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City of Bath U-11 League Reports: October 2006
Played at Bath University Sports Village
Division 1 – City of Bath
This is a very tough League this year with some very skilful and physical sides involved. City of Bath got off to a good start against Bath Buccs Cadets with a hard fought but deserved 1-0 victory. There was much sound defence with Molly Buxton and Ellie Anthony reading the play well and George Roberts making a very assured debut. After a fair bit of pressure Sam Parrett finally drove the ball home from a short corner. A 2-0 defeat to Buccs Admirals followed and the team didn’t really get the rub of the green throughout the match. Esther Haskins forced a number of saves from their keeper before a half shot crept in. The second went in with the last shot of the match. Although Buccs 1sts deserved to win the encounter the scoreline of 7-0 was rather flattering to them. City went 2-0 down in the first 2 minutes to a couple of very soft goals due to not clearing our lines. However, heads did not drop and City began to create a few chances. Flossie Thomas bravely returned to the fray on the wing despite receiving a ball in the face which said everything about the determination of the team. City lacked a bit of punch in the final third of the field but worked extremely hard to disrupt a very big side. 2-0 at half time it remained and as City tired Buccs put some nice passes together to add a gloss to the scoreline. Anna Haskins made some very good saves indeed and Gareth Hollywell covered a lot of ground all morning. Again it was the final ball that proved to be elusive. They have 3 more league games to complete their programme in February.
Division 2 – City of Bath ‘A’
City started off with a goalless draw against Buccs Cadets but there were plenty of chances at both ends with Sophie Roberts in the City goal being very alert to any danger. Holding their positions is an area to work on but come the end of the match everyone was beginning to try to play good passing hockey. The team had begun to find their feet and played very well in the second match against St. Michael’s A to come from behind and force a 1-1 draw, with Georgia Clark firing home after good hassling work from Sam Cope in the opposition D. Eli Cope defended well against the quick St. Michael’s strikers. A really good all round performance saw off St. Mary’s in their third match. Good following up led to the opener from Lucia Heseltine then Katie Humphrey doubled the leadfrom the edge of the D. A lovely third goal came from some neat passing on the right ending in a great cross from Holly Bullard which Sam Parrett tucked away. St. Mary’s came back at City to force a goal but it wasn’t enough as City ran out 3-1 winners.
Division 2 – City of Bath ‘B’
For many of the B team it was their first taste of League hockey and they can be really pleased with their efforts. They deserved more than the narrow 1-0 defeat against the West Wilts first team, conceding a goal late on in the game. They created a few chances with Lucy Whipp making good ground on the right wing. Alex and Hannah Simonds played well in keeping the forwards at bay and clearing their lines. Bath Buccs Daggers proved slightly sterner opposition and came through to win 3-0. Keeping to their positions is an area to work on as the Daggers kept finding plenty of space. They then played Chippenham first team and did very well indeed before one lapse just before the final whistle saw a goal go in off the post, wrong-footing Sam Parrett. Ella van Gelderen timed her tackles very well and Isabelle Thornton made several important clearances. Ella Schofield and Pippa Bullard chased everything in midfield and won enough tackles to keep the team moving forward. There was still time for a couple of short corners which saw two goal bound shots from Sam Cope well saved by their keeper. The ‘A’s and ‘B’s have two more visits to the University to complete their programme in January and February. |