EC1 A Hard Day of Hockey in Beccles

Match Summary By Terry Oakley
Eastern Counties EC1 Competition – Norwich Tournament
5th March 2023 at Sir John Leman School, Beccles

Peterborough Squad
Anthony Williams (Goalkeeper)
Tyler Salmon (Goalkeeper)
Tom Hillam
Luca Oakley (Captain)
Harry Hillam
Lily Messenger
James Berry

Following on from their difficult Cup Tie at Soham on the previous evening the squad was reduced of their two seniors players (Michael Carter and Declan Lander) and replaced by three players from the Under 17’s team.
So, this was a group of players that won the Under 17’s title last season.  Would they be able to cope against three senior teams from the Eastern Counties in this Tournament?

1st Match – versus Letchworth

If you looked at this match purely from a ball possession perspective then Peterborough won this match hands down.  But....a match is not decided on ball possession.  Peterborough came from behind on two occasions with goals from Harry Hillam and Luca Oakley.  The Letchworth goalkeeper played well in this match to deny Peterborough their win.  A keenly contested game between two sides striving for a win.

Final Score:- Peterborough 2 Letchworth 2.

2nd Match – versus Kings Lynn Black

On paper this was a “no contest” match with the young Peterborough Team being pitched against the UK Champions.  However, this was not how this match turned out to be.

Peterborough worked hard, played good hockey and took the game to their more illustrious opponents.  It was not until the final few moments of the first half that Kings Lynn were able to score their first goal through Owen Norris.  The two teams changed ends with Kings Lynn 1-0 up. 

The second half was very much the same as the first with Peterborough confidently refusing to pay their skilled, experienced opponents too much respect.  The difference between the two sides was Owen Norris.  His three goals were all “poached” in front of the Peterborough goal.  His alertness to the ball being played into the danger zone in front of the Peterborough goal, in the air, and his clever finishing was a master at work.  Peterborough conceded two more goals from Kings Lynn but replied with two goals of their own.  The attacking partnership of James Berry and Luca Oakley, exchanging passes on their route to goal, providing each of them with a goal apiece.

Final Score:- Peterborough 2 Kings Lynn Black 5.

3rd Match – versus Norwich

After being involved in two tough matches in this Tournament and matches the previous day would this be a match “too far” for this Peterborough team?  And so it proved, for at the start of this match Norwich quickly went into a 3-0 lead.  It looked like a mixture of poor concentration and tiredness that showed in Peterborough’s play that allowed their stronger, physical opponents to take control of the game.  However, these youngsters did not capitulate and allow Norwich to stroll through the rest of this game.
They upped their performance and took the game to Norwich.  Three goals from Luca Oakley and one goal from James Berry brought Peterborough level at 4-4 with seconds left on the clock.  They made the fatal mistake of switching off for the remaining few seconds and poor marking in defence allowed a Norwich player to find the corner of the Peterborough net.  A cruel way to end this match following Peterborough’s fight back from being three goals down.

Final Score:- Peterborough 4 Norwich 5.

This was a Tournament that the Peterborough players can be proud of.  To attend a senior Tournament with last year’s Under 17’s Winning Team and play the way they did was a joy to watch for their following supporters.  They will all have learnt lessons from the three matches they played as they continue to improve and develop.