Romsey Hockey Club

Romsey U8’s A Team

Alice Appleton

Catherine Clarke

Matthew Dyer

Ellie East

James Fuller

Naeve Poutney

Lucia Rugge Price

Brandon Harris (Goalkeeper)

Romsey U8’s A Team had a great mornings hockey at the last tournament of the season at Trojans.

First up were Trojans A team, which was a very close game and saw Romsey unlucky to score even though they had the majority of the play and although they lost 1-0, Brandon Harris, playing in goal, made some great saves.

Next were Winchester B, which was an extremely well matched game resulting in a 0-0 draw with excellent passing from Alice Appleton, Matthew Dyer, James Fuller and Naeve Poutney.

The first win of the morning was against Bournemouth with James Fuller taking the first goal from a runaway ball, closely followed by a second from Matthew Dyer.

Trojans B were next up with Catherine Clarke scoring the 2 goals for Romsey well supported in midfield by Naeve Poutney and Alice Appleton. Salisbury A proved a tougher opponent and despite persistent defending by Ellie East and Lucia Rugge Price, Romsey lost 2-0.

However, the last game of the morning saw a strong Romsey side unite together to defeat Trojans C by 5 goals to 1, with Matthew Dyer scoring a hat trick and Catherine Clarke taking the other 2 goals.

Well done to all of you for a great team effort and a special mention for Matthew Dyer, who having only just taken up hockey, did amazingly well and looked like he’d been playing for years!!

Romsey U10 Girls team were preparing for the following weeks Regional Finals to be held at Teddington covering the Southern half of the UK having successfully won the Hampshire round. Therefore Trojans tournament proved a great test for the eight strong team.

First up were Salisbury B who also reached the Regional Finals as runners up. On this showing Romsey proved their first placed ranking as they displayed all round consistency in the team with very strong pressure exerted by the midfield performances from Robyn Cooper, Zoe Henderson and Georgia Scott. If Salisbury occasionally managed to get past midfield some good defending and timely tackling came from Harriet Northover and Sophie Davidson with Alice Dyer soundly keeping a clean sheet in goal. Long range strike by Sophie Lawson and good stick play and shot by Sarah Macleod ensured 2 – 0 win for a good first performance in what was becoming a very warm morning.

Second up were Winchester A who proved tough opponents with chances both ends with both teams tackling hard and fair with some great passing movement from the defence through midfield into attack. This provided Sarah Macleod the opportunity to make a great mazy run down the wing beating several opponents before crossing to Sophie Lawson to tap in from close range. There followed an equaliser from Winchester but Romsey stuck with it, with some strong interventions from Harriet Northover and Robyn Cooper and Zoe Henderson showing deft close control on the wing with at times three opponents round her still managing to pass or clear it. With Winchester on the offensive Georgia Scott made a good tackle robbing the opponent and setting off downfield leaving her opponents behind. Keeping her cool she managed to take the ball through and score a very good goal. 2 – 1 to Romsey making it an 8 match unbeaten run from previous tournaments!

Next a very challenging encounter with Salisbury B (all boys vs the all girls of Romsey!). It was a truly engaging tussle with very few chances from either side as the midfield and defences cancelled each other out. Both teams passed and defended well and a credit to Romsey for matching strength and tenacity with the boys of Salisbury! A very fair 0-0 result with both coaches and managers enjoying the close encounter of two evenly matched teams.

Winchester B were next and having played some quick passing and individual skills were soon 2-0 up but Romsey kept coming back and were unlucky on a number of occasions. The only goal from Romsey came from a difficult chance by Sophie Lawson who reverse sticked the ball into the roof of the net. A win for Winchester 2-1 and the first loss by Romsey as energy and stamina were being put to the test in the heat.

Romsey needed a good team performance next and everyone played their part in a sound 2-0 defeat of Bournemouth. It was Bournemouth who made most of the running at the outset as they had some good individual players but were thwarted by the defensive skills of Robyn Cooper, Sophie Davidson and Zoe Henderson defending well in midfield with Georgia Scott and Sarah Macleod stepping in to make timely tackles. Also of note was Harriet Northover who again bought the ball well out of defence to set up attacks. Alice Dyer in goal was at her busiest so far with some very strong clearances and anticipation to defeat Bournemouth attacks. All the team played their part in building attacks with good passing and fast counter attacks leading to a brace of well taken goals by Sophie Lawson to ensure the win 2-0.

Last game up was Trojans C who proved a strong unit which Romsey found difficult to break down. Their attack was particularly good and tested Romseys defence time and again with Alice Dyer performing great saves with hand and feet to prevent at least three certain goals. With defence and midfield working really had it was a nip and tuck tussle. Trojans took the lead and looked as though they would win the match. However a good build up from defence to attack enabled Georgia Scott to round off the move with a strong shot and goal that drew the match 1-1.

Team: Alice Dyer, Robyn Cooper, Sarah Macleod, Harriet Northover, Zoe Henderson, Sophie Davidson, Sophie Lawson and Georgia Scott. All played tremendously well, had fun and their tactics and positioning play worked a treat thanks to Lisa Hendersons coaching and support.

The boys did not fair as well as the girls in the horrendous conditions at Southampton Sports Centre for the In2Hockey competition.

The boys normal free flowing passing game was hindered by the battling performances of some of the opposition teams. The did however battle hard in their matches against Trojans, Basingstoke and Fareham but were unable to register on the score sheet and lost each match by the odd goal.

The team played with great spirit though throughout and the squad deserves great credit for their effort.

Well done to them all:

Matt Loveday, Harry Croft-Baker, Morgan Robertson, Ben Sluman, Noah Cooper, Toby Field, Oscar Wright, Henry Williams

A rainy, snowy, windy and freezing cold Sunday morning at Southampton Sports Centre did not deter the enthusiasm and talent of the very exciting Romsey U10 girls. They drew Haslemere in the first match and although it took several minutes to get going there was come brilliant play from Midfielders Bobs Cooper, Zoe Henderson and Sarah Macloed. In the last few minutes Bobs set up Sarah to start the success.

Winchester were up next and Ella long – extremely strong in defence with Lola Field and Sophie Davidson hardly let our fantastic Keeper Alice Dyer be worried at all. Romsey were unlucky not to score on several occasions and a 0:0 draw resulted.

A similar story against Trojans, Alice pulled off several fabulous saves but the majority of the play was attacking and the up front team of Sophie Lawson and Georgia Scott were both unlucky not to score.

The final nail-biter against Salisbury saw Romsey tested, but the girls showed their promise and determination. Alice was strong and maintained her clean sheet in goal. Bobs, Ella, Sarah and Zoe kept the play flowing and in the last few minutes Georgia’s patience was rewarded with an excellent goal finishing 1:0

The Girls move up to the Regional phase against other County winners, to be played in April.

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U10s

Romsey Hockey clubs U10s travelled to a very sunny and warm Bournemouth for their annual tournament.

In preparation for the first round of the National U10s tournament next week Romsey entered one boys and one girls team.

The girl’s, playing their first matches un-encumbered by the boys, showed a superb level of maturity and skill, clearly a result of the dedicated and excellent quality coaching every Sunday morning (9.15-10.30 at Romsey School). Some excellent performances from our defenders, Zoe Henderson, Harriet Northover and Ella Long meant all scores were very close. In the midfield, Bobs Cooper, Phoebe Moriaty and Elizabeth Field kept the game flowing. Some excellent passing up front between Georgia Scott, Sophie Lawson and Sophie Davidson meant a very successful tournament for the Girls. Next week they should be a force to be reckoned with!

The boys played six matches against opposition from Trojans, Andover, Weymouth, Bournemouth and Salisbury. Their results were excellent winning four and losing only two. They scored 12 goals and only conceded 7. The defensive success was largely due to three debutants. Ben Sluman excelled in his first matches as goal keeper and Tony Brown and Oscar Wright were very solid in defence. Henry Williams played enthusiastically all day and showed some impressive strength and technique in the tackle. The triumvirate of Matt Loveday, Harry Croft-Baker and Morgan Robertson proved to be a handful for all of the opposition teams to handle and scored six, four and two goals respectively.

Romsey U8’s A Team

Romsey U8’s A team started off the morning against Trojans A team but despite great defending from Lucie Taylor-Blake and Ellen Page they lost 3-1. The following game was a close one which saw James Fuller scoring the goal for Romsey, with great tackling in midfield by Katie Lou Ryan and Helena Ward but Andover A’s managed to get 1 goal ahead which left the final score at 2-1 to the opposition. Next up were the hosts Bournemouth and despite consistent challenging from James Fuller and Jack Sluman the final score of 2-0 to Bournemouth did not reflect the percentage of play, as was the case in the following match against Trojans B which was also 2-0 to the opposition. Their last game of the morning saw Romsey A’s battling against Andover B team who initially went 1 goal up but an equalizer from Alice Appleton took the score to 1-1, but despite constant midfield pressure from Lucia Rugge Price, Andover took 2 more goals for a 3-1 defeat.

Romsey U8’s B Team

Romsey B team started off with a 1-0 win against Andover B due to an own goal!! Next up were Trojans B, which saw Alice Appleton scoring 4 goals from set ups by Joe Arnold and Naeve Poutney for a 4-0 win. Salisbury were a tougher opposition and despite strong defending by Stan Arnold and Kai Volanthen the score was a 3-0 defeat. Trojans A was a closely matched game with the first goal for Romsey coming from Naeve Poutney who showed great control taking the ball up from the halfway line to score, Trojans then equalized and a goal by Alice Appleton followed to put Romsey ahead, however Trojans then managed to squeeze in another putting the final score at 2-2. Romsey B’s last game of the morning was against Southampton, which saw a great team effort with consistent passing and control by Alice Appleton, Naeve Poutney and Lucia Rugge Price in midfield with the goals being executed by James Fuller and Joe Arnold.

Well done to both teams for a great mornings hockey.

Under 8s

Romsey U8’s had an outstanding mornings hockey and with the exception of one match, which was a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth, they won all of their matches and conceded not a single goal.

Bournemouth were first up with great defending from Stan Arnold and Catherine Clarke, the score remained 0-0 at full time. Next was Salisbury B which saw James Fuller clocking up 3 goals, one from an early pass where he took the ball up unchallenged to score, Joe Arnold scored the fourth maneuvering around several of Salisbury’s defenders to take the shot at goal. The third match of the morning was against Andover B with excellent clearances from Stan Arnold and Naeve Poutney, the Romsey goal being scored by James Fuller. Next up was Salisbury, A which also resulted in a 1-0 win for Romsey, James Fuller again scoring the goal with great midfield passing from Jack Sluman, Alice Appleton and Tessa Drake. The run of goals from a consistently persistent James Fuller continued into the next match with a 2-0 win against Andover A, both goals within the first couple of minutes, well supported upfront by a skillful Joe Arnold and Jack Sluman. The mornings hockey finished up with another well deserved 2-0 win against Southampton which saw Alice Appleton put away the first goal closely followed by a second from Catherine Clarke.

Under 10s

Romsey Hockey Clubs U10’s travelled to Salisbury on Sunday for fantastically well organised tournament.

The A team players were strong, committed and showed great dedication. Noah Cooper and Ella Long defended strongly and persistently only letting in 2 goals all day. Mid fielders, Sarah Macleod, Zoe Henderson and Bobs Cooper showed off their passing skills and increasingly good positional play – pushing the play up towards the up front pair of Matt Loveday and Henry Williams. The team gelled from the start and the results reflected this with convincing wins in 5 matches and one draw. 14 goals were scored Loveday 5, Henderson 4, Williams 2, Bobs Cooper 1, and MacLeod 1. A performance to be very proud of.

The Romsey Under 10 B’s enjoyed a fine display of excellent hockey tactics and skills that were exciting and impressive to watch. The matches were all closely contested with only a goal either way when there was a result (Won 2, Drew 2, Lost 2).There were many close shots on goal as the team gelled producing some fine passing moves. Sophie Davidson and Lola Field combined strongly in defence and were a tough unit to breakdown as there were no easy goals for the opposition and all the team showed great commitment to work back when needing to defend. Ben Sluman, Harriet Northover , Georgia Scott and Harry Croft-Baker (2 goals) showed great awareness of space and timing when creating passing moves as they linked together on some speedy attacks.. The team produced hockey tactics the coaches didn’t think had been taught yet in one particularly impressive game showing brilliant communication to ‘press’ the opposition so effectively that the opposition had to pass back which so nearly resulted in a goal as it was pounced on by the Romsey forwards. The team should be very proud of their performance and are clearly a very promising group of young hockey players.

Romsey hosted Sunday’s mini hockey festival which was attended by over 140 young players from clubs across the county. With favourable weather and many willing volunteers the event was a brilliant success.

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Romsey U8’s Lions

The Lions first match up was a 0–0 draw against Southampton which saw some great defending from Lucie Taylor-Blake, Ellen Page and Helena Ward. The next game they were defeated 2-0 by Trojans A but the midfield line up of Catherine Clarke, Tessa Drake and Alice Thomas kept on battling and were unlucky to score . Andover A proved to be a strong opponent who won 3-0 due to a couple of runaway goals despite solid defending from Stan Arnold and 2 goals were conceded against Winchester. But a 1-0 win against Salisbury was well deserved and saw James Fuller take the ball up to score!

Romsey U8’s Tigers

For their first match up the Tigers drew 1-1 with Andover A and saw Joe Arnold battling his way through the Andover defense to score the goal, well supported in midfield by Ellie East, Marianne Lawson and Oliver Ohara. Next up were Winchester who, despite some great defending by Kai Volanthen and Jack Sluman, won 2-0 followed by Andover B who managed to get past the Romsey defense to score 3 goals. But this didn’t deter the Tigers and their next match was a 0-0 draw against Trojans B with Alice Appleton and Naeve Poutney getting stuck in and Rio Volanthen making some solid tackles. The Tigers last match of the tournament also ended in a well earned 0-0 draw with the whole team playing together to fend off any attempts at goal!

Under 8’s Team & Results

Romsey Lions                                                                  Results

Stan Arnold                                                                       Southampton drew 0 – 0

Catherine Clarke                                                              Trojans A lost 2 – 0

Tessa Drake                                                                       Andover A lost 3 – 0

James Fuller                                                                       Winchester lost 2 – 0

Ellen Page                                                                           Salisbury won 1 – 0

Lucie Taylor-Blake

Alice Thomas

Helena Ward

Romsey Tigers                                                                Results

Alice Appleton                                                                 Andover A drew 0 – 0

Joe Arnold                                                                         Winchester lost 2 – 0

Ellie East                                                                            Andover B lost 3 – 0

Marianne Lawson                                                           Trojans B drew 0 – 0

Oliver Ohara                                                                     Southampton drew 0 – 0

Naeve Poutney

Jack Sluman

Kai Volanthen

Rio Volanthen

Romsey U10 As

The U10As enjoyed a mixed bag of results, played some excellent hockey and competed furiously during the morning.

First up were Southampton A. Romsey found their hockey shoes quickly and a goal each from Harry Croft-Baker and Charlie Thomas gave the home team their first victory of the day.

Up next were Trojans A whose goal keeper must surely have been one of the players of the day. The Romsey team pummeled away but were consistently kept out by the man in black. Eventually however Romsey pressure won and Morgan Robertson scored a brace. Unfortunately however the pressure Romsey were asserting needed a release and Trojans matched the Romsey score with a couple of quick break away goals.

The Bournemouth and Winchester teams were very strong and combative and Romsey lost both encounters 3-1 and 4-1 respectively. Morgan Robertson scoring both consolations. The Romsey effort levels were excellent though. Zoe Henderson and Sophie Davidson were worked very hard in defence. Henry Williams and Harriet Northover linking well in midfield to force the play towards the opposition D.

Romsey fared better against Salisbury however, who again had an excellent keeper. The deadlock was finally broken though when an excellent cross was turned in by the quick witted Robyn Cooper to secure her team’s second win of the day.

Romsey B U10 team produced some excellent displays in all five matches as they hosted the Romsey Hockey Tournament with terrific teamwork and spirit throughout the day. It was rewarded with not only five wins but a complete clean sheet in the goals against column – superb defence with rock like Noah Cooper supported with some great pressing by Elizabeth Field.

Romsey U10 Bs

First match up was Southampton B who nearly scored first but some timely tackling from Elizabeth Field and Noah Cooper prevented them breaching the Romsey B goal. Once Romsey B got into their stride they pushed forward and a very strong, well taken shot by Sarah Mcleod resulted in the first goal. This was swiftly followed by some great midfield interceptions by Georgia Scott and Ben Slumen who then linked with Sophie Lawson who scored her first goal of the day rounding off a good passing move. Matthew Loveday completed a good 3-0  result with a nicely taken third goal sneaking it in by the post.

Next up Andover who played really well and it was an even contest for much of the game with tremendous defending from both teams and a lot of midfield tussles with Romsey B coming out on top thanks to a good opportunistic goal by Matt Loveday. 1-0 win for Romsey.

Trojans B challenged but the midfield strength of Sarah Mcleod, Ben Slumen and Georgia Scott continually closed them down and tenaciously stuck to their task. This combined with the strong defensive clearance shots by Noah Cooper ensured another clean sheet. Once Romsey had the ball there was good space found and passes made which resulted in a brace of well taken shots and resulting goals by Sophie Lawson and one from Matt Loveday who both vied for top scorers of the day as the tournament progressed.

It was Salisbury B next who made the initial running but a clearance by Matt Loveday reached Sophie Lawson who outran the Salisbury B defence, kept her composure and finished off with a fine well taken goal. Continual pressure was then applied by Romsey B midfield to provide a chance for Sophie Lawson to finish off completing another brace, with her scoring partner Matt Loveday rounding off a fine 3-0 win by a well taken chance near the goal.

Winchester B completed the fixtures and had some good individual play but they were tackled well by Ben Sluman and Georgia Scott combining with Elizabeth Field moving out of defence with a couple of timely interceptions. Sarah Mcleod hit a marvellous strong short corner which was well put away by Matt Loveday to open the scoring. Noah Cooper continued his fine defensive work with some strong clearances and link play. An own goal by Winchester B was the result of some good play by Romsey B who didn’t give the opposition a chance to threaten.

Overall an excellent set of results with every player contributing skill, tenacity and work rate in abundance. Leading scorers Sophie Lawson and Matt Loveday shared the honours at five goals apiece with Sarah Mcleod contributing one. It was a good all round team performance that shows how well they are developing team play and teamwork.

..and see a full review of the Mini Hockey Festival at Southampton Sports Centre. Romsey had two U8 and two U10 teams on show!

The foggy start to Sunday mornings’ Southampton Hockey tournament meant we didnt know how the day was going to turn out. However the sun broke through and the morning proved a very similar story.

The Romsey U10S squad played their first match against Winchester A team. Whether the fog hadn’t lifted from late nights I’m not sure but it took a little while for the team to start remembering how to play. Some solid defence from Noah Cooper, A couple of mid field runs from Matt Loveday and Morgan Robertson didn’t help improve the score line and they finished 2.0 down.

Things remained similar in the second match against a strong Fareham team. The score 3:1 with the goal coming from the reliable Matt loveday. Charlie Thomas and Harriet Northover teamed up well to try and get the attacking play but they were outplayed.

U10s like a challenge and our normal scoring pair of Morgan and Matt were tasked with scoring 5 goals each – the inspirational team talk had an effect and the Slytherin squad beat Trojans 3;0 with Morgan scoring 2 and Matt 1. The team started gelling and Sarah McLoed, Harriet and Sophie Davidson should get special mention for opening up the run of play. Matts speed was useful as always and the ever dependable Noah wasn’t going to let anything past him.

Match 4 against Salisbury really saw Sophie and Harriet get stuck in. Matt and Morgan both wanted to fulfil their challenge and with the final score 8:0 (Matt 4, Morgan 3) and Sarah Mcloed finding her way onto the score sheet the game was decisively won.

The Ss final match against Southampton A team saw some fabulous defending by Noah Cooper and Zoe Henderson, and excellent up front play from Morgan, Matt and finally Harriet Northover took her place on the score sheet. A 1:1 draw was the final result and the end of a very successful mornings hockey.

Romsey Under 10G side enjoyed the Southampton tournament with some fine displays by all players involved. Overall results were 1 win, 3 draws and a loss. Some excellent defensive displays and distribution by Zoe Henderson and Elizabeth Field saved Romsey on several occasions with stout defending right on the goal line! Robbing opposition players through anticipation and hard tackling was evident by Georgia Scott, Ben Sluman and Henry Williams all of whom passed really well once in possession. Some fine stick play by Harry Croft-Baker combined with Sophie Lawsons good movement and finishing ensured some exciting moments and an 8 pass move with the whole team involved resulted in hitting the post in a very tense 0-0 draw! – an example of finding space, passing and good attacking play. All of the team played really well and evidenced their continued development producing some sparkling moves resulting in goals for Sophie Lawson (3) Harry Croft-Baker (2) and Ben Sluman (1).

Romsey U8’s Lions (Alice Appleton, Joe Arnold, Tessa Drake, James Fuller, Brandon Harris (GK), Ellen Page, Naeve Poutney, Lucie Taylor-Blake)

Results

Trojans A drew 1 – 1
Fareham lost 3 – 0
Andover A drew 0 – 0
Salisbury drew 0 – 0
Southampton won 4 – 0

Romsey Lions had a great mornings hockey. They started off with a 1-1 draw against Trojans A with a blinding goal from James Fuller. Then conceded 3 goals against Fareham although the score in no way reflected the percentage of play. Their next two games were both 0-0 draws against Andover A and Salisbury with great defending from Ellen Page and Lucie Taylor-Blake and superb goal keeping played out by Brandon Harris who saved several attempts at goal. Throughout this the battling was consistent in midfield with Tessa Drake, Naeve Poutney and Alice Appleton chasing down balls. But the icing on the cake was a 4-0 win against hosts Southampton with James Fuller scoring all 4 goals from set ups by Alice Appleton, Joe Arnold and Naeve Poutney.

Romsey U8’s Tigers (Stan Arnold, Catherine Clarke, Ellie East, Ben Harris, Brandon Harris (GK), Marianne Lawson, Lucia Rugge Price, Jack Sluman, Alice Thomas)

Results

Trojans A drew 1 – 1
Fareham lost 3 – 0
Andover A drew 0 – 0
Salisbury drew 0 – 0
Southampton won 4 – 0

Romsey Tigers also played out a superb mornings hockey. Their first match was a 3-0 defeat against Basingstoke but this didn’t deter them and their next game against Winchester was a 0-0 draw with consistent defending from Stan Arnold, Catherine Clarke and Ben Harris, aided by solid goal keeping again from Brandon Harris. Their next game was a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth but they kept fighting with strong midfield performances from Ellie East, Marianne Lawson, Lucia Rugge Price and Alice Thomas. But they too had a great end to the mornings play with a 3-1 win against Trojans B with goals from Joe Arnold, Stan Arnold and James Fuller.

Congratulations to you all and thanks to all the support from parents. We look forward to the next Mini Tournament which we will be hosting on Sunday 4th December.

Romsey Unders 10s enjoyed playing in the sunshine at Winchester Hockey Club’s Mini Hockey Festival at King’s School.
Romsey sent a strong squad of 10 to play 7 matches against local opposition.

Up first were Trojans B and both teams took time to settle. Sarah Macleod and Zoe Henderson held the defence together though and the match finished up with a goalless draw. Next came Trojans A and Romsey hit the ground running. Sophie Lawson continued her fine early season form scoring the first goal and then put in some fine work to set up Morgan Robertson for the second. Final score 2-nil.
Andover proved to be a stiffer test and an end to end contest finished 1-1. Harriet Northover continued her battling attacking performance but it was Robyn Cooper who secured the point just before the hooter.
History repeated itself in the next match versus Salisbury, Sophie Davidson working hard to clear the ball from midfield and Robertson this time saving Romsey from defeat, securing a 1-1 draw.
Romsey met their strongest opposition against Winchester. This match saw Romsey fall to their first defeat for over 18 months. Lazy defending and strong Winchester play took the home team to a 2 goal lead. Harry Croft-Baker finally found his shooting boots though and scored the consolation goal with a fine long distance strike.
The last two matches against Bournemouth and Southampton saw Romsey apply themselves much better and their determined defence led by the excellent Noah Cooper saw them sacrifice a number of attacking opportunities in order to secure a clean sheet. Georgia Scott also excelled continuing her feisty midfield performance in these final two matches. Both games ending with goalless draws.

Under 8s Report

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Romsey Minis played 7 Won 1 drew 2 lost 4

Romsey U8 put up an excellent show at Winchester this Sunday.

First up for Romsey were Trojans B. Joe and Stan Arnold and James Fuller were staunch in defence repelling numerous attacks. Naeve Pountney Helena Ward and Alice Appleton provided the horsepower in midfield, whilst the threat up front came from Ben Harris, Ellie East and Marianne Lawson. Romsey were undone on the end by a goal on the break, with last man Stan left with too many attackers to keep out, the final score 1-0 to Trojans B

Romsey were similarly competitive against Trojans A and Andover, enjoying much of the possession, but were again undone by a late goals on the break, finishing 1-0 down in both games.

Against a strong Salisbury team Romsey fared less well and finished 4-0 down. Next up the home side, for whom Romsey saved their best performance of the day, and their constant pressure told midway through, Romsey winning 1-0. Thus invigorated, Romsey saw off the challenge of strong teams from Bournemouth and Southampton, drawing both matches 0-0.

Romsey improved with every game and can be very proud of their efforts.

U8s Tournament at Poole 18th September 2011

Joe Arnold, Stan Arnold, James Fuller(1), Ben Harris(1), Jack Sluman, Ellie East, Ellen Page, Naeve Pountney, Marianne Lawson, Alice Appleton

Results:
Bournemouth 0 v Romsey 1
Trojans 0 v Romsey 0
Romsey 1 v Southampton 1

A last minute equalizer from Ben Harris kept Romsey’s U8’s record of being undefeated this year.

The game against Southampton was very much a Romsey affair as Southampton had three Romsey players in their squad to complete their number. With Jack Sluman playing his best game of the day for Southampton with some strong tackling and hard hitting against a Romsey side under a lot pressure. Romsey went a goal behind as they fail to clear after being camped in their own half by the mixed Southampton Romsey team. The score line was only drawn level towards the end of the game when a cross from Joe Arnold was touched in off a Southampton stick by Ben Harris. His first goal of many for the Club.

The days first game against Bournemouth saw another player score his first goal of many for the Club. James Fuller with a superb strike after a long excellent run by Stan Arnold who crossed the ball to setup James beautifully. The mid -field of Alice Appleton, Naeve Pountney and Marianne Lawson fought to kept a determined Bournemouth side from scoring.

Thanks to everyone who took part and for Ellie East, Ellen Page, Jack Sluman and Ben Harris who played for Southampton. A special thanks to Jim East for his high quality umpiring.

Romsey entered two U10 and one U8 teams for the Trojans Hockey tournament on Sunday, 27^th March.

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For the U8s it was a day of firsts and ultimately triumph. The opening match against Southampton saw a bombardment of the opponent’s goal. Harry Croft-Baker slotted in 2, but Morgan Robertson crafted many attempts at goal, with 3 hitting home. With a solid defence led by Noah Cooper staving off the occasional counter-attack, Romsey were comfortable 5-0 victors. The second game against Andover was a repeat performance. After an early conceded goal, two players who had never been at a tournament before, Alice Appleton and James Fuller, showed their mettle in mid-field, passing the ball in flowing moves up to the forwards. Again, it was Harry and Morgan doing the damage, with 3 and 2 goals respectively. After that, Christopher Clothier and Harry scored 3 goals between then against Salisbury, with the Romsey defence untroubled.

The next game against the hosts Trojans A was hard fought, Sophie Davidson held the defensive line whilst sustained pressure up front led to goal from Christopher Clothier. Harry added 2 more, the game finishing in a 3-0 win. The next game saw Henry Williams move up front supporting a devastating period of play with Harry slotting home 4 goals, Christopher added one more – with none conceded. It was all to play for in the last game against Trojans B. Despite unrelenting pressure, Romsey failed to score, leaving a 0-0 scoreline.

The 2 under 10 teams played with great enthusiasm all day but this was not rewarded with much success. The whole squad deserved great credit though for not giving up and maintaining a very high level of team spirit throughout.

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Romsey U10s travelled to Bournemouth on Sunday for one of the last tournaments of the season. The squad have been playing well and are improving their positional play every match. With no U8 team entered the U10s absorbed their stronger players and fielded 2 teams for the day – the Romsey Rockets and Jets.

For the Rockets under 8 Noah Cooper proved his worth, solid in defence and making some lightening runs up pitch to open up the games. Sophie Lawson and Libby Cooper supported ably as always with an ever increasing level of ball skills. Matt Loveday and Bobs Cooper made the most of their upfront roles and kept the play attacking for most of the day. Niamh Grays pace was put to good use with a more midfield role as was Zoe Henderson who never fails to put her all into it. The results were 2 draws and a couple of close losses but the positives far outweigh any negatives. The icing on the cake was when Harriet Northover – normally in defence – was asked to push up. She was a different player and topped her day off with a fabulous goal.

The Jets had a similar set of results against teams from Trojans, Andover, Bournemouth, Southampton, Gillingham and Winchester. The Jets were ably led by Art Barcia who dominated the midfield and produced one goal against Bournemouth. Art was aided in midfield by Joe Roberts and Charlie Thomas whose enthusiasm and determination regularly won them the ball. In defence were debutants Jennifer Pimley and Ellen Saunders who provided a solid platform behind which goal keeper Molly Quinlan was able to operate. Upfront for the Jets was the under 8 pairing of Harry Croft-Baker and Morgan Robertson. Both provided a constant threat the highlight being Morgan’s brace scored against Salisbury.

Romsey’s Minis travelled en mass to Basingstoke for their tournament on Sunday. The U8s and 3 U10 teams all performed superbly all day. Please read on and click the link below for photographs.

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Romsey U8s

The under 8’s had a very good day at the Basingstoke minis tournament coming so close to being unbeaten all morning. Their first two matches were spent mostly in the oppositions half with Morgan Robertson notching his first two goals of the day and Harry Croft-Baker coming very close against the hosts.  In the next game the team kept it tight and Henry Williams played his best game preventing Trojans from breakthrough to the Romsey half.  In the third match, against Winchester, a strong free hit was precisely pushed  by Harry Croft-Baker for Morgan Robertson to slot in a clinical goal. Great defensive work by Christopher Clothier and hard clearance by Noah Cooper, from his own half, traveled half the pitch and directly through to Harry Croft-Baker who dribbled thirty meters and passed three defenders to slot home.  The next goal was again set up by Christopher Clothier, with Harry Croft-Baker scoring again, quickly moved the score to three up. Winchester did not give up however and fought hard to get one back before the end.

The second game against Winchester, the strongest opposition so far, caught the Romsey defense by surprise and they went one nil down after two minutes. They rallied however and with excellent feeding play by the team, Harry and Morgan bagged one each to win the game.

The next match, against Trojans, saw further good feeding from the midfield to the front leading to a two nil victory with Harry and Morgan again finishing off the team’s good work with a goal each.  Going into the last match of a busy and effortful morning Romsey came up against a strong Alton team and despite most of the action being hard fort across the halfway line a loose ball was charged after by the opposition and Romsey were caught  flat with the result a one nil defeat. Many of the under 8’s had played for the under 10’s during the morning as well and had shown great commitment and effort throughout. In the squad were Joe Arnold and Stan Arnold who did not stop running all afternoon.

Won 2-0 vs Basingstoke (Morgan 2)

Won 1-0 vs Trojans (Harry)

Won 3-1 vs Winchester (Morgan, Harry 2)

Won 2-1 vs Winchester (Morgan, Harry)

Won 2-0 vs Trojans (Morgan, Harry)

Lost 0-1 vs Alton

Rockin Romsey Hornets U10

The Rockin’ Romsey Hornets started the tournament at Basingstoke on a very cold but sunny Sunday with a fantastic win thanks to a fantastic goal from Zoe Henderson.  The next couple of matches were very close and there was nothing to choose between the teams.  Libby Cooper and Sophie Lawson made some fabulous runs supporting Bobs Cooper,  Matt Rowland and Art Barcia. Mollie Quinlan got some good practice in the goalie kit and made some excellent saves.   Harri Northover and Sarah Macleod were very strong in defence until Sarah moved into midfield and with a tremendous ‘text book’ run fed the ball across to Bobs who slotted it in to score.

Romsey Cheetahs U10

Although numbers were slightly depleted the Cheetahs played with great spirit all day against teams from Trojans, Basingstoke and Winchester. The most notable performance of the day came from Hal Cross in goal. He pulled off some outstanding saves and clearly drew the eye of a number of coaches from much larger clubs! Callum Robertson showed a high level of commitment, concentrating hard and tackling well. George Forgan was at his dependable best consistently winning the ball and managing to appear regularly in good positions.  Alexia Cross led the forward line, braving the cold weather to put in a spirited and battling display. Matthew Loveday impressed again. Very alert and a natural ball player, he was the main Cheetah threat attacking well from the midfield.

Romsey Tigers U10

For the Romsey U10 ‘Tigers’, the tournament was a day of marginal scorelines.  The prevalence of the nil nil results did not reflect the effort and flair shown on the pitch.  The core team played as a tightly knit unit; Arthur Barcia and Alexander Clothier up front had some penetrating runs but failed to at the last to hit the back of the net.  Raul Patel and Sophie Lawson worked the midfield, foiling many attacks whilst resolute in shielding the goal. Roma Creedon provided the back-stop defence throughout the day, saving many a goal with a well-timed tackle.  Other Romsey players were pulled in to man other positions as the games progressed.  Of particular note were Harry Croft-Baker and Christopher Clothier – both from the U8s, who fearlessly showed their mettle in the tougher U10 arena, performing like ‘old-hands’.  Overall, a tense set of matches, hard-fought, with the exhausted players leaving the field with head held high and pride intact.

Romsey U8s

The U8 squad excelled themselves at the Southampton Mini tournament yesterday. They went unbeaten all day, playing 7 matches, winning 4 and not conceding a single goal.

Playing against teams from Andover, Salisbury, Winchester and Southampton the quality of hockey played by the young Romsey team was high. The defence was led by Noah Cooper who was almost unbeatable in the tackle. This week he also added another feather to his cap with his first goal for the club, scoring against Southampton. Joe Arnold played at the back with Noah and together they ensured that the Romsey goal was rarely threatened.

The Romsey player of the day was Christopher Clothier who anchored the midfield. Regularly winning the ball and breaking forward feeding his more attacking team mates. Harry Croft-Baker was excellent, scoring 5 goals during the day and showing a high level of composure on the ball enabling him to unpick the oppositions defence with some clinical passing. Morgan Robertson was as competitive as ever and managed to core 6 goals during the day. His power, skill and determination were a constant threat.

Henry Williams made his debut for the club and let nobody down. He was enthusiastic and committed, making some excellent tackles and forward runs. Stan Arnold played as an excellent target man and was unlucky not to score one of a number of chances that came his way. Sophie Davidson delighted the crowd with her first goal for Romsey scoring against Southampton. Shortly afterwards she doubled her tally popping up again at the near post to score again.

The U8s should be extremely proud of themselves for this dominant performance. Their team spirit and endeavour was excellent and suggests a great future for these young players.

Results:

Romsey U10s

The Romsey Rapids started their morning at Southampton with only 7 players due to several late drop-outs.   In the cold and damp the team structured themselves brilliantly.  The new pairing of Ben Davidson and Lexi Cross working very hard up front, claiming a fine victory in the first game.  Bobs Cooper and Callum Robertson in Midfield kept the ball moving up pitch and all made some tremendous tackles.  Tegan Shaw  and Sarah Mcloed always seemed to be in the right place, making it extremely difficult for any opposition to get into the ‘D’ and   Hal Cross padded up in the keepers kit was almost unbeatable.  He was allowed out of his goal towards the end of the tournament and made some impressive attacking runs.  The Rapids played very well. As well as the victory they also had 3 draws and only 2 very close losses.  The should should be  extremely proud of their determination and how they accepted victory or defeat with equal stoicism!

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Romsey U10s travelled to Poole for their Mini Hockey tournament on Sunday with a squad of over 20 players making up 3 teams. Although representation from other clubs was disappointing everyone played good competitive games against sides from Poole and Bournemouth Hockey Clubs.

Romsey divided their squad up to create 3 teams of equal ability, the Carp, the Salmon and the Goldfish. All played a set of 5 games.

The team Carp got off to a slow start against Poole’s only representatives. Roma Creedon, Tegan Shaw and Joe Roberts were determined in defence but Carp finally lost a thrilling match 2-0. Next up were Romsey Goldfish and stiff inter-club rivalry led to a 0-0 draw despite some tenacious midfield effort from Alexia Cross. Against Bournemouth’s first string Carp held their own, Callum Robertson producing a fine display and some great passing, but were narrowly beaten 1-0. After the mid-tournament break Carp really hit their straps demolishing Bournemouth 2 4-0. Ben Davidson scored twice, just reward for his tireless display all over the pitch in defence and attack. The other two came from Morgan Robertson, whose second saw him complete a fine run from the halfway line with a neat finish past the Bournemouth keeper. The final game of the day was against Romsey Salmon and proved to be the tightest of the lot. With Hal Cross now padded up in goal the Carp’s defence was strong but Salmon pressure finally told and Matt Rowland scored another goal. Parity was soon rediscovered however when an exciting passing move was finished off by Molly Quinlan with her first ever goal!

Romsey Salmon played superbly and worked as a team all morning and their results reflected this. The first two matches ended in 1 nil wins with goals from Matt Rowland and Charlie Thomas, ably supported by Sophie Lawson who was very unlucky not to score herself. Bobs Cooper and GiGi Hebert in midfield made the play flow and with the dynamic and almost unbreakable defence of Raul Patel, Niamh Gray and Under 8 Noah Cooper the opposition were never allowed to take control. The final two matches – a 3 nil victory against Bournemouth with a hat-trick from Matt, and a draw against Romsey’s Carp.

Under ominous grey skies, Romsey Goldfish made a great start to the day, passing the ball well and making good use of space.  There were some penetrating runs from Harry Croft-Baker and Art Barcia up front and the Clothier brothers controlled the midfield, with Matthew Loveday, who was making his début for the club.  Libby Cooper and Mollie Biddlecombe were mobile in defence, with Abi James providing the link up to midfielders.  The results didn’t reflect the effort put in but after defeats against Poole and Bournemouth 1, the Goldfish wrapped up the tournament with a win against Bournemouth 2.

Andover 26/09/2010

Romsey U8s and 10s travelled to Andover for the annual Mini Tournament. 22 young players represented the club across the age groups.

Under 8s

The Under 8s had a great start to their season. They went unbeaten all day with comprehensive wins against Andover 2, Salisbury and Trojans. They were unlucky not to win the other two matches against Andover 1 and Winchester.

The Under 8 squad had great strength throughout. In defence Noah Cooper was dominant and organised the rest of the defensive unit made up of tournament debutants Joe & Stan Arnold. Goals came from the rest of the team, Morgan Robertson scored 5 goals, including a hatrick against Andover. His midfield partner Harry Croft-Baker was similarly effective slotting in goals almost at will! Up front Robyn Cooper and Christopher Clothier were always dangerous, repeatedly testing the oppositions defences and both popping up on the goal sheet regularly.

Under 10A

Romsey 1 under 10s put in a magnificent opening to the hockey season at the Andover Minis tournament last Sunday. They were undefeated with a nil nil against Southampton, drawing 2 all against Andover, an impressive 6 nil against Salisbury, 3 nil against Trojans and 5 nil against Winchester.

The 16 goals were well worked between the forwards Art Barcia, Ben Davidson and Matt Rowland with lovely passing from the wings into the scoring zone. Matt was always there to finish off Ben’s magnificent runs up the pitch and he scored an incredible 10 goals, the rest of the team notched up the points with Ben scoring 2 goals – but was crucial in 7 others, Art 2, Abbey James – a very strong mid fielder scored 1 and Raul Patel came storming down from the back to pop a goal across the line! Several attempts on goal by midfielders George Forgan and Abbey were not to be but exiting to watch!

It was not all forward play and without the strong defending of Raul Patel and Sarah Macleod the score line could have been very different. Raul showed the determination of a true goalie with many dives across the goal line – they were not getting past him!

Well done to the team – a great opening game.

Under 10B

Romsey’s second string, inexperienced team had a tough draw in Andover but as a squad never gave up.  They played 6 matches in total and managed 2 draws. The individual performances were outstanding however. The defensive unit of Niamh Gray, Roma Creedon and Mollie Biddlecombe were excellent. Callum Robertson, Alexander Clothier and Charlie Thomas worked tirelessly in midfield and Harriet Northover, Libby Cooper and Sophie Lawson were unlucky not to have more luck in attack. This teams effort was outstanding and will lead to more positive results in the coming weeks.

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