Congratulations

… to all those receiving awards at the Junior Awards Evening!

U16 Girls: Francesca B (Players’ Player), Ally B (Coach’s Player), Georgina G (Most Improved Player)

U16 Boys: Rory J (Players’ Player), Will V (Coach’s Player) and Freddie L (Most Improved Player)

U14 Girls: Ella R and Poppy W (A Team Player of the Year), Georgia H (B Team Player of the Year), Anna H (Most Improved Player)

U14 Boys: Nat E (Players’ Player), Bertie B (110%) and Freddie C (Most Improved Player)

U12 Girls: Rosie V (Blacks’ Player of the Year), Jess G (Purples’ Player of the Year), Aoife R (Blues’ Player of the Year), Violet S (Yellows’ Player of the Year)

U12 Boys: Jamie J (Players’ Player), Charlie B (Coach’s Player) and Jonah A (Most Improved Player)

U10 Girls: Poppy Y (Player of the Year), Lucy N (Most improved Player)

U10 Boys: Joshua A (Player of the Year), Patrick B (Most Improved Player)

U8s: Wilfred A (Most Committed Player), Samuel R (Spirit of Winchester), Amelie L (Most Improved Player)

Girls U14

vs Shepton Mallett - 8-1 (Off to Supra League National Finals!)

The U14 girls took the long drive to Shepton Mallet for their final Supra League game of the season, knowing only a win would be good enough to qualify for the National Supra League playoffs in May, a draw or loss would see Shepton Mallet take the slot.

The first 20 minutes was a cagey affair with the Winchester defence absorbing lots of attacks from the Shepton girls who were looking the stronger of the two teams. However, Sophia and Emily were both making darting runs up front keeping their defence busy, and probably against the run of play Sophie made a long ball clearance with Sophia making a fabulous pick up close to the edge of the D and beat the Shepton goalkeeper on a one to one; Winchester were 1–0 up. Quite quickly after, Venne popped Winchester’s second goal past the frustrated keeper and the goals started rolling in. Short corner practise last Tuesday was certainly paying off with Violet taking two more opportunities; half-time was 4-0 to Winchester.

It was a hot Sunday and the Shepton girls were not going to give up without a fight - they came out after the half-time break ready and raring to go, making lots of attacking play. However the Winchester defence of Poppy, Alice, Sophie and Ella in goal, deal with these comfortably and coolly, quite quickly getting back into the swing of the game. Aggie took a deflection for a superb top of the net finish taking the score to 5-0, and not long after Sophia (working with Georgia) rolled another goal across the line, 6-0 up.

Winchester looked like they had the game wrapped up, but credit to Shepton they never gave up and the game continued to be end-to-end. On a day where Winchester found the back of the net and Shepton couldn’t penetrate the Winchester goal, Shepton finally pulled off a fabulous unstoppable strike to beat Ella and took one goal back. Although they continued to run our mid-field of Molly, Charlii, Flossy and Venne ragged, it was too late into the game and they had no more left to give. Meanwhile Violet wasn’t done with scoring and slotted two more goals past the Shepton keeper, taking her total to four and showing why she is the U14’s top goal scorer this season.

With the final score 8-1 the Winchester girls have won a well-earned progression to the Supra League National finals in May, this is the first time a junior girls’ team have progressed this far in a national T1 competition and the coaches couldn’t be prouder of their achievements.

U12 Girls

Plate Winners at In2 South regional Finals

Winchester Hockey Club’s U12 girls team sealed the plate at Sunday’s in2 regional finals in Reading. Runners up to Haslemere in the Hampshire Cup a few weeks ago, Winchester had a tough group including county winners Amersham and Reading. They started well with a 1-0 win against Henley, and then despite hitting the post and coming close on a number of occasions, lost the final two matches 1-0. It was then key to maintain composure and enthusiasm as they entered the plate competition.

Clinical finishing, a decisive midfield and some critical defensive play saw them thrash South Berks 4-0. Another win against Henley would see them win the plate competition with overall fifth place. The girls stepped up, playing cohesively as a team and triumphed.

Played five, scored six and conceded only two, the girls played great hockey with a fantastic team spirit. Fifth place (from seventh a year ago) in such a quality field across the region is testament to Winchester’s standing as Hampshire’s leading junior hockey club. With elections only a few days away the council’s decisions on Winchester’s sporting infrastructure will be critical to this continued hockey domination.

U10s

Bronze Medals at In2 South Regional Championships

Winchester Hockey Club’s U10 boys’ and girls’ teams both won third place in their respective tournaments at the iN2 regional championships held last Sunday at Reading Hockey Club, sealing bronze medals. Both teams, seeded as Hampshire champions, were drawn against tough opposition from across the South of England.

A tough pool saw the U10 girls progress to the semi-finals with a win and two draws – underpinned by strong and fast flowing hockey. Their semi-final was against Haslemere, runners-up in the county finals a few weeks ago. One goal made the difference and saw Haslemere progress. Picking themselves up, Winchester’s girls faced the Buckinghamshire county champions, Marlow. Controlling the game from the whistle, the team dominated possession and scored two team goals that clinched the bronze medal position.

Winchester U10 boys were equally challenged, with a 1-1 draw underlining the strength of the early morning heat in their first pool game. They soon found their rhythm, and follow up wins against Marlow (2-0) and a 3-0 despatching of the Reading hosts with a team-led hat-trick from one forward saw them progress to the semi finals, against a strong Banbury team. The heat and a dry pitch saw a bouncing ball clipped into the net in the first minutes, and Winchester were unlucky not to equalise despite dominant team possession in the opposition’s half. The Winchester coaches, led by the inspirational Ally Birch, huddled the boys together to lift their spirits, and they went into their final game with their heads held high. A captain’s hat-trick and some key poacher’s goals led the U10 boys to victory, third place and a bronze medal. Two tournament hat-tricks coupled with strong possession, a fabulous team ethic and free-flowing hockey underlined this team’s dominance.

Two Hampshire champions. Two regional bronze medals.