Saturday Soccer kids enjoyed a great day out in Worthing on Sunday 26th June as four of our Hawks Youth teams played their hearts out at the Worthing Dynamos six-a-side tournament in the blistering summer weather. It was a long and busy day in which the teams played a total of 39 games between them and had varying levels of success.
Dave's Hawks Youth Under 9s played their first ever 6-a-side tournament and did exceptionally well to finish 5th in their group. The overall feedback was that they had played brilliantly throughout but had just lacked the finishing touch in front of goal that would have taken them to the top of the league. They will undoubtedly take the experience they took from this into the next tournament, work on their goal scoring and finish even higher next time.
The Hawks Youth Red Under 10s-B had a similar experience to the U9s. They finished the tournament with one of the best defensive records in their league but just couldn't get enough goals at the other end to ensure they climbed the table to take one of the two qualifying spots (despite peppering the goal with shot after shot on a regular basis). Until the last game, when they had realised they could no longer qualify, they had conceded just 3 goals all day but had unfortunately contracted the curse of the 0-0 draw - and too many of these lead to a league position that didn't do justice to the great football they played. Highlight of the day was their 2-0 victory in which Danny Scored a lovely near post header and followed it up with a peach of a long range shot that flew into the back of the net. The team was managed to great effect by Alan Hitchings and the kids can go home proud of all the effort they put in, confident that next time they will have a bit more luck in front of goal.
The Hawks Youth Red (U10s-A) battled hard throughout but a mixture of heat-related tiredness, a lack of goal scorers and an incredibly tough group meant they finished the tournament without the credit they deserved. Individual moments of brilliance and some great performances were unlucky not to provide more moments of success but players should be proud that they continued to work hard right to the end. Max Winwright put in some of his best performances of the season in defence and Joe Hulejczuk was unlucky not to have scored on numerous occasions. Kellan Mark showed moments of skill and dribbling prowess that show what a great player he can be and Murdo emerged as a leader on the pitch with his tough tackling and extraordinary skills that helped earn his team a draw against one of the top teams in one of The A' Team's best performances of the day - a performance that showed everyone just how good they could be. Joe Gardiner, Tyler and Georgia took it in turns to go in goal - often getting their team out of difficult situation with some fine saves. When their time on pitch came they took to it with equal effort and all had some great moments of skill to remember. The whole experience should be a great learning experience for them all and will pave the way for further improvement over the coming years. Special mention should go to Leo Gunderson who played his last game for the Hawks - he has been a great player for us and will be sorely missed.
The Hawks Youth White U10s truly had a tournament to remember and can be very proud of what they achieved. After starting the tournament with a comprehensive 5-0 victory, they finished top of their group on goal difference with 6 wins and 3 draws and as such progressed to the semi-finals with an unbeaten record. Patrick Van-der Velde and Freddie Alexander-Morris provided the majority of the goals at this stage of proceedings whilst Harry Couchman was pretty much unbeatable between the posts.
In the semi-final the defence was called into action against a tough Worthing Rebels team but rock solid performances from Lewis O'Shaughnessy and Dylan Kyffin-Walton in defence ensured chances for the Rebels were kept to a minimum. With just minutes remaining on the clock, a brilliantly taken late winner from Alfie Westhead ensured they progressed to the final and gave themselves a great chance for glory.
The final was against a very strong Worthing United team. It was a tense affair with spectators and players from both sides looking a little nervous as the first half progressed. All the rumours prior to the game were of the fantastic goalkeeper playing for the opposition who hadn't conceded a single goal all day, so the big test was to see if he could be beaten. As the game entered the second half at 0-0 there were chances at both ends but neither team could break the deadlock and it eventually went to extra time. With a penalty shoot-out beckoning, a foul out wide on the right wing lead to a free-kick within shooting distance for the Hawks. Up stepped Paddy to drive the ball into the area where a deflection took the ball past the Worthing United keeper for the first time that day. With the Hawks winning 1-0 George Turner entered the action to help keep things solid in midfield and although Worthing pressed and a number of tense moments followed, the defence remained strong. When the final whistle blew the celebrations started with a pitch invasion from all the Hawks parents and kids that had stayed late to offer their support. The Hawks had done it and will forever be the Worthing Dynamos Six-A-Side Tournament Champions for 2011! Minutes later Harry Couchman stepped up to collect the cup and the team went wild - victory was theirs. Congratulations Hawks on your first tournament win - may it be one of many many more to come!
