Union’s junior hockey teams faced Lorraine Primary on the UHS AstroTurf on Saturday, 11 May.
The 5th juniors lost 1 – 0, the 4th juniors drew 0 – 0, the 5th juniors (in a match against Lorraine’s 6th juniors) won 1 – 0, the 3rd juniors won 4 – 0.
2nd Jnr Team: 1 – 0
On a day where Union had dominated in general, the 2nd team girls did not disappoint. The girls played really well together as a unit and are definitely starting to gel. They worked incredibly hard and were able to hold the determined Lorraine side at bay. Although Union had possession for the majority of the game, it took a long time for our girls to convert their efforts into points on the board. Misha Newton was eventually able to score off a well-worked short corner, putting us into the lead. Despite some nail-biting moments, Union managed to hang onto their tenuous 1 – 0 advantage till the end. Well done to all the girls and especially to Misha Newton and Katelyn Trollip who worked exceptionally hard throughout the game.
1st Jnr Team: 1 – 2
With 4 of our regular 1st team players unable to play on the day, it was a fairly nervous team that took to the field against Lorraine. The girls were on the back-foot from the start and struggled to turn the tide of play, making mistake after panicky mistake and quickly forgetting the basics, especially in defense. They soon conceded a goal, but fortunately managed to limit the first half damage to this.
After a stern talking to at half time, the girls returned to the field focused and ready to make amends. They were finally able to piece together some great runs of play, but without result. Towards the end, the girls began to run out of legs and Lorraine were able to slip another goal past our ragged defenses. In a last ditch effort to improve the goal difference, Soso Mroro made a spectacular individual break, and after beating three players on her own, popped a stunning ball through to Ferronique Booysen who slotted it past the surprised keeper mere moments before the final whistle, making the final score 2 -1 to Lorraine.
Although the girls were disappointed by the result, all the teams enjoyed a wonderful day of hockey played with spirit and sportsmanship. Thank you to all involved and particularly to Kyle-Luke du Preez for your invaluable assistance with coaching and umpiring.