LIONS & TIGERS ARE KINGS OF THE SOUTH LONDON JUNGLE

LIONS AND TIGERS ARE KINGS OF THE JUNGLE THAT IS SOUTH LONDON!!
BOEHC MIXED U8s : Sunday 2nd April 2017
Our Mixed U8s finish top of the pile in the last Triangular Tournament of the Season held in glorious sunshine by Bromley & Beckenham Hockey Club at Langley Park Girls School.

Two teams from the hosts, Holcombe HC and ourselves participated in a fantastic competition of round robin hockey wonderfully supported by a chorus of cheering parents and dedicated coaches. Both teams were undefeated and plundered a whopping 23 goals and were super tight in defence only conceding 1 in the whole tournament.

Teams
BOEHC Lions – Coach Matt Wilde
L-R: Isla Nisbet, Harry Hutchings, Ivan Li-Thomson, Noah Wilde, Georgia Benns, Imogen Allen & Heidi Pitt

BOEHC Tigers – Coach Will Nurse
L to R: Harrison Nurse, Tilly Stafford, Anna McLeod, Hector Rose, Miles Bennett, Nicole Riley, Melody Beake

Results
BOEHC Lions vs Holcombe Sharks 7-0
BOEHC Lions vs Brom Becks Tigers 2-1
BOEHC Lions vs Holcombe Dolphins 2-0
BOEHC Lions vs Brom Becks Lions 5-0
BOEHC Tigers vs Holcombe Dolphins 0-0
BOEHC Tigers vs Brom Becks Lions 5-0
BOEHC Tigers vs Holcombe Sharks 1-0
BOEHC Tigers vs Brom Becks Tigers 2-0
BOEHC LIONS MATCH REPORTS

The Lions got off to a flyer and proved too strong for the Holcombe Sharks running in 7 goals. The excellent defensive work of Heidi Pitt, Isla Nisbet and Harry Hutchings gave the front pair plenty of space to take on the opposition defence. Ivan Li Thomson rifled home 4 goals and Noah Wilde slotted home a hat-trick.

Game two versus Brom Becks Tigers was a much more cagey affair with both teams proving difficult to get past. Georgia Benns and Imogen Allen were impassable in midfield and Harry Hutchings was proving to be a lethal half back threat down the right. This pressing down the right from Harry eventually yielded a goal as he battled into the D to set up Isla Nisbet to slot home. Minutes later another attack down the right and round the back from Hutchings gave Ivan the chance to drill the ball into the goal. A late counter attack and solid shot from the top of the D gave Brom Becks a consolation goal but the Lions prowled through the last stages to secure a well-earned victory.

The third game gave the Lions another stern test with the Holcombe Dolphins containing a couple of skillful players. However, some tireless running from Ivan from front line to defence helped neutralize any threats. The Lions midfield of Benns and Allen broke up the play well and Isla Nisbet dominated the skillful Holcombe midfielder with some fine tackling and protection of the ball. The forward pair of Li-Thomson and Wilde linked up well with some neat one two passes to snatch themselves a goal each and continue the winning streak and their goal scoring spree. A very accomplished team performance.
The Lions finished with an almighty roar in their final match vs their namesakes from Brom Becks. With the opposition reduced to 5 players after some early departures we decided to give them one of our players and play 6 a side. Heidi Pitt admirably and very sportingly put her hand up when a volunteer was asked for and swapped teams. (Noah Wilde had offered first but all his team-mates were incredulous at this gesture and overruled his offer!!!) It was a great game and the Lions were still full of energy. Isla and Harry fetched and carried the ball to the forwards with real industry and Imogen made some great tackles. The team passed the ball far more frequently and confidently which enabled them to split open a timid and inexperienced defence to run in five goals. Ivan served as a provider with two defence splitting passes that set up Noah to score twice before Noah danced around a few defenders to add a further two goals to his tally to finish with 4. Ivan then capped a fine display with a goal of his own.

The team scored sixteen goals with Wilde notching 8 and Li Thomson 7 plus Nisbet with 1. However, despite this goal feast, the team voted Harry Hutchings the Lions player of the Tournament because they stated "he won the ball, ran into space, crossed it & allowed the forwards to get into the D to score for the team." Fantastic efforts from all the Lions who played some great hockey using their core skills effectively.

BOEHC TIGERS MATCH REPORTS
The Tigers got off to a slightly slow start but having found their roar did well dominating their pool. The first game against Holcombe Dolphins was a scoreless 0-0 draw, but the Tigers had the majority of possession, a couple of half chances but not the confidence to go on and win the game. No alarms in defence.

Second game was a 5-0 win against Brom Becks Lions with the side in complete dominance and growing in confidence by the minute. Hector Rose bagged 4 goals in a great team performance.

Next up was Holcombe Sharks. The team were growing in confidence and bossed the game despite only scoring a solitary goal to win it. They were comfortable winners snuffing out any attacks on their goal.

The final game against Brom Becks Tigers was a tighter game. Blackheath had the better possession, and a couple of early half chances. They eventually made the pressure tell and grabbed the first goal. Brom Becks had a couple of counter breaks against the run of play and almost equalised but for some great defending from Nicole Riley and Melody Beake. Then when defending an attack by Brom Becks, Harrison Nurse chased a strong clearance from our defence, out sprinted the opposition defenders and put the ball into an unguarded goal. 2-0 BOEHC and unbeaten on the day, just like our Lions Team.

All the players showed great effort and tenacity and there was a genuine effort to work as a team with good movement off the ball and good passing. Miles made surging runs from the defence to support the attack, Nicole and Harrison both added to the goal tally and mixed it with the midfield, Anna made strong tackles and along with Tilly and Melody ensured the defence was robust. The Coach made Hector their player of the Tournament. He worked hard throughout all the games contributing in attack and defence, his skills and speed made him a constant menace to the opposition and he endeavoured to bring those around him into the game.