Under 17s trip to London
Over the weekend of Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September, the Hockey Club took a group of 22 players from our Under 17/18 squad across to London to play some club hockey matches.

The trip mirrored our inaugural trip to London for this age group two years ago and is part of our commitment to support the athletic and sporting development of our young female players.

After assembling at Dublin Airport early on Saturday morning, we set off once again to North London and two days of competitive hockey and team bonding. We travelled to Hertfordshire to play against St. Albans HC on the Saturday afternoon and after settling in well into the game, Leia Braithwaite put us 1-0 up in the first quarter. A short corner flick by Ruby Morgan hit the cross bar and we traded goals with St Albans across the first two quarters to finish the half 2-2. Leia Braithwaite netting the second for us.

The second half saw St Albans grow into the game and some loose defending saw the team punished with a few soft goals conceded despite Rafaela’s heroic goalkeeping efforts.
Two short corner strikes from Jessica Tierney flew past the St Albans goalkeeper but it was too little too late as St Albans ran out the victors by a very entertaining scoreline of 7 goals to 4.

Sunday afternoon saw the squad travel into London city and beautiful surroundings of the Paddington Recreational grounds to face Hampstead & Westminster HC. This game saw a much improved performance as the squad ironed out the wrinkles in its playing patterns from the day before. Playing under some glorious sunshine, there was no sign of any loose marking in this match and from the very first minute, we were on the front foot. Leia Braithwaite pounced on a wayward pass of the opposition and slapped the ball past the Hampstead & Westminster goalkeeper into the roof of the net with barely 60 seconds on the clock.

Hampstead & Westminster got back on level terms by the end of the quarter but a nicely taken goal by Pia O’Donnell saw us finish the half 2-1 up. A strong second half performance saw Leia slot away two additional goals and one from Marli Obernik saw the squad leading 5-1 as we entered the final minute.

We conceded a short corner as time expired and Hampstead & Westminster played a one two which led to a foul and a consolation penalty stroke for the home side. Their team captain stepped up confidently to the spot but her powerful penalty stroke was too close to Rafaela who saved with ease. Final score, a 5-1 victory.

Congratulations to all the squad and a great weekend was had by all. Thanks also to the expert guidance of team coach Charlotte Walsh and the organisational support from Paul O’Brien, Orla Higgins and Natasha Tynan across the weekend.

Under 15s travel to Lisnagarvey
On Sunday 30th August, we were invited to send an Under 15s squad to Lisnagarvey to take part in a pre-season tournament. We played pool games against Dromore, Boyne and Old Alex before finishing with a cross over game against our hosts.

It was a competitive tournament and we played in some very close games, winning and losing by the narrowest of margins. It provided a great days hockey and a warm up for the season ahead.

As a club, we pride ourselves on building positive relationships and friendships across the Irish hockey club network and abroad. This gives our players opportunities to play against different clubs with different styles of play which helps their development and game awareness.

Thanks to Ciara O'Brien for her coaching expertise and individual feedback to players, and parents who supported on the day. A special thanks to Dan Montague and all the team at Lisnagarvey. We look forward to hosting them in Park Avenue later this season.