Thirsk under 16 boys had an excellent set of games at Hull on Sunday 19th February. The first game was against Wakefield, and the sides were closely matched, but through very good team work and commitment, Thirsk won 2-1 with two goals both scored by Anthony Gillard after sustained pressure from Charlie Whitfield and Sam Gardiner. The defensive work in this game was very solid, with some good play from Ben Scaling, Ben Irving, Patrick Winstanley and Matthew Glegg. This victory gave the team some self belief and spurred them to work hard to get a second victory against Sheffield; the result was 2-0 with good poacher’s goals from Nick Edwards and Charlie Whitfield. Simon Cockerill in goal made some very good clearances to keep a clean sheet, and once again the defence played well, with some good marking and clearing play from Oliver Hill. The final game was against Driffield, a team known to be much stronger than Thirsk. Despite losing 2-1 in this game, this was an excellent team performance in which the boys never gave up working hard. Rafe Skippings put in a fantastic performance, chasing all loose balls and inspiring those around him. The goal from Sam Gardiner was first class, and put Driffield under real pressure. Overall, this was an excellent team performance and showed what the under 16s are really capable of. This would have ensured their promotion to division 1, but none of the other divisions played so they are to stay in division 2 for the next round.

On Sunday 22nd January 2012 the under 10 boys A team were starting in Division 1. The team comprised Ollie Dale (GK); George Hunt (Sweeper); Henry Houseman (Left Mid), Archie Lawson (Right Mid), Tim Durkin (Left forward); Mathew Newman (Centre forward/mid) and Flyn Mullins (Right Forward).
Thirsk 2 Rotherham 2. This was an end to end game with the first goal coming from a cross into the D which Mathew quickly put past the keeper and the second from an early shot from Flyn at the edge of the D.
Thirsk 0 York 4. The York game in December resulted in a 0-0 draw but unfortunately the boys were not on form today. Too many balls came through the centre of the pitch and the defence were not strong enough for York’s attacks. Ollie fought well on the back line but unfortunately the strikers had too much space and opportunity.
Thirsk 0 Harrogate 3. The result did not reflect the effort and opportunities. This was a very even game. The boys looked positive and were on their toes having been reminded that they had beaten most of the teams previously and were as good as or even better than today’s opposition. The whole team worked much harder and attacked the goal several times but frustratingly did not find the back of the net.
Ben Rhydding 3 Thirsk 1. Ben Rhydding had won all their matches today and not conceded a goal until Archie managed to get a shot past the goalie. Thirsk battled to the end. Ollie had an incredible game and was peppered by Rhydding’s forwards on several occasions.
Well done boys. You picked up the pieces and worked harder in the Harrogate and Ben Rhydding matches. You are a good team of players with great potential and have all improved since the beginning of the season. Tim Durkin had his debut game for the first team and worked hard on the left managing to create some good opportunities and gained confidence as the morning progressed. Well done Tim. Thank you to the team supporters who braved the cold. Sue Houseman, Team Manager.

Thirsk Boys U10 B Squad – Division 3 (of 4) Results:
Thirsk B 0 – 3 Leeds
Thirsk B 0 – 0 Driffield
Thirsk B 0 – 0 Slazenger
Thirsk B 0 – 2 Leeds
Thirsk B 0 – 0 Driffield
Thirsk B 1 – 1 Slazenger

The U10 league was restructured after Thirsk’s solid introduction to the league in December, and Thirsk were effectively promoted from the bottom league. As a result, the opposition were expected to be somewhat stronger.
The team were: Dan Garlick, Arthur Webster-Jones, Fred Hunt, Harry Cavadias, Connor Wilkinson, Sebastian Graham, Thomas Molyneux, William Molyneux, Joe Stobbs
Thirsk started slowly in the first match and were unable to retain possession for any significant period of time. Leeds used their forwards effectively to bypass the Thirsk defence and leave Daniel with little protection from a series of attacks. The remaining matches saw a different Thirsk team on the pitch, although the results did not match the skills and effort of the team. In his first tournament, Joe settled well in the central defensive role and spread play effectively between the wide players and centre forward. Sebastian (mainly central), Connor (mainly left), Harry and William (mainly right) showed good determination to force saves from the keepers in each of the remaining matches. It was difficult to see how we failed to score until the final game when so many chances were created. Thomas, Fred and Arthur played well in defence alongside Joe, putting into practice the tackling skills from training. During the course of the day, Connor, Sebastian and Thomas suffered a variety of injuries, but with 9 in the squad we were able to keep going effectively, and each of them came back after a rest to help the team continue. In the final game, Joe put a great run together from inside his own half to score the only goal of the day and deservedly won the Players’ Player of the Day award, but a good indication of the strength of the team was that votes were spread across 5 players. Although the results mean that we will play the final tournament of the season in League 4, the squad should be more that capable of bouncing straight back up. Player of the day: Joe Stobbs. Thanks to Sally Hunt for umpiring and all the parents for their support.

On Sunday 22nd January 2012 in he morning saw the next round of the U14 girls Yorkshire Youth League. The first two games were very easy for Thirsk U14’s, they had all the play in both games, needing to play the ball around a little more to create even more chance’s. Final goal in first game against Slazengers was from a lovely run down the wing with a great pass to the penalty spot where the ball could be easily pushed past the goal keeper. In their second game, against Hull, Thirsk played with 11 outfield players passing the ball better and using all the players to move the ball around, playing mostly in Hull’s attacking 23. In the final game Thirsk again had most of the play, unfortunately they started to stand off from Harrogate and allowed them to run forward into the D and score with a well struck hit from the top, goal keeper standing no chance as it went high into top corner. A good day for the girls. Deserved winners of the first 2 games and unlucky in final game. Thirsk 4-0 Slazengers; Thirsk 3-0 Hull B; Thirsk 0-1 Harrogate.

On Saturday 21st April the club will hold a full day of hockey with awards for all age groups. Please mark this in your diaries now. Junior games will be in the morning and seniors in the afternoon. Junior awards will be done at the end of the morning session. The senior club members trophies will be at the end of the day. This will also be the official opening of the astro pitch following its refurbishment and the installation of the upgraded lights.

As more complete details are made they will appear here.

The weekend of 14/15 January saw all senior and junior matches cancelled because of frozen pitches. The veterans cup match has been postponed to Sunday 22nd, same start time of 3pm. All other senior games are still to be rearranged.

Thirsk U12 Team’s both finish runners up in their leagues, playing at Weetwood in Leeds on a fresh 9th January.
In the Yorkshire league on Sunday the U12 A Team playing in the top division, had another good day. The first game with Wakefield set the tone, as Thirsk were able to dominate, James Houseman providing the platform to launch attacks down the wings. Oliver Houseman’s run earned the first penalty corner, and Harry Collinson’s strike gave Thirsk the lead. Neat inter passing set up the next for Arthur Hunt, and Thirsk ran out comfortable 2-0 winners.
Airedale were the next opponents, and within minutes Thirsk should have been a couple of goals up, as Arthur was not able to convert passes from Harry C and Oliver. Thirsk again dominated, Sam Bosomworth helping to expand play on the left, Arthur shot at the keeper when he should have done better. The deadlock was broken when Harry C again converted a penalty corner with a clean strike. Thirsk were comfortable 1-0 winners.
The next game was with Ben Rhydding and it did not take long for Thirsk to get a lead, Harry Goodall earned a penalty corner dispossessing them outside the circle before being obstructed on his run to goal. Harry C, was fortunate to see his strike deflected in by a defender. The lead was soon doubled, when another slick passing move picked out Arthur who confidently beat the goalkeeper. Ben Rhydding’s quality players did mount several attacks, but good tackling back by Sam and Harry G, well timed intervention by Alex Docherty, and a fine save by Luke Brownlee kept them out. Thirsk finished strongly, and Harry C grabbed a second goal with a lifted shot following Oliver’s fine lay off, to make it 3-0.
The final game with Bradford again saw Thirsk start well, but unable to find the target with two attempts. Bradford broke away, and Thirsk’s defence were slow to get back, a fine strike into the corner beat Luke for a 1-0 lead. Thirsk peppered the Bradford goal for the rest of the game, but Bradford’s goal keeper, who was the player of the match saved several testing shots, and Thirsk did not get any rebounds falling for them, so went down 1-0.
Overall Thirsk A finished level on points with Bradford at the top, but lost out on goal difference. Oliver Houseman voted player of the day. Well done to everyone, thanks to Neil Collinson for umpiring, and for the many parents who supported.

from left back row, ARTHUR HUNT, JAMES HOUSEMAN, OLIVER HOUSEMAN, HARRY COLLINSON, SAM BOSOMWORTH
front row from left, HARRY GOODALL, LUKE BROWNLEE, ALEX DOCHERTY.
Thirsk B’s ended up with only 4 teams in their division, and went on to play all their opponents twice. They comfortably beat Hull 4-0 on both occasions, they shared two 0-0 draws with Driffield , and demolished Wakefield 3-0 also on both occasions. The goals were scored by Johnathan Craske with six, Connor Watson with five, Sam Winstanley with three, and one for Josh Dale. Good defensive work by Paddy Medley, and Tom Wade, and goalkeeping from Will Mitchell lead to six clean sheets.
Overall they ended up as runners up to Driffield on goal difference and will get promotion for the next session. Player of the day was Connor Watson. Thanks to Mike Rushmere for managing the team, and for the great parental support.

Thank you to all who contributed to the hairy upper lip attempted by Trevor for the subject charity. He has advised that he has raised over £450 with some more still to come in. Well done to Trevor.

On Sunday 11th December 2011 Thirsk entered a boys U10 B team into the monthly Yorkshire Youth hockey league for the first time this season with a squad of eight, taking their place in Division 3.
Squad: Dan Garlick, Tim Durkin, Arthur Webster-Jones, Fred Hunt, Harry Cavadias, Connor Wilkinson, Sebastian Graham, Will Norman
Results: Thirsk B 0 – 2 Sheffield Thirsk B 0 – 0 Leeds Thirsk B 0 – 0 York B Thirsk B 1 – 0 Wakefield B Thirsk B 3 – 0 Chapeltown

It was cold and frequently wet, but the boys started the first game brightly. However, the Sheffield team showed their experience from playing in a higher division and kept the pressure on Thirsk, with Dan making some good saves, assisted by good tackling from Tim and Harry in front of him. Unfortunately the defence was taken by surprise at a short corner, taken when the umpire was still talking to them, and a great shot was in, before they moved. Further pressure resulted in another goal with Thirsk making only occasional breaks.
The second match was very even, with plenty of work for attack and defence. Using the full width of the pitch created plenty of space and Seb in particular was tackling well and breaking forward, trying to find a pass approaching the D. However despite chances at both ends, the match finished goalless.
The third match also finished goalless, but Thirsk had far more chances to seal a victory than the York team they had beaten 3 weeks earlier. Tim pushed forward in front of the other 2 defenders to support the attacking trio of Seb, Will and Connor, all of whom had shots saved or just wide. Thirsk finished one player short after Tim was injured from a rising ball into his knee kicked out by the keeper.
Fortunately Tim’s knee recovered sufficiently for the fourth match and we were joined by Arthur, who provided some more solidity to the defence. Tim switched to right defence and Harry was able to take the central role supporting the forwards. At last the sideline was able to cheer the first goal as Seb pushed a loose ball into the bottom corner from close range. The defence was restricted to clearing up a few breaks, but we were unable to add to the lead.
In the final match, we retained the same formation and completely dominated Chapeltown. Sebastian slotted home 2 more goals and Tim added a third, but it could easily have been more. Connor and the other forwards were now stringing passes together well and were alert on the restarts tackling back to maintain pressure on the D.
Overall, these were excellent results, finishing third (of six) in the league. I am confident we can finish a place higher for promotion next time. Player of the day: Connor Wilkinson.
Thanks to Jonny Scaling for umpiring, Will for joining us from Northallerton for the day, Dan for assisting Chapeltown with some extra matches in goal, and parents for their good natured support.

Our squad of 8 players turned out for the last tournament of 2011 on a wet and cold morning but this did not stop the boys enthusiasm and determination to win.
Thirsk 3 – 0 Airedale 0
The boys dominated the match and continually put pressure on Airedale’s defence. A strong cross from Flyn Mullins was slotted past the keeper by Matthew Newman for an early goal. Flyn scored the second goal from a slip from Matthew. The third goal came from Flyn following a drive down the right wing. On a couple of occasions Airedale took advantage of the mid-field pushing up and created some strong shots at goal but Ollie Dale was on his toes and made some strong clearances.
Thirsk 0 – 0 Harrogate
At previous fixtures Harrogate had seemed to have the edge on Thirsk but not today. This was an exciting end to end match with some good attacking breaks but we couldn’t get the ball home. Ollie had a lot to do with Harrogate finding gaps in our defence and having several cracking shots on target. Ollie saved the game for Thirsk.
Thirsk 0 – 2 Ben Rhydding
Ben Rhydding were the strongest team out today and everyone battled hard and despite some strong attacks on goal we didn’t get the ball in the net.
Thirsk 2 – 1 Wakefield
Wakefield set off on their toes and put a goal away in the first minute. Thirsk battled on and the boys turned the game around. Wakefield’s goalie failed to clear a strong shot from Archie Lawson and Matthew quickly took advantage and put the ball away on the rebound. The second goal came from Sam Nicholls who took a quick self-pass from outside the D and slipped it to Matthew who slammed the ball onto the backboard.
Thirsk 0 – 0 York
At the mini’s tournament York finished with a 4-2 win but we were a strong match for today’s game. This was a great game to watch with the ball flowing well around the field with some very good breaks and strong shots at goal at both ends. Again Ollie made some outstanding saves and our forwards were unfortunate not to get the ball past York’s keeper to claim the game.
Well done boys on such a wet and cold day. You ALL played really well today and worked hard until the end. I am proud to watch you play and grow in strength from game to game. The standard in the league continues to improve as you all gain more experience. The shooting and rebound practise at training really paid off and we saw plenty of pressure on the oppositions defence which materialised in goals. Ollie had an outstanding day and kept the score very respectable and I received several praises from other teams on his performance and the standard of goalkeeping in the division. Again thank you to Dan Lawson for umpiring and parental support.
Match report by Sue Houseman, team manager.

Thirsk Under 16 Girls in the Yorkshire Youth Hockey League on Sunday 4th December 2011.
The first game for Thirsk was against Driffield; with most of the play happening in the Driffield half the Thirsk defence was not tested much during the game! Thirsk had some swift passes and were pushing forward fast but Driffield soon closed the likes of Emily Ramsden and Fran Houseman down. Thirsk attacked Driffield from every angle with Daisy Jackson and Emma Frost causing problems for the midfield, pushing the ball up to the front players so they could cause more problems for the Driffield goalie. The first short corner came early on but a near miss denied Emily the chance of scoring. Driffield did manage to put one attack together but was soon thwarted with a solid defence from Thirsk the ball was kept out and was moved swiftly back up the flanks. Thirsk just couldn’t manage to score even though they had all the play ending the game with a 0 – 0 draw.
Next came York who were undoubtedly the hardest team that we would face but all the girls went out and gave it there all. It was very much an even match to start with but a fast break from York saw Thirsk go 1 down to start with but undeterred Thirsk where quick to respond with a smashing hit from Daisy which saw the ball go deep into the York circle, and even past the goalie, to be picked up on the post by Under 14 player Holly Oldham to turn the ball into the goal! Thirsk where on a high after that battling hard throughout and dominated most of the game. When York did penetrate the Thirsk circle the defence held strong on one occasion defender Maisy Bradbury saving a sure goal from off the back line. At the final whistle saw Thirsk draw 1 – 1 to York a good solid game played by all.
Then came Harrogate. After drawing to York, Thirsk wanted to push on and try and get a win under their belt. Thirsk applied fast pressure right from the off and during the first stages of the game were only whiskers away from scoring with Emily again brushing the post, it just wasn’t meant to be for her. Thirsk where awarded a couple of short corners, but seeing the break from Harrogate’s defence they just couldn’t finish them off by scoring that all important goal. Again with most of the play in Harrogate’s half the girls kept their heads up high as they controlled all of the game, when the defence where needed they where brilliant and great keeping by Lucy Watkiss made sure of another clean sheet. The game ending 0 – 0. Finally the game against Hull. Thirsk started well in this game and again their attack was fast and furious getting the ball in Hull’s end and putting pressure on the keeper right from the start. Thirsk where denied a short corner but made an impact from the long corner that they where given, Emily again was close to opening the score lines but the ball came off the keepers pads. With a hit out given to Hull the Thirsk press was superb giving the Hull defence no opportunity to play the ball out, the only option open to them was to hit the ball out unfortunately the ball rose into one of the Thirsk players hitting Fran on the head, (with that in mind we hope she feels better soon). After a pause for the injury to be seen to the game continued, ending with another draw for Thirsk. All the girls should be really proud of themselves today it was brilliant play from the whole team.
Report by James Laking