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U14 Boys Cross the Pennines
Mike Rushmere19 Nov 2023 - 23:01
A cup match to remember
For those of you who’ve never read the Men’s 2 match reports I would heartily recommend them even if you know nothing of the squad or their ventures - but make yourself a cup of tea before you start! They’re a great read. This weekend’s anecdote tells of their trip to Mordor (aka Huddersfield) where the fun started before they even arrive at (or find) their astro.
The U14 boys had their own adventures today where we took the squad over the Pennines to play Deeside Ramblers on the Welsh border. The journey is long on a good day - throw in biblical rain and the traffic from hell all the way over and I was a relieved coach to see a full compliment on the pitch ready to warm up on time! My parents are the best ?
The opposition were an unknown other than they were unbeaten this season and they’re part of a big club - their M1 are one of the best in the North just now playing National League.
It was clear from the first two mins that our hosts were a decent team - they’ll play the likes of Bowden, Repton, Neston and Belper - and they got into our D in the first five mins coming away with a well scored goal. Thirsk didn’t start slow - they just played around us and controlled the ball under pressure. This though - awakened ‘the beast’ and Thirsk put an impressive first half performance which led to seven unanswered goals scored by five different players.
We played some of the best hockey I’ve seen from the squad against a good side with our box press squeezing them out of the game over and over again. The control from tight man-marking from our back four with our GK Rufus calling instructions was the most effective we’ve seen - smiles all round from the coaches.
Our PC routines worked well and Oli W scored a belter of a flick from one of them against a very capable keeper who stopped a lot of good shots. Other first half scorers were Ali, Frankie, Freddie G and Thomas showing that we can attack from all areas. Injuries and the message at half time that we HAVE to be able to put in a 70 minute performance with lots of control in our game in the last 10 mins made this a whole squad performance. The rolling subs were on/off doing their job with great affect.
Second half saw the opposition show their calibre and they came out fighting, scoring the first two goals. The boys coped with the pressure and settled into their game and momentum swung back to Thirsk with Frankie getting a brace of goals (one a lovely tip-in deflection from Oli W’s PC strike).
One more goal each and Thirsk maintained control for most of the final 15 mins and the score finished 4-10. Many thanks as always to Sarah Broadwith for all the organisation and parents for trekking across the country - the sun shone on the pitch but that was about it! Onto the next round and Ben Rhydding this Sunday.
The U14 boys had their own adventures today where we took the squad over the Pennines to play Deeside Ramblers on the Welsh border. The journey is long on a good day - throw in biblical rain and the traffic from hell all the way over and I was a relieved coach to see a full compliment on the pitch ready to warm up on time! My parents are the best ?
The opposition were an unknown other than they were unbeaten this season and they’re part of a big club - their M1 are one of the best in the North just now playing National League.
It was clear from the first two mins that our hosts were a decent team - they’ll play the likes of Bowden, Repton, Neston and Belper - and they got into our D in the first five mins coming away with a well scored goal. Thirsk didn’t start slow - they just played around us and controlled the ball under pressure. This though - awakened ‘the beast’ and Thirsk put an impressive first half performance which led to seven unanswered goals scored by five different players.
We played some of the best hockey I’ve seen from the squad against a good side with our box press squeezing them out of the game over and over again. The control from tight man-marking from our back four with our GK Rufus calling instructions was the most effective we’ve seen - smiles all round from the coaches.
Our PC routines worked well and Oli W scored a belter of a flick from one of them against a very capable keeper who stopped a lot of good shots. Other first half scorers were Ali, Frankie, Freddie G and Thomas showing that we can attack from all areas. Injuries and the message at half time that we HAVE to be able to put in a 70 minute performance with lots of control in our game in the last 10 mins made this a whole squad performance. The rolling subs were on/off doing their job with great affect.
Second half saw the opposition show their calibre and they came out fighting, scoring the first two goals. The boys coped with the pressure and settled into their game and momentum swung back to Thirsk with Frankie getting a brace of goals (one a lovely tip-in deflection from Oli W’s PC strike).
One more goal each and Thirsk maintained control for most of the final 15 mins and the score finished 4-10. Many thanks as always to Sarah Broadwith for all the organisation and parents for trekking across the country - the sun shone on the pitch but that was about it! Onto the next round and Ben Rhydding this Sunday.
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