Donaghadee LHC

Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club’s pre-season pitch training got off to a flying start this week with a trip to Ayr and two sessions on the astroturf at Bangor Grammar School.

Last weekend seven members of the club – made up of both 1st and 2nd Eleven players – made the short hop to Scotland to take part in the two day Ayr Hockey Festival. With this the first time the girls had taken to the pitch since the end of last season, there was understandable rustiness in the sticks but that didn’t stop the Dee girls enjoying the excellent facilities and partaking in the superb hospitality on offer from the host club.

The intrepid tourists got themselves home and on to the pitch at Bangor Grammar on Monday night in time for the first club training session and there was a super showing, with almost 30 turning out for Head Coach Brian McKee. Particularly pleasing were the number of new faces who joined current members of the club; an aspect which was repeated last night at the second training night of the week.

With league matches beginning on 12th September this year, DLHC training will continue on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7.30-8.30pm until the start of the season for everyone before cutting to one night for everyone and the second night for the much anticipated Skill Masterclasses for smaller, specific groups of players.

Match action starts this weekend with a friendly arranged for a mixed DLHC side against Ards Ladies 3XI. Pass back is 2.30pm at BGS on Saturday and all support is welcome.

For more information on the club visit www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk find us on Facebook and Twitter or email dlhc@hotmail.co.uk.

After only a few short weeks since the members of Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club waved off the 2014/15 season in their own inimitable style at their End of Season Do, attention now turns to what has quickly become a regular feature in the club calendar; pre-season bootcamp with personal trainer Noel Beattie. Running over a period of six weeks for club members to improve their speed, agility and stamina delivered in Noel’s unique style, the bootcamps have been immensely popular and very beneficial over the last number of years, with this expected to be no different.

Senior 4: DLHC 1XI – finished 3rd to gain promotion to Senior 3

Junior 8: DLHC 2XI – finished 7th of 9

For the 2015/16 season Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club will be looking to push on from the success of the last two seasons following the formation of a 2XI in 2013/14 and the promotion of the 1XI in 2014/15.

Our training regime will increase from one night to two nights under the guidance of Head Coach Brian McKee and in addition to this, the club is seeking to hold a number of Skill Masterclasses throughout the season.

We envisage that each Skill Masterclass will take place during a one hour training session and be dedicated to the on field positions required for the skill, for example attacking penalty corners, defensive penalty corners, goal keeping, shooting, drag flicking, aerials etc.

We are now inviting interest from suitably experienced, interested and/or qualified players or coaches who would like spend an hour imparting their knowledge to a hard-working, enthusiastic, fun bunch of girls, and who would like to play a little part in the Dee revolution!

Remuneration negotiable.

If interested or for more information please email dlhc@hotmail.co.uk

With Donaghadee LHC’s 1XI’s season now complete – in a year which saw the best finish for the club in twenty years – the 2XI have been busy rounding up their season in the past couple of weeks with tough matches against league leaders Mossley and Minor Plate Finalists Malone.

Mossley 1-2 Donaghadee LHC 2XI
On Friday 27 March they travelled to The Glade to face Mossley in what could be considered their toughest match of the season. Within the early exchanges Mossley got past the Dee keeper and, even though Donaghadee tried to clear the ball off the line, a Mossley forward was there to give the final tap needed to give her side an early lead. A lot of the play was on the left and Donaghadee left wing Karen Fegan made inroads into the Mossley circle only to be taken down by the Mossley keeper. Adjudged by the umpire to be dangerous, Donaghadee were awarded a penalty flick; a chance to draw level not wasted just before half time.

The action was end to end in the second half with both teams earning penalty corners, though neither team were able to edge in front. In the Dee goal Janice McVeigh made some excellent saves when challenged, with the defenders constantly on hand to clear balls to safety. With the time ticking down Donaghadee were awarded a penalty corner and Melissa Rollo took the chance to give the Dee the lead which they held on to until the final whistle; a great 2-1 result against the Junior 8 league leaders.

Donaghadee LHC 2XI 1-0 Malone
To get the remaining league fixtures played at the earliest opportunity, the 2XI welcomed Malone to Bangor Grammar in a midweek fixture in the penultimate game of the season. Filled with confidence from their win against Mossley the team started strongly and were very much in control in the opening exchanges. Teegan Greer stepped back into the keeper pads, and she made no mistake, clearing every shot Malone made, with defensive duo Nina Wells and Lisa Alexander also quick to close down the attacks. In midfield Natasha Cameron and Melissa Rollo were both getting through the Malone defence with centre forward Jan Morrow making herself available in the circle on numerous occasions but she couldn’t work the break she needed to get her name on the score sheet. 0-0 at the break.

Changes at half time saw Lisa Higgins, Tasha Paxton and Bailey Quinn giving extra impetus to the home side. With Amy Long taking a quick free hit to Emily Morris, the ball was swept wide to Tasha Paxton, putting Tasha through on the keeper. Her first goal in Donaghadee colours was enough to seal the richly deserved victory for the Seconds.

Malone 1-1 Donaghadee LHC 2XI
The return fixture against Malone was played three days later, on the more usual Saturday slot, away at Strathearn. Malone started strongly from the whistle, earning themselves several penalty corners in quick succession but Tori Rollo, Lisa Alexander, Amy and Nina were on hand to clear any shots from reaching Teegan who stepped into the pads again for this match. Malone were not making it easy for the defence with midfielders Natasha Cameron and Melissa dropping back into to help. Unfortunately Natasha’s match was brought to an end with a nasty ankle injury but Tasha was on hand to keep the midfield stable. Just before half time Donaghadee had their first chance with Karen Fegan’s shot but it was just tapped wide by the keeper.

The second half produced some nail biting action for the spectators. With the game stretched Malone took the lead but Donaghadee were quick to react. A free hit was carried forward by Jan, setting up Carolyn Scott who made no mistake to bring the Dee level. The girls kept pushing in search of the winner, with Bailey, Jan and Carolyn working hard up front but time ran out with the final score remaining one goal a piece, leaving the 2XI with two wins and a draw in their final three games – momentum which they will hope to bring into the start of next season’s league campaign.

Club Notes
The league proper may now be finished for both teams, but there is still plenty of action lined up for the coming weeks, starting with the DLHC Family Fun Day at Crawfordsburn on Sunday 19th April from 12noon to 3pm. Activities will include archery, climbing walls and assault courses and is open to all family and friends of DLHC.

The Club is also running Pay per Play small sided games on Wednesday evenings from 7.30-8,30pm at Bangor Grammar and these sessions are open to all females aged 15 or over, regardless of age, ability or affiliation to club. Details of all upcoming events can be found on http://www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk

Junior League 8: Donaghadee LHC 2XI 1-1 Coleraine 3XI
Donaghadee 2XI welcomed Coleraine 3XI to Bangor Grammar School in a fixture rearranged from earlier in the season. Spirits were high as this sunny Saturday brought hope that Donaghadee could finally end their losing streak and bag themselves a most deserved win.

As the match got under way Donaghadee started well with most of the play taking place in Coleraine’s defensive 25. The first chance for the Dee to go ahead came from Karen Fegan, but unluckily the shot was just shy of the post. With the home side continuing to dominate play centre forward Jan Morrow then found herself in the position to open the scoring but the Coleraine goalkeeper made a good save to keep the score at 0-0.

With Coleraine trying to bring themselves back into the match, the continuing strong performances of Nina Wells, Tori Rollo and Lisa Alexander in defence kept Donaghadee keeper Janice McVeigh from having to spark into action. As the clock was ticking down towards the half time whistle Melissa Rollo took her chance through the centre of the pitch but it was quickly deflected away to safety by the Coleraine defence. Tasha Paxton gave herself an opportunity to get on to the score sheet in the dying minutes of the first half but again the Coleraine keeper was there to save.

Going into the second half with still a clean score sheet Donaghadee returned to the pitch with renewed fervor. Coleriane stepped up the pressure on the Dee defence resulting in a shot from just inside circle just going beyond the reach of Janice, putting the visitors ahead by one. The home side showed good determination that they were not going down without a fight and, with the fresh legs of Lisa Higgins and Teegan Greer giving the midfield a boost, there was all to play for. Again Melissa, took the chance of a clear run toward the Dee attacking circle and found Carmen Van der Scyhff unmarked. Carmen did well to get a strike away but it was saved just on the line.

Nice play by Teegan on the right gave Jan another opportunity but unfortunately it didn’t seem to be her day. In the dying minutes of the match it looked like Coleraine were going to steal a victory despite a dominant Dee peformance but a ball played from Melissa to Jan in the centre was quickly switched to an unmarked Karen who made no mistake this time, bringing the 2XI back on level terms with 45 seconds to go, with the final score 1-1.

Another good all round performance from every player on the Donaghadee 2XI, with thanks to Mike Smyth for umpiring the match. Next match for the team is away to league leaders Mossley on Friday night, pass back 6.45pm at The Glade.