2-0 to the Kent number 1 team.

 

Despite knowing they could no longer qualify for a place in the semi-finals, the girls kept fighting and were determined to end on a high.  Working hard for each other and enjoying the whole experience, they finished the day with a 2-0 win against Hertfordshire’s Broxbourne and finished fourth in their group.  Well done girls! 

 

 

 

Team: Maia Lincoln, Georgia Dawes, Molly Rees, Sophie MacKenzie, Grace Kumar, Emma Perry-Spinks, Tilly Kent, Scarlet Chambers and Clementine Jamieson.

 

U12 Boys: It took the boys a few games to get warmed up due in part to the cold wet conditions, the long journey and it being early on a Saturday morning, but also due to a few nerves. In their first match against Ipswich East Suffolk they scraped a 1-0 victory thanks to some great goal keeping by William. If they thought that was going to relax them and get them going for their second match, they were very quickly proved wrong and William came to the rescue again! Cambridge City laid siege to the Old Loughts goal until eventually half way through the second half they broke through and took a 0-1 lead. This suddenly seemed to spark the boys into action and their supporters witnessed a rapid response with two quick goals to finish the game as 2-1 victors. This settled the boys a little and they regained some composure to produce a well-earned 0-0 draw against hosts Harleston Magpies which put them in a strong position for qualifying for the semi-finals which seemed to take a little of the pressure off. In their final pool match game they started to play with much more composure and some great attacking play resulted in a 3-0 win against St Albans. Four games, three wins and one draw was good enough to finish top of the pool and make it in to the semi-final. 

U12 Boys

 

 

After a long wait, the boys managed to re-focus and continue to build on their previous performance to play some of their best hockey against Blue Harts. The boys hit top gear and played really well to earn a convincing 2-0 victory and a place in the final.

 

For a long while it looked like the boys would be facing old rivals Blue Hornets in the final as they lead 2-1 with minutes to go, but Harleston Magpie scored a late equaliser and the match went to penalty flicks. The end result was that Old Loughts would face Harleston Magpies in the final. The boys got off to a strong start and really took the game to the Magpies. Toward the end of the first half their efforts were rewarded with a goal. They went on to create a number of chances, but failed to convert any of them, but as the clock ticked down it looked like the boys had made it. However, they conceded a penalty corner on the final whistle, which Magpies managed to convert and false a penalty shoot-out.  Unfortunately, the Magpies converted more penalties than Old Loughts and the boys had to accept finishing runners-up.

 

A desperately unlucky way to end a great day of hockey where their fighting team spirit and some very good hockey almost created the perfect day!  Not all was lost though as by reaching the final the boys had earned the right to play at the National finals tournament at Beeston on Saturday 14th May, a fantastic achievement and we are all really proud of them. Well done and good luck!!

 

U10 Boys:  The following day it was the turn of the U10 boys. Inspired by the success of the U12s and the improved weather conditions, the boys got off to a very strong start with a 2-0 win over Felixstowe thanks to some very direct hockey, solid defending and great passing. Next up was Harleston Magpies with their home advantage, but the boys rose to the occasion and saw off their opposition with a 3-0 win. A great start which saw the boys brimming with confidence and growing in self-belief! They kept their momentum going and continued to play with impressive pace on and off the ball which proved too much for their next opponents Saffron Walden. Despite a couple of injuries the boys produced yet another impressive win, the end result 3-1. With one more game to go in the pool stages, the boys were looking good and had put themselves in a strong position. To their credit they did not get complacent and made sure of qualification with a convincing 3-0 win over Harpenden. Four games played, four wins, 11 goals scored and only one conceded and a place in the semi-finals after finishing top of their pool. Things were looking good.

 

In the other pool Blue Harts had similar success and so both teams had to wait it out to find out who they would be playing in their semi-final matches. For Loughts it turned out to be Cambridge City. The boys set about the challenge playing with the same energy and spirit that they had showed in their first match and eventually proved too strong for Cambridge putting 2 goals past them to secure a 2-0 victory and a place in the final. Blue Harts continued their run and made it through their semi-final to set up an Old Lought’s/Blue Harts final.

 

 

U10 Boys

 

 

It was a tense start with both teams playing some great hockey, but unable to break the other team down. The first breakthrough came for Blue Harts towards the end of the first half when they were awarded a penalty flick for a back stick which stopped a certain goal scoring opportunity. Despite a valiant attempt from the goal keeper the ball snuck over the line and the boys found themselves a goal down for the first time. This was no time for heads to drop and they certainly didn’t. The response that followed though was truly impressive and they went straight down the other end twice in the space of two minutes to go in to half time with a 2-1 lead. The second half saw them continue to dominate, see off any threat and score a scorcher of a third goal that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the premier league! The end result 3-1 to Old Loughts and the boys were crowned East Region Champions. What a fantastic result, the boys played some fantastic hockey, played with great spirit and drive and thoroughly deserved their success. At U10 level, this is as far as they can go, so what a brilliant result. A massive well done to all the boys, we are all very proud of you. CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

IN2HOCKEY EAST REGION YOUNG UMPIRES:

Not only did Old Loughts have teams represented in all competitions at the East Finals this weekend but they also had a number of Young Umpires and Umpires Managers officiating.

 

A special mention goes to Zak Bowyer and Molly Gayler who are Old Loughts youth players and who both gave excellent performances over the weekend. This resulted in Zak being chosen to Umpire the U10 Boys semi and Molly the boys U10 and U12 finals. A huge well done for their commitment, effort and umpiring skills!