Sunday January 13th

U16s A team

U16s A were once again at Thirsk after being newly promoted to Division 2 last month. First match against Harrogate 1. It was clear from the off that Harrogate were a well drilled, organised side and majority of the game was played in the Driffield half. The Driffield girls defended well and even though they managed to obtain quite a bit of possession, they could not keep the ball out of their half for long. Eventually the ongoing pressure told and Harrogate scored 2 quick goals. End of the game score was Harrogate 2 - 0 Driffield.

Next up was Thirsk 1, the home side. This game was more evenly matched. The Driffield players moved the ball around well and played some good hockey. Again unfortunately Thirsk managed to get 2 goals quickly and Driffield failed to finish any of their attacking moves. Another goal in for Thirsk which left a final result of Thirsk 3 - 0 Driffield. Although another loss, the girls had a lot to take away from this game as the scoreline did not reflect the match.

Third and final game against Halifax 1 - a must win for Driffield if they were to remain in Division 2. That need to win seemed to give the Driffield players that extra impetus and they had the better play of this game. A few attacks with shots missing the target. Halifax played with an attacking player hovering around the Driffield D so there was always the risk of a breakaway. Driffield defenders did some fantastic back tracking to get back to defend their D when Halifax managed to get the ball up the pitch. Driffield pressure eventually paid off when a strong pass across the Halifax D resulted in a defender getting a touch on the ball which lifted it into the air and Emma Rumgay on hand to tap the ball into the net. This goal was quickly followed by Driffield winning a penalty corner and with some effective passing around the D, Keira Dinsdale-Young managed to reverse stick the ball passed the Halifax goalkeeper. The game ended Halifax 0 - 2 Driffield - a well deserved win for the team which resulted in them securing their position in Division 2 for the next round of games in February.

All in all, a good team performance against high class opposition. Thanks to Pip Snaith for managing the team and Wendy Foster for umpiring.

U16 Girls B team League matches
Driff 0-0 Airedale
Driff 1-0 Leeds
Driff 0-1 Selby
Driff 1-1 Harrogate
Driff 1-0 Doncaster

The girls under 16B team put up a solid performance at Leeds Grammar School on Sunday in the latest round of league matches. An even match against Airedale resulted in a 0-0 draw as the girls warmed up to the task in hand.
A reshuffle of positions to make the most of the players’ strengths worked well and they secured a 1-0 win in the second match. A strong Selby team managed to score in the third match, although Driffield also had several chances at the other end of the pitch. Jenny Welburn and Katie Lee were working hard together to get the ball up the field, with Phoebe Anderson providing robust clearances.
Next up, Harrogate scored with a strong shot on goal but excitement was high as Driffield were awarded a short corner in the dying throws of the game and Lilli Borman managed to score to finish the match with a 1-1 draw.
In the final match Holly Singleton scored a super early goal which gave the girls a very useful advantage for the game. They were now showing signs of tiredness but worked relentlessly to keep a pressing Doncaster team at bay. Goalie Louisa Chacksfield did a super job saving several vigorous shots on goal and the girls managed to keep their advantage through to end the match with a 1-0 win.
All in all, a good performance from the girls who finished 3rd out of the 6 teams, with lots of potential for the next round of matches.