Hockey - Hawks 0-0 Coninsgsby
Gibraltar - Hockey - Hawks 0-0 Coninsgsby. Featuring the Hawks players who are to play as host in the Euro Hockey Challenge III tournament The story behind the images:-
Few smiles from left on RAF faces by Stephen Ignacio
Few smiles were left on the RAF hockey side Coningsbys face after their fourth and final match of the weekend against Grammarians. Four matches in two days had resulted in three defeats and a draw for the visiting UK services team who had come from a good run of results in the UK.
On Friday Coningsby first faced the veterans Collegians. The evening started brightly with Coningsby scoring first. However, Collegians were soon to prove that they were not messing about and came back to beat them 3-1.
Just an hour after, a second Coningsby side, with a mix of men and women faced a mixed Eagles team with veterans, ladies and youngsters within their ranks. The Eagles team were to prove far too strong for the UK side as they Eagles took the lead and kept a clean goal until the very last play of the game. A 4-1 defeat for the UK visiting time had surely rung alarm bells as they walked off the field waiting for the next day’s two matches.
ON Saturday Coningsby played a full ladies Hawks team who are preparing for the Euro Hockey Challenge III tournament which they host in Gibraltar next month.
The RAF side, Coningsby came out with a strong selection, with only one female player within the players fielded. If the services side had believed that the local women were going to be weaker opponents they were far wrong as stick to stick they matched them. Possession play was mainly on the side of Hawks, who even though counting within their ranks a semi veteran squad, mixed with some youngsters now making the grade felt as if they were the physically stronger side.
Hawks dominated the game and pushed Coningsby to the limits, unfortunately their final stick work inside the D failed them. They were not to see the back of the net even though they had several chances just driven inches wide off the post.
A scoreless draw was the best Coningsby could master against Hawks, just before they met what would be the toughest of the four teams.
Grammarians fielded their own strong selection, like Hawks also preparing for their European adventures in the men’s division. Grammarians lacked the initial edge in the first half and seemed to be going through the paces at first practising their own game strategies.
With a 2 goal advantage the second half was to prove a frustrating and sobering experience for Coningsby as Grammarians upped a gear (or two) and set out to dismantle any hopes Coningsby had of achieving anything more than another defeat at the hands of a local team.
Grammarians begun to steal balls in the centre of the field and sped forward in wave after wave of attacks, using the flanks to good effect, whilst forcing the UK side into mistakes at the back. It was only the seven or eight saves from the visiting keeper that kept the score line within the one digit figures as Grammarians notched seven past the tiring UK side.
The visiting team had proven to be far weaker than expected, although they had played continuous matches as opposed to the local sides.
This week hockey sees the start of the Interschool tournaments, as well as a visit from a visiting UK infantry side. Making this the fourth visiting team in two weeks to play against local sides. Adding to the hockey experience being gained by our local players as they prepare for European matches.
