Hockey Round-Up

For the boys the hockey block fixture the week before last was against Sutton Valence School and the honours were just about even across the course of the day. Most matches were decided by just one goal, a sign that this is a brilliantly matched fixture. The U12s had most reason to be cheerful, recording a 6-0 win in the A and a 2-1 win in the future. The future looks very bright for these boys. At first team level there was a frustrating 3-2 defeat, all the more annoying having been leading 1-0 and 2-1 earlier in the game. Less than 24 hours earlier the boys had lost 4-2 to Hurst in the Cup having fought back valiantly from 2-0 down to bring it to 2-2, only to concede again later in the game. Despite the narrow defeats, there is huge reason for optimism. With a bit more luck, both games could have gone our way and, with continued hard work, performances will continue to improve in the weeks ahead.

Last week saw most teams in action against Langley Park School for boys in their games afternoons. The matches were closely fought with Langley coming out on top more often than not but the Caterham boys really rose to the challenge and played superbly across the age groups. None more so than the 1st XI who were again pipped at the post, losing 6-5 in an enthralling, high quality encounter. Surely the boys’ luck would change in the match against Alleyn’s on Saturday? Well, yes and no, as they didn’t lose but they still didn’t quite get the luck that their play deserved to win the match. The 2-2 result was a reflection of both teams high quality but having been 2-0 down, coming back to 2-2 and having several chances to win it, this feels like an opportunity missed for an excellent win. But performances continue to improve and there are sure to be victories around the corner. The rest of the hockey teams were also in action against Alleyn’s with all games being played in exactly the right spirit, both schools giving everything, playing high quality hockey and displaying exemplary standards of sportsmanship. Congratulations to the U16A team on their 1-0 victory, further evidence of their continued improvement.