U12A v Oakham U13B Won 5-0

U12A Team
LW Lily S
LF Georgia D
RW Emma H
RF Nancy S
CH Gabriella T
LH Hannah S / Harriet R
RH Eleanor T
LB Olivia C
CB Chloe R-S
RB Lucy R
GK Emma S

Outstanding Player of the match – Chloe R-S
Goal Scorers: Emma H ( 2 goals), Nancy S ( 1 Goal), Gabriella T ( 1 Goal) and Lily S ( 1 Goal).

Overall what a performance – The U12 team were a little slow to start off with but soon found their formation and started to dominate the first half. Oakham most certainly had key players, in particular their Centre half who dominated the Oakham team both in attack and defence. But S. Anselm’s were ready for action! Over the past 7 training sessions, the key focus for the team has been to gain possession, keep possession and provide opportunity with a quick delivery of the ball into the forwards. The backs main objectives were to tackle hard and clear the ball well. They did this well in the first half but needed more consistency on clearing the ball wide out of Oakham’s reach. The midfield objectives were to deliver the ball into the attack and provide as many opportunities on goal as possible. This is certainly what they did! Chloe R-S was outstanding in the first half as Centre Back and within the S. Anselm’s Attacking half, she supported the halves well and it was great to see her defending high up the pitch and proving to the Oakham side that nothing was going to get past her! The forward players were also on fire – Lily S, Georgia D, Emma H, Nancy S and Gabriella T all produced 100% effort and motivation which certainly raised the team as a whole! These players created some spectacular situations on the pitch to allow the S.Anselm’s to have shots on goal. After a few shots that narrowly missed, Emma H found her form and was most certainly determined to ensure that the goal went in past the GK at approximately 100 MPH!! A great start to the game in the first half. This was shortly followed by another goal just before half time by Nancy S. However, we must not forget the solid half players, Eleanor T, Hannah S and Gabriella T. They worked tirelessly to ensure that the ball was kept in S.Anselm’s attacking half and that the ball was sent up to the forwards confidently and accurately. At half time Mrs Northcott had a few points to raise and the aim was to end the game 5 – 0. A tough challenge but the feisty U12 side were most certainly up for it! Harriet R came on as LH and it was her debut for the U12A side. It was great to see her wearing the new team strip and looking confident on the pitch. The emphasis for the U12 side in the second half was to improve on defending the ball, particularly the backs. Olivia Cridland started off strong and solid. She maintained this performance throughout the second half and was outstanding. When combined with her team mate Chloe R-S. These two backs were unstoppable. As the game progressed there was lots of support within the team particularly from Lucy R providing lots of praise and encouragement to her team. Emma H, Lily S, Gabriella T and Nancy S were determined to set up 3 more goals in the second half. Georgia D, Harriet R and Eleanor continued to work hard to keep possession in the midfield but once the ball was carefully sent wide, Oakham found it very difficult to stop us. In the second half we were able to see super goals from Gabriella T, a second goal from Emma H and a final one from Lily S. This secured S. Anselm’s with a lead of 5 – 0. Well done girls – what a super start to the season. We have lots of key areas to work on but overall a good competitive 1st match of the season. I am very proud of you. I would like to thank Oakham School, in particular Ashley Denman ( Dir of Hockey) for hosting the teams so brilliantly and to all the S. Anselm’s parents for their support on the sidelines. It was lovely to see you all! MPN