U11Cs and U11Ds Hockey vs St. Mary's

Won 3-2 and 4-3

The boys were really looking forward to their first hockey match of the season as hosting St. Mary's gave them the chance to brush off the cobwebs and get back into the hockey mindset. Since we had more than twice as many players, we arranged the fixture into a triangular allowing more boys to take part.

Our C team took them on first, creating some useful opportunities in the first half but not really showing the fluency of passing which we would have liked to see. Individually, the boys worked hard, with Archie, Hugo and Salman adopting the defensive positions, which they did admirably - keeping the opposition out for length periods in the match. In attack, the other boys created some good chances but it wasn't until midway through the first half that they were able to score the first goal, which was soon followed by a second. St. Mary's fought back as the half-time approach and managed to score a goal themselves. After the break, our passing still wasn't quite up to par and the boys didn't manage to get the ball to their team-mates who were in open space as often as was needed and therefore the ball often got tied up in the middle of the pitch, which gave St. Mary's the chance to even up the score with only a few minutes remaining. But the boys did not give up and continued to press forward, with Monty working particularly hard and a minute before the final whistle they got their reward, after which they managed to hold out until the end of the match. Final score 3:2.

The two Cargilfield teams then played a shorter match against each other, which the C's won by 2 goals. This also gave St. Mary's a chance to rest before they took to pitch to play the D's.

The D's made a shaky start to their match against St. Mary's, conceding a goal in the first 10 seconds of the match after our own hit-off went awry. The boys managed to compose themselves and began to develop some lovely passes - Daniel, Nick and Archer at the heart of it. Michael provided a stable defensive foundation which the team could build attacks on, knowing that he had things in hand at the back. Arran's attacking instincts kept the visitors on their toes, which allowed Archer and Harry to find space to make their moves. Freddie and George made a fine contribution in their defensive midfield roles, often stopping counter-attacks in their tracks. The boys soon found themselves leading 3-1 but this lead was short lived as just before half time, St. Mary's caught our boys napping and scored two very straightforward goals to even up the score. The second half was less open as both teams worked harder to control the midfield. But eventually, the Cargilfield boys were able to edge ahead and they held onto their lead until the end.

Well done to all the boys for their impressive effort and team-work, and a huge thank-you to St. Mary's for driving up from Melrose to play us today.