Halifax players show potential in tournament outings
No fewer than five Halifax Hockey Club teams were in action last weekend, with some youngsters playing in their very first tournament matches.
The U16s girls were beaten 8-1 by a very strong Durham team but the score didn’t reflect the competitiveness of the Fax girls, who worked hard and never let their heads drop.
Orla Bentley got better as the game went on, making several good kicking saves, while Lucy Hampshire netted the Fax consolation goal.
It was a decent team performance against a team regularly in the top six of the Yorkshire and North East region and the girls will have learned from the experience ahead of their next match, against another tough opponent in Doncaster.
Two U12s girls teams made the journey to Ben Rhydding, where the very young and inexperienced B team enjoyed their games, with many players taking part in their first tournament.
Olivia Hird had an excellent set of games, reading the opposition moves and timing her tackles. Jess Stephenson worked hard and showed a lot of potential in her first games. All the team are growing in confidence and beginning to play good hockey.
The more experienced A team won two and lost two of their four games with Leiyla Hoyland scoring six, Sophie Gutteridge grabbing two and Chloe Watson also netting.
Nellie Newton is developing into a strong keeper, Izzy Morton and Brooke Larkin were strong in defence and Delilah Hall showed good awareness with made some fine passes.
Halifax also had two U12s boys teams in action, with the B team competing in a four-team league in Yorkshire 4.
They lost to Huddersfield A, drew with Slazenger B and beat Bradford A, with goals coming from Elijah Ross (3), Jove Long (3) and Frankie Powell.
George Bennett and Lewis Beeby played well and created several assists. Barnaby Clay was solid in defence and keeper Riley Clavin made some important saves.
The U12 boys B team had a good morning in Yorkshire Division 2 with wins against Leeds, Selby and Wakefield.
The only loss was to a strong Ben Rhydding team as Halifax finished second in the league and should seal promotion to Division 1 again for the last set of games.
Goals were scored by Max Greenwood (2), Henry Bennett (2), Hugo Manning and Isaac Birch. With Josh Denton and Jaxon Sparkes in the heart of the defence, the team looked solid with the ever-improving keeper Oliver Turner keeping two clean sheets.
Meanwhile, Halifax’s development team cruised to a 4-0 victory over Leeds Adel.
The youngsters’ passing game was excellent and they are moving into good areas to provide the opportunity for passes. In defence, they are learning how to mark and tackle.
Goals came from Toby Egan-Brook (2) and Jack Greenwood (2) while keeper Alex Eastwood also played well.