Colts A and B teams in wins V Aldenham

Colts A won 3-0 V Aldenham

The Colts A were made to work very hard by an athletic, spirited Aldenham side. Haileybury started the stronger of the two teams but found it very hard to create clear-cut chances despite some neat play in the midfield. The back line mopped up effectively so that Tom Miller didn’t touch the ball in the first half but we were unable to take the lead until three minutes before half time when George McConachie hit a sweet short corner strike into the bottom corner.

Aldenham continued to fight hard in the second half, despite the play now being even more one-sided. With our forwards working really hard, the Aldenham defenders and keeper had to keep out attack after attack and short corner after short corner. However, with Haileybury frustrated and the clock running down, Aldenham launched their first proper attack of the game and would have grabbed an equaliser but for a good save from Tom Miller. Surviving that scare seemed to re-energise Haileybury for the final few minutes as they attacked down the right through Alex McCormick, who entered the D and drew the keeper before unselfishly slipping the ball to the back post for Rishi Choudhury to tap in.

With seconds left on the clock, there was time for one last attack and a good ball into the D won a final short corner. George McConachie again stepped up to fire home another tracer bullet to add some shine to the score line and his own man of the match performance.

MOTM: George McConachie

Colts B won 3-1 V Aldenham

The Colts Bs enjoyed a victory in their first hockey game on grass away on Saturday. Play on the traditional surface for the sport requires different tactics and skills to cope with the different movement of the ball, and Haileybury made the adjustment well. The ball was hit with confidence and power by the team as a whole, and the midfield battled hard to close down the opposition and regain possession.

A quick break resulted in an excellent and powerful shot on the turn by Tom Horsburgh midway through the first half. A deserved 1 – 0 to Haileybury. Aldenham did though still put a lot of pressure on our defence and it was clear that further changes in formation would be required with the ball bouncing over sticks at times.

Alex Henderson moved to sweeper, and, with his strong hit and good decision making, did an excellent job behind the defence at mopping up balls that had bobbled through. Tom Horsburgh and Lex Vis also did performed well high up the pitch, drawing many defenders, which meant that there was a little more room to play in midfield.

Ben Brown put in another excellent performance at the back, and Colby Brown, James Story and Harrison Green were particularly energetic and committed in midfield.

Tom Horsburgh scored a further strong goal, and then Colby Brown scored our third with a delightful deflection from a ball knocked in by captain James Story.

Aldenham did manage to score towards the end, but excellent effort by Haileybury until the whistle ensured a deserved victory for the boys.

MOTM: Alex Henderson