Haslemere Hockey Club’s under-ten girls and under-12 boys both had a successful weekend competing in regional tournaments, with both sides claiming third place.
The under-ten girls went to Reading for the South Central regional finals as the Hampshire county champions. They displayed some excellent hockey, narrowly missing out on a higher position. The girls came through all of the Hampshire matches and the finals, conceding only two goals and only losing one game to Buckinghamshire – who went on to be crowned champions.
Haslemere’s under-12 boys Samurai squad had a day to remember in Marlow, playing in the Southern area In2 finals. Haslemere faced strong opposition from all over the southern central parts of England. Playing Marlow in their first game, the boys made a strong start and won 3-1. The highlight of which was a brilliantly-worked short corner routine and an excellent finish from Alex. The second game saw Haslemere win 4-0 against Thame. Haslemere’s superior passing game proved decisive, and the goals arrived at regular intervals.
The next game against Reading saw Haslemere take an early lead through some fine work from Freddie before a quality short-corner strike pegged Haslemere back. Again, the boys’ passing and movement shone through. At least two goals came from five-pass moves from the back to the front. Henry K played some excellent passes and Haslemere eventually pulled away to comfortably beat Reading 4-1.
Topping the group saw Haslemere up against a very tall and physical Amersham & Chalfont team in the semi-finals. Haslemere went 1-0 down in the first ten minutes when outmuscled in the D. Haslemere rallied well and got stuck in, and a brilliant strike at a short corner from Henry W made it 1-1. The match went to penalties, and Haslemere lost 3-2 in the shoot-out.
Haslemere faced Marlow in the third/fourth play-off. The game ended 2-2 after Haslemere took the lead twice but gave up two goals. Haslemere then won the penalty shoot-out. Haslemere were never defeated in normal time at the tournament. They scored 14 goals – the most in the tournament – and only conceded five goals.