 Many, many congratulations to the Under 12 Boys A team today for a tremendous tournament. The boys won bronze medals but progress through to the South Finals tournaments as only one team from each club is eligible. BRILLIANT. Every single one player gave a great performance that he should be proud of....
We had 4 games in the pool round, a semi-final and a medal match.
Game 1 v Wimbledon B (1-0 win)
We are often slow to come out of the blocks at tournaments but not today. The boys came out firing and scored arguably our best goal of the day, Sammy took the ball down the right wing did a fine pass across the D which Archie lunged towards to reach it and slot into the goal.
Game 2 v Woking A (3-0 win)
Sammy, Robert and Barney all scoring great goals with tenacity in the D to finish off rebounds off keepers and defenders. Ball movement around the pitch and positioning on the pitch are what led to this result.
Game 3 v Old Georgians Dragons (0-0 draw)
The team played even better in this game, passing was more accurate, running off the ball was good. However, it was a frustrating result as we had many shots on goal unfortunately these tended to be directly at the keeper, who also played well to keep the shots out.
Game 4 v Surbiton A (0-1 loss)
Our final pool game was a 0-1 loss to Surbiton A. This was a really tense match with great hockey being played by both teams and frankly the result could have gone either way but unfortunately Surbiton managed to slot a goal against us.
Semi-Final v Surbiton B
This meant we were runners up in the Pool and met Surbiton B in the Semi Final. This was another tense game which could have gone either way but sadly Surbiton snuck a goal past us. But the boys were bitterly disappointed not to have won this game as it meant they would not be competing for a tournament win.
Bronze Medal Game v Wimbledon A (4-0 win)
So finally, on to the 3rd and 4th place play off. This is always a difficult match for both teams who have lost a previous game. This match was against Wimbledon A and the boys came out and did themselves proud. They certainly saved their very best hockey to last and this is how we played when we won the Teddington tournament. Passing was superb, position on the pitch was excellent, commitment was exemplary and the final shots were executed with skill. This match was won due to the total team work by every member of the team. Playing the way they did I am certain they would have won against any team. A fantastic 4-0 win (Ben x 3, Archie x 1)
Man of the tournament today was Ehsan - fantastic effort, congratulations.
A huge thanks to:
- Amy - for standing in with no notice to act as Tournament Director. You took control of a chaotic situation and made the day a real success showing GHC in the best light. Many thanks and good luck back in Durban.
- James - thanks so much for your great umpiring and for the coaching tips to the boys.
- Tanner - thank you also for helping with the umpiring.
- Matt P - thanks for your help as Tournament Director and also for all your coaching today and always.
- Ferko - thanks very much for coaching an extremely successful Plate team and your coaching throughout the season.
- Helen - thank you for managing the parent communications as without it not much happens - a huge help.
- Parents - thanks very much for all your support and encouragement.
Many congratulations and thanks,
Nick
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