UNDER 12’S GIRLS SUFFOLK YOUTH LEAGUE (SYL) SECOND ROUND – SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2017

The second round of the SYL, hosted by Sudbury on Remembrance Sunday, was a bitterly cold affair. Arguably leading to much debate as to whether hockey should be more of a summer game, after all field hockey is in the summer Olympics! So, whilst the coaches froze, and the parents split their time between pitch side and inside the warm café or car, the girls were full of resolve and resilience and got on with the job in hand. Also as there was such a large proportion of squad players available in the second round there was a considerable shift of players between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams.

Pool A
BSE 1 7 – 0 Felixstowe 1
BSE 2 1 – 0 Sudbury 1
BSE 2 0 – 4 IES 1
BSE 1 0 – 0 Sudbury 1
BSE 1 3 – 0 IES 1
BSE 2 2 – 1 Felixstowe 1

In the second round, BSE 1 saw 5 new players join the squad: Goal Keeper, Kerry Woods who moved over from the 2nd Team, along with Josie Gooderham, Helena Page-Blair, Katie Rogers and Heidi Thornton.

BSE 1 first game was with Felixstowe 1. BSE dominated the game across the pitch resulting in a very healthy 7–0 victory. There were goals from Josie Gooderham, Katie Rogers and Randall, Georgia Wishlade and 3 from Helena Page-Blair. At the other end of the pitch there was some great defending from Olivia Hyndman. The second game against Sudbury 1 was a difficult one. Both sides played extremely well in defence, meaning that neither were able to break the deadlock or make the best opportunity of short corners. The match ended in a 0–0 draw. The final game against IES 1 was a fantastic game for BSE 1 who picked themselves up stoically from their 0 – 0 draw, seeking to prove a point or 3! Again, BSE defence was strong and there were some excellent passes between defence and midfield. Initial goals came from Katie Rogers and Josie Gooderham. IES then got a good run of play, however, were unable to make the best use of short and long corners. Toward the end of the game Katie Rogers scored a second goal, resulting in a 3–0 victory.

In the second round, BSE 2 saw 4 players move across from the 1st Team: Goal Keeper Bex Meekings, Olivia Barber, Katie Slark-Hollis and Matilda Grant. They were also joined by 2 new players, Grace Baxter and Olivia Whyte.

BSE 2 first game was with Sudbury. BSE played some lovely hockey, passing the ball fluidly across the pitch, with Olivia Whyte feeding the ball extremely well in midfield. Defence was strong throughout through the efforts of Abigail Bushell, Lilia Payne and Ella Sherfield. A fantastic goal from Grace Baxter resulted in a strong 1–0 victory. The second game against IES 1 was a difficult one and despite a concerted effort in midfield BSE were not able to break through IES’ defence, even on short corners. The score line of 0–4 to IES did not reflect the play and effort by the team in the Baltic conditions. So, after hot chocolates and a chance to warm up and reflect BSE 2 came back fighting against Felixstowe 1, dominating the game throughout. Katie Slark-Hollis and Matilda Grant played excellently together, resulting in Katie setting up Matilda for the first goal and Matilda reciprocating by setting up Katie for the second goal. Felixstowe managed to score a lucky goal towards the end of the match, but BSE were too strong and held on, resulting in a 2–1 victory.

Pool B
Ipswich 1 2 – 0 BSE 3
BSE 3 0 – 3 Felixstowe 2
BSE 3 0 – 2 IES 2

In the second round, BSE 3 saw Carmen Thornton join from the 2nd team as well as 4 new players, Jasmin Carne, Kate Gibbs, Alice Hopewell-Plant and Izzy Winter.

The first game was against Ipswich 1 - it is worth noting that Ipswich entered only 1 team into the SYL but managed to be placed in Pool B and not Pool A alongside the other clubs 1st teams!! Undoubtedly this meant BSE 3 had a very hard game against a much stronger and older team. Their second game was against Felixstowe 2 and the third with IES 2. The first and last games were particularly demanding due to the age and size difference plus the additional wind-chill. All players deserve a mention as they battled to and held onto the ball. The leadership of the Captain Millie Hansgate is to be commended, as she held the team from the midfield stoically. Katie Gibbs, Alice Hopewell-Plant and Esme Smith were pivotal in trying to keep the opposition out of the 'D', but sadly all three teams managed to break through at times. Carmen Thornton, Jasmin Carne, Addie Hafermann and Izzy Winter all in turn made some beautiful passes and feeds through to each other on numerous occasions from midfield to the forwards - predominantly Izzy Winter, but again today it was just not meant to be for BSE 3. The score lines for all 3 games did not reflect either the play, the team effort and most importantly the brave and aggressive defensive goal keeping skills from Bethany Woodruff - who ultimately deserved the coaches' Player of the Matches' for BSE 3 that day.