QUACKERS’ on-field “chemistry” helped lift them to a remarkable fourth Ladies Upton title in succession, following a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Guernsey’s TENN Colombian Puffins at Footes Lane, while TENN Colombians 1 were able to seal the Men’s Upton with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Jersey’s OV Convicts.
Quackers have enjoyed sustained success at the pinnacle of Channel Islands domestic women’s hockey, with a stranglehold over the Ladies Upton crown dating back to a 5-2 victory over Puffins in 2019.
Against the same opposition from five years ago, it was a dominant display from last season’s Ladies Division 1 Jersey champions, with Puffins rarely getting a sniff of the Quackers goal, despite the valiant efforts of Sarnian duo Kathryn Bushell in midfield and Emma Atkinson between the posts.
Quackers captain Aleisha Stilwell cited the early season “hard work” as the key to success.
“It was an incredible team effort.
“We’ve got such a great mix of experienced players and fresh faces, and everyone really came together to make this win happen.
“The chemistry on the field was fantastic, and it’s a testament to the hard work we’ve put in at the start of the season.
“It was also really exciting to play against a team from Guernsey. It’s a great opportunity to challenge ourselves and see some new competition. We’re proud to bring home the win with a 4-1 scoreline.”
Mixing experience and youth, Quackers fielded a strong line-up for the fixture, with Island side regulars, Jamey Henderson, Natacha Hawkins-Kay and Eve Anthonie lining up alongside youngsters Molly McKeon, Anäis McDermott, Olivia Labesse and Lily Cotillard.
The Jersey champions saw a lot of the ball in the opening stages of the game, but regular forays into the Puffins D and the resulting penalty corners, were not rewarded with goals, thanks to dogged defending from the Puffins back line and some fine saves from Atkinson.
Rare Puffins attacks were quickly snuffed out by a combination of Hawkins-Kay and Anthoine in the middle of the park, with goalkeeper Cotillard untested for much of the opening period.
The breakthrough came midway through the first-half.
Player of the game Jamey Henderson was rewarded for her tireless work in the opposition D, throwing herself full stretch onto a rebound to bury the ball into the goal and give Quackers the lead.
Another two followed in quick succession for the visitors.
Less than a minute after being brought on to add fresh legs up front, McDermott showed remarkable composure to coolly slot the ball into the bottom corner having found herself unmarked near the penalty spot.
With Hawkins-Kay showing plenty of quality in midfield, distributing the ball beautifully to her teammates to sustain the pressure on the Puffins defence, Henderson added her second and Quackers’ third.
A flurry of saves from Atkinson in the Puffins’ goal could not stop Henderson from applying the finishing touch, again showing remarkable athleticism to dive and prod the ball over the goal line.
With a healthy 3-0 lead approaching the break, the team from Jersey’s concentration slipped and offered their opponents a way back into the fixture.
Puffins were allowed the time and space to put together a slick series of passes through the Quackers back line, and after some confusion in the D, the Caesareans switched off and allowed Puffins to slot past Cotillard to make the half time score 3-1.
The second-half proved a more even affair, with the Sarnians pressing high and making life difficult for Quackers to get out of their own half, with Bushell and Lucy Waldrom in the Puffins midfield showing their quality.
In spite of this they struggled to carve out any chances of note and their opponents did not concede any penalty corners for the duration of the match.
Quackers also continued to provide a threat when they did push forward, with captain Stilwell and Hannah Bolton in particular working hard to run in behind the defence and create opportunities to extend their lead.
The win was sealed in the closing stages of the game – Henderson the scorer again – this time with a fine individual goal, picking up the ball just inside the final quarter and driving past the Puffins defence, with a fine lifted finish beyond Atkinson to complete a fine hat-trick.
Meanwhile, on the men’s side, Colombians were desperate to avoid a Caesarean whitewash on home soil, and they were able to repel an inspired comeback from Peter Millar and his OV Convicts.
The Sarnians began the quicker of the two, but the visitors soon found their rhythm and settled into periods of sustained domination in the opening half.
However, it was Colombians who broke the deadlock midway through the first period, with a strike from the edge of the D finding the target.
Convicts fought back though and, after a number of short corners, the Jerseymen were able to equalise on the stroke of half-time through Rhys Thomas.
On the ascendency, Convicts had to deal with the unfortunate loss of Patrick Filleul through injury.
With the game in the balance, a destructive eight minutes of play all but ended the contest, as the Guernsey champions rattled off three unanswered goals to stun the visitors.
However, when others might have accepted the contest was beyond reach, Millar and his youthful side dug deep.
The would reduce the arrears six minutes from time through Sam Habin, before Millar himself added another before the final whistle to ultimately fall 4-3, with the ill-disciplined Colombians concluding the showcase fixture with just eight men on the field of play.
Captain Millar said: “These are the fixtures we all want to be involved in.
“We were unfortunately on the wrong side of this one, but it’s great experience for our squad.
What impressed Millar, was the effort from his charges, given the fact there were four schoolboys in the shape of Ed Hodgson, Eddie Rothwell, Edo Van Vliet and Filleul.
“There were a number of schoolboys in the travelling squad, which was really exciting to see.
“They all made up our back line, so did incredibly well with what is the highest level a club can play in the Channel Islands, and competing with senior, Island players from Guernsey.
“Despite there being a fair few negatives and aspects we need to work on, the big positive was how hard the lads fought from 4-1 down.
“No one’s heads dropped and, even with time against us, there was a desire there to dig deep until the final whistle.
“Especially with younger members of the team, mentality is half the battle.
“So to see that desire from them is really encouraging moving forward.”
Quackers: Jamey Henderson, Aleisha Stilwell (c), Emily Le Feuvre, Bridget Le Brocq, Emily Sabin, Natacha Hawkins-Kay, Eve Anthoine, Hannah Scriven, May Brennand, Molly McKeon, Olivia Labesse, Lily Cotillard (GK), Hannah Bolton, Anaïs McDermott. Coach: Carol McKeon
OV Convicts: Andy Brown (GK), Peter Millar (c), Jack Tait, Dan Hodder, Ed Hodgson, Rhys Thomas, Charlie Reid, Pierre Sangan, Sam Habin, Eddie Rothwell, Anthony Kay, Edo van Vliet, Patrick Filleul, Chris Thomas
