U12 Boys Romsey – Bournemouth Sunday 29 September 2019
Twelve Romsey boys, U12, played their first match of the season today against Bournemouth. Benji took on the goalie duty; Dylan, Tom, Toby and Callum played in defence. Theo, Oscar, Ben and Jake played midfield and Josh, Henry and Milo played up front.
Four of the boys, including the goalie, played the first game on a full pitch, having come up from U10 this season.
Romsey played well and tried hard to pass and find each other on the pitch but found it hard to withstand the pressure from Bournemouth.
The match ended up 9-1 and the only Romsey goal was scored by Oscar after an assist from Theo.
Despite the loss all boys kept playing with a positive attitude. Boys – keep practicing the passes and teamwork and it will only get better!!
Thank you to Tom and Rob for the coaching and to Patrick for umpiring.
U14 Boys Fantastic Start to the Season!
U14 Boys vs Southampton
Sunday, 22nd September 2019
Romsey Boy’s (U14) 8
Southampton 1
On a wet morning, the U14 Romsey Boy’s made an outstanding start to the new season. With 80% possession throughout the whole game, the boys shone brightly even if the morning weather resembled more of a wintery wet feel.
Romsey dominated from the outset with and early goal from a Jack M. following a superb through ball from Jack S. Romsey continued to dominate and the goals flowed, Jack M. scoring number 2 quickly followed with firm strikes from the edge of the D from Will and Jack S. It continued to be an exciting and quick-paced game. There was no stopping the boys in yellow and blue with all members of the team pulling together in what was an excellent display of teamwork and communication. Romsey continued to create chances with new members Oliver, Toby and Daniel in control supported well by Freddie. Another fantastic strike from Owen made it number 5. Southampton tried to turn the game towards them but Daniel, Jack J. and Lorne held them off. The Romsey goalkeeper, Joe stood solid with some excellent saves, although his skills were not fully on show as most of the play was at the Southampton goal end.
The second half started with as much energy on show from Romsey with an excellent goal from Harry created by a clever dribble and a neat cross by Lorne bringing the score to 6-1. Rupert raced into the D and neatly slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. Romsey continued to have several excellent chances before they finally got the rewards they deserved, first with another excellent goal from Lorne quickly followed by a superb finish from Will.
This was an outstanding display from Romsey with every player being fully involved and invested in a superb and entertaining effort. Lots of hope for the season ahead.
New Forest Pip U16 Girls to Runners up spot!
Romsey U16 girls played New Forest On Sunday April the 28th 2019 in a straight shoot out for the league runners up position in the last match of the season.
Romsey had been slow starters this season but their form had improved in recent weeks and were playing their best hockey of the year.
Push back was 1.00pm on a cloudy day and both teams set off at a good pace. Romsey were soon in attack with Clara H and Liz F moving the ball through midfield and getting the ball wide to Jess G who made good progress to find Jess W at the edge of the D only to see her shot blocked.
New Forest Came straight back at Romsey with neat work in midfield and it was only strong defending from Molly O and Katie S that kept them at bay.
The match was being played at a fast pace with both sides having efforts on goal. Great work from Tessa D ably assisted by Anna R in attack saw Romsey come close again.
In goal Daisy R was in great form making a number of important saves in the first 25 minutes.
Romsey’s defence were dovetailing well and Ellie E and Antonia L were providing excellent cover for their centre backs.
As half time approached New Forest were on top and in midfield Ella M and Grace M were working really hard to break up the play.
It had been a tough first half and Romsey had done well to go to the break 0-0. The second half started Briskly and Forest were straight on the attack and they broke into the D after a neat move a stinging shot beat Daisy at the near post. 1-0 Forest.
Romsey were stunned and hadn’t recovered before another sizzler flew in the goal 2-0 Forest!
Romsey composed themselves and got their passing game on again with neat moves down the right with Molly O feeding the ball out of defence to Jess G and Tessa D who made good progress before last gasp defending by Forest.
This was just a pre curser to the next move with Tessa D making a great run and being found by Molly O , she surged into the D and finished with smartly into the corner 2-1!
Romsey tails were up and soon they were awarded a short corner and Liz F sent one of her trade mark hits arrowing towards the corner only to be denied by a combination of the keepers out stretched leg and defender clearing to safety , so close!
This spurred New Forest on and they attacked again and again with real purpose and Daisy R was called in to action several time and produced some excellent saves to keep Romsey in the game unfortunately the pressure told in the end and Forest scored a scrappy goal to make it 3-1.
Romsey worked hard from start to finish but New Forest were just a bit better on the day and the final score stayed at 3-1 to Forest.
Player of the match – Daisy R – excellent goalkeeping display.
Mention in dispatches – Molly O – strong and brave in defence well played.
A thoroughly enjoyable season , well done to all girls you have been a pleasure to manage.
Best wishes – Simeon
U16 Girls Shine in the Sun!
The Under 16 girls Played Southampton at the sports centre on Sunday the 7th of April with the U16 Boys playing on the pitch next door.
It was a sea of yellow in the morning sunshine. Push back was at 10.45am prompt. Romsey got straight into their stride moving the ball nicely through midfield with Ella M and Tessa D combing well on the left.
Within the first five minutes Romsey were clearly on top with Clara H and Liz F bossing the midfield and a probing attack into the D resulted in the ball breaking out to the right where newly crowned (Most improved player of the season) Jess Grout had made a clever run towards the back post and as the ball came across she slotted it home calmly. 1-0!
Whilst Romsey were on top they had to be careful of the Southampton counter attack and their dangerous midfielder. However each time she got the ball in advanced positions the defenders Antonia L and Ellie E remained clam and did not jump in and waited for their moment to steal.
However a stick tackle in the D gave Southampton a Short corner. The injection was good and and the shot was hit true and fast and there was nothing daisy R could do to stop it 1-1!
After 15 Mins Jess G made a similar run to her first and took a lovely touch in the D and finished smartly into the corner 2-1! a Brace for Jess and Romsey back in the lead.
Not wanting to be left out Jess W was soon on the score sheet with her hard work paying off with neat work in the D and a precise finish to make it 3-1!
Romsey were now playing some of their best hockey of the season , the midfield was purring and Emily J and Clara H were picking out great forward passes to Anna R and Tessa D who were finding great positions up front.
This resulted in two short corners in quick succession and after a sighter Liz F stepped up for the second one which she caught perfectly and was soon greeted by the thud of the back board as the ball flew into the corner giving the keeper no chance. 4-1!
Halftime was approaching and Romsey were on top although a rare defensive slip let Southampton in on goal, katie S was doing her best to make it back on the cover , Daisy R took things into her own hands and came out from goal making a fantastic smothering challenge taking ball defender and attacker, great goal keeping!
Half time came and went , it was now a question of Romsey managing the game out. However Southampton made a strong start and within 10 mins got a goal back which gave them more confidence.
Romsey defence had to be on their mettle Alex O and Antonia L were getting to everything and were ably backed up by Katie S and Ellie E.
In Midfield Clara H , Ella M , Emily J and Jess W were working hard to plug holes and get Romsey forward which resulted in close efforts from Tessa D , Liz F and Anna R .
Although no second half goals came Romsey managed the game out well with a final score of 4-2 ,they richly deserved the win with their best performance of the season.
Victory was even sweeter as The U16 boys on the next pitch also won their match 4-1!
Player of the match Antonia L – Solid defending from the start to the finish.
Junior Awards, Fun Day and BBQ 2019
Almost 100 junior members, their families, coaches and managers enjoyed a great celebration of the season on Saturday afternoon at Romsey School.
Everyone, parents included, were divided into team and they played a fun round robin tournament with a few special rules. No one could tackle a mini unless you were a mini yourself and extra points were given to each team by the umpires for sportsmanship at the end of each game.
In the end Rufus’s team pipped Noah’s side to the title and the winners enjoyed a box of chocolates to celebrate!
After the games came the BBQ, chef’s Simeon and Jo Field, Rex and Linda Taylor, Pete O’Hara and Clare Cooper coped brilliantly with demand and much food and drink was consumed. Thank you to everyone else that assisted and those that brought along the cakes.
To finish the season awards were given to each age group for their Player of the Season and their Most Improved Player. The winners were as follows:
| 2019 Player of the Season | 2019 Most Improved Player | |
| U8 Boys | Zach Woodgate-Jones | Hamish Nicholson |
| U8 Girls | Cherry Cadge | Grace Gomarsall |
| U10 Boys | Jake Attfield | Ben Gladstone |
| U10 Girls | Caitlin Jupp | Clara Fuller |
| U12 Boys | Rupert Willes | Tom Westmore |
| U12 Girls | Katie Butson | Eliza Herbert |
| U14 Boys | Lorne Thomson | Harry Garton |
| U14 Girls | Hannah Procter | Sadie Franklin |
| U16 Boys | Rob Budden | Rufus Taylor |
| U16 Girls | Alex Orak | Jess Grout |
The Bonham Cup for the Most Improved Junior Player was awarded to Alex Orak who has excellent both in the junior section and playing for the ladies – she has gone from ladies 4s to end the season playing for the ladies 1s.
The Junior Club Person of the Year was awarded to Noah Cooper who, despite not doing Duke Of Edinburgh, still turned up to assist in coaching the minis every Sunday morning during the season. Well done, and thank you Noah.
U16s win double header v Southampton
The U16 boys and girls played Southampton at the same time this morning at the Sports Centre. Both teams won well – the girls 4-2 and the boys 4-1.
Great to see so much yellow success in the sunshine at the end of the season!
U8s at Andover – the future is bright, the future is yellow!
The last tournament of the season should have been a celebration of the season in the spring sunshine, but a combination of the clocks change and a cold wind made it tougher than expected for all. A full squad of regulars for the season, plus William playing in his second tournament and Rory making his debut gave the stand-in coach for the day a selection challenge in all games.
The team started strongly against Andover B, dominating the game but not getting close to scoring. The opposition were very strong in the tackle, sometimes putting anything in the way to stop the Romsey attacks. Eventually the pressure told and Zac crossed for Henry for the first, and they then combined again for the 2nd just before the final whistle with a very sharp first time finish from Zac. A 2-0 victory was a solid start.
The second game was against Trojans B who were a shadow of the A team that were held to 1-1 in the previous tournament. Zac was properly warmed up with an appetite for more goals to add to his season’s tally with 2 more goals scored quickly after the start. Hamish began to win tackles in midfield and showed real pace down the right escaping tackles before scoring at the near post. Trojans struggled to keep the ball with Cherry particularly showing awareness to look up and pass after winning tackles. The early goals enabled plenty of substitutions and Rory made his first appearance for the team. After a rest on the sidelines, Zac came back on to score a 4th which was the final result.
Southampton B only turned up with 5 players causing too many selection headaches for the stand-in coach as I agreed to match their number. Their 5 players were stronger than expected and matched the starting team, with Grace showing great determination to get strong and low in the tackle to win back possession. For the final few minutes, Zac and Henry came on in their last game to try to win the game. Unfortunately, their shots either narrowly missed, were stopped by feet and a ‘goal’ disallowed as Zac couldn’t score directly from a free hit. A 0-0 finish was disappointing for the team, but it was the coach’s fault for not getting the goals first.
The team bounced back against Winchester B with a strong 4-0 victory with Zac getting another hat-trick and Henry also getting on the score-sheet. The highlight of this game was Henry’s determination to sprint 40 yards down the pitch to stop Zac’s pass just before it went off the pitch. Zac had followed up and managed to knock in Henry’s cross, but he definitely owed that goal to Henry’s efforts.
The penultimate game was against New Forest who beat our young side 4-0 earlier in the season. This was a much more competitive game with Romsey just dominating possession and territory, but Emma and William made critical tackles when they were about to break up the pitch. The team made it difficult for New Forest on sideline-hits, making a ring to make it easier to win back the ball. But they also managed to pass their own side-line hits to team-mates showing improvement during the season. Zac scored another goal to put Romsey 1-0 ahead, but unfortunately New Forest managed to escape once and score in the last couple of minutes to level the match at 1-1, which was a fair result after a close match.
The final game was against Andover C, although early on it was clear that this was not a weak team. They tackled as strongly as the B team in the first game and we struggled to get around them either with lots of action on the right hand side. Olivia was getting more involved having warmed up and managed to put in several good tackles to win back possession. As legs and brains tired at the end of the tournament though, Andover escaped our high defensive line and ran through to open the scoring. Zac managed to level with his final goal for the Under 8s after a very impressive, high scoring season. But it didn’t take Andover long to retake the lead after another break and we were down 1-2. Noah showed his skills developed over the season to beat a player and then ran on strongly towards goal. However a great Andover tackle won them the ball with the final whistle coming shortly thereafter.
Although a disappointing finish to another good tournament, this young squad has improved so much during the year thanks to their own efforts and Super Coach Stuart. Stuart – all us parents are very grateful to you for your time, commitment, knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching our children so well over the past season. Thank you very much!
U12 Boy’s Finish Season on a High
Romsey U12 Boy’s won an even but hard-fought match at home to Southampton last Sunday.
With eleven players and no substitutes, all the boys worked hard to maintain the pace right through the game.
With Joe in goal, a defence of Tom, Toby F and Callumbehind a midfield of Lewis, Toby S, Henry A and Milo. Upfront Romsey had Henry T with Rupert and Rowanplaying wide.
The first period was very evenly matched with neither team making a breakthrough, the second period started with Romsey playing a wider game and getting more pressure on the Southampton goal. Milo made a break from the right of midfield into the dee, his pass found Henry T whose shot was too good for the Southampton keeper.
There then followed a period of pressure from Romsey but the Southampton goalie keeping them in the match as Romsey had plenty of shots on goal. At the other end with Romsey defending high up the pitch they almost suffered a goal against the run of play when Southampton broke forward with two players against the Romsey goalie, Joe, who came off his line early and saved the shot from the striker and cleared the ball, the second period finished with Romsey just ahead one nil up.
Romsey started the third period well, with plenty of runs from midfield and shots on goal, but again the Southampton Goalie kept them in the game. As the match drew to a conclusion Southampton looked to have earnt a draw with a shot past the Romsey goalie, but a diving outstretched Tom just managed to keep the ball out to help keep a clean sheet for Romsey.
U10 Girls In2Hockey
Our u10 girls travelled to Haslemere for the Hampshire round of the In2Hockey competition yesterday.
They had a great day with a mix of results and finished well placed in their group but missed out on a playoff place.
Minis enjoy the sunshine
Last training session of the season so the minis enjoyed some fun and games in the sunshine this morning 😀
