Tornado Ladies A's vs Vijayanti 4-1

Saturday afternoon’s game brought sunshine and a good fast match against Vijayanti. We managed to have our biggest squad of the season so far, with 18 players turning up, yet no coach who was tucked up at home in bed. Our captain Helen produced a rather interesting yet very fair sub schedule that gave us all similar playing time and kept the legs fresh. A special thank you to Kirsten who kept on top of this and made sure we went on and came off when we were supposed to. The game started quickly and their number 11 proved early on to be someone who we needed to keep an eye on. However our girls held their own comfortably and it wasn’t long until Charlie opened the scoring with a very satisfying smack against the back boards.

 

Second half saw us start 1 up and Rosie quickly doubled this with a goal that felt like it was going in in slow motion, as it rebounded off the boards and slowly dribbled back towards the circle. Given some of the umpiring decisions that had already taken place Rosie wisely ensured that it stayed in there, she didn’t want it be disallowed. Chris decided it would be a good idea to fall over an opposing player who had tripped and she rolled her ankle well enough to stop play and require ice.

 

Obviously when play resumed the free hit went to Vijayanti…? We are still trying to work out why.

Helen scored our third goal with some lovely play in the circle and then their number 11 finally struck and hit in a great, unstoppable goal. However it didn’t get the team down and we quickly resumed control of the match, with Charlie scoring her second of the day, off a spectacular push out by Rosie on a short corner.

 

Helen was awarded Lady of the Match, most deservedly and a big thank you should go to our very vocal supporters from our Men’s and Ladies teams.

 

Aussie Char

Tornados Mens 1s Season Finally Starts

At last - after 3 postponed games due to the Hand of Thor, the Tornados Men's 1s finally pushed back on Saturday 21st Apr with a game against the Tornados 2s. And exciting match was in store with club pride at the top of the list, and with follow up games with tornados Ladies 1s and 2s, the support was at a high for this game.

The 1s came out as eventual winners, with 5 goals to nil, capping a strong performance by the 1s, who had a full bench on the day. Goals by Ben (1 PC, one open play), Mitch (a fluffer shot beating the goalie by chance and luck - but we know Mitch will say it was planned that way!), Marcel (on the end of Joran's "dummy" more of that later) and Joo Seuk (PC) meant the 1s get their first points in the league and start playing catch up with the other clubs. Ben took Man of the Match (great game - almost detroyed the cross bar on one PC) whilst Joran the air-hitter/mis-shot ("it was a dummy follwed by a pass") took DoD.

On Sunday, 22nd April, the 1s had a game planned against ORA. As team members made their way to Sengkang, it was true there were dark storm clouds, heavy, black and pendulous, toward which they
were driving. Many arrived with a look of dispair as we expected our 4th game to be called off. The 2s (due to start at 6pm) sneaked off to the pub, whilst the 4:30 game had been called off at half time with the players well into the eski of beer. Thor calmed down, and by 7pm we knew we would be playing. ORA had gone up against the 2s recently and come away with some glowing references by those who played or watched, so this was not to be an easy game.

I would say that Tornados had the better of the opening parts of the game, good pressure throughout the first half however did not lead to a score. A few PCs, a well ordered defence and plenty of shots on- (and a couple off-)goal were all we could come away with. Wise advice from our coach/guru Roy ("the goals will come") helped us get back on the pitch for the second half. Roy's advice proved correct, within the opening 5 mins of the 2nd half, a fantastic run down the right by Marcel (I think!) saw a cross into a congested area, where Jan's stick touched the ball into the net.

What followed was more of a contest - ORA pushing hard for the equaliser but not quite getting shots on goal too often. A nervy PC saw ORA hit the post, keeping the lead to Tornados. With the clock ticking away, Tornados got another PC, this time converted well by Ben, taking Tornados to a 2-0 victory. MoM and DoD tbc

2 games - 2 wins - 2 clean sheets. The team is now chomping at the bit for the next push backs- both the scheduled plus the 3 postponed games.

Next games - versus NYP at 4:30pm, 5th May, Sengkang Pitch 1.

Tornados Ladies A vs Dutch Bs 4 - 4

Saturday’s match proved to an exciting one for all involved, whether on the pitch or on the side-lines, as Tornados As faced their toughest opponents yet, Dutch Bs.  A goal from Gemma saw the Tornados settle into an early lead however the Dutch quickly responded with 2 goals and Tornados had their work cut out for them to get back on top.  The Dutch tried ‘new’ ‘surprising’ and ‘inventive’ ways of preventing us from scoring using a variety of different body parts to stop our shots on goal without much reaction from umpires (standard...)!  Despite their efforts however this did not stop Gemma from getting another goal to tie up the game 2-2.  The Dutch scored another goal in the second half but we were quickly able to tie up the game again after Chris stepped up to take a penalty flick which was awarded for yet after one of the Dutch's 'clever' attempts to prevent us from scoring.

 

The final quarter of the game was a tough one seeing both sides having chances to score and secure the win.  The Dutch scored with just a few minutes remaining but the Tornados As proved themselves to be strong opponents as Chris' strike on goal levelled up the score to 4-4.  After the weekend’s results Tornados As are currently second in the league and ready to take on Vijayanti this week.

 

LoM: Chris

 

Charlie

Ladies 2s vs Dutch Bs, Sat 31st Mar

Physical. Tough. Dirty.

 

Strong words usually reserved for the Dutch team but not on this occasion – more on this later though! J

This was the Ladies 2^nd XI's third outing of the season and they have now played (arguably) the 3 toughest teams in the division in the THC Ladies 1's, SCC and now the Dutch. In all three games the girls have applied themselves admirably gaining invaluable experience and improving with every minute played. This game was to be no different.

 

Once again the sun was shining for the pushback and both teams came out with the intention of playing some sexy attacking hockey. The Dutch, playing without a keeper, had the extra man in the hotly contested midfield area and the Dutch number 8 was pulling all of the strings in the opening exchanges. A short period of sustained pressure produced a goal for the Dutch and it was definitely their reward for some slick passing and movement.

 

The goal seemed to knock the Tornados up a gear and the girls started to pass the ball around nicely, building up from the back, through to the midfield and up to the front line. Chloe was an ever present menace running at the Dutch defence, turning them at every possible opportunity. At this point the game was finely balanced and THC had the opportunity to capitalise with a short corner routine but alas it was not meant to be. Unfortunately for the girls the Dutch put together another tidy move together which resulted in a composed finish from the Dutch centre forward – 2-0.

 

Some teams would have got their heads down after this but not the THC 2^nd XI – they battled on and really mixed it with the much bigger Dutch team. Joran had asked the girls to be more physical before the game and they did not disappoint....

 

The first incident of note occurred after a short corner for the Dutch – the details were sketchy but after a little bit of verbal with our skipper Jane, the Dutch left forward was next seen crumpled into a heap on the far side of the pitch. We still don't know what happened (and probably never will!) but the Dutch gave Jane a wide berth after that!

 

At 2-0 the girls continued to push and we're almost rewarded with their first SHF goal of the season. Chloe broke free, skinning the Dutch defence for pace and advancing into the D but was cruelly denied her goal as the umpire had already blown for the short corner. I think the most disappointed person at SK was Joran who spent the next 5 mins rolling around on the floor like he had been shot in the chest. Don't worry Joran – we'll score this season! Tough on the girls too but ultimately a fair decision – at this point it is worth noting that both umpires were excellent on Saturday.

 

The second half did not go according to plan unfortunately and some tired legs under the hot sun resulted in more goals for the Dutch ladies but we don't need to dwell on that. Suzanne kept up her superb form with some great stops and the back line again put in credible performances.

 

Now for a special mention to Shirley Lee. As you know, Shirley is no giant and was easily the smallest player on a pitch full of Dutch girls who are bigger than most of THC's men! Despite this physical disadvantage she still managed to almost KO one of the Dutch defenders with a head butt worthy of an MMA fighter. Shirley tells me it wasn't deliberate but I could see the glint in her eye. SHF beware – she may look like butter wouldn't melt but under that exterior is a vicious beast. Top skills Shirl.

 

On this showing the girls will absolutely pick up points this term providing the effort and commitment remains high. Both myself and Joran were impressed with the level of aggression too – something that has been missing from previous games.

 

As I started writing this report on Monday and it's now Thursday I have completely forgotten who got MVP! From a coaches perspective it could have gone to any number of individuals. I promise that I will mention the recipient in next week's report!

 

Have a great Easter and don't eat too much chocolate over the break J

 

Coach Kris.

Tornados Ladies A vs IA A's : 3 - 0 wooohoo

Saturday 31^st March 2012
The socialites and travelers of Tornados A’s must have been out and about on Saturday evening but we managed to get 11 players on the field for our 7.30pm match. A big thanks to Kirsten who volunteered to play goalie last minute even though she was enjoying her Maccy D’s.
Tornados A’s started off strong with determination to win after been booted out of our goal at warm up time with about a thousand orange hockey balls! Our very versatile goalie Sayj was determined to show off her goal scoring ability and managed to get the first goal on the board. Chris and Sam were on fire and Sam managed to get the second goal with some fantastic passing between the two.
We managed to show Indian Association who’s here to win with a third goal from Kim in the second half. A solid effort from Gem at back of the diamond meant Helen and Teej rarely saw the ball.
A great effort all round, we walked away with a 3-0 win and that leaves us undefeated to date.

Tornados Beez 0 - 1 SCC B - 11 very tired men

Tornados Beez lost narrowly in a game they didn't deserve to lose. With only 11 players available, and all already having played a hard game yesterday, this was always going to be tough but the Beez battled well and should have come away with at least a point. At times the Beez were down to 10 men due to injuries to Nick and Nazza but both valiantly returned to the field to help the team.

Both sides rarely troubled the opposition keepers and in the end it was an unlucky deflection off a Tornados stick at a PC that won the game for SCC towards the end of the second half. The Beez pressed for a late equaliser but were never able to get a stick to numerous dangerous balls across SCC's D.

This result leaves the Beez 5 points behind one of their main rivals in the fight to stay in Div 1.

Better availability will be the key to improved results in the coming weeks. The Beez captaincy now passes into the hands of Anton.

Big thanks to Sanjay and Nazza turning out whilst injured. To Rego for making a big effort at the last minute to make himself available and to Sayj for filling in as manager.

also to Lynn, Mitch and Becky for turning out to support.

MotM: Rego

DotD : Nobody

now thats over with I can just go back to being the noisy fat bloke at the back :)