Despite the continued unsettled weather, the girls have battled on and worked extremely hard in their sport this week and had a block against St Andrew’s. With the seniors at home the Year 5 and 6 girls teams travelled to Eastbourne to play on the College’s astroturfs.
1st Team Hockey
The U13 Girls’ 1st Team faced a strong St Andrew’s side at home, with several key Year 7 players unavailable. Despite the challenge, the girls began brightly, with Bella scoring in a competitive first half. Some fine saves from Esperanza kept them in the game, though they trailed 4–1 at the break.
Fatigue set in after half-time, and with St Andrew’s providing extra players to balance the teams, the visitors pressed home their advantage. Bella created another goal, but Holmewood were unable to contain the opposition, eventually falling to a 10–2 defeat.
The scoreline did not reflect the effort shown, with Bella’s attacking spark and Esperanza’s resilience in goal standing out. Plenty of positives emerged, and with players returning, the team will look to build on this performance next week.
Special mention should go to Sophia, Sofia and Esperanza, who stepped up into the 1st team and were superb, fighting for every ball and playing some excellent hockey throughout. DB
2nd Team Hockey
Lost 4-0
The 2nd team girls put in a gutsy performance against a strong St Andrews side, and played with just six. From the start, St Andrews pressed hard, but our defence stood firm and worked tirelessly to keep them at bay. Goalkeeper and defenders produced some excellent tackles and clearances under constant pressure. Although the opposition eventually found the net four times, the girls never gave up and showed great teamwork, determination, and spirit throughout. It was a tough match, but a performance to be proud of. DG
U11A Hockey
Lost 2-0
The A team played at Eastbourne’s Beresford Astro, and although very windy, it did stay dry. A little rusty after the long journey, the girls play was a little slow off the ground and St Andrew’s scored a soft goal within the first few minutes. Holmewood fought back and really worked hard to close the opposition down and gain more possession of the ball, in fact Holmewood had all the play for three quarters of the game. A disallowed goal which was brilliant play between Darcie F and Ella in the 3rd quarter was unfortunate, but didn’t detract from the positive attacking play of the team. Holmewood just couldn’t find the back of the goal and St Andrew’s had another chance. They scored and so with two chances scored 2 goals. The score most certainly didn’t reflect the balance of play and the girls should take heart from some great passages of play and such a solid performance at the start of the season. More to build on over the coming weeks, but very well done girls and let’s keep up the good work next week against Sutton Valence. SP
U11B Hockey
Lost 2 0
The squad of 9 girls travelled to St Andrews, Eastbourne to play their first fixture. A positive start with strong possession and with rolling subs, everyone got good match play and an opportunity to play in a variety of positions. St Andrews scored 2 on the day. However, we had equal chances with Marsali, and Florence testing their goalie. Fiyi, Alice and Darcy were the engine in midfield working hard to bring the ball through in attack. While Emilia, Flora and Anna were resilient in defence and a great performance from Rebecca in goal. Now we must concentrate on passing quicker and stronger and really using the width of the pitch effectively but a good first outing. POM Fiyi. SE
U10A vs St Andrews
The U10A team faced St Andrews on Wednesday and made a strong start, dominating the first quarter. This early lead gave us a great opportunity to rotate positions and put into practice some of the new skills and tactics worked on in training. The team played with confidence throughout, securing a solid 7–0 win. Player of the Match: Winter. KB
U10B – First 7-a-side Match
The U10B team kicked off their season with their very first 7-a-side match, showing great energy and enthusiasm from the start. The game was a valuable chance to explore team strengths and gain a better understanding of different playing positions. A comfortable win rounded off a promising start to the season. Player of the Match: Toluwani. KB
U9 Hockey
U9 vs St Michael’s The U9s travelled to St Michael’s for their first hockey fixture of the season. All teams showed fantastic effort and made real progress, particularly in understanding positioning and team play. There were several standout performances across the board:
· Ellie & Iona – Excellent defensive work, stopping and clearing the ball under pressure
· Maggie & India – Tenacious and relentless in attack, constantly challenging the opposition
· Emi & Daisy – Great teamwork, pushing the ball up the pitch and making strong off-the-ball runs
Well done to all players for a positive start to the season! KB
U8 Hockey
The U8 girls had their first ever match which was very exciting and a little daunting for some. They played hockey against St Michael’s with small 5 a side matches and all had lots of opportunity to play and learn.
It was evident that the girls have learnt so much in the last 2 weeks and could pass, dribble and generally play safely within the game. There were some great passages of play in the matches and they all gave of their best. Match tea was a nice way to round up the afternoon and we look forward to next week’s matches v Hazelwood. Well done girls! SP
