This was cup finals weekend and the club had four sides playing, the Men's first team in the Hampshire Trophy, The Under 14,16 and 18s in the Boys Cup Finals.
The Men got off to the worst of starts conceding a goal to opposition Portsmouth and Southsea in the fourth minute. A ball slipped to the inside right position at the top of the D saw keeper Paul Howarth beaten as he came to terms with the speed of a waterbased pitch. Southampton were back on even terms when Danny Roche equalised from the penalty spot. Loose play in front of goal allowed P&S to move ahead once again, but Roche again scored, drag flicking from a short corner. Southampton dominated the second half and could have scored several times but could not find the final touch until Kelvin Wyatt got on the end of a cross to deflect the ball home. The good teamwork developed over this season stood out and allowed Southampton to retain possession for relatively long periods. Congratulations should go to the whole first team squad this season for they progress they have made under new coach Henry Swzinto but they should be aware that there is always one more step to take to the top.
The Under 16s meanwhile were receiving a mauling from Havant Under 16s, complements of their two England Juniors, going 6 - 0 down in the first half. As these two players were also performing in the Second eleven and Under 18 cup finals (They must be short of players) they were withdrawn at half time. The second half became a much more balanced game with Havant edging it 3 -2 for a final score of 9-2. James Fewtrell and Danny Morgan getting the Southampton goals.
Manager Jill Stokes was on the point of desperation as the traffic visiting Portsmouth caused long tailbacks and she was without several of her key players until minutes before the start. Having managed to get a team she then needed to find some GK kit and luckily managed to borrow some from Winchester, as the Southampton keeper was even further back in the traffic queue. Will Legge gallantly donned the pads and made two good saves before conceding the games first goal. James Storr duly arrived and rushed to get his pads on and took to the pitch without being able to warm up properly. Without the proper preparation Southampton started cold and City of Portsmouth were in the mood to take full advantage of the situation. They played some devastating hockey for the first half and went into half time 6 - 0 up. However a good half time chat saw them perform better (but not to their best) in the second half winning that 2 - 1 for a final score of 7 - 2. Ollie Knight (short corner) and Alex Georeopolous (far post) scored.
The under 18s played in a highly competitive final against old adversaries Havant. Southampton took the lead when Mike Woods shot went into the goal off a defender (it would have gone in anyway) and should have gone two up had the umpire held his whistle for a second longer (but it is easy from the sidelines). Havant equalised and then scored the winner. Both sides offered some good hockey and the game could have gone either way although from this biased reporters view Southampton possibly had the better scoring chances. Well done lads.
On Saturday the club played in the under 12s tournament at Portsmouth. We entered two teams in the festival and one in the tournament. The tournament team came fifth after losing to the eventual finalists in their pool and the festival sides enjoyed some good results.
A mixed squad spent the weekend under canvas at Worthing playing in their mixed tournament. Not sure how the results went but from all accounts they had a good time. Thanks to the organisers.
This is the last newsletter of the season and I would like to thank those that have given me feedback from their games and an even bigger THANKYOU to those that actually wrote their own.
Roger Merry