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Match Report – M1 v Abingdon 2’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Abingdon 2’s

Many games were called off over the weekend due to the harsh weather conditions brought in by Storm Darragh. Abingdon braved the weather though and made the trip to Wootton to maintain their good start to the season, 9 wins and 1 draw!

The game got underway in the icy gusts of wind (even making it hard for the umpires to blow the whistles), casting rain and flickering lights. Abingdon started strong, playing good and patient hockey. Wootton kept their shape well but couldn’t hold them back and went 0-2 down in the first 2 minutes. Wootton had a couple of chances to get a goal back, but struggled to break through a strong Abingdon defence. The guests would get another 2 goals before half time to make it 0-4.

Wootton kept their heads up, going out for the 2nd half to keep playing positive hockey. We came out stronger and had some more good chances as well as defending resolutely against a very well drilled Abingdon side, showing why they are undefeated at the top of the table. Weather conditions made it extremely cold and hard for both sides to get the most out of the game. However, Abingdon got another 2 goals towards the end of the game making it 0-6.

A deserved break for all now, ready to come out stronger in the new year. Merry Christmas and lots of love from the M1s.

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Man of the Match Fin Purnell

Great defensive display, pushing up the sideline.

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Witney 2’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Witney 2’s

Wootton Wanderers Men’s 1st team rounded off their away fixtures for the year with a tough match against Witney 2’s.

Facing the challenge with only 11 players and some forced positional adjustments. Wootton started the game on the back foot as Witney took control early on, scoring twice before half-time.

Despite the deficit, the Wanderers regrouped and showed resilience in the second half, frustrating the opposition for long periods with a well-organized defensive effort. Goalkeeper Chris making numerous crucial saves to keep Wootton in the contest. His efforts earned him the well-deserved Man of the Match award. While Wootton’s attack struggled to gain traction, with minimal shots on goal, they showed flashes of promise but were unable to convert their limited chances. Witney eventually broke through again, scoring three times in the final 15 minutes.

The Wanderers displayed grit and determination but ultimately fell to a 5-0 defeat.

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Man of the Match Chris Wilson-Slight

Made numerous crucial saves to keep Wootton in the contest.

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Match Report – M1 v Marlow 4

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Marlow 4’s

This race weekend saw Marlow as the visiting team.

Race start, Marlow came out of the gates fast and furious, a cheeky Tokyo drift around the keeper and we were one nil down. Next goal came from smallest player on the opposition just like the Italian job. To stop Wootton being sent to the scrap heap, Chris T shifted into 2nd gear to find “pimp my hairstyle” Lee Tozer to take us across the line for 2-1 at halfway round the track.

Wootton must have had their tyres and oil changed in the pit stop, because they came out doing donuts round the opposition. Sadly we couldn’t manage to even the lap time. In the final stages Marlow popped their NOS canister to accelerate their lead to 4-1.

Mechanic of the day goes to Chris T! Honourable mentions go to Ollie for his false start penalty and the appalling racing conditions.

Checkered flag.

FIN

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Man of the Match Chris Tutton

2 on the bounce, for another excellent driving midfield performance.

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Match Report – M1 v Milton Keynes 3’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Milton Keynes 3's

This week Wootton 1s made the short journey to face off against Milton Keynes.

With a slow but steady game developing in the first half. Wootton capitalised after a flurry of short corners, with Jacob Tye finding the bottom corner with a clean reverse hit, however the home team would equalise shortly after. Wootton continued the pressure and Lee Tozer rounded the keeper before half time to bring the score to 2-1.

The home team then took advantage of several mistakes in the second half and turned the game around to snatch the victory 3-2.

This wasn’t the best day for Wootton, with various disagreements with decisions which ultimately resulted in defeat. Plenty to work on at training before hosting Marlow next week.

ChrisTutton

Man of the Match Chris Tutton

A confident controlling game in the middle of the park.

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Oxford Hawks 5

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Oxford Hawks 5’s

The Men’s 1s hosted Oxford Hawks this week for the early afternoon pushback hoping to bounce back from recent defeats.

The 1s started strong setting the press and eventually winning an early short corner which lead to an Alex Blunt screamer into the top right hand corner of the goal. The pressure continued and not long after the 1s converted their second through a couple of aerials, the last creating a 1v1 for captain Stu to convert and bring the team a 2-0 lead. Hawks managed to get one back of their own before the break and the half finished 2-1 to the Wanderers.

The second half kicked off with the same intensity as the first, with the 1s on the hunt to restore their 2 goal lead and that pressure led to a well read interception from Ollie who drove into the D and finished smoothly into the bottom corner to give us a secure cushion to protect. This lead was vital for the 1s progression back up the table, and the ones held on ensuring that the hawks didn’t convert to keep the score at the final whistle 3-1 to the Wanderers marking a big improvement from recent performances.

AlexBlunt

Man of the Match Alex Blunt

For an excellent all round game and top drawer goal as the cherry on top.

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Henley 3’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Henley 3's

Wootton 1 traveled to Henley for their latest league match. The match started at 3 p.m. so the lights were on.

The first few minutes were very optimistic. The Wootton team gained a significant advantage on the field, getting into several advantageous situations, but unfortunately they were unable to capitalise on these. Then the game got closer and unfortunately the home team turned out to be more effective in front of goal, scoring two goals before the break.

For the second half Wootton went out very motivated following the half time pep talk. After a few minutes of the game a goal was scored by Jed on the rebound after Chris Tutton drove into the D. Wootton were on the front foot and tried to take the advantage, but unfortunately still the finishing was lacking. The home team tried to counterattack, but the guests successfully stopped the repeated attacks. The result did not change and the match ended with a scoreline of 2-1 for Henley.

It was another very competitive match, and the result was influenced by considerable fatigue, because once again the away match took place without substitutes.

Jed Langton

Man of the Match Jed Langton

For showing up brilliantly throughout the match

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Banbury 3’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Banbury 3's

M1s were looking to build on their great form in the last couple of home games against Banbury 3s.

The sun once again made the new Wootton pitch look great! The game started with Wootton putting good pressure on Banbury, and an early chance came when Ethan worked his way down the line, crossing the ball to Stu who got a good shot off but the keeper made a good save. Banbury started the scoring through a penalty corner about halfway through the first half. Wootton kept their spirits up and it wasn’t much later before Ethan found the back of the net after more pressure from Wootton. 1-1 at halftime.

Wootton came out with a high level of belief for the 2nd half taking control of the game. This was met head-on by Banbury also stepping up. It was the visitors who got their 2nd goal, through another penalty corner. Wootton fought their way back once more and Lee Tozer found a small gap between the keeper’s leg and post to get our second. After this, the game started to get more physical as both teams were fighting for the winner. A couple of cards got Wootton on the back foot, but good teamwork kept the game at 2-2 until the last event of the game, where Banbury were awarded another penalty corner as the final whistle blew; which Banbury made the most of and snatched the victory. Final score 2-3.

No game next weekend so we will reboot and come back stronger in 2 weeks.

SteveSpencer

Man of the Match Steve Spencer

Rolling back the years, beating players and speeding past the Banbury defence.

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Sonning 3’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Sonning 3's

The Men’s 1s travelled to Sonning on Saturday; looking to build on last week’s thumping home win against Oxford.

It was a close contest throughout and first-half chances were few and far between – with the most notable moment being a desperate, swinging tackle which no medieval knight would have been embarrassed by. Jacob Tye felt afterward that he “nearly got there”, which may have been true if he had been a foot taller. No one complained when the card came out – our first of the season.

The second half was equally close, and ultimately came down to both teams’ short corners. Twice Wootton went ahead – first through a Tye strike and then through a scramble which was eventually finished by Ethan Spencer. In between our goals though, a flurry of Sonning corners eventually drew them level a first time, then with two minutes to go, as we tried to see out a 2-1 win, another one trickled over the line via a couple of deflections.

Final score: 2-2.

A good performance in a close game, but disappointing to not come away with all three points. Important game next week against Banbury as we try to stay in touch with the teams at the top of the table.

Oh, and one more thing. In a world flooded with disinformation and ‘fake news’ – it’s important not to take everything you read online at face value. We were reminded of this on the bus on the way back, as we checked other scores in our league and found out we’d lost 2-0.  This was an honest mistake, which we’re sure will be rectified, but it did make me wonder for a second whether I really hadn’t been paying attention to the game…

Lee Tozer

Man of the Match Lee Tozer

Lead the line well, bringing others into play and working hard on the press.

Mens1 team

Match Report – M1 v Oxford 4’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Oxford 4's

M1’s were back home this week hosting Oxford 4’s. Wootton came out strong, controlling the ball with some nice play straight from the whistle. After 4 minutes Wootton won a penalty corner which Alex fired home from the top of the D for the first goal of the match with a clean strike. The game was pretty even but Wootton created the most chances to get a couple of goals, pressing around the Oxford D and having a few chances go just wide. Wootton’s 2nd goal was to come after 25 minutes from a well-worked penalty corner. Ollie received the ball at the top of the D and got a shot on goal, beating the Oxford defence and Ethan was on hand at the back post to ensure the ball was crossing the line. Wootton went 3-0 up only 2 minutes later after more pressure from the home side. Lee got the ball in the D, and squared it to Stu on the back post to set the score for halftime.

The 2nd half followed the same pattern as the first but with a couple more chances for Oxford, but the Wootton defence put in a great shift to eliminate the attacks. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the clean sheet as Oxford made the most of a penalty corner. Following a goal-line clearance by Krzysztof the Oxford injector got a great hit from a wide angle finding the back of the net. The final score would come 10 minutes later following nice build-up play, Ollie would get his 2nd assist of the day finding Lee who made it 4-1. Wootton created more chances to add to their tally but the final score stayed at 4-1.

M1s will travel to Reading next weekend to take on Sonning.

AlexBlunt

Man of the Match Alex Blunt

Great defensive work and he opened the scoring.

M1sTeam

Match Report – M1 v Staines 3’s

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MATCH REPORT M1 v Staines 3’s

Men’s 1’s little trip down to Staines started with glorious sunshine, a few hiccups with the goalie managing to bring himself without his kit and a few other late starters but everyone made it there in one piece with time to spare. First half ended in a 1-0 lead to Staines with a quick turnover ball and a cheeky pip through our goalies’ legs.

The second half we came out the play however one of the 5/6 short corners we conceded lead to a well-earned second goal for the home side. The initial shot was well saved great by Alex on the post only for the rebound to land directly at a players stick for the finish. Last goal of the match came in the last minute of play, we failed to convert a short corner as Wootton desperately tried to leave with something on the scoreboard. However, Staines managed to press quickly and overload us for a little tap past the goalie to finish the game at a rather disappointing 3-0 loss.

Despite the scoreboard the game was pretty close and some great hockey on both sides!

Man of the match was awarded to a new face on the men’s 1 roster Mitch with special mention to Matt Blackett who ran a small marathon during the game.

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Man of the Match Mitch Jimes

Great debut for the first team.

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