Dartford Hockey Club

1/10
Dartford 1's v Anchorians resulted in a 2-1 win for Dartford. The game was played in very good spirits despite the heat making everyone too hot and bothered. Thats why hockey is a winter sport! Dartford had most of the possession and many shots on goal but strong defence from Anchorians kept the goals at bay. The two goals coming from clean strikes from short corners by Ali Chapman. Anchorians fought back hard with some testing breaks but the defence held firm to maintain the win.

Dartford 2nd vs. Gravesend was a well fought match under, what one can only describe as excruciating heat. Even under these conditions the team played extremely well, with exemplary teamwork and individual accomplishment. The final score was a well deserved victory, 4-2, with Keeley Wiggett and Vicky Godfrey scoring two commendable goals respectively. The whole team should feel proud of this game as it demonstrated determination and skill throughout.

Dartford 3rds' match was cancelled.

8/10
Dartford 1's v Burnt Ash 3’s was a hard fought game, with the score ending 0-0. Dartford battled hard throughout but could not quite make those final touches to get the goal that they deserved, and a save on the line deprived them of a win. Many runs up both wings were successful with many beautiful crosses which in another game would prove successful. Burnt Ash kept Dartford on their toes but the defence kept them out solidly. Only one injury this week - Bridget Black - maybe soon there will be a game where we all manage to stay on our feet!!


15/10
Dartford 1's vs Folkestone was a result to be proud of! A final score of 0-0 was the result of fantastic defending, some great work in midfield and attack and the ability to continue to play our game and move the ball around without breaking down under pressure. There were some super sonic saves from Keeley who appears to be a natural goalie and some good surges forward which were unfortunate not to make it onto the score board, although some came mighty close. Another brilliant game ladies - well done

Dartford 2's played Kings & Alleyns 3's although Dartford maintained most of the possession and had more chances than K&A the game resulted in a 0-0 draw. There were some dubious umpiring decisions which could have led to goal scoring opportunities for Dartford and there was also a card shown, mentionining no names. It was a shame we could not find the back of the net so had to settle for one point.

Dartford 3 made the long journey to the coast. And really should have stuck to making sandcastles. The 10 player side Herne Bay team, of which 90% were aged under 18, were certainly not our equals. What they lacked in age was made up with by speed, skill and scoring.

22/10
1st team match report. We played Canterbury this week and it just showed why we do need to warm up!! The 1st half we were looking strong and then went 1 up, Canturbury then got a lucky break and managed to bring it up to 1 all. This took us into half time, and as usual we started the second half with a funny 10 mins. Canturbury then won a very dubious goal but somehow we pulled back another 4 goals to win 5 2. Goals from Ali, Trudy, Becky and Gen, 1 of them from a short corner ! and 1 of them as we train-must prove something. well done girls keep it up.

Dartford 2's travelled to Holcombe this week and in the words of Sam Craig "we played, we fought, we drew."
That pretty much sums up the experience. In a positive light we did get a point out of the game thanks to some great team work upfront between Keeley and Suran. Once again we had some dubious umpiring decisions made against us which meant we had to fight for our well deserved point. We are currently 4th in the league.

Dartford 3s were due to play Cliftonville in the league but the match was conceded by the the opposition.
We did however have a good knockabout and a really good laugh. And cake after. Obviously.

29/10
The first 11 welcomed Bromley and Beckenham to Dartford this week. We needed to win this match to have a chance of regaining our position as second in the division. We were missing some of our regular players due to family commitments over the half term week but with help from the seconds we had 12 players and the luxury of 2 of the youngsters rolling on and off. We had our share of chances at goals but the opposition went into the lead in the first half after having attempted several shots at goal. We re-grouped at half time and went out determined to assert ourselves in the D. Our tactic worked and a short corner from Lou flew past the keeper. With our heads high we continued to dominate the game and a second ball flew past the keeper; only to be disallowed. A third shot at goal was hit from outside the D and failed to connect with any of our forwards' sticks and the game ended in a draw. The whole team played well and with such determination we should do well in the league this year.

Dartford 2's encountered a long trek to Cliftonville this weekend. After having drawn our last three games we were keen to get 3 points in the bag this week. Dartford kept most of the possession and had more opportunites on goal than Cliftonville in the 1st half. 1st half finished 0-0 but we knew we were looking the stronger team. After a constructive half time team talk we came out strong and some lovely team work upfront led to Keeley Wiggett scoring the only goal of the match. We still need some work on our short corner routine as we could have scored a lot more if we had capatilsed on those opportunites. We are still holding 4th spot in the league, lets hope our winning streak continues - well played ladies!

The third team welcomed Sevenoaks 6 to Dartford today. Mind you we were a bit to welcoming as we were 2 goals down in a matter of minutes - but we did only have 9 players at this time. Our tenth played turned up to bolster the defensive and we pretty much hung on the rest of the first half despite out goal being under attack for most of it. Even our umpire was doing her best to help us us by blowing the half time whistle having only played 25 minutes. We came out in the second half with fighting spirit but before long another 2 quick goals were conceded and that made it 5. We were still battling on but Sevenoaks passed the ball so well that the defense never really had any restbite. Kirsty took a nasty hit on the arm for the cause but we were simply outplayed by a good team. Rachel tried to inspire us with a late rallying call but it was to no avail and we lost the match 9-0. Despite this loss Dartford still had their sense of humor in tact