Before beginning the match summaries, Crowborough Hockey Club would like to give a massive thank you to all the people that attended our Saturday Quiz Night. It was an amazing turnout and lots of money was raised to improve our facilities. A special thank you to Sam Williams for hosting, Lucy Smith for organising, Hamish Marr for being on bar and many others who made the event possible.
Mens Ones
The mens ones travelled to Burgess Hill for their top of the table clash against Mid Sussex, the only other team in the league unbeaten so far this year. Both sides started brightly, keen to take an early advantage, but it was Crowborough who scored first with top goal scorer, Dan ‘Danger’ Lang, slotting home his 10th of the season. Crowborough extended their lead shortly after with Ollie Turner-Moore volleying the ball into the roof of the net from an aerial pass from Hamish Marr. Crowborough coasted for the rest of the first half with Mid Sussex stunned, it was 0-2 at the break. Mid Sussex started the second half with purpose, pressing high and forcing errors from Crowborough. Their press paid off with them snatching a goal from a scramble in the circle bringing them back into the match. Crowborough responded almost immediately with Will Prime receiving the ball at the top of the circle, slipping it past a defender onto his reverse and striping the ball into the bottom right corner restoring Crowborough’s two goal lead. Mid Sussex rallied and again pressed looking to recover. A good period of possession gave them the footing needed to score their second and reduce the deficit to one. With momentum in their favour, Mid Sussex continued to probe Crowborough’s circle in search of an equaliser. Crowborough held firm however, with the back line and goal keeper Mikey Orchard fending off numerous Mid Sussex penalty corners to maintain their slender lead. It finished 2-3 with Crowborough taking three points and top spot in the league, their perfect season still intact.
Ladies Ones
Ladies Ones travelled to Brighton to play in a midday match against Brighton and Hove. They won 6-0 which puts them seventh in their league with 10 points. Goal scorers were Kate Baxter (1), Alice Webb (1), Sharon McGinley (2) and Lottie Richardson (2).
Mens Twos
The mens twos welcomed top of the league Southwick to the Beacon, looking to extend their winning run to four games on the bounce. Borough were out of the blocks fast moving the ball quickly and with purpose. The Crows midfield was dictating the tempo of the game and not allowing Southwick to get a foothold in the game. Borough pushed all half, with some decent forward plays, but not quite finding that killer pass to create a clear goal scoring opportunity. Borough started the second half just as brightly, linking up well and putting the Southwick under more and more pressure. The opening goal came after a great run down the right wing from Sam Chick before he picked out Matt Burns in the D who was quickly closed down, but was able to square it to Joe Joyce to tuck it away in the bottom corner. The second goal quickly after with a well worked short corner, when Freddie Lee found Joyce again to calmly bag his second. The third goal came after some really quick, one-touch passing in a tightly congested D, when Lee found that man Joyce to complete his hat trick. The game ended in a 3-0 victory with player of the match going to hat trick hero Joe Joyce!
Ladies Twos
Ladies Twos travelled to Horsham for a 12:30pm pushback. Last season, Borough lost some of their only point to Horsham, making them all the more determined to battle hard in this game. With the sun in their eyes and a bouncy new pitch surface to get used to, both teams started out a bit uncertain but quickly found their pace. Horsham came at the Crows hard and fast but defenders Becky Ikeson, Lara Swan and Meg Bissett effortlessly batted them away. Minutes before half time, Becky Ikeson took a hit to the head, meaning she had to step out of the game which left Rach Catling to drop into defence after a few years out of that position. It was goalless at half time but as soon as the Crows were back on the pitch, they became even more determined to win the game. With no more subs to use, the midfield put in a shift, running up with the forwards and helping defence effectively. Amanda Catling, Hazel Eddis, Vicky Dennett and Rosie Rawlings saw that balls made it up the pitch to the forwards from the defence and rapidly prevented Horsham from entering the D with some skillful tackling. Some excellent work from the forwards saw Grace Mercer score against the experienced Sussex goalkeeper, pushing the team into the winning position. Josie Mitchell and Jen Brough tirelessly fought in those forward positions to gain another goal but to no avail. The last few minutes of the game saw a scramble in Crowborough's D, a physical Horsham side managing to cause injury to Rach Catling by elbowing her in the nose to get a shot on target. Despite this, they were unable to get past the solid defence and the powerhouse that is goalkeeper Keren Loder. The game ended in a tight 1-0 victory with player of the match going to Grace Mercer for her winning goal.
Mens Threes
After a week of illnesses, the men were lucky to scrape a team together. The sun was shining and for most of the first half Crowborough were strong, incorporating some great passing into their play and unfortunately missing many chances in front of goal. Lewes' goalie extremely well, making it difficult for the Crows to put a ball past him. The only chance Lewes had they unfortunately scored. The second half saw the threes still with only 11 players to use. They battled through with their great passing and managed to win a short corner. James Lee passed it out to Freddie Lee who hit it low and straight in the corner of the goal. Due to this, the game ended in a 1-1 draw with player of the match going to Tony Frank as centre back who stood out in his second game in and very committed when playing. A huge well done to everyone who played!
Ladies Threes
Ladies threes played at home against Brighton and Hove with a 10.30am pushback. Crowborough swiftly opened the scoring with a goal from Rachel Valentine. Play was fast and furious with Meg Shaw impressing the team in midfield in her first match for the threes. Defence were kept busy, and Bethy Catling and Lisa Marr were outstanding. At halftime the score was 1-1. The second half saw Crowborough lose their rhythm and Brighton stepped in and scored several goals in quick succession. Borough fought back with Naomi Tear battling away and working closely alongside Amber Valentine in the D. Sadly the match ended in a 1-5 defeat but this didn’t truly reflect the energy and effort put in by the team. Player of the match was split three ways between Lisa Marr, Amber Valentine and Meg Shaw for sheer hard work and skill.
Boys Youth Academy
Boys Youth Academy won 9-1 against Eastbourne despite playing defence in attack, removing older players, and allowing the opposition to have twelve players on the pitch. It was a great effort from all and allowed the boys to display their hockey skills in unfamiliar areas of the pitch. Great passing hockey led to the numerous goals. The goal scorers included Jude (2), Torin (2), Olli (2), Jamie (1), Harry S (1) and Harry (1).
Girls Youth Academy
The girls travelled to Bedes to play against a strong Priory side. Without a goalkeeper, coach Fi stepped up to go in goal to support the team in every way she could. The girls battled the entire game, never letting up and playing well as a team. Unfortunately, they did lose 5-0 but this is a huge improvement from previous years against Priory. Thank you to Fi once again for taking up that goalkeeper position and well done to everyone that played!
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