Weekend Match Report Round Up: Saturday 5th November 2022
Redditch Men’s 3s vs Stratford 6s (Development)
Youngsters lead the way again for the Men’s 3rd team. Redditch Men’s 3rd team looked to bounce back from their loss in the top of the table clash against Sutton at home against Stratford 6s development team. Redditch started really quickly getting early shots off, before a well worked penalty corner saw Elliot Ford get his first assist of the game setting up Miller Glen who calmy flicked the ball into the corner. Shortly after Leo Jones got his first of the game with a calm finish into the bottom corner, with the assist coming from Marshall Glen, Redditch maintained their dominance with Elliot Ford getting his first of the season by
squeezing the ball through from an acute angle.
13 year old Hadley Kilkenny scored yet another well worked goal after Marshall Glen had run down the right hand side beating multiple players before pushing the ball to the top of the D where Hadley calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Returning player Ethan Reeves also found himself on the scoresheet for the first time this season, slotting into empty goal after the Stratford Goalkeeper came to win a ball from another penalty corner.
Second half was started in very similar fashion with Redditch on the front foot, with Miller Glen getting his second of the match. Before another well worked penalty corner saw Elliot get another assist this time for Alex Ward who scored his first goal in 5 years. Stratford then grew into the game putting the pressure on the Redditch defence for 10 minutes which was well dealt with seeing another young player in goalkeeper Aryn Welsh keep them at bay until they managed to score from a penalty corner.
Redditch’s final goal came from another well worked penalty corner seeing Miller get an assist for Leo Jones score his second of the game with a great piece of skill to bounce the ball over the onrushing keeper.
Final score: Redditch 8-1 Stratford
Old Silhillians 5s vs Redditch Men’s 4s (Development)
Redditch Men’s 4s Development Team were playing their first league game against external opposition, following cancellation of previous games because of their own or opponents’ shortage of players. The final score of a 6-3 loss to Old Silhillians 5s belied what was a closely fought and competitive but friendly tie throughout. There was promising debut in defence for Jim Hancocks, whose only previous experience of hockey was watching his wife play from the side-lines.
There were also confident performances from younger players settling into their first season of league action, notably Brandon Smith, William Wright, Arran Smith and Christian Durbin. Redditch played some classic passing hockey, which led to a number of chances, and the first and third goals from open play, both finished off by captain Russ Baldwin. Redditch’s second goal was from a well-worked short-corner routine with a clinical strike by Ethan Smith.
Final score: Old Silhillians 6-3 Redditch
Harborne Women’s 5s vs Redditch Women’s 2s
With consecutive wins behind them, the Redditch Women’s 2s went into the weekend’s game against Harborne with excitement, prepared for a gritty game. Both teams started the game with intensity, with a lot of end-to-end play. It was Harborne who were awarded the first goal, but it wasn’t long before the Redditch side equalised when Holly Hancocks knocked a rebounded shot behind the goal line from a penalty corner. At half time, the game was up for grabs for either team.
During the second half, it was Redditch who made the first move with multiple chances to score thanks to the quick, short passing game the team have been utilising with much success along with fast paced runs up the wing. Some fantastic teamwork between Alice Wright, Elsie Simpson and Frankie Griffiths kept the Harborne defenders busy but it was Becki Clarke and captain Louise Jennings who put away another couple of goals to put Redditch in front 3-1.
Undeterred, Harborne continued to fight hard and with both teams beginning to tire, two counter-attacks gave the opposition time and space to level the score in the closing ten minutes of the game. The whistle blew on a Harborne short corner, which Redditch managed to defend to end the game with a draw, securing their position at the top of the league for another week and remaining undefeated for the season. The return fixture of these two teams after Christmas will be one to watch, for sure!
Final score: Harborne 3-3 Redditch
Worcester Pippins vs Redditch Badgers
The full math report for the Redditch Badgers game can be found separately here.
Final score: Worcester 5-1 Redditch
Elsewhere, Redditch Men’s 1s secured a commanding 7-0 victory over Market Drayton. The Men’s 2s were well beaten away at West Bromwich 10-0 and the Women’s 1s suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Olton.
