Captain’s Report – Gowerton vs Cardiff Uni 3rds

Posted on by gowertonhockey

Saturday saw a frustrating loss for Gowerton Ladies. With Rachel not playing, I captained the team against Cardiff Uni 3’s. 

After an intense warm up; the first half we really came out fighting and dominated the game, we had the possession but were struggling to finish. 

The first half saw great switching of side line balls from Hannah Preuss through the defence with Victoria Vaughan and Annie Williams releasing the balls to Helen Quinn and her running the ball up the pitch. 

A lifted strike from Jayde Piontecki nearly saw us go 1-0 up and Nicola Tucker was running herself ragged up front. A well defended short corner by Gowerton led to a a goal from Jayde, rightly so seeing Gowerton lead 1-0. We were using the play to our advantage. Gowerton were the stronger team. 

1-0 up and a half time talk about quick balls and man marking led the girls back out on the pitch for the second half with their heads held high. A slight loss of structure within the middle of the pitch caused some mistakes with Cardiff players being left unmarked but this was soon sorted out and Gowerton defended their socks off. 

At some point in the D, I was scared of us myself with shots being saved on the line and Amy continuing with her epic saves! It was looking good for Gowerton but a fumble in the D led to Cardiff dribbling the ball over the line and making the score 1-1. 

This disheartened the girls as they were all fighting really hard. A second goal then came from Cardiff from a pass into the D and shortly followed by another flukey goal where the ball dribbled over the line despite the defence bouncing shots back at them. Gowerton continued to fight but had nothing left in their tanks.

A 3-1 loss for Gowerton does not reflect the game and I was proud to captain that side on Saturday. Every one of the girls played amazingly and we did not deserve to lose. 

My captains player this week has to go to Victoria Vaughan for her consistency at the back, great tackling and ball switching. Sorry, I’m a defender so might be biased! Good work GLHC!

Katie Young

Vice-Captain

Katie Young 2

Captain’s Report – Brecon vs Gowerton

Posted on by gowertonhockey

Unlucky result for the girls this week despite their hard efforts the game didn’t go in our favour.

The first half was evenly matched against both teams. The girls attacked well and demonstrated excellent team work. The first goal come from a rebound shot from Jessica Williams, this gave the girls great spirit which encouraged them to keep attacking with great strength. Shortly after Brecon came back with the equalising goal. This didn’t dishearten the girls as they kept up the fight which resulted in another goal from Jessica Williams. Half time score was 2-1 to Gowerton.

The second half was very much like the first; again the girls demonstrated great team work however structure was lost a little at the start. Despite the fight and the confusion of whether the ball went straight into the D, Brecon secured themselves a second and third goal. Although the girls kept up the fight they were unable in stopping Brecon from getting a short corner securing them their 4th goal.

My captain’s player this week was very hard to choose as all the girls gave their all throughout the whole match. However I would like to give my captain’s player to Jessica Williams for her hard efforts thought out the whole match and securing two goals for Gowerton.

 

Final Result 4-2 to Brecon.

Gowerton v Penarth 2nds – Captain’s Report

Posted on by gowertonhockey

Good game this week for the ladies despite coming away with a loss.

The first half was very fast and well match between both teams. Despite the amazing defensive work the girls demonstrated they were unable to stop Penarth scoring the only goal of the match. There was a few minor things that the girls needed to think about during the first half but after a well structured half time talk the girls came back out fighting.

During the second half the girls picked up their game putting more pressure on Penarth. Despite many shots on goal the girls were unable to secure an equalising goal.

However the score does not reflect the standard of play that the girls demonstrated thought the whole match.
This week many of the girls were playing out off position, including Annie Williams making her début in goal. Her performance was outstanding! She gave it her all and was confident in the saves that she made. Due to this performance I have decided to give Annie my captains player this week. Well done.

I would also like to thank Jayde Piontecki and Hannah Preuss-Edwards for coming down and supporting/coaching the girls from the side line despite being unwell and unfortunately not being able to play this week. Your presence and contribution at the side of the pitch  made a difference and myself and the club really appreciate it. Thank you.

Final score Gowerton 0-1 Penarth

Captain’s Report – Radnor vs Gowerton

Posted on by gowertonhockey

Great effort from the ladies this week resulting in a 3 – 0 victory over Radnor.

 

The girls worked really well together this week and there was good moral on the pitch, giving a good buzz to the game. The first half of the game the ladies attacked strongly and with great determination, and soon after the starting whistle a goal came from Nicola Tucker.

The ladies continued the high standard of play, with the majority of play being within our attacking half. The demonstration of excellent team work and drive resulted in 2 further goals. One from Jess Williams and an amazing rebound volley from Rhia Cannon (I don’t know what was more entertaining, her goal or her reaction for scoring haha).

 

The second half of the game the girls really settled into it and continued to demonstrate excellent team work. Radnor came back fighting and picked up their standard of game putting the ladies under pressure at times, however despite opportunities from shots and short corners Radnor where unable to securer a goal resulting in a clean sheet for Rhi Phiilips this week. Rhi is continually improving in goal and is making some out-standing saves.

 

During this week’s game Paige Hobbs and Rhia Cannon demonstrated some lovely pair work, showing some lovely play down the right hand side of the pitch. I feel the girls really gelled and complimented each other’s level of play. For this reason and her outstanding goal I would like to give my Captains player to Rhia Cannon. well done!

Gowerton v Cardiff Medics – Captain’s Report

Posted on by gowertonhockey

A tough game for the ladies this week.

First half started off very defensively, with the girls not able to get out of their defensive half for the first 15 minutes. However, after much battling the girls made a break through and ventured into the opponents D which resulted in a goal from Nicola Tucker, giving the ladies the confidence they needed. The first half continued very defensively with Cardiff medics having plenty of opportunity to score. After many short corner opportunities Cardiff were successful in securing a goal, making the half time score 1-1.

After a constructive half time talk the ladies started the second half confident and strong, demonstrating good team work. The hard worked paid off with another goal from Nicola Tucker. This boosted the teams sprits. However, Cardiff medics soon secured another goal taking the score to 2-2. Despite the outstanding defensive work demonstrated by the girls, especially the back line, the girls were unsuccessful in stopping Cardiff from securing a 3rd goal, making the final score 3-2 to Cardiff medics.

I would like to give my Captains player to Rhiannon Simms for her outstanding defence during the whole game, committing to every tackle and stopping several short corner straight strikes.

I was fortunate enough to secure Man of the match voted by the opponents.