Big win for Whalsay over Delts in indoor hockey league

Whalsay had a convincing win over Deltmavine in the latest indoor hockey fixtures while the Delts blew away the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes also lost out to Reckless while Zetland saw off the Crusaders.

Whalsay 6, Deltmavine 0

Whalsay were quick to mount an attack and were awarded a short corner in the opening minutes. However, they failed to capitalise due to sharp defending by Jenna Johnson and Nicola Blance. It was not long before Zoe Irvine broke the stalemate though, by skilfully rounding the keeper to slot it home.

Toni Sidgwick made numerous great saves and ably dealt with danger at the goalmouth. However, with Josie Jamieson picking out perfect passes from defence, and with slick switches across the width of the court, Whalsay secured three more goals before half time through Ian Simpson and Karl Williamson.

Deltmavine put on the pressure in the second half with Blance feeding good through-balls to her front line. Lee Balfour and Andrew Aitken were quick to break down the court, but George Abernethy in Whalsay’s goals stood firm and cleared all shots on target. Zoe Irvine, in centre court, linked well with her wingers and managed to notch up a hat-trick before the final whistle sounded.

Players of the match were George Abernethy for the home side and Deltmavine’s Nicola Blance.

Hurricanes 2, Reckless 5

A storm was brewing in the teacup stadium with both teams determined to get the result. Reckless opened the scoring with Bethany Laurenson slipping the ball past debutant Hurricanes keeper Allyn Drummond. Hurricanes picked up the pace and worked the ball well to find Robin Atkinson on the back post to slam the backboard to bring the score to 1-1. Both sides rallied to get more goals with both keepers clearing their lines on numerous occasions.

A dubious finish from Bethany Laurenson put Reckless ahead with minutes left in the first half. Turnbull turned on his turbo and flew down the right wing but alas he was thwarted by poor workmanship when his trainers burst apart at the seams. Atkinson, in a fury to equalise, recieved a pass from the right with Bradley Mackenzie pressing on to tap the ball into Atkinson’s path to slam in Hurricanes’ second goal to finish the half on equal terms.

The second half started with the same fury with Reckless upping their pace in the final five minutes to see Josh Morison score a further two and John Magnus Scollay sealing the deal with the Reckless’ fifth of the night.

Players of the match were both the keepers for fantastic saves throughout the match.

Zetland 4, Crusaders 0

From the starting whistle this was a fast paced game with both teams defending well until Zetland broke with a early goal from Michael Gardner. Crusaders pushed forward with good passing from Gail Johnson and Grant Johnson,but unfortunately Kyle Duncan was on top form with no balls getting through. Crusaders had opportunities from several short corners but again Zetland stood firm with good defensive work. Stacey Gardner scored a second for Zetland before half time with a good pass from Michael Gardner across the circle.

The second half saw Crusaders putting the pressure on the Zetland defence of Wilma Sim and Dawn Anderson but good defending kept crusaders from scoring. Michael Gardner broke down the Crusaders defence with good passing from Liam Graham and Stacey Gardner. Crusaders had many attempts on goal but Kyle Duncan kept them all out. Stacey Gardner scored the fourth goal with a pass from Michael Gardner.

Players of the match were Kyle Duncan for Zetland and Gail Johnson for Crusaders.

Deltmavine 6, Hurricanes 2

Deltmavine blew away the Hurricanes in what turned out to be a very entertaining match.

The game began with Hurricanes applying the early pressure and they scored when Jillian Copland breezed through the Delts’ rearguard to thunder the ball home. The Delts didn’t let this early setback dampen their spirits though and they quickly regained parity when a Lee Balfour shot drizzled through the legs of the Hurricane keeper only for Megan Nicolson to show lightning quick reactions to slam the ball into the onion bag. Andy Aitken then set off like a jetstream and latched onto a Debbie Robertson through ball to send the Delts on to cloud nine. The Hurricanes however quickly poured scorn over this idea by equalising on the brink of half time again through Copland.

In the second half the Delts came out like a tornado and swept away their Southend counterparts with Andy Aitken getting his second of the night closely followed by his third. Shots were now raining down on the Hurricane goal like in a torrential downpour but the Hurricane keeper held back this tidal wave of pressure until Lee Balfour finally broke his goal scoring duck for the team from the north.

It wasn’t all one way traffic though as a strong southerly push meant that Toni Sidgwick in goals and Jenna Johnson at the back had to be at their best to thwart numerous Hurricane attempts to get back into the game. It was Deltmavine however who were riding the crest of a wave and ended the match as a contest when they flooded the Hurricane box and Nicola Blance lashed the ball through a blind moory to make the final score 6-2.

A very entertaining game with a lot of chances being created at either end. Andy Aitken was hailed as the star man for the Delts while Jillian Copland was the brightest colour in the rainbow for Hurricanes.