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UniTed's Blog
Hi! I'm UniTed, mascot of the Under 13's Adders team. With Bubbles moving up to be the under 11's mascot I'm also moving up to become the under 13's mascot - it's all change!! Also changing is the make-up of the team as some of my previous Adders are playing in the Vipers team this year, so I have a few new members in my team.
My full team line up is: Charlie Botting, Connor Botting, Jocie Greenwood, Luke Latham, Kier Maeers, Guy Osborne, Max Osborne, Alice Osborne-Luck and Joe Upton. Charlie, Connor, Jocie and Joe have played in various teams for several years while the others all played in teams for the first time last year.
This season the Adders will be playing in Division 1 of the Eastern Counties league and in the Southern Counties league. Hopefully some of them will also be picked to represent the club in the National Cup. Last year my Adders team won the under 11 Southern Counties league and some of them were also in the winning Southern Counties team at the inter-regional tournament and hopefully we can have some success again this year.
As with previous seasons I'll be reporting from all of our matches to let you know how the team get on.
Once again my paws are crossed for an enjoyable season.
We travelled to Soham for the last under 13's Eastern County tournament this season. Our first game was against the Vipers with Connor as captain. The Vipers got an early lead through Alex and then Ash added two more soon after. We spent most of this half playing in defence but we did get the chance to work a few breaks to get some shots on goal. However, it was then back to defending again which all the team worked really hard at although Alex got three more goals and Harry and Michael each added another before half time to leave us 8-0 down. The second half saw us still in defence a lot of the time but we were now getting more chances to break, Kier and Luke both trying several times to score. Alice and Guy were doing really well and in this half we only let in four goals, two from Ash and one each from Michael and Alex, to lose 12-0. Luckily though, the Vipers were playing as the guest team at this tournament so we were awarded a 12-0 win!
The next game was against Bury and Luke was captain. The team were pushing forward much more in this game with Charlie, Luke and Kier all getting lots of chances, it was just a shame nothing wanted to go in! Bury scored five during the first half by exploiting the gaps in defence when we pushed forwards but otherwise it was a much better performance than against the Vipers. The second half started badly with Bury scoring from the whistle and getting another five minutes later but then Alice had a great run up the rink and passed to Kier who scored. Max scored our second a few minutes later and this really seemed to give the team a boost, they were much more positive in their play. Sadly Bury scored a final goal with just seven seconds left on the clock to defeat us 8-2.
Our next opponents were Kings Lynn with Guy being captain. This was a fantastic game to watch with end to end play with lots of chances to score for both teams. Although Kings Lynn took the lead after 30 seconds we scored an equaliser through Kier after there was a bit of a pile up with Connor in the goal five minutes later. Both teams continued with their attacks on the opponent's goal and Guy was having to do loads of great saves to keep the scores level which they stayed until half time. Straight from the restart Kings Lynn retook the lead and they added two more within five minutes. Then we were awarded a penalty for chopping which Kier slotted home but Kings Lynn got another two goals before the end to beat us 6-2 but this was the best performance that the team had given.
Our last match of the tournament and season was against Cottenham with Kier as captain. We played well in the first half with a number of chances, Kier and Luke again making the breaks, and some good defending from the team restricted Cottenham to only two goals by the break. Again we were hit by a goal in the first 30 seconds after the whistle and Cottenham continued to add to their score throughout the half. The team seemed to be tiring now and suffered a total defensive collapse in the last five minutes when Cottenham scored five goals making their final total 12 with no reply from us. It was a disappointing end to the tournament but the team had worked hard.
This season has been a learning curve for the team but they have improved with every tournament with the matches today against Bury and Kings Lynn being very good. We really need to work on not letting goals in from the whistle, though! They still have a Southern Counties tournament left to play and I hope that they will take all they have learned into next season. Well done team!
UniTed's scorers: Kier (3), Max (1)
UniTed's Player of the Tournament: Kier
The Adders were back at Burwell for the penultimate Eastern Counties tournament of the season. Our first game was against Kings Lynn and Connor was captain. Guy made some really good saves during this match against a very strong side but even so they still managed to score six during the first half and seven in the second. The team worked really hard and played much better in the second half when they put together some good passing moves. Max was our only scorer in this game four minutes from the end so we lost 13-1.
Our second game was with Peterborough and Kier was captain this time. The game started with end to end play until Peterborough began to earn more of the possession and scored four goals during the first half. The second half started immediately with a Peterborough goal but then Luke got one for us straight after. During the last part of the second half the team really upped their game and played some excellent hockey. Connor scored and then Luke got a second; he would have had another if it hadn't been for the post! The final score was Peterborough 8-3 Adders.
Our last game saw us playing the Vipers with Luke as captain. This game was very even during the first half with only two goals for the Vipers from Alex and Ash and one for us from Luke, although we could have had another if Eddie hadn't saved a penalty! Although the team tried really hard and got a number of opportunities for more goals it was the Vipers who took control of the game, scoring six through Lewis (2), Ashley (3) and Alex while Max scored one for us. The final score was Vipers 8-2 Adders but Ric, one of the referees for this match, said he had been impressed by our team's performance.
Although we lost all the matches the team played very well again and are still improving with every tournament. There was also a celebration for the club at this tournament as, despite losing their last match, the Vipers had done enough to win the league title - well done!
UniTed's scorers: Luke (3), Max (2), Connor (1)
UniTed's Player of Tournament: All of them!
The Adders travelled to Burwell to play as the guest team in the Eastern Counties league. We were missing Charlie and Luke so Eddie from the Vipers joined us for the day, playing outfield for a change! Our first game was against Bury and Max was captain. We started quite strongly although Bury managed to get several shots on goal, a couple of which bounced off the post, but Max was the first to score with only four minutes gone. Bury equalised five minutes later but the team were doing really well with their defence and the score was level at half time. Bury scored very early in the second half (after only seven seconds!) and got another soon after but Eddie scored two goals to bring the scores level again. The team were still going strong with the man-to-man marking but Bury managed to get another three quick goals. Connor got one back for us but with Bury getting another in the last few seconds of the game we lost 4-7.
Our next match was against Cottenham and this time Joe was captain. They are a strong side and although we managed a few shots on goal for the most part we played this game entirely in defence. Cottenham scored five goals spread evenly through the first half and then piled on the pressure in the second scoring another eight and we couldn't get any in return although Eddie had several shots which hit the post. Our worst defeat of the day as we lost 0-13.
Next we faced Kings Lynn with Guy as captain. We were without Connor for this game as he was suffering an asthma attack. With the team still working well in defence Kings Lynn were not able to score until halfway through the first half but then they got six before half time. The team rallied after the break and although Kings Lynn scored an early goal, Max had several good chances before finally getting one in. Kings Lynn were only able to get one more and the final score was Adders 1-8 Kings Lynn.
The last game was against Peterborough and Kier was captain; Connor had recovered enough to be able to play again. The team played probably their best game so far with two quick goals from Kier partway through the first half really lifting the team and they went into the break with this two goal lead. Unfortunately Peterborough came out fighting in the second half and got five goals which, despite the efforts of the whole team, we couldn't reply to. The final score was Adders 2-5 Peterborough.
This tournament was the best that the team have played, their defence was excellent and I am very proud of their efforts. Well done everyone!
UniTed's Scorers: Kier (2), Max (2), Eddie (2), Connor (1)
UniTed's Player of the Tournament: Kier
My next report will follow the SECRHA tournament on 1 February
The Adders played in the first of this season's SECRHA tournaments at the pier. For these matches we are without Connor and Jocie who are playing for the Pythons. The first game was against the Cobras and Charlie was our captain. It was a close game and there were lots of chances for both sides to score. Luke was the first of the Adders to go close when his shot pinged off the post but he made certain his next shot went in. All of the team were doing well, both in getting shots on goal and on their defence. Kier scored our second goal with four minutes left in the first half when his shot went in off the post. Kier scored again just after the restart to give us a three goal lead. Then Max was given a yellow card and the team seemed a bit unsettled by this. Adam scored three quick goals for the Cobras to bring the scores level. The Cobras seemed to have scored another from a free hit but it was disallowed as it had only been touched by one player. With just 26 seconds left on the clock Kier completed his hat-trick and gave us a 4-3 win.
Our second game was against the Pythons with Luke as captain. Just like in the first game, Luke hit the post early in the match but the Pythons were getting a number of shots in; Lewis hitting the post and going over the bar before finally scoring. Lewis was given a yellow card and then Max and Luke both scored to give us a 2-1 lead at the break. The second half had hardly started before Jamie equalised but Kier and Max gave us back the lead. Luke then got a yellow card before Max hit the crossbar. With 15 seconds left Jamie scored again and brought the Pythons close enough to hope to pull back a draw. However, with only two seconds on the clock Luke put us two ahead again and the score finished 5-3.
Both matches were entertaining to watch and it was nice to be able to play some competitive matches at the pier.
UniTed's Scorers: Kier(4), Luke (3), Max (2)
UniTed's Player of the Tournament: Kier
My next report will follow our Eastern Counties tournament at Cambridge on 13 December
We travelled up to Peterborough for our second tournament. It started half an hour later than we were expecting but we later found out that the times had been changed. If only we'd known, we could have had a bit longer in bed!
Our first game was against Kings Lynn and Alice was our captain. Kings Lynn were a big and strong team and unfortunately we stuggled to contain them. Despite Guy's best efforts in goal they were scoring about every two minutes. Luke, Max and Alice did manage to get some passes together near the end of the half to break into the Kings Lynn half but they weren't able to score and we were 8-0 down at half time. We let another goal in at the beginning of the second half but then Jocie, Connor, Joe and Charlie worked hard at their box defence and managed to stop Kings Lynn scoring for five minutes, but as substitutions were made the goals started going in again and although Max had a couple of shots on goal at the end we lost 16-0.
Our next game was against Bury who were playing as the guest team at this tournament and Max was captain this time. Although the Bury team were not physically bigger than our team they are all very experienced. We played the first half almost entirely in defence with only a couple of chances to get into the Bury half but with no opportunities to score. However, our defence was getting better and we only let in six goals in the first half! The second half was better especially when Max scored two and a half minutes after the restart after a great run up the rink. Although Bury then pressured our defence for the rest of game Max, Jocie and Connor were all getting up near the Bury goal, unfortunately they were unable to add another goal to our total. We finished the game losing 12-1.
Our final game was against Peterborough and they only had four outfield players; Jocie was our captain. We played much better in this game; although there were still many demonstrations of inexperience at this level the team were starting to work together. Peterborough were down to three players for a few minutes after a collision, Alice and Max both tried to take advantage but couldn't beat the 'keeper. Luke, Connor and Charlie also had shots during the first half but better defending meant that we were only down 3-0 at half time. Peterborough scored immediately after the break but Connor, Luke, Jocie and Max were trying to pull the team back into the game with a number of shots. However, it wasn't our day for scoring and we lost 6-0.
Although disappointing to lose all three games the team were improving as the day went on. Hopefully their Saturday morning training sessions will help them to work more as a team and by our next tournament in December we will see some better results. I also noticed that a pattern had formed with our scores: we let in the same number of goals in both halves of every game! Perhaps I can start predicting the full time scores half way through the matches next time! As the match against Bury was a friendly we are given a win for that game so we have our first points in the league table and are now 6th. The Vipers were also playing at the tournament and they won two matches but lost to Kings Lynn; they remain at the top of the table.
UniTed's Scorer: Max (1)
UniTed's Player of the Tournament: Guy - for some excellent goalkeeping to keep the scores fairly respectable.
Our first tournament this season was our home tournament at Soham. Unfortunately, due to prior commitments, we were missing our three players with the most experience in Eastern Counties, so we roped in Jocie and David from the Under 11's team to help out.
Just like our first season in the under 11's league the Adders first match was against the Vipers and the result was much the same. This time they beat us 14 - 0 so we didn't get off to a very good start!
Our next match was against Peterborough. Luke scored our first goal of the season but eventually we were beaten 9 - 1. Next we faced Cottenham and, although we didn't score any goals in this game, at least the scorelines were getting closer - this time the result was 7 - 0. Our final match saw us playing Bury. Luke and Max both scored and for a while the match remained level at 2 each but eventually Bury pulled ahead to beat us 8 - 2.
It was a disappointing start for the team but at least there is only one way to go from here - up!! Once the new Adders have spent some more time playing together as a team I'm sure the results will improve. We have our next tournament next month and who knows, maybe I will be able to report on our first win.
Having lost all our matches, it means that we are at the bottom of the table but there are plenty more matches left to improve on that! The Vipers had a much better day, winning all of their matches and they are at the top of the league.
UniTed's scorers: Luke (2), Max (1)
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