Eastern Counties Roller Hockey Association
Under 11s League Division 1
Tournament, Soham, Cambridgeshire
Sunday 23 September 2012

With 4 players from last year’s team moving out of the age group, HBU had a bare team of 4 out-players and a goalkeeper for this initial tournament of the season and they came through their first test with flying colours. This was the first time out for Millie Clarke and the team faced 4 matches as this was their “home” tournament which had to be staffed by HBU club officials and parents.

The first match was with Kings Lynn who are pretty much unchanged from last season. HBU went 2 down and then scored. 1 – 3 down at half-time and conceded another 3 in the second half without reply but with plenty of shots but not on target.

HBU’s second match was against local rivals the newly formed “Kent Rollerhockey and Skating Academy” (KRAS) who have recruited some of the best players in the area. By half-time HBU were 1 – 4 down. After the interval HBU got the bit between their teeth and goals from Archie and Sian brought it back to 3 – 4. KRAS’s Josh Osborne then scored to put HBU 3 – 5 down and then HBU scored through Millie Clarke to make it 4 – 5. As full-time approached HBU survived an attack and Sian Emslie picked up the ball on the edge of the box but was taken down as she broke away. Confusion reigned for a few minutes and Sian was sent off and the match restarted by the referees with a free hit to KRAS and HBU’s players out of position which resulted in a sixth goal for KRAS and stopped HBU’s recovery in its tracks.

The match with KRAS had raised the HBU’s team’s determination and they played through their tiredness to secure a draw against Peterborough and beat Cottenham 10 – 5 in the final match of the day. A great start for a new team. The captain’s arm band was passed around from match to match with Millie having the honour of being the captain for the team’s first win.

HBU Team: Harrison Raven (Goalkeeper), Archie Isaacs, Sian Emslie, Max Bassom, Millie Clarke

HBU Results
HBU v Kings Lynn 1 – 6 (Sian)
HBU v KRHAS 4 – 6 (Sian, Archie, Sian, Millie)
HBU v Peterborough 2 – 2 (Sian 2)
HBU v Cottenham 10 – 5 (Sian 3, Archie, Sian 3, Max 2, Sian)

Overall Results
HBU v Kings Lynn 1 – 6
Peterborough v Cottenham 5 – 4
HBU v KRHAS 4 – 6
KIngs Lynn v Peterborough 5 – 1
KRHAS v Cottenham 7 – 2
HBU v Peterborough 2 – 2
Kings Lynn v KRHAS 0 – 2
HBU v Cottenham 10 – 5

---