Division 1 Men – West 2 d Strikers 0
THE final minor round of the Lower South East Hockey Association was played over the weekend.
With Strikers out of finals contention, it went into its Division 1 men’s clash against West with nothing to lose.
Youngsters Angus Langsmith and Liam Delaney found each other well in attack and together they contributed to some scoring opportunities in the first half.
For West, Chris Calliss and Connor Murphy were strong at the front and had three short corner chances, one of which was converted well as Darren Vine put West up by one at half time.
The match was more free-flowing in the second term with end-to-end play.
Strikers’ Adam Coombe and West’s Dylan Broad were well matched and made for an entertaining contest.
Connor Millhouse was a pivotal presence in the midfield for Strikers, setting up much of the play coming out of defence.
Strikers’ Dale Tucker provided plenty of speed and opportunity, but could not quite pass the West defence of Rylan Ward, Darren Vine and Nathan Widdison.
West scored a scrappy goal resulting in some raised eyebrows from the Strikers defenders, but after consulting briefly the umpires correctly awarded the goal.
Despite some late opportunities to score for Strikers, West held firm and took home the points in the final minor round.
Division 2 Men – Strikers 5 d West 2
WEST opened the ledger in its Division 2 men’s clash with Strikers, but it was the latter which claimed the honours at the end of the day.
Strikers quickly replied to West’s opening goal as Angus Langsmith passed to a well-timed lead by Mason Hill on the wing.
Strikers’ youngsters Langsmith, Liam Delaney, Hill and Zaidyen Tweed were all class and showed some solid attacking play.
That teamwork resulted in a second goal for Strikers.
Strikers’ consistent attack resulted in a short corner and subsequent goal from Andrew Schubert late in the first half to sit in a good place going into the second.
In the second term Strikers took better advantage of possessions despite the defensive pressure of Daniel Grosse, Andrew Widdison and Darryl Rogers and some solid saves from keeper Sam Thompson.
Schubert and Connor Millhouse added further goals to the Strikers’ tally to help secure a 5-2 win.
Division 3 Men – Strikers 3 d West 0
THE Division 3 men’s clash between West and Strikers saw the latter take a three-nil win in the final minor round of the hockey season.
Angus Hopgood opened the scoring after some a solid work in with Stuart Sharman and Daryl Watson.
A good play awarded the second goal when Strikers’ youngster Jack Sharman dribbled into the circle, past the West defence and crossed to Hopgood who converted his second.
West also had its fair share of the play, but was unable to convert its chances.
Two goals was the difference at half time and West returned to the field with renewed enthusiasm.
That rewarded it with more possession, but Strikers counter attacked and the contest remained even.
Strikers demonstrated some good connected play through the midfield and scored a third goal late in the match to seal the deal.
Division 2 Women – Strikers 1 d/w Tigers 1
IT was an even affair when Strikers and Tigers went head-to-head in the Division 2 women’s competition.
A one-all draw was the result, with Strikers starting strong, before Tigers picked up its game and created some balance in possessions.
Midway through the first half, Strikers seized an opportunity and drew out Tigers’ goalie which resulted in a goal to Anna Mitchell after a tussle in defence.
That fuelled Strikers confidence and it controlled most of the ball.
A late opportunity from Tigers saw Kaitlin Nisbet with a shot on goal, but it went high.
Strikers answered with its own chance to score with a short corner awarded, but likewise the shot on goal went high.
The second half remained fairly even up until the 23-minute mark, when Tigers had a fast break.
Di Horbury stormed out to meet the Tigers’ advance, but when the ball spilled out from the tackle it was to Tigers advantage and it was swept in for a goal.
Strikers responded quickly with a short corner, but could not convert.
Strikers strived to maintain their intensity and were rewarded with short corners, but failed to score.
Tigers received a golden ticket when a short corner was awarded on the full time whistle, but luckily for Strikers it was not converted and the game was called a tie.
Division 3 Women – Strikers 1 d West 0
A CLOSE match-up between Strikers and West’s Division 3 women saw just one goal scored for the game.
That was scored by Strikers at the seven-minute mark of the first half, when Emily Marshant crossed to Jules Schubert, whose shot was deflected in by Sierra Tweed.
The rest of the match went without score, despite West’s best efforts to level.
Renae Cameron, Molly Lennon and Emma Gleeson were all busy contributors to the West defensive side and continued to force intercepts and pressure Strikers passes.
And West was not without its own chances, with one exceptional hit on goal putting Strikers keeper Di Horbury to hasty work.
West had another opportunity late in the first half with a short corner.
The push out was strong and a good hit by Cameron was narrowly intercepted by Aleesha Searle, who ran out quickly to get there in time.
West evened up their share of possession in the second half and seemed to have more drive onto the ball.
However, it was unable to convert and Strikers held on for the win.
Under 15 Boys – Strikers 4 d West 1
THE top-of-the-table clash in the Under 15 boys division saw Strikers hit the scoreboard early as it stormed to an eventual 4-1 win over West.
The first goal saw a strong drive through the middle from Strikers in the first 10 minutes, before West launched its counter attack.
But Strikers defence withstood the West attacks and sent the ball back down their end on several occasions.
Those solid team plays enabled Strikers to convert two more goals before half time.
In the second term West converted off a short corner to get on the board.
However, it remained two goals down and a late score from Strikers sealed the result.
The final result did not reflect the intensity of the game and it is expected to be another tough clash when the two sides meet again in first semi-final this weekend.
