Undefeated Whalsay win hockey’s Association Rosebowl

Whalsay were the runaway winners of hockey’s Association Rosebowl league, comfortably defeating Juniors in their final match after earlier sharing the spoils with Burra, while their nearest rivals Spurs lost out to Scalloway and Delting drew with Burra.

Spurs 1, Scalloway 2

Scalloway started strongly but it was Spurs’ Emma Gray who got the first goal of the game with a pass through from Kristen Jeromson.

Scalloway pushed hard for an equaliser and were rewarded with several short corners, after one of which Caitlin Holmes tapped the ball over the line.

Scalloway’s second goal came early in the second half with a pass through from Lynne Scollay who saw Meg Nicolson waiting at the back post to slot the ball in.

Both teams worked really hard. Spurs had a few chances on goal but found it difficult to get it past Scalloway’s keeper Christine Laurenson.

Players of the match were Christine Laurenson for Scalloway and Ava Sim for Spurs.

Burra 1, Whalsay 1

Whalsay had the first pass back and straight away made Burra very aware that they meant business. The ever lethal Angelina Jamieson always ready to take a strike when the ball came to her, but luckily for Burra, Vicky Anderson was always in the way to get the ball clear.

Karen McKelvie worked diligently in the midfield, feeding balls to the forward line and taking a few balls into the circle herself, but the Whalsay defence prevented any attempts at goal.

Whalsay used the width to their advantage and cleverly passed the ball around the whole pitch, frustrating the Burra players.

Menacing Maggie Irvine ran her socks off and spread the ball around, creating plenty of chances for Whalsay but Georgia Laurenson with her powerful hit at the back cleared any danger.

After a fast and furious 30 minutes Burra scored just before the half time whistle. After getting past a few Whalsay players Kristen Robertson took a shot from a very acute angle to score a beautiful goal.

Whalsay were awarded a short corner a few minutes into the second half. Maggie Irvine hit the ball out to the top of the circle. They passed the ball around and Shelley Sandison took a strike and snuck it past the Burra goal keeper.

Undeterred by the early goal, Burra continued to put pressure on the Whalsay defence. Fiona Dally as usual was infuriating the attackers and managing to clear the ball out to the

Whalsay midfield who were quick to get the ball down to the other end of the pitch.

It was a very humid night, but neither team tired or slowed the pace. Both teams used their sub to relieve the tired legs on the pitch. The phrase is used a lot in hockey but play was end to end with both teams having a number of shots on goal. But neither team was able to capitalise on these.

It was a very evenly matched game with neither side going to sit back and let the other take control. A draw was a good result for a very close game. Players of the match were Vicky Anderson for Burra and Maggie Irvine for Whalsay.

Burra 3, Delting 3

Burra started the game with 10 men and gambled with a kick back goalie. Pressure was soon put on the Delting defence with some good linking play between Stacey Laurenson and Kristen Robertson, but they couldn’t break past a strong defence of Jillian Copland, Nicola Blance and Debbie Robertson.

Swift passing between Brenda Leask and Toni Sidgwick saw the ball being played into the Burra circle. The Burra defence were unable to clear the danger and Kerry Burgess put the ball into the back of the net to put Delting 1-0 up.

Shortly after the Delting goal, pressure was again applied to the Burra defence. This resulted in three short corners. Delting were unable to capitalise when a deflected strike fell to Brenda Leask who hit the ball into the corner, but Burra’s Bethany Laurenson was there to clear the ball off the line.

The second half started with end to end play. Burra were soon awarded a short corner which they took the advantage and Stacey Laurenson put them ahead with a cracking shot into the bottom left hand corner to draw level.

Burra’s confidence grew after the goal and accurate passing between Sarah Young and Joyce Adamson saw Kristen Robertson run the baseline. A well placed ball into the circle saw Stacey Laurenson reverse flick the ball into the left hand side of the goals.

Delting were soon on the attack again, with strong accurate passing. A good ball into the circle saw Donna Murray strike a powerful shot into the corner.

With everything to play for both teams were fighting hard. Toni Sidgwick worked tirelessly down the middle and eventually broke through on goal to put Delting ahead.

With just a minute to go, Kristen Robertson took a free hit and powered down the wing weaving her way through the Delting defence. A strong pass to Stacey Laurenson saw her go one on one with the keeper and she kept her cool to slot home for her second hat trick of the season.

Players of the match were Kristen Robertson for Burra and Toni Sidgwick for Delting.

Juniors 0, Whalsay 4

Whalsay started strongly and immediately put pressure on the 10 Juniors players. Whalsay took full advantage of their extra player and Angelina Jamieson scored within two minutes. Nine minutes later Deborah Mowat scored two skilful reverse stick goals in quick succession.

The first half finished with Juniors defending well and creating good breaks up the pitch but Whalsay’s defence stood firm.

The second half was more evenly contested with both teams playing well. Juniors’ Karis Irvine battled hard in midfield and linked well with Karrie Fraser. Nearing the end of the match

Deborah Mowat hit a strong strike towards goal which was tapped in from the side by Nicola Duthie, giving Whaslay a well deserved win.

Players of the match were Zoe Irvine for Whalsay and Lynsey Morrison for Juniors. Both players worked tirelessly in midfield throughout the match for their teams.

Whalsay were then presented with the Association Rosebowl Cup after a successful season during which they remained unbeaten.