Two Regional Finals and Eight Hockey Matches in Three Days  

Last week was another great week of Hockey; sandwiched between two Regional Finals, our teams played eight full length matches in three days, featuring all year groups, and achieving six wins and two draws.  What a week!  
 

U12 Regional Finals 

Last Monday our U12 team set off very early to get to their Regional Finals at Stamford, and what a pleasure and privilege it was to compete at such a great facility and compete against the best Year 7 teams in the region.   

A promising start resulted in a 0-0 draw in the opening match, with Woodbridge making more of the play but unable to create enough in the attacking D and convert.  This became a bit of the theme for the day; defending well, building up play well up to the final third of the pitch and then just not being able to get past the final line of defence.  

Woodbridge lost the matches against Stamford and Brentwood by one goal each  and Woodbridge did well to contain the strong teams of King’s Cambridge and Bishop Stortford to complete their pool matches.  The team effectively learned and executed a half-court press which was a big tactical win from the day.    

Our cross-pool match against Bedford Girls, probably the best attacking performance of the day, resulted in another draw but leaving the team on a high, knowing they had learned and improved throughout the day and had gained so much experience.  

A lot of fun was had together and we are grateful for the big group of parents who also made the journey to support the team.  Player-of-the-Day was Emma C. 

Super Seniors take on RHS 

Our Senior 1st and 2nd teams played their big derby matches against RHS. The stakes were high as RHS have had the upper hand over our teams for some time. The 1st XI match lived up to expectations, and perhaps even exceeded it, as the two teams battled fiercely, each showing a very different style of play.  RHS tried to pin Woodbridge in at their hit outs, initially with success in the opening minutes.  

Woodbridge realised that bravery and going forward would nullify these efforts and put the pressure back on the home team. After starting to move the ball with more confidence around the back and through the midfield to feed the forwards, Woodbridge reaped rewards and threatened the RHS goal.  The first near miss came when a deflection at a corner hit the cross bar.  Woodbridge kept pushing and won another corner, which was wonderfully converted with a P-spot deflection from Year 13’s Georgia.  Woodbridge went into half time with the narrowest of leads but knowing they would need to weather a storm in the second half.  

Half chances followed for Woodbridge but were denied by good defence.  RHS continued to play a fast-carrying, long-passing game, with Woodbridge matching them for speed on the flanks and trying to mark their strong midfield out of the game. It was all to play for the final 15 minutes of the game, but now RHS were making the chances and Woodbridge relying on counter attacks and fast free hits.   

Year 12’s goalkeeper, Freya made countless saves in her nine-yard area, closing down and blocking, and stopped cracking shots at penalty corners.  The defending trio of Year 13’s Eve and Year 12’s Lyrah and Millie were composed and outstanding in their tackling to put pressure on every circle entry.  A tense last few minutes ran out as Woodbridge tried to slow play down and earn their first win against RHS since 2019!  And such fun to do it away from home too.  

Well done to a fabulous group where every player gave their all and impacted the game in a positive way.  

Player-of-the-Match went to Year 12’s Charlie but no one can deny the biggest team effort for a great win.  

The second team played a very exciting match on the School astro, delivering a great performance.  Reports are of multiple chances and excellent play, with Woodbridge just not able to put the ball into the back of the net.  Despite leading on the opportunities count, Woodbridge scored one goal, but so did RHS to share the honors.  

Again, positive progress as our 2nd team has been on the losing end of the last three matches against RHS.  Year 11’s Amelia scored our goal and Year 11’s Frankie was named Player-of-the-Match.  Team captain, Year 13’s Lily C, was full of praise for the team and the positive support and hockey being played. 

Junior Teams’ Clean Sweeps 

On Wednesday four Junior teams (Y7 and Y8 players) travelled to RHS for matches, while the Junior 5’s played against Finborough. It was to be an unbeaten day for Woodbridge with four wins and one draw.  Our teams scored 19 goals and conceded three. 

A small Junior 5 squad blew their opponents out the water, with almost every member of the team scoring in a convincing win. Player-of-the-Match was awarded to Year 8’s Emily W.  

The Junior 1s nearly came to rue a slow start which saw RHS score in the opening 20 seconds of the game.  Luckily this was the wake-up call needed and play the hockey the team has become known for – high work rate, disciplined defending, moving the ball and getting the ball into high spaces to attack the D.  This led to multiple chances being created and all of the sudden the pressure shifted.  

Year 8’s Chloe scored before half time which meant it was all to play for in the 2nd half.  It looked like Woodbridge could run away with it when continued pressure resulted in a cynical foul in the D and penalty stroke.  The subsequent conversion was disallowed and things stayed level.  The goalkeepers for both teams were kept busy and had to be at their best.  RHS likely had more and better chances, but Year 8’s Najma denied them!  Year 8’s Juno was influential in tackling and starting attacks. Close to the end of the game RHS looked like they would get the winning goal, only to be denied by another great save.  

At this stage both sets of coaching staff would have been happy to settle for a draw, but the teams had different ideas. In an attempt to break through RHS played a high-risk pass which Woodbridge intercepted to get possession.  Fast thinking from Year 7’s Darcey got the ball into the D with the seconds counting down.  From Chloe’s stick the ball was placed into the goal, to beat the clock!  Goal!  The win! The end of the game.  

A cracking game which neither team deserved to lose.  Woodbridge was gracious in victory, knowing they were part of an epic match.  Juno and Najma were contenders for Player-of-the-Match but Chloe got the most votes to take the honours.   

A great way for this team to finish their open season unbeaten, with only the Regional Finals to come later in the week.  

The Junior 2s battled out a scoreless draw to set them up for their final match against Langley U13A to keep their unbeaten season going.  Year 8’s Katherine was Player-of-the-Match.  

The Junior 3s again entertained in a high scoring match, winning in style.  Year 8’s Elodie was the day’s hattrick hero, making full use of being carelessly left unmarked, scoring four!  Year 8’s Daisy completed the scoring for Woodbridge while Year 8’s Tati was Player-of-the-Match. 

The Junior 4s spread their goals around and kept a clean-sheet at the other end.  Goals were scored by Year 7’s Sophie M and Sophia P, and Year 8’s Georgie M and Ellie. Player-of-the-Match was awarded to Year 8’s Iris.  

Inters Face U15 Teams from Langley 

On Thursday our U15A team, featuring Year 10 and Year 9 players, played against Langley U15A.  The game saw Woodbridge further perfect their systems and try to play a fast-moving passing and power carrying style of Hockey.  Woodbridge scored early to ease any nerves. It was not all plain sailing as Langley also threatened and scored a goal of their own.  Year 10’s Eirran scored another brace to take her goal tally for the season up to nine.  Year 10’s Millie S and Year 9’s India J scored the other two goals.  India was named Player-of-the-Match for another energetic and impactful performance.  

The U14A team, made up of Year 9 players, challenged themselves against the U15B team from Langley.  With some players missing from the regular line-up it was a great opportunity for individuals to stand up and shine.  Maizie was very strong and consistent at center back, very ably supported by Elle and Izzy A to build attacks and cover when needed.  Kirsty, Rebecca, Mariella and new captain, Sienna, made a formidable midfield quartet, growing in strength and knowledge throughout the game.  Bella led the forward line with her work rate, leading, pressing and excellent receiving in good attacking areas to make chances and get penalty corners.  Woodbridge created lots of chances and saw multiple close misses to leave the game goalless at half time.  

Half time instructions were to keep their discipline and convert chances.  Rebecca obliged by scoring a great strike at a penalty corner to take the pressure off and get a goal on the board.  Imogen M pounced on a rebound to double the score before India B deflected in a great team move close to the end of the game.  What was impressive in this game was the developing maturity of the players communicating on the pitch.  Well done to our joint Players-of-the-Match who could not be separated in their positive contributions: Sienna, Bella, Kirsty and Rebecca.  

U13 Regional Finals  

The Junior 1s ended their season on a high with good performances in the U13 Regional finals.  The targets for the day to achieve tournament success in short matches were to defend well to be hard to score against and to use our chances.  

 It looked like things would start very brightly indeed when the first chance of the day was created with our opening push back within 10 seconds – but it was denied by the GK. The long corner resulted in a similar outcome, great passing and going forward, setting up the chance but again denied by a good save.  This was the story of the day where so many chances snuck by the post – too many to count – or indeed hit the post – three times in the day!  In low scoring games this made the difference, where superb goalkeeping had to also be celebrated.   

 It looked like things would start very brightly indeed when the first chance of the day was created with our opening push back within 10 seconds – but it was denied by the GK. The long corner resulted in a similar outcome, great passing and going forward, setting up the chance but again denied by a good save.  This was the story of the day where so many chances snuck by the post – too many to count – or indeed hit the post – three times in the day!  In low scoring games this made the difference, where superb goalkeeping had to also be celebrated.  

Woodbridge finished the tournament satisfied with their overall performances, but for once didn’t have luck on our side as we had to be satisfied with two wins and four narrow losses in the pool games.  A bit of a consolation came when the eventual winners, Greshams, complemented the team on their play; the only team to restrict them to a mere one goal and threaten their goal and forcing saves leading up to the final. 

Goals on the day were scored by Year 7’s Sofia (2) and Year 8’s Martha and Matilda. 

A number of players stood out for their consistency and relentless play during the day: Year 8’s Chloe and Juno, Year 7’s Sofia and Year 8 GK, Najma.  Najma was awarded Player-of-the-Day for excellent saves and dominance of her D and growing confidence in directing the defence.  

Well done to each member of this team who have played a special season and achieved so much as individuals and a team.