Sunday 28th March 2010

YAZOO National Youth Championships - Under 12 Mini Hockey

Under 12 Boys

Aylesbury Under 12 Boys travelled to Milton Keynes on Sunday the take part in the Yazoo Minis Under 12 Bucks North Qualifying group. They were pitted against two Amersham & Chalfont teams and Milton Keynes. The top two teams would go through to the County Finals Day in High Wycombe in a fortnight's time.

Aylesbury cheered on by the loyal band of followers started as they meant to go on by beating Amersham & Chalfont B 2-0 in the opening game. They followed up that victory with a 1-0 win against Amersham & Chalfont A 1-0 to guarantee themselves a place in the finals. To cap the day off wonderfully Aylesbury beat Milton Keynes 2-0 in the final game to qualify undefeated and top of the Bucks North Group.

Notable performances from Craig Bond in goal, who didn't concede a goal all day and pulled off some fantastic saves and Aaron Baker who played a captain's performance in the centre of defence.

Team: Aaron Baker, Angus Hay, Daniel Lindars, Craig Bond, Jack Sloan, William Taylor, Dylan Lim Hon, James McCann, Joel Arul, Will Davison.

Under 12 Girls - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

A young Aylesbury U12 girls squad travelled to the Northern qualifying round of the Yazoo Mini's (Bucks County Cup) in Milton Keynes this weekend.

The opening fixture for the girls saw them take on Buckingham Girls 2nd team; the girls started with their usual high tempo and quickly put their opponents on the back foot. Charlotte Oswald opened the scoring for the Aylesbury girls from a penalty corner before Robyn Cumberland added a well deserved second. The second group game was against the Milton Keynes 2nd team and an amazing performance of all round team play from the Aylesbury girls saw them once again put the opposition under pressure but even a great display by their goalkeeper could not stop a convincing 5-0 win for Aylesbury with Robyn getting one and Amber Miles scoring four.

The third game saw traditional rivals Buckingham 1st as the opposition and this time the highly reliable Mollie Howitt and Pheobe Teychenne had some defensive work to do. Aylesbury slowly settled into their stride and soon had the Buckingham girls under some pressure with their goalkeeper producing some fine saves. Buckingham then produced a fast break and for the first time the Aylesbury goalkeeper India Hibbs was called into action with a brilliant double save to keep her goal intact, a late Aylesbury chance was narrowly put wide and a thrilling game finished 0-0.

The final group game saw the Milton Keynes 1st try and break the Aylesbury girls clean sheet run and it soon became clear that the Aylesbury girls were not going to let that happen. The girls put a strong attacking performance together and for a long time it looked like they would be frustrated by a determined MK defence but captain Charlotte Oswald stepped up to win the game with a great strike from a penalty corner. All of which now means that the girls are through to the County finals where they will compete for a place at the regional rounds of this national tournament. The Aylesbury squad was Robyn Cumberland, India Hibbs, Eleanor Hope, Mollie Howitt, Amber Miles, Alicia Momen, Charlotte Oswald and Pheobe Teychenne.

(info from England hockey website...)
The YAZOO National Youth Hockey Festival is the NUMBER 1 event for young leaders, young players and young umpires. It provides a great opportunity for young players from schools and clubs to take part in a truly national event. It's a very special event and is a lot of fun for everyone who visits or takes part. The Mini Hockey Championships for young girls and boys club and schools teams ranging from Under 9s through to Under 12s all come together to celebrate their success. The first rounds are held at county level with the winning teams progressing through the regional rounds to the National Finals in May.

Under 12 Girls - Mission Accomplished