Final score: 1 - 3

​‘Fairytale of Oundle’

Oundle ladies 1s took on Kettering 3s in our last game of a rather biblical year.  The sun was setting during the late push back and it was indeed a ho ho holy night. I wish we could play hockey every day and the team were thrilled to be reunited for another week and brought some seasonal cheer to the Astro by warming up in festive attire! Santa Claus (aka Karen Whatley-Darrington in an epic goalie shirt) came to town this week and played in goal for us and we were thrilled ‘he’ took time off his very busy schedule this time of year. The opposition didn’t appear so festive, do they know it’s Christmas time at all? 

Before the game Tasha Darrington was awarded her shield for top goal scorer last season and proved worthy of this title by scoring the first goal of the match! I think it’s fair to say Oundle dominated the attacking game today with some Holly jolly hockey and goals could have been in double figures but the oppositions goalie was on top form and deserves praise for a number of beautiful saves from Oundle’s forwards and mid fielders all hungry for goals. 

Our second goal came via Kerry-Ann Graham - a well executed dive, reverse stick flick and she decked the ball into the back of goal with that satisfying smack off the back board! 

Tori Short, Sophie Rookes and Charlotte Rainbow had an excellent game in midfield and the 2000 miles they covered earned them a few mince pies for sure. 

At half time we were winning 2-0! Sophie wanted in on the action though, and after injecting the ball from a short corner she received it back and superbly deflected that jingle ball in for goal number 3! 

The game was won 3-1 by the final whistle. Player of the match went to Charlotte Rainbow for her endless energy, epic runs and a partridge in a pear tree...

We wish you a Merry Christmas Oundle fans and a Happy New Year!

Final score: 6 - 2

​There were only ‘tiers’ of joy as Oundle ladies first team hit the Astro again following lockdown 2.0! They were up against Wootton first team this week and it was a fierce match.... it was a loss for Oundle this week so to cheer us up here’s  a little festive ditty for all our fans - 

‘Deck the halls with balls of hockey
Fa la la la la, la la la laaaa 
An awesome team but never cocky
Fa la la la la, la la la laaaa

Don we now our Oundle shirts
Fa la la, la la la, la la laaaa
The following day everything hurts
Fa la la la laaa, la la la laaaaa!’

It was a tough match this week and Wootton were on form with a 6-2 win against us but as always we had some excellent play. Tasha Darrington scored both goals for Oundle this week and player of the match went to Laura Pakenham

​Players, fans and hockey lovers - It’s a bittersweet report this week following the announcement that hockey will be suspended for what we hope is a short lockdown for the nation. 

The pre match chat centred around this topic of conversation and we stepped onto the astro determined to ‘end’ on a high and did we ever! 

Goals, goals, glorious goals!  But let’s start at the beginning... Oundle ladies 1st team had an 11 strong squad this week and were up against Wildcatz in Wellingborough. The heavens opened for a hefty shower during the warm up so it’s fair to say it was a soggy start to the game all round. Wildcatz kicked off with skilled possession and slick passes but Oundle made the most of an interception by our mid fielders and quickly got their first goal scored by Kayleigh Pottage in her debut game for Oundle. Welcome Kayleigh, it’s fair to say you made a lasting first impression!

Wildcatz quickly retaliated and despite some epic defensive play from Oundle scored their first goal from perseverance with the rebounds! Oundle were playing well and were not phased by the 1-1 score at half time. 

Our opposition were a strong, forceful team but by the second half we were reading their game well and making interception after interception. Our second goal came from a beautifully executed short corner between Sophie Rookes and Tasha Darrington. A sleek back and forth and then beautifully over the line by Sophie. Charlotte Rainbow had a cracking game today, increasing in confidence and speed each week it seems. There was also a beautiful run by Kayleigh and Tori Short up the left wing with them both showing off their mid air skills! As if she hadn’t done enough already, Kayleigh scored again bringing us our third goal and cementing our lead. But we weren’t done yet... and despite a nasty injury to her heel Tasha Darrington scored our fourth goal!!!  

The game concluded 4-1 to Oundle and player of the match was Kayleigh Pottage with 70% of the votes! Have a safe remainder of 2020 all and we hope to be back on the astro as soon as possible.

​Well hello again avid readers... Oundle ladies 1st team met Wellingborough on the AstroTurf today as the season continues to pick up pace. 

Oundle were ready to pick themselves up from last week, bandage the wounds quite literally and put their best stick forward. 

We got off to a flying start and made our presence known with a lot of effort around the attacking D. Wellingborough defended in force making themselves a difficult wall to break through. A big thank you to Victoria and Emily Ferguson, a mother-daughter power duo who stepped up for the first team this week and demonstrated some excellent attacking play.  Emma Aubury had a strong game as always making some superb runs, long balls and interceptions for the defence. 

It’s fair to say it was a frustrating game for Oundle this week... The seemingly excessive use of the umpires whistle resembled a 90s rave at times! Every minor foul by Oundle (including some fictitious ones) were spotted a mile off but that eagle-eyed umpiring didn’t always apply to our opposition.  This resulted in a disputed short corner being awarded to Wellingborough in the first half from which they scored meaning the score at half time was 1-0 to Wellingborough. 

This spurred us on however and quickly in the second half Sophie Rookes scored for Oundle!! Wellingborough are a skilled, ambitious team and Oundle pride themselves on not getting riled during the game but it was a tall ask today. Wellingborough scored again in the second half after a clear foul.  This was widely contested by both teams and after a brief exchange between umpires this second goal was disallowed. The final minutes of the game were a battle of wills for both teams but the score remained 1-1 at the final whistle. 

Karen Whatley-Darrington deserves a mention this week for a number of epic saves on the goal line as well as fairly challenging the umpires on behalf of the team. Player of the match went to Sophie Rookes for her undeniable skill and being our goal scorer today!

Final score: 0 - 3

​Oundle ladies 1st team journeyed across the county this week to play Daventry in a long awaited match after a frozen pitch hindered their last game. 

As always, Oundle were in good spirits and ready to play their game.  The team had a little shake up this week as some of our seasoned teammates were unavailable.  We had some debut performances, position changes and minor casualties but we still enjoyed some superb hockey.  A huge thank you to Emily Ferguson who had an excellent game for the first team this week and brought her energetic youth and skill to the match.  She would definitely be welcomed back with open arms! 

Charlotte Rainbow had strong game play on the wing today, facilitating a lot of ball travel to our attacking D. All the forward and midfield players deserve praise for getting to the attacking D countless times but we struggled to get a clear shot on goal and Daventry were defending well and in force.

Undeniably our opposition had a strong side out today.  They took full advantage of some powerful long balls from their defence which broke through our formation resulting in quick entry into our D and 3 quick, successive goals in the first half. Their attacking players were determined to increase their goal count and kept a steady barrage of attack against Oundle.  However our defenders, especially Lucy Belcher, were having none of it.  Oundle were down to 10 players before half time and it is a true testament to their ability and determination that no further goals were scored despite our side being outnumbered. 

Lucy was on top form today making some superb interceptions and runs to support defensive play and quite rightly earned player of the match. 

The final score of 3-0 to Daventry was perhaps a fair win by our opposition but it does not reflect the number of outstanding saves by Oundle defenders nor the efforts by our forwards up front. 

1,2,3, OUNDLE!!!!!!!!!

Final score: 1 - 2

Whatta game, whatta game, whatta game, whatta mighty good game!

Oundle ladies 1st team took on Kettering 2s this afternoon. The team were in the fortuitous position of having a sub this week and the squad looked strong.

Sophie Rookes was on her ‘A’ game today scoring her first goal of the season within 60 seconds of the starting whistle!

Kettering 2s went on to keep us very busy in mid field but Laura Pakenham and Emma Aubury were a superb duo as always today keeping the ball away from the defensive D.
 
Towards the end of the first half, there was a clash in our defensive D in which a Kettering player lost their stick.  Some say the stick was dropped, others say the Kettering player was disarmed unfairly....The umpires however were particularly scrupulous toward the Oundle side today and as a result awarded a flick to Kettering who subsequently scored and brought the score to 1-1 at half time.

The second half saw some serious mileage of the ball up and down the pitch.
Throughout the game, Kettering were awarded at least 7-8 short corners, quite often in quick succession, but Karen Whatley-Darrington was on top form as were the defensive line and together they didn’t let a single ball in. A key moment still sticking in everyone’s mind was Colleen Burns victoriously saving the ball mid air on the goal line, showing her true determination to the game. With perhaps 10 minutes of play left, Oundle were awarded their only short corner of the game and Sophie Rookes scored again off a rebound bringing the final score to 2-1.

Sophie had an outstanding game as well as scoring twice and was player of the match today with nearly all the votes!