Captain’s Report Brecon v Gowerton

Posted on by gowertonhockey

 

Couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2016/17 season. The ladies all put in an outstanding effort throughout the whole game.

After a well-structured and focused warm up the ladies were ready to take on Brecon for the win.  The ladies started off on the back foot as Brecon won the toss for first push back. Despite this the ladies put pressure on Brecon forcing them to take a defensive role.  After demonstrations of exceptional team work and individual skill the ladies secured their first goal which came from the cracking strike of Katie Saunderson.  This lifted the spirits of the ladies, however they kept their composure and continued to press.  Accurate feeding from the midfields up to the forwards allowed the ladies to get into Brecon’s defending circle which resulted in a second goal from Cath Fuge.

Again spirits were lifted but the ladies still knew they had to work for the win. After the restart there were a series of short corners against Gowerton but defence held strong and worked hard displaying exceptional defensive skills resulting in a turn over and a break down the line for Gowerton.

After several shots on Brecon’s goal Gowerton secured a short corner.  The strike was taken but Brecon had a foot on the line resulting in a penalty flick for the girls. Cath Fuge stepped up to the challenge and secured Gowerton’s third goal by putting the ball top left corner. As the game continued, Gowerton continued to press and before the half time whistle, Ria Cannon was able to secure a fourth goal for the ladies.

After a positive half time talk with constructive feedback.  The girls were eager to get back out on the pitch and continue their journey to victory. It was our start, putting us on the front foot and in an attacking role.  Play continued at the same pace and standard as the first half with the girls working effectively as a team and with constructive use of communication to drive us forward.

It was visible that the girls started to tire but with regular substitutions being made the girls were able to keep the pace of the game consistent.  As play continued a foul was called against Gowerton in the middle of the pitch, which resulted in a green card (2 minute sin bin) for Cath Fuge for knocking the ball away.  This resulted in the girls losing a forward to cover the gaps in midfield taking on a more defensive role.

The girls continued to work constructively but despite several attempts on goal were unable to secure a fifth goal. Brecon however were able to secure their only goal by creating a 3 on 1 attack on Hannah Preuss.  As play continued fatigue started to kick in the girls continued to work exceptionally hard and did not give up the fight until the final whistle. After the game there was an amazing buzz amongst the girls and everyone was pleased and proud of the way in which they had played.

This week’s captain’s player could have gone to any of the girls as they all gave it 100% and worked exceptionally well. Defence had an outstanding game defending the goal till the end, like a solid wall. Tracey Simons, after returning from injury, had an outstanding first game back. However this week’s Captain’s player goes to a player whose style of play is phenomenal. Her grace and ball skill is second to none and the fact that she was able to keep her cool while being besieged by Brecon defence, which she successfully navigated her way of every time, was exceptional. Not only did she demonstrate excellent play but her encouragement toward her team members was uplifting and motivational. For these reason I would like to give Captain’s player to Katie Saunderson.

A goal and Captain’s player on your debut, not bad eh! But definitely well deserved.

 

Final Score Brecon 1 – 4 Gowerton

 

 

 

Gowerton vs Cardiff Medics – Captain’s Report

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 The ladies started off stronger during this match. Communication and defence were strong, despite Cardiff Medics efforts they were unable to secure a goal early on into the match, and this was due to the tight man marking that the ladies demonstrated and strong clears from defence. Also the world class save from Megan James on the line. 

 The ladies were able to put pressure on the medics up front but despite their efforts Nicola Tucker and Ria Cannon were unable to secure a lead goal. The Medics remained strong and did not fold despite the pressure the ladies put on them, their persistence paid off and they were able to secure themselves two goals before the half time whistle. 

There was nothing but praise between the ladies during the half time talk as everyone felt play was good between the team. This helped the ladies go into the second half strong and determined to put the ball in the back of the goal. 

During the second half the ladies still demonstrated excellent play, switching the ball well across the back, impeccable marking in the defensive circle and constructive communication throughout. Despite these efforts the ladies began to show signs of fatigue which enabled the Medics to put more pressure on. The Medics were able to get a number of shots on goal but Amy remained strong. During the second half the medics were able to secure themselves three more goals taking the full time score to Gowerton 0- 5 Medics. 

My Captain’s player for this match goes to Megan James for her consistent efforts in defence and her outstanding save on the line. Megan just came out of nowhere slid along the goal line and managed to stop the ball going into goal at the very last second. Gowerton and the Medics were both astonished by this save. Megan despite taking several hits to the legs she still kept up her rate of play. Well done Megan  

Gowerton v Dinefwr – Captain’s Report

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Not the best of starts for the ladies this weekend. From the start Dinefwr came out strong putting us straight on the back foot and under pressure. Despite the efforts to pull it together the ladies were unsettled and played a very defensive game. Dinefwr ran at us strong not giving the ladies much chance to turn the ball over.

However the ladies did demonstrate some good plays and were able to put some pressure in Dinefwr’s defensive half, despite this effort and a few short corners awarded the ladies were unable to secure a goal. Dinefwr kept up their good fight and were able to secure themselves two tactical goals with one coming off a reverse stick hit. 

At half time the girls discussed what needed to be improved and tactics of how to put more pressure on Dinefwr. This talk gave the girls encouragement and they came out in the second half more positive.

The girls started the second half well. They were more settled, communication improved which had a positive effect on play. The girls were now putting more pressure on Dinefwr and demonstrating sharper passing and constructive play. Mid fields worked well working the ball up to the forwards and holding Dinefwr off. 

Nicola and Jess up front made some good runs into space receiving through balls from midfield. Defence marked well and worked constructively with midfield playing the ball back and switching away from high areas of pressure, this improvement in play increased pressure on Dinefwr. However they still came at the ladies hard. After must fight and good saves from Amy Dinefwr were awarded a short corner which game them their third goal from an unstoppable strike. 

Gowerton didn’t give up they kept up their fight and were determined to get a goal. Despite strikes from both Jess and Nicola the ladies were unable to secure and goal. As play went on Dinefwr were able to secure themselves another goal making the final score Gowerton 0-4 Dinefwr. 

My captains player this week goes to Amy Hansen for her efforts and saves made during the game. The goals that Dinefwr scored were outstanding and unstoppable and would have been difficult for anyone to save. This didn’t get to Amy as she kept up her fight and saved a number of goals throughout the whole game. Well done Amy. 

Gowerton v Brecon – Captain’s Report

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Wow! What a win for the ladies this Saturday. 

The first half the girls started out strong, showing lovely one two passing, triangles and switching round the back. I felt the girls went into the game with confidence but also remained relaxed which showed in the way in which they played. After dominating the game from the start it wasn’t long before the first goal came. This boosted the girls even further making them eager to get another goal, which came shortly after. There were times in which Brecon put us under pressure but awesome man marking, communication and control within defence prevent Brecon from scoring. More pressure on Brecon defence meant that the ladies were able to score another 3 goals, taking the half time score to 5-0. 

This awesome goal lead took the pressure of the girls going into the second half, but they were still aware that they needed to put in the work in order to hold Brecon off. During the second half the girls’ standard of play remained solid. They continued to use short sharp passes, passing into space for Jessica Williams and Nicola Tucker to run onto up front and tight man marking eliminating the possible passes for Brecon. Excellent communication within our defensive half helped maintain this standard in terms of man marking and clearing the ball up the pitch. Both Jessica Williams and Nicola Tucker continued to put the Brecon defence and keeper under pressure securing another 4 goals for Gowerton. The ladies secured themselves a short corner in the second half in which Cath Fuge was able to secure the ladies another goal. During the whole match the goal scorers were Jessica Williams with 5 goals Nicola Tucker with 4 goals and Cath Fuge with 1 goal. 

This week I felt all the girls played very well making my decision for Captain’s player difficult. However I would like to give my Captain’s player to Kelly Melbourne for her awesome effort I goal and keeping a clean sheet. I felt Kelly played well making some awesome saves even though she hasn’t had any practice in goal. Well done Kelly. 

Final score Gowerton 10 – 0 Brecon 

Gowerton v Sue Noake – Captain’s Report

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Another good win for the ladies this week against Sue Noake.

The first half the girls were strong, holding Sue Noake off with their awesome man marking and defensive skills. The midfield cleared the ball wide and upfront to Jessica Williams and Nicola Tucker who managed to put Sue Noake’s defence and keeper under pressure. This strong attack resulted in a goal from Jayde Piontecki, giving us a 1-0 lead. This lead didn’t encourage the girls to slack but encourage them to get another goal later in the first half which came from Ria Cannon. 

With a few adjustments discussed during the half time talk, the second half of the match started off strong with the girls showing excellent support for each other and passing into space. This contained hard work and effort paid off again with Jessica Williams dribbling the ball into the circle and securing our 3rd goal. 

Towards the end of the second half fatigue started to kick in and the girls started to drop, only slightly, but Sue Noake managed to secure their only goal. This gave the girls a boost, making them determined to get a forth goal but unfortunately were unsuccessful, making the final whistle score 3-1. 

This weeks Captains player is a difficult one, as I felt all the girls gave 100% and worked well together. Lauren Humphries contained to display her strong defensive skills and Jessica Williams demonstrated excellent attack up front. But this weeks Captain player goes to Ali Discombe. Ali held the middle well, kept composure and cleared some lovely balls up front to the forwards. Well done Ali 🙂 

Gowerton 3-1 Sue Noake