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

Posted on by gowertonhockey

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. 

Captain’s Report – Penarth 2nds v Gowerton

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This week it was so nice to actually play hockey without getting soaked by the rain. Going up with 11 and a half players (Rhi was only available first half) and no goal keeper the odds were against us. But that never stopped the ladies drive and determination. Thankfully Ria Cannon stepped up to the plate and went in goals, despite her nerves she smashed it! 

The first half was very frustrating as we just seemed all over the place. Penarth played the middle well meaning the midfield had their work cut out. Despite opportunities and short corners in our attacking area we were unable to secure a lead goal. Not long into the first half penarth took their chances and secured themselves a 1-0 lead over the ladies. This didn’t drop our spirits but made us more determined to get one back. 

After a good half time talk led by Ffion Morgans the girls came out striving for the win. After much battling Jess Williams took the ball into our attacking circle and into the back of the goal making the score 1-1. The ladies demonstrated some lovely one twos thought the whole game and defended well when needed, frustrating penarth as they were unable to achieve the win. 

This week my captains player was a no brainer. It takes a lot of courage to get that goalie kit on and step into goal having not done it before or even had a training session to help. I felt Ria took the responsibility on well and gave it her best shot. Well done Ria you literally saved us.

Final score Gowerton 1-1 penarth 2nds 

Captain’s Report Gowerton v Radnor

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Outstanding win for the ladies this Saturday against Radnor. 

After a good warm up the girls were focused and ready to rock, which showed in the way they played. There was great play from the midfield feeding the ball up to Jessica Williams and Nicola tucker upfront. Defence were strong and manage to hold Radnor off. Man marking was on point causing Radnor to struggle to find any effective plays. 

The first half was slightly frustrating at first, with the girls settling into the game and fighting against the horrendous weather conditions. Despite this the girls managed to secure two goals, one from Jessica Williams and the other from Nicola tucker. Taking the half time score to 2-0. 

After a constructive half time talk the ladies came out even stronger, with great positioning on the pitch and constructive team work. Constant fresh legs on the pitch meant the ladies were able to maintain the intensity of the game and keep Radnor under pressure. Despite a few short corners Radnor were unable to score a goal, meaning a clean sheet for Amy Hansen this week. With a ball fed  from the midfield into the attacking circle Nicola Tucker secured Gowerton their third and final goal. Each member Gowerton ladies worked well and gave their all as they do every week. 

This week I would like to give my captains player to Lauren Humphries for her outstanding and constant efforts thought the whole game. I felt Lauren committed herself to every tackle and didn’t stop until the ball was securely out of Gowerton’s defensive area. Lauren’s hard efforts also didn’t go unnoticed by Radnor as they also gave her man of the match. Awesome effort Lozza well done. 

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