PUBLISHED 10 September 2019
It was the perfect start to the hockey season for AKS on a superb sunny day with a clean sweep of four wins against Ripley St.Thomas from Lancaster.
The U15 game saw us make a nervous start and it was Ripley who had the first shot on target in the 3rdminute but keeper Eva was on hand to keep the ball out of the net. We slowly started to gain confidence and pass the ball effectively and when Alicia found Poppy in the circle she found the net to take us into a deserved lead. Poppy was on hand again minutes later when a great run from Prisha on the right saw her beat the Ripley defence and lay a perfect pass to Poppy infront of goal and she made it 2 – 0. Poppy was dominating the game with her superb running and she became provider a minute later when she laid a pass to Ziv to convert our third before the break.We started the second half in confident mood and Poppy got her hat-trick goal and her fourth with two great strikes from the top of the circle. As confidence grew we played some superb hockey with Abigail adapting to her new position on the right and Grace and Holly defending well to thwart the Ripley attacks. A final goal from Eleanor made the final score 6 – 0 and a satisfying start to the season. Poppy was named player of the match for her 4 goals and tireless running along with Eleanor for her faultless display at the back.
A large U14 squad took to the field against Ripley and they matched the U15 score-line with another 6 – 0 victory. We started superbly playing some excellent passing hockey and Carys opened the scoring being in the perfect place on the left post to place the ball in the net. Laura then made it 2-0 after a great driving run from Patsy. A brace of goals from Katie and a great strike from Lucy from the top of the circle extended the lead to 5 - 0 . A final goal from Carys made it the perfect start to the season 6-0. A number of players were in the frame for the Player of the Match award namely Patsy, Charlie and Zara for a fantastic save at a Ripley corner , but the award went to Carys for her superb work rate and a brace of goals.
A great start to the 2019 / 20 hockey season saw the whole of the U13 hockey squad represent the school on Saturday.
The U13 A team played with flair and quickly caused problems for Ripley’s’ defence with some excellent attacking play which saw Sophie take advantage of a goalscoring opportunity by playing the ball first time to sweep it into the goal in the second minute of the game. Having conceded an early goal Ripley started to close down space and AKS had to start to think about how to breakdown the solid defence. AKS started to produce some excellent team play which led to three more goals being scored in the first half two by Jessie and one from Carly .Teamwork and communication were key in the second half which led to three further goals being scored from Jessica, Hollie and Pryanka . Excellent defending and passing throughout the game from play makers Holly, Charlotte and Anya led the way to an excellent performance from the U13 team in their first match of the season. Player of the match was Sophie for her non-stop running and skilful runs in attack.
AKS U13B team also made an impressive start to the new season against Ripley St Thomas. They put them under pressure early with Zoe opening the scoreline. AKS used the space well and kept up the attacking pressure with Katie next on the scoresheet to make it 2-0. As the half came to an end AKS were 3-0 in the lead after Hollie scored. Ripley St Thomas worked hard to cope with the great AKS attacking play in the second half, with using some very good stick work as the left forward netting her second and our fourth goal. The final score was a healthy 5-0 after Kate received the ball in open space at the top of the D taking the ball in and scoring in the left corner. Player of the match was Katie.
Overall a superb morning of hockey with a large numbers of girls playing some great hockey and with all teams enjoying good wins it was the perfect start to the season.