Division II side Crusaders had a busy time, with matches on Friday and Saturday.
Men’s Division I – JHC Ormers 2, OV Victims 7: As a contest the game was over after 20 minutes when the OVs raced into a 4-0 lead, with goals from Mike James, a brilliant reverse-stick from the edge of the D, Colin Graham and Nigel de Carteret, each with a tap-in, and another reverse-stick shot from James.In the last 15 minutes of the half, Ormers finally got their game going, through Matt Harris, Alex Frost and Chris Curtis, and they threatened the Victims’ goal on a number of occasions.However, goalkeeper Andrew Brown, who produced a number of brilliant saves throughout the game, and his defence, well-marshalled by Alex Thelland and Steve Osmont, kept them at bay.The second half was more even although the OVs scored the first two goals – a tame short corner from James which bobbled past both ‘keeper and defender on the line, and a neat finish by Tom Davies after good work on the OVs right wing by Paul Wilkinson and Mick Millar.Ormers came back with two quick goals, a tap-in by Curtis at the far post and a neat finish from a short corner by Frost.But James capped a fine individual performance with a powerful run from inside his own half to score his fourth, and team’s seventh.Minor Cup – JHC Thornbacks 10, Crusaders 2:Division I Thornbacks, back to full strength quickly overcame their Division II opponents, with Adrian Heelis scoring four and Neil Merritt three.
The other goals were scored by Nick Taylor (two) and Conrad Evans.Crusaders never let their heads drop and scored twice in the second half, through Simon Garton and Tim Kearsey.
Division II – JWHA 4, Crusaders 3: JWHA’s Sarah Kerley benefitted from an Ellie Butler pass and pushed the ball in close to the left post for an early strike..The ladies enjoyed good possession and Jenna Johnson, at right defence, had a confident game.The men fought hard but the score remained at 1-0 going into the half time break.Crusaders’ Marcus Cooper and Stuart Richford closed down space effectively after the break, but the ladies always maintained their lead.Jamey Herbert scored the second goal, with Butler having split the Crusaders’ defence.RepliedCrusaders replied in kind but Jamey Herbert then hit the ball into the top left corner of the net to make it 3-1.The Ladies absorbed a lot of pressure, with Becky Darts and Kelly de la Haye working hard, but Crusaders managed to pull a goal back.
The ladies soon restored their advantage, with Beckie Herbert scoring from a short corner.This stirred Crusaders into scoring late on, but the ladies had done enough.Crusaders scorers: Simon Garton, Marcus Cooper, Tim Kearsey.OV Vets 2, JHC Lions 5: Richard Le Lièvre scored both Vets goals.
Lions goals came from Chris Curtis (two), Alex Frost and Stuart Gower (two).IN the Jersey Women’s Hockey League matches played on Sunday, RWB beat the Jersey Ladies 1st XI in Division I while the Development Division matches produced wins for E & Y Quackers 2nds and the Crusaders Colts.Division I – JLHC 1 2, RWB 5: RWB began in their usual strong, attacking style, but although under pressure Jersey Ladies defended well through close marking, especially from Carla Plater and Claire de la Haye.RWB’s Becky Darts opened the scoring with a skilful flick into the top left hand corner.Ladies made good attacking moves down the left, with the speedy Jenna Mitchell and Laura Ferrara combining well, but further goals put RWB 3-0 up at half time.In the second half Jersey Ladies took the game to RWB and were rewarded with two goals in rapid succession, through Jo Fuller with a neat reverse-stick flick, and Jenna Mitchell.
RWB picked up the pace and attacked with speed and skill and Jenny Pryke in goal made some important saves, before RWB scored twice more.Darts finished with a hat-trick, with Rhianon Evans and Sally McDowall adding singles for the winners.Development Division – E&Y Quackers 2nds 4, JHC Juniors 2: Both teams played well in a fast, enjoyable game which was well-controlled by umpires undergoing their Level 1 assessments.Quackers used the flanks well and tried to pass around defence while the Juniors used their speed and individual skills to good advantage and scored the first goal.EqualiseQuackers had several shots on goal with the Juniors’ goalkeeper making several good saves, but Sophie Maclachlan pushed past to equalise.MacLachlan soon scored again after excellent play between Katie Howell and Lucy Hillsden.Juniors took the game to Quackers in the second half and scored, but Quackers responded with another of their own after a great move involving Emily Sabin and Rosie Curtis – the latter finding the unmarked Vicky Slater who slotted home.After sustained Quackers’ pressure resulting in a penalty corner, Steph Anderson scored from the top of the D.JLHC 2nds 0, Crusaders Colts 4: Ladies were keen to keep the Colts at bay in their last league game of the season.
The boys attacked quickly, but good goalkeeping from Rosie Burns and timely tackles by Michelle Timperley kept the scoresheet clean.
Ladies had some good attacks through Julie Hankin, Gerry Davies and Kayleigh Alexandre, but while they were unable to convert the boys scored three times before half time.In the second half Helen Sandeman, at centre back, worked tirelessly, while newcomers Stephanie Henwood and Tiffany Cole made some good runs down either wing, but were unable to break down the boys’ defence.
The boys scored a further goal to win 4-0.
