Ladies First XI Hockey

An ambitious, competitive squad of experience and youth currently playing in North Premier Division.

We had an excellent 2008-9 season. We won the North division 1 and have been promoted into North Premier division. With the combination of our committed players, attacking and skillful hockey under the top quality coaching of Bobby Bhogal, we aim to go the next step into National League.

Home games start at 1.30pm, all support would be very welcome.

Off the pitch we like to party hard- especially on foreign soil.  The annual Eager Beaver tour is an essential part of life in the first team. We have built a fine reputation for fancy dress, funnels and still kicking ass on the pitch in Prague, the Hague, Antibes and Bad Kreuznach, Germany. We are unbeaten in Europe. Next stop Cyprus?

 

 

CAPTAINS NOTES

Please check fixtureslive.com for results, league position, top scorers, stats.

1st Team Captain: Katie Dixon (scally)

email: scallyrussell@hotmail.com

 

Latest result and match reports

 

 

Gate move up to 6th in North Premier League

6/12  North Premier League Bowden Hightown (away) Won 4-3
 
A card happy umpire failed to spoil the party as Gate secured 3 points with a fine win away against Bowden Hightown.
 
Despite the unnecessary issuing of 3 green cards, 5 yellow cards and a red card, the match was played in good spirits by both teams and was an excellent spectacle for all those lucky enough to be present.
 
Harrogate travelled to Bowden knowing that only 3 points would be good enough. Gate started well against a youthful and skilful Bowden side and opened the scoring when Lucy Wood pounced on a deflected ball in the circle and coolly slotted it into the corner.
 
Bowden equalised just before half time with a controversial goal which appeared to be struck outside of the circle.
 
In the second half Bowden scored quickly from a penalty flick and then through another goal surrounded by controversy where the Bowden player clearly kicked the ball whilst attacking the Gate defence.
 
This incident only worked to fire Gate up who pressed and attacked tirelessly towards the later stages of the match. Fi Gibson dribbled deep into the Bowden defence and drew foul after foul.
 
Ali Sedcole converted the first penalty corner with a bullet into the bottom left corner to take the score to 3-2. Shouts of ‘believe’ from the Gate bench further propelled the team forwards.
 
Two further Gate penalty corners were won and both were converted by Natalie Hall who was the first to pounce and ensure the ball found the back of the net.
 
After taking the lead 4-3, Gate retained possession and calmly played down the time until the final whistle.
 
The result takes Gate to 6th position in the league.

 

 

 Harrogate test league leaders

28/11 Ben Rhydding (away) Result - Lost 4-2

Harrogate ladies were second best against league leaders Ben Rhydding on Saturday 28th November.
 
In a match played at a ferocious pace, it was Ben Rhydding who drew first blood, scoring from a well worked attacking move down the right wing. Neutrals might have thought that the tone of the match had been set, however, Harrogate knew they could compete and quickly levelled the score after a fine solo effort from Fiona Gibson whose slick skills embarrassed the Ben Rhydding defence and was neatly finished off by Ali Wales.
 
Harrogate were moving the ball around with confidence and Rhydding looked a little shaky. Some excellent passing from Gate took them to the Rhydding circle and Rachel Wilcox pounced on the loose ball to drive home the second goal.
 
Gate were unlucky not to get 3 heading into half time when the ball was saved on the line by a Rhydding foot, but wasn’t seen by the umpire.
 
Rhydding started the second half well, scoring within the first few minutes to level the score.
 
Gate keeper Tracy Lorriman was constantly tested as Rhydding showed a greater sense of urgency. Gate pressed forwards looking for a third goal but a Ben Rhydding break away was rewarded to make the score 3-2 and shortly after scored the fourth.

Harrogate coach Bobby Bhogal said, ‘I am very proud of the team today. We showed how we can play and demonstrated that we can compete with the top teams in this league. Today we weren’t quite able to maintain this for the full 70 minutes, but this side is improving every game and with several players hoping to return from injury the second half of the season should be very interesting.’

 

Gate produce performance of the season!

14/11 Preston (away) Result - Won 5-2

  

Gate’s season clicked into gear this weekend with a fantastic 5-2 victory over Preston in the Women’s North Premier League.

A formation change by coach Bobby Bhogal proved to be a very shrewd move as Gate denied Preston any time on the ball and forced them into errors. With Gate’s confidence increasing they took an early lead through an Ali Sedcole bullet penalty corner.

A second soon followed with a superb solo effort from Fi Gibson, whose mazy dribbles caused havoc in the Preston defence and was finished with a clinical flick past the keeper.

Preston lifted their game towards the end of the second half and caught Harrogate on the break to take the score to 2-1 at half time.

It was the home side who started the second half better levelling the score with a clinical short corner routine. This only made Gate more determined and some good work from Lucy Wood on the right wing was rewarded with a penalty corner which Laura Donaldson fired in the back of the goal.

The fourth goal came from excellent combination work – Shelly Harrison driving the ball through on the left and crossing to find Fi Gibson who fired into the top left to get her second goal of the match.

Gibson and Harrison linked up again to grab the fifth, with Gibson crossing in from the right and Harrison getting the crucial touch to deflect past the keeper.

Man of the match was Cecilia Allen, who made several crucial tackles throughout the game.

Gate should be happy with their performance and with several key players due to return from injury and from International commitments, Gate will be looking to maintain the momentum in the run-up to Christmas.

Next game is on Saturday 21st November at Harrogate Hockey Club at 1.30pm against Springfields.

 MOM - Cecilia Allen

DOD - Ali 'Windymiller' Wales

 

 

Gate take on Sunderland in England Hockey National Cup
25/10 EHA cup Sunderland (a) L 0-5

Two games in as many days is always a tough prospect, but especially ha’way against National League side Sunderland and with a severely depleted squad.
 
The Gate defence soaked up long periods of pressure and frustrated the Sunderland attack for much of the game, but Sunderland took what chances they had well.
 
Harrogate showed true grit and determination throughout the afternoon, chasing balls down until the final whistle. Despite the score line, the Gate team spirit was evident throughout and was a pleasure to watch. Several young second team squad members stepped up to the challenge and will have learned a great deal from the experience.
5-0 the final score, but Gate should be proud of their performance.
 
MOM – Tracy for superb saves throughout the game
DOD – Ali Wales who needs to invest in travel sickness pills (again!)

  

 

 

 Gate struggle to keep Whitley at Bay!
24/10 Whitley Bay (a) Result - L 1-3 (Shelly)

Gate arrived in the North East knowing they had a tough match ahead of them against recently relegated National League side Whitley Bay. The weather conditions would prove challenging to cope with for both sides as the rain poured down all afternoon, but it was the home side who made the better start with a goal in the opening 2 minutes.
 
Immediately Gate were on the back foot and after a period of pressure, another well-worked Whitely Bay goal followed.This appeared to fire Gate up as they began to move the ball around with a greater sense of urgency, pressing forwards with excellent driving runs from Fi Gibson and Shelly Harrison testing the Whitley Bay defence. No way could be found through and Whitley Bay ended the first half finding the net again with a goal against the run of play.

Half time brought a welcome break to Harrogate to regroup and it was Gate who came out fighting in the second half, increasing the tempo of their work rate. Shelly Harrison was rewarded for her work when she neatly slotted home the ball to take the score to 3-1.
 
Gate continued to dominate the second half and were unlucky to be awarded a penalty stroke against them after a superb Ali Sedcole goal line save. Tracy Lorriman in goal, who had been outstanding in the second half, produced a brilliant save to retain the 3-1 score line.
Gate pressed hard to the final whistle, but there was no way through.
 
MOM – Shelly for excellent runs all game and well earned goal.
DOD – Ali Wales for an interesting post game outfit, sponsored by Skins!   
Gate’s next game is at home on the 7th November against Deeside. A win is a must!

17/10 Poynton 2s (h) L 1-3 (Sedders) MOM - sedders, DOD - Pikey

A disappointing result overall. Poynton played a steady competitive match and unfortunately we did not respond as we should have. In the first half we struggled to move the ball out of our back third and consequently had a number of short corners against, one of which Poynton converted through a well practiced routine. Tracy pulled off some fine reflex saves to keep us in the game. In the second half we came back better but still not to scratch and they converted another penalty corner through a similar routine. Ali Sedcole got us back in the game to be one goal behind with a short corner bullet shot and we stepped up the pace somewhat  and started to play with more urgency. However it was not enough and in the last minute or so they were awarded a oenalty stroke and that won them the game 3-1. A hard loss for us as we know we can play much better and have so much talent amongst us, but we have learnt a lot about mental toughness and we will approach future games in a more positive way.

11/10 EHA cup Chester (a) W4-0 (Pikey, Debs,Wales)  MOM: Pikey   DOD: Wales

After a lovely evening in Knutsford at the slowest pizza express in the world, good night's sleep in the team hotel and a fit breakfast, we made our short journey to Chester and the slowest pitch in the world!  The day didnt start well with Wales forgetting the white shirts and a rather fragmented warm up.  We were ahead from a trademark bullet short after about 4 minutes and 2-0 up after a Dr Debs rebound from another short.  Chester came back and we had to defend about 15 shorts before half time. The second half was fairly routine with 2 more gate goals- a beautiful reverse flick over a logging gk from Wales and another bullet strike from a short.  Great effort everyone for 2 matches in 2 days and our reward?  An away trip to Sunderland bring it on!

10/10 Timperley (a) D 3-3 (Sedders, Shelly, Debs) 

It was never going to be an easy game with Bobby unavailable and not our full squad out but we played fantastically for the first half.  Lots of attacking play with loads of baseline runs and short passing around the circle- Bobby would have been proud.  We opened the scoring with a well worked team goal with Wales and Hannah exchanging passes before Shelly fired home. Back came Timps with a goal but we finished the half at 3-1 with 2 further short corner goals.  We thought we had won the game and sat back too much in the second half and lacked discipline.  Ash got a yellow for a stick tackle and whilst we were down to 10 they scored a counter attack goal.  Ash came back on but then pammy was awarded a yellow and then Catherine so we were down to 9 players.  We defended resolutely with Tracy making many outstanding saves to keep us ahead however Timperley scored from a penalty corner in the final minutes to make 3-3. This was a disappointing result for us as we felt we should have come away with more than 1 point.  

03/10 Wigton (h)  D 4-4 (Dory 3, sedders)   MOM:Dory  DOD:Wales

In the absence of captain scally- on holiday for a week I have the honour of writing match reports once more. 

Gale force winds greeted unknown entity Wigton as they arrived for our first home game this season.  The wind was a key ingredient in a fierce encounter.

Gate dominated the early stages of the game once more but failed to score and hit the post.  Our flowing hockey was rudley interupted for 10 minutes whilst we secured the goals which were blowing away- well done to action man Neil for leading the troops on this on his arrival from Kenya!  The break seemed to favour Wigton who re-grouped and began to pressurise our 25.  Two clinical strikes later- one short and 1 from a defensive error saw Wigton take a 2-0 lead.  A truly stunning team move culminated in Dory firing high into the roof of the net after great work from Ash and Woody. 2-1 half time. The second half began with gate pressing forward once more looking for an equaliser- it was no surprise when it came from a well worked short from Dory.  THe last 15 minutes was literally end to end entertaining hockey. Wigton edged ahead again from another clinical finish but back we came with a beautiful lifted Sebcoe shot from another short.  Wigton thought they had won it  in the last 5 after yet another short- But it is the self belief we have established over last season which shone through- Bobby calls it mental toughness- it is never over til the cucumber sings.  Another short corner won, another great finish from Dory to complete her stunning hat trick. The final whistle blew with both teams so out of breath we could hardly speak when shaking hands-this is not testament to lack of fitness- just 110% effort!  A point rescued in the end but we are a bit gutted we didn't take all 3.  Well done everyone!

Pendle Forest (a) won 3-1

A trip over to play Nelson for our first match of the season is tricky proposition however we managed to play our own game and came away with a victory. We started extremely well and had a great first 20 minutes - the only thing we didnt do was convert our chances. We had a player sent off for a dodgy tackle and unfortunately had a bad patch when we conceded a goal. However this was cancelled out by a great short corner strike from ali sedcole to make it 1-1. We absorbed some more pressure from a solid performance by Pendle but then started to use our chances more effectively. We converted another short corner with another massive strike from Ali Sedcole and then Fi Gibson slotted another away at the end to make the score 3-1. Sadly Tilly went down with a twisted ankle in the 2nd half so may be out for a week or two, luckily she had coach Bobby to literally fireman's lift her off the pitch!

Pammy fully deserved dick of the day for her impression of a drowning fish on the floor when she fell over and couldn't quite swipe near enough to the ball wth her stick, very funny! This was much to the relief of Starky who was 2nd place for getting DOD when she missed an absolute sitter on the final whistle! Ali sedcole was overwhelming voted man of the match. Welldone sedders. 3 points, welldone all!

 

Gate arrived in the North East knowing they had a tough match ahead of them against recently relegated National League side Whitley Bay. The weather conditions would prove challenging to cope with for both sides as the rain poured down all afternoon, but it was the home side who made the better start with a goal in the opening 2 minutes.

Immediately Gate were on the back foot and after a period of pressure, another well-worked Whitely Bay goal followed.

This appeared to fire Gate up as they began to move the ball around with a greater sense of urgency, pressing forwards with excellent driving runs from Fi Gibson and Shelly Harrison testing the Whitley Bay defence. No way could be found through and Whitley Bay ended the first half finding the net again with a goal against the run of play.

Half time brought a welcome break to Harrogate to regroup and it was Gate who came out fighting in the second half, increasing the tempo of their work rate. Shelly Harrison was rewarded for her work when she neatly slotted home the ball to take the score to 3-1.

Gate continued to dominate the second half and were unlucky to be awarded a penalty stroke against them after a superb Ali Sedcole goal line save. Tracy Lorriman in goal, who had been outstanding in the second half, produced a brilliant save to retain the 3-1 score line.

Gate pressed hard to the final whistle, but there was no way through.

MOM – Shelly for excellent runs all game and well earned goal.

DOD – Ali Wales for an interesting post game outfit, sponsored by Skins!

Gate’s next game is at home on the 7th November against Deeside. A win is a must!

 

 

 

 

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Harrogate Hockey Club. Granby Hockey Centre. Ainsty Road Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 4AP, England.
Telephone: 01423 565696. eMail: info@harrogatehockey.co.uk