Six Under 12 Girls teams travelled to Surbiton for their first games in the new MegaLeague - an initiative amongst the six big clubs in our area to get the best possible fixtures for U8s-10s-12s and U14s development teams. The girls had a great day and there were lots of great results, too...

In no particular order, here's how it went for 5 of the 6 teams...

Gazelles

The girls had a very strong start with 2 early goals to give us the lead in the first match. They worked great as a team linking extremely well with each other. I was so pleased to see them transferring the ball high and counter attacking quickly as a result. All the practise we did on Friday really paid off!

Our GK Amelia did brilliantly and made some great saves. The defence got stronger as we played. Issy T, Issy K, Sophie and Bibi did a great job in keeping the ball wide. Our mids and forwards also linked well and attacked, resulting in lots of goals.

Niamh, Emily, Emilia and Martha made sure they all scored with some very excellent shooting involved (wish I could have video some of them!). There are certain areas we need to work but overall a fantastic performance with a clear win of 3 matches.

Great work girls!

Team: Emily, Issy T, Niamh, Emilia, Martha, Sophie, Issy K, Bibi and Amelia (GK)

Played 3, Won 3

Goals: Niamh 3, Emily 2, Emilia 2 and Martha 6

Coach: Mercedes

Whirlwind

It was a very wet start and Whirlwind was determined to do well. It was so great to see this team growing in confidence as the morning went on.

Lakita was superb at the back and did so well in keeping the ball out and wide. Esme, Ella and Eleanor tried very hard to defend the area and I saw some fantastic passes to the mids who were determined to drive the ball forward.

Katie, Freya, Ruby, Eliza and Hattie did really well in mid / attack and were always running back and forth and tackling and working so hard. We saw some lovely team work which ended in very nice goals.

Well done girls, very impressed with all of you!

Team: Ruby, Freya, Esme, Eleanor, Lakita, Ella, Katie, Eliza and Hattie.

Played 3, Won 2, Drew 1

Goals : Freya 1, Eliza 2, Katie 4, Hattie 1

Coach: Mercedes

Fire

Fire met on a very wet and miserable Sunday afternoon at Surbiton. Having checked in at the gate we warmed up and prepared for our matches.

The girls played well throughout the afternoon, and even managed a couple of "transitions" as practiced on Friday night training which was fantastic to see. The girls playing in all positions. proving they can be effective out of their chosen place!

Some good saves from Emily keeping another clean sheet and continuing from where she left off last year.  Jess was solid throughout the afternoon, even scoring when she moved onto the wing. ANd we were solid in defence with Grace and Sadie controlling the pace.

It was fantastic to see the girls scoring goals again and the forwards receiving good passes from Ruby and Bea with Martha, Izzy and Isla moving the ball between themselves ensuring the best chances.

We still have lots to work on, fitness being one to ensure we can maximise our effort for the whole game, but all in all a great afternoon of hockey.

Team: Emily T, Sadie F, Grace H, Isla W, Bea D, Ruby P, Jess A, Izzy H, Martha W.

Played 3, W3, L0, D0

Goals For 7 Against 0 (Izzy 3, Sadie 2, Isla 1, Jess 1)

Coach: Charlie 

Hurricane

The U12 Hurricane’s turned up at Surbiton on the most miserable of mornings but they also turned up in great form. The team played three matches and won two of them and drew one.

We talked about trying to play out wide from defence and the more the matches went on the more the girls achieved this with some superb passing. Flora and Ella played some great passes out of defence and the midfielders - Bethan, Mae, Sadie and Hebe - got themselves in great positions to receive the ball and get it to Kitty and Hanna-May who showed great skill up front.

The girls continue to improve every week and it was great to see them enjoy their hockey and play so well.

Team: Flora, Ella, Bethan F, Mae, Sadie, Hebe, Kitty and Hannah-May

Played 3, W2, L0, D1

Coach: Geoff

Tornado

The girls ran over, around and sometimes through the Surbiton teams they played this week in what were mainly a bit 1-sided matches. That is not to take away for the fact the girls worked really well on moving the ball wide and using space instead of 'route 1 up the middle'.

The team had a new member in Sophie this week (who played exceptionally well in the centre forward position and we now know does not play as well in the sweeper role!). Jasmin and Tamara (mainly), with Tallulah on the wings were a real handful for the opposition defence driving to the corner and sweeping in goals at close range.

This was built on a defensive line of Evie, Caitlin and Chloe, with help from Tallulah who were all very robust in defence and started to play forward with style. all the girls worked to get into space when in possession and to close down the opposition when not.

No rain jackets needed as they worked hard and stayed very warm. well done girls. Star player Evie. 

Team: Sophie, Tamara, Evie, Caitlin, Chloe, Tallulah and Jasmin

 Played 3, W3  (6-1, 4-0, 5-0)

Goals For 15

Against 1

Coach: Simon