Trojans U10s perform brilliantly at In2Hockey losing only 2 matches in the whole day (in normal time….:( ).

As we near the end of an excellent season for U10s it was very hard to whittle the squad down to just 20 players for In2Hockey. Those lucky enough to play represented Trojans brilliantly. 

First up were the boys in Group A. After a comfortable 3-0  win against Petersfield we had a nervous battle with Andover which ended in a draw - Ben, James and Harry kept us in that one which could have easily been a loss.  Griff scored a screamer from a short corner! Then we played Basingstoke, who would eventually win the whole event. It was absolutely 50/50 and if anything we had more chances we just couldn’t convert in a busy D. That ended in a 1-0 defeat. The boys then really dig in after that disappointment and we started to see the break away attacks we know we’re capable of. We beat Aldershot 1-0 (could have been 5), Fleet 2-0 and then Havant 1-0. Toby and Cam in midfield were feeding Henry really well on the wing which kept generating chances. 

With 13 points we draw with Basingstoke at the top of our pool, but 2nd on goal difference by 2 :( That meant we played the stronger team who won Pool B - Alton. By now the Boys were settled and Josh, Arthur and Luca were an absolute attacking force.  Luca scoring a brilliant goal on the break. Alton then scored 2 quite quickly but the boys showed their resilience by staying positive and Josh got us back level 2-2 just before the final whistle. That meant flicks for a place in the final which just felt like a cruel lottery at U10s. It wasn’t to be and Alton went through. We then managed to beat Fareham in the 3rd/4th play-off to finish In2Hockey 3rd. We only conceded 4 goals all day which is brilliant. Luca gets the golden stick prize with 4 goals closely followed by Arthur, Josh and Cameron. 

I’m super proud of the boys performance, behaviour and how much the team improved. A big thank you to Jamie and Megan for coaching, Fiona and Elaine for supporting and Ewan for our umpiring….and to parents for your much appreciated (emotional) support. 

After the girls patiently watched the boys in their semi it was time for the afternoon competition. We’d been given a tough group with the winners and runner-up clubs from the boys comp plus Winchester. Apologies I missed most of the first match against Alton due to the Boys final but it ended goalless although we had multiple chances….Felicity and Ellie battling hard in a crowded D. In our 2nd game against Basingstoke the girls starting creating more space in a competitive game. Anna, Freya and Keziah proving to be a solid wall at the back. That ended 1-1. 

After those first two fairly nerver starts the girls settled and a combination of some great mid field work from Cara and Jess, plus some short corner magic started delivering the goals we needed. We beat Havant 1-0 and then Petersfield 3-0 with Bella, Cara and Daisy getting goals. Next were Fleet which we won 2-0 …forever know as the “Daisy show” with a couple of stunning first time finishes from distance not out of place in a ladies match!

That left us on 11 points needing Alton to lose their last match or us to beat the undefeated Winchester. Alton did win so it was ‘game on’. Jess used her trade mark skills to run through Winchester straight from the whistle to win us a short corner which was the first of many. Bella and Cara were competing for everything despite Bella taking a hard ball to the foot. We just couldn’t quite score albeit dominating early possession. Alas two quick break aways from Winchester both resulted in goals against us which Keziah and the defence couldn’t do much about. The game ended 2-0 to Winchester. Given the girls only lost 1 game it’s cruel not to get out of the group but we ended 3rd by 1 point.

Fine margins but the girls performed at their absolute best, finishing stronger than we started. Another big thank you to Greer for coaching,  Abbie and Pippa for managing and big shout out to Stroud’s Mrs Kent for umpiring. Daisy winning the golden stick with 3 goals followed by Jess, Cara, Louisa and Bella.

We played against opposition yesterday with some great individual players but my selfish observation was that we'd built a really rounded squad of players. It’s a bright future for this Trojans group and I look forward to seeing them move through the club together.