Donaghadee LHC

Preparations are well underway for Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club’s Ulster Hockey Union’s Senior League 4’s opening clash at home to Instonians which is scheduled to take place on Saturday 17th September at Crommelin Park, Donaghadee. With the girls currently training twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays to brush off the summer cobwebs and get the pre-season fitness up to scratch, numbers at training have been improving week on week, and it is really encouraging to see several new faces appearing at the club. The committee has been working hard over the summer to attract new players to the club with their Fancy a Game? campaign, which has seen posters and leaflets distributed locally, and an online Facebook campaign designed to tempt tech-savvy hockey players to give the club a try.

The emphasis has been as much on enjoying pre-season fitness (does anyone ever enjoy pre-season fitness?!) as it has on the social element for which the Dee hockettes are famed. Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club is delighted to be growing their blossoming relationship with Donaghadee Rugby Club which, under the new chairmanship of Ian Fleming, has invested a lot of time, effort and money over the summer on improvements to the clubhouse, and the hockettes are looking forward to the social calendar which is already taking shape, not least the initial unveiling of the cleaned up clubhouse at Donaldson Park this Saturday (20th August) when DRFC play host to Suttonians and Letterkenny in their pre-season 3-club tournament as the boys prepare for their own season’s kick off.

Following the popular 6 week junior training course which took place in September and October last year, the club is delighted to be running a similar session this season. It will run for 6 weeks beginning on Wednesday 14th September from 6.30pm to 7.30pm and is open to girls of all abilities aged from 10-15, £15 per girl, or £20 for 2 girls. For more information please use the contact details below.

If you would like to be part of these exciting new times at Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club, why not contact them for further details: on the web atwww.donaghadeelhc.co.uk, email dlhc@hotmail.co.uk or find them on Facebook and Twitter at DonaghadeeLHC.

Despite the weather’s best efforts having us believe otherwise, the summer has ticked through and before we know it, it’s the beginning of August and the hockey season is only a few short weeks away. With the Ulster Hockey Union’s Senior 4 scheduled to pass back on Saturday 17th September at home against Instonians, the girls from Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club reported back to pre-season training last week. With a full programme of matches until the Christmas break, it has been essential for everyone to knuckle down quickly. With terrific numbers reporting back after the break – and several new faces to add to the mix – coach Brian McKee laid out the plan for the next few weeks. It has been a gentle lead in for the first couple of weeks which has allowed the girls to get back into the swing of things and start getting their fitness built back up before stick and ball work starts in a couple of weeks’ time.

The club has just launched their ‘Fancy a Game?’ campaign which has seen posters in local shops and over 2000 flyers delivered to homes in Donaghadee, Bangor and Newtownards as they try to both boost the profile of the club and recruit a few new hockettes to the ranks. If you’d like to give hockey a go – maybe you play for a school team, maybe you used to play, maybe you’ve never played before – come down and give the club a try – it’s a small, inclusive and friendly club and the girls will be very glad to see you. Training is currently taking place twice a week, with a short pre-season run on a Monday night, leaving from Donaghadee Rugby Club at 7.30pm and pre-season fitness on a Wednesday night at 7.30pm at the hockey pitch, Crommelin Park, Donaghadee. Junior training for girls aged 10 to 15 will also be commencing mid-September following the success of the 6 week junior programme last year. For information on training and everything to do with the club, visitwww.donaghadeeLHC.co.uk or find us on Facebook and Twitter for more details.

Last Saturday Donaghadee welcomed Bangor Ladies to Crommelin Park to play one of their last games of the season. With Bangor sitting nicely in the top half of the table, and Donaghadee a number of places below them in the bottom half, it was always going to be a tough game for the girls in red but not many teams come to Crommelin Park and get an easy match, especially for sides set up for an astroturf game.

Right from the word go, the Dee pressed and harried Bangor with several of the forwards having good chances to get on the score sheet. Bangor Captain Petra Armstrong, who has previously guested for the Dee, was stand in keeper for her side, and in truth Bangor had her to thank for making several well timed saves and keeping the scoreline level.

Despite several periods of continuous pressure, the Dee were unable to convert. Bangor had very few breaks but on the two occasions they managed to win penalty corners, they scored from both which bagged them the three points. Donaghadee only have one league fixture remaining – at home to Ballynure on Saturday, pass back 1pm – before they bring the curtain down on a mixed league season, but the girls have entered a team for the popular Antrim Sixes competition in May, and with another Junior Training Session in the pipelines before the summer, there is plenty to look forward to over the coming months. You can find up to date league table information and everything else to do with the club at www.donaghadeeLHC.co.uk

With spring having sprung and the grass having riz, the hockey season is usually well over by this stage of the year, but the snow of last December knocked the entire match programme of the Ulster Hockey Union out of kilter and is the reason Donaghadee are still playing fixtures rearranged from earlier in the 10/11 season. Having played Cooke only a couple of weeks ago in what should have been the final game of the season and which they lost, Donaghadee were looking to bounce back and get something from the return fixture at the Valley Leisure Centre last Saturday.

Travelling with a sub this week, captain Jen McVeigh had almost her strongest team to choose from, with only Katie Drummond missing from midfield. With Cooke well in the top half of the table and Donaghadee not, this was always going to be a tough fixture. The teams lined up in bright sunshine – all the better to see and admire the fantastic new kit which Donaghadee finally took delivery of and which looks just gorgeous! It’s been a while in coming, but the players who joined the club this season were finally able to pull on their Donaghadee tracksuits and, with sponsorship arranged with Ards Fireplaces, new tops and skorts for the team. Made from the latest fancy posh lightweight material, the Kukri kit is still the traditional Dee red and green, but has brought a much needed modern take on the girls’ old kit.

So line up looking like professionals they did, but unfortunately that’s where the similarity ended for the Dee on Saturday. Cooke proved quicker and stronger in midfield with much of the first half being played with Donaghadee pushed back inside their own half; the home team going in at half time two goals to the good. Donaghadee reshuffled slightly during the break to drop an extra player into midfield to try and stem the flow a little bit and this seemed to work, with Cooke only able to convert a penalty flick in the second half, awarded when the ball was deemed to have been kicked on the line by a Donaghadee foot. Somewhat harsh, with goalkeeper Teegan Greer facing her second flick in as many weeks. Unlike last week, which Teegs saved brilliantly, she wasn’t able to reach the Cooke strike which was put into the roof of the net. Donaghadee didn’t play badly as a whole, with everyone on the team working tirelessly for each other right up to the final whistle. Many thanks to Brian for umpiring and to Ian and Alfie for supporting.

Donaghadee will play Bangor at home on Saturday, pass back 2.30pm in what could well be the last fixture of the season. The Dee also have an outstanding fixture against Ballynure, with the Ballyclare team due to come to Crommelin Park, but with the newly formed Co Antrim side struggling to field a team on numerous occasions this season, it remains to be seen whether the fixture will happen. For all the latest info on the club, come and visit the website atwww.donaghadeelhc.co.uk

Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club were on their travels last week as they headed off to Ballynahinch to play the latest in their league fixtures. On paper, Ballynahinch are sitting several places above the Dee in the table, but the last time Donaghadee travelled to the Hinch – the last game before Christmas in the 09/10 season – they got their first win of that season and when Ballynahinch came to Crommelin Park back in November the teams finished with a point apiece in a 1-1 draw in which top goalscorer Kerrie Turtle got the goal that day. Fair to say there’s not much between the teams then.

For the first time in a good while, Donaghadee had a sub on the touchline – a luxury the club has not had for several months, but how wonderful to see – and several supporters with sidelined club captain Jen McVeigh and club secretary Alison McNeice cheering on the girls in red. Despite several occasions this season when the Dee have only been able to field ten players, those players who do turn up week in week out have formed a really solid base and are gelling well as a team. Although the league position doesn’t lie – with the Dee sitting in 10th position – the opposition doesn’t get many quarters given, and you’d be hard pushed to say that many teams would feel they got an easy 3 points from the Dee. With the addition of a just a couple of players to give a wider pool to choose from when work and injury strike, the Dee shouldn’t need to concede games as they have had to do this season. How great then to see young Hannah McAdam making a very assured debut for the club in defence on Saturday. Mum Siobhan does a good line in sub work, not to mention Dad McAdam supporting on the sideline too – not a bad little family affair!

With two neutral umpires presiding over proceedings on Saturday, stand in captain Carolyn Scott elected to take pass back and the match got underway on a deceptively cold but dry day. Donaghadee were confident that through the strength and skill of the midfield of Ali Lawther – surely the one of the best additions to the club this year – and Katie Drummond they could get the ball wide for the crosses which have reaped so much reward this season. Lisa Higgins and Ali G did particularly well down the left to set Carmen van der Schyff free, the left winger getting in several good reverse stick crosses – a move which she has made her own in recent weeks. It was Katie Drummond bursting from midfield who registered the first goal of the game – her first goal for the club this season with good build up play from the middle of the pitch. Ballynahinch equalised not long after, but just before half time, a ball from the top of the circle found right winger Carolyn with her back to goal. A quick reverse stick flick saw the ball slotted neatly inside the near post and Donaghadee went into halftime 2-1 up.

Ballynahinch were determined in the second half and although they pressed hard, Natasha, Hannah and Nina did really well to mop up the attacks and keep getting the ball out wide – with Nina stopping a certain goal with her thigh on one occasion – ouch! Ballynahinch were perhaps a little fortunate to get themselves a really scrappy goal towards the end of the second half – one of those horrible bobbly little balls with a mass of feet and sticks in the way, and which Teagan Greer could do little about, and with the Dee having had a couple of really good chances to put the game to bed in the first half, they can feel slightly unlucky not to have come away with the three points.

With the scheduled game against Bangor postponed due to a round of Plate matches, Donaghadee will travel to Portadown Rugby Club to play a rearranged fixture against College Hill on Saturday. With the new tracksuits hopefully arriving tomorrow (Friday), the girls will be heading out after the game to show at least several pubs their grand new finery – watch out Donaghadee, here they come! For up to date news on the club, please visit www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk

After a week of inaction as other teams competed in the Plate, Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club travelled down the A1 on Saturday to play Newry Olympic. There hasn’t been much to choose between these two teams this season, with both sides sitting just below halfway in the table.

The Dee ran out 3-2 winners when they met just before Christmas, but with several players, including scorer of 2 goals that day Jackie McKee, unable to travel this time around, the Dee were going to have their work cut out. The team has been cut to the bare bones recently with injury and unavailability both playing a part and although only ten made the trip at the weekend, it was great to see a return to midfield for Katie Drummond after several matches out due to an ankle injury, and even better to see Ali Gordon back on the pitch for the first time since the Ballynahinch match.

Deputising in the captain’s role with Jen McVeigh recovering from an operation, Carolyn Scott won pass back and the match got underway in the late Newry sunshine. With the Dee opting to pack the defence and midfield, centre forward Kerrie Turtle was left to lead the line, and lead it she did, holding the ball up superbly and taking on defenders, often with two or three Newry players round her. The Dee had a great chance very early on when some nice passing between Kerrie and Carolyn put through Katie, bursting from midfield to the edge of the circle. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to get her shot on target and the score remained level. Newry began to settle, and although they didn’t overly threaten the Donaghadee circle in the opening exchanges, they were increasingly making use of their extra player in midfield. A lot of the play was coming from their right, but straight from the first whistle, Ali G settled any nerves she may have been harbouring and got stuck in with a couple of great tackles. On the occasions she was beaten, Newry were faced with Lisa Higgins who was her usual rock solid best in defence. Also her usual excellent self was Nina Wells, mopping up anything that came her way with the calmness on the ball that has made her a great defender this season. Adding support to the central defense were Carmen van der Schyff and a guest appearance by Ann Savage, both of whom tackled tirelessly and broke up play from the wide positions. It was Newry however who scored first, wrong footing stand-in keeper Alison McNeice, but it didn’t take long for the Dee to equalise through a well worked penalty corner – Ali Lawther getting the strike and giving the midfielder her first goal for the club.

The match continued to be reasonably evenly contested, with Katie Drummond and Ali L doing really well in midfield and Carmen, switched from the back to give Kerrie some support up front, doing really well to get forward and get a couple of lovely reverse stick crosses in. The killer blow however came from Newry with not long remaining in the match. A free hit was conceded by the Dee just outside their 25, and with the defence backing off, the Newry forward carried to the edge of the circle and lashed an unstoppable shot to the top far corner leaving the final score 2-1 to the home side. Despite having travelled with only 10 players, the Dee gave a very good account of themselves and can count themselves a little unlucky not to have come away with something from the game.

Next up for the Dee is a trip to Ballynahinch on Saturday, but at the time of writing, the Dee are waiting to hear whether or not they have to travel, following the unseemly incident which took place when Ballynahinch came to Donaghadee back in November. For further details on the players, club and training click on www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk

There hasn’t been much to report on recently from Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club, with the girls last being in action in the 3-2 loss to Mossley on 29th January. Since then, the Dee should have travelled to Magherafelt to play top of the league Rainey, followed by an away trip to Ballycastle, but on both these occasions, the Dee have been unable to field a team to travel. Having already conceded a match earlier in the season to Ballycastle, Donaghadee have now lost the points equivalent of one very hard-fought victory and it leaves them sitting in 9th position, one point above College Hill, 4 above Malone, and 14 above Ballynure, the only team to have conceded more games this season.

Donaghadee are by no means the only club struggling to field a team in this league this year, with Ballynure having been penalised as mentioned and Newry also struggling to find 11 willing to take to the pitch on occasion, but with a serious lack of strength in depth, it is sadly all too apparent when one or two of the Dee regulars aren’t available for one reason or another. Long term injuries to Katie Drummond, suffering from damage to her ankle ligaments during a game just after Christmas and to Ali Gordon, still out after the horrific incident involving a Ballynahinch player in November has left captain Jen McVeigh – also currently on the sideline – really struggling to find enough players to field a team since the turn of the year. With near neighbours Bangor enjoying big numbers at training and Ards fielding 5 teams, Donaghadee finds itself on the edge of a hockey wilderness with no feeder schools to provide young blood and lack of facilities to tempt new players.

With the green light given for building new hockey facilities and yet more astroturf pitches in Newtownards, it is hard to see how Donaghadee will be able to survive if their home facilities continue to exist on the gravel pitch at Crommelin Park, but members of the club are now on various borough sports committees to try to ensure that the Dee has a voice in the future plans of sports facilities on the Ards Peninsula. In the meantime, the club can offer the expert (and very welcome) coaching of Brian McKee who has a wealth of experience gathered from many years in the men’s leagues, and his influence at the coaching helm is evident for anyone who follows the results of the Dee. Gone are the days of the Dee going out and getting hammered every week; yes there have been a couple of scorelines to forget this season but on both occasions – Mossley (A) and Bangor (A) – Donaghadee have either travelled with several key players missing, or indeed lined up with 10 players at pass back. The rest of the games lost have been lost by a single goal. The team is now scoring with much more regularity and the girls recorded their biggest win certainly of this campaign, and definitely in the last good number of years, when they beat Malone 6-0 a few weeks ago. It will only take the arrival of two or three players to make the difference to this club and give a little bit of breathing space when unavailability strikes – could you be, or do you know that player?

The beauty of Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club has always been its friendly, laid back atmosphere, and now that the wins are starting to come the enthusiasm for the game is all the more apparent from the stalwarts who keep the club afloat from week to week. The ages range from 16 to older than I’m allowed to say, with ability on a similar scale, but the things we all do enjoy are the camaraderie, the fun and the enjoyment of making that odd good pass, not to mention the wee scoop in the pub afterwards. We are absolutely desperate for players to keep this great wee club going, so if you played hockey back in the day and fancy getting back into it, you’re just out of school and want to keep it up, or you just fancy getting some fresh air of an evening or Saturday afternoon, please come down and have a chat, we’re a friendly bunch! We train at Crommelin Park, Donaghadee every Wednesday evening from 7.30-9pm with league matches most Saturdays. We’re in action on Saturday against Ballynure at home, pass back at 2.30, so why not come down then and check us out? You can email us on dlhc@hotmail.co.uk for more info or look us up on the internet at www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk.

Senior League 4 Donaghadee v Newcastle (H) L3-0

After their great 6-0 win at home to Malone last week, Donaghadee were looking forward to the visit of Newcastle Nomads. Crommelin Park didn’t stand up to a last minute pitch inspection, with the usual puddle half frozen, half not, so it was off to Londonderry Park in Ards. The Dee started very brightly and really should have been at least one, if not two goals up within the first ten minutes of the pass back, but the shots just shaved the wrong side of the posts.

After those couple of efforts, the match settled and both teams were intent on quick attacking hockey. Missing the battling of Katie Drummond who injured her ankle a couple of matches ago, the Dee midfield made valiant efforts to break up the Newcastle play and set the forwards loose, and it was fairly end to end stuff for much of the first half. Young Natasha Cameron on the right side of defence had one of her best games yet for the Dee, showing the calm grittiness which has made her one tough cookie to get past this season. Captain Jen McVeigh, returning after last week’s absence, also had a storming game in defence – seeming to be everywhere at times. It was Newcastle however who drew first blood and a clean strike from a Newcastle forward left the Dee defence with no chance. Their other goals were similarly worked – physical play and a lot of harrying from their midfielders with quick shots away from the edge of the circle – which the Dee were unable to cope with on the day. Nobody from the Dee had a bad game as such, and they will be looking to bounce back when they take on Mossley at home on Saturday (29th), pass back 2.30pm. For any last minute changes of venue, and to get all the club info, please see www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk.

Players are reminded that fees are now OVERDUE and that full attendance is required at training to take advantage of the specialist coaching that is on offer.

Going into last week’s match, Donaghadee LHC had not played a competitive game of hockey for 49 days thanks to several weeks’ worth of blanket postponements in December due to the inclement weather. Indeed the last time the Dee were in action was the last weekend of November when they made the short hop to Bangor to play in one of only two league fixtures to go ahead that weekend. Despite being several games behind now, this league fixture against Malone is the halfway point in the 2010/2011 season – when Donaghadee opened this season’s campaign, they ran out 4-1 winners against Malone back in September in monsoon-like conditions.

Entering 2011, Donaghadee were sitting levels on points (9) with both Newry and College Hill, with Malone on 7 points. Not a bad one to win then. There was some doubt as to whether the pitch would be playable on Saturday thanks to some heavy rain during the week, but after a Saturday morning pitch inspection by club captain Jen McVeigh, and a quick phonecall to Malone to make sure they were happy to play with the usual puddle at the car park end fully in attendence, both teams gathered in good time. Probably just as well, as the Malone umpire was less than happy with both aforementioned puddle and the pitch lines also having suffered from the rain, meaning the Dee had some swift pitch maintenance to do (can’t see the Premiership primadonnas marking Old Trafford or Anfield half an hour before a match, but it certainly serves as a useful warm up if nothing else!).

Despite the running repairs, the match started in good time and Donaghadee settled quickly. Although Jen is currently on the sidelines and not able to play for the next few weeks, new recruit Laura Boyle back fresh from university and raring to go stepped in to partner Nina Wells in defence, and what a good deputy she proved herself to be. Malone didn’t really have too many attacking opportunities, but when they did break, Laura and Nina dealt superbly with anything that came their way, with Teagan Greer playing her usual cool game in goals. Completing the defensive lineup were Lisa Higgins and Natasha Cameron, both of whom provided great support to not only their backs, but pushed up in attack and provided a nice high line of cover for their midfield. Rachel Johnston was welcomed back from work commitments and she made her first appearance of 2011 in the second half on the right side of defence. As has been the case a few times this season, things have been fairly tight in midfield, but both Ali Lawther and Katie Drummond proved equal to the task, breaking up play and distributing the ball about beautifully. It was also lovely to have Ashlee McCormack squeezing a game in before she headed back to university – first year uni certainly hasn’t dulled her skill with a hockey stick as she slotted in to the left side of midfield superbly.

Up front were the usual trio of Carolyn Scott, Kerrie Turtle and Jackie McKee, and these three were up and at the Malone defence right from the first whistle, with Kerrie getting the Dee off to a flying start with a lovely individual goal. Nina then made it 2-0 right on the stroke of half time with a well worked penalty corner. The shot, which came in from the edge of the circle and was parried by the Malone keeper, was pounced on by Nina at her near post. 2-0 at half time.

The chat from coach Brian McKee at half time was to keep things simple and use the space on the wings. It didn’t take long after the restart for Jackie, who had threatened with a couple of stinging shots before half time, to cut in off her left wing position to make it 3-0. Number 4 followed shortly after with Kerrie grabbing her second before turning provider for number 5, which came from a ball from midfield which Kerrie gathered and passed to Carolyn who was free in the circle. With her back to goal, the right winger managed to get a slight touch and direct the ball to the left hand post, where Carmen van der Schyff was brilliantly placed for the final tap in. The pressure was relentless from Donaghadee and, as at the end of the first period, the whistle blew for time just as the Dee had been awarded a penalty corner. Cue most of the team heading for the Malone 25. After a scramble in the circle as Malone did their utmost to clear the ball out of their defence to finish the game, debutant Laura Boyle popped up with a decisive sweep to round off not only a strong individual performance, but a great start to the new year for the club.

Brian was understandably delighted with the win: “I thought the girls did fantastically well today and it was a really good team performance. I asked them at half time to use the simple ball because the pitch was very sticky, and they all did that, but some of our passing and movement today was really good. I’m absolutely delighted that we scored six goals and kept a clean sheet at the other end. It’s just brilliant! I’m also very pleased with the number of players scoring and the variety of goals we’re scoring, with a mix of set pieces and open play”. The Dee have seen a fair few similar scorelines over the last few years, but it’s been a long time since the girls have been on the right side of such an emphatic win, and everybody who played on Saturday can be rightly pleased with what was a very, very good team performance.

Many thanks to Jill Dennison for umpiring the game, it’s very much appreciated. Donaghadee will be hoping to build on this morale boosting performance when Newcastle come to town on Saturday (22nd), pass back at 2.30pm. For more info on the club please visit www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk

Senior League 4: Donaghadee LHC v Bangor LHC (A) L3-0

Donaghadee Ladies made the short trip to Bangor Sportsplex to take on near geographical rivals Bangor in the latest installment of the Senior League 4 programme. Not too many points separated the two teams before the Friday night pass back, but with Nina Wells on netball duty and Lisa Higgins also unavailable, Donaghadee were short on numbers, only made worse when a late cry off left the Dee with 10 players to take on Bangor.

Hard work by Bangor captain Petra Armstrong in clearing the pitch lines of the hail stones which had fallen in the near-freezing conditions during the day meant the match was able to go ahead, despite the rest of the surface still being white – one of only two in the league programme which was able to be completed. Lining up a player short up front, the Dee opted to pack the defence and midfield and hoped to take Bangor on the break when the opportunity arose.

The Dee defence worked very hard to keep the Bangor attack at Bay, and youngsters Natasha Cameron and Teagan Greer in particular both did superbly well to make several well timed challenges and clearances to thwart Bangor, but the home side looked strong and slick in their passing and they were able to utilise their good movement and quick thinking set pieces to run out eventual 3-0 winners. The Dee did have several chances to tuck the odd goal away, but were just unable to find the killer ball when it was needed.

A valiant effort to the whole team in freezing conditions and the girls now have a week off before the next game which is away to Cooke on 11th December. Ballot tickets are still available – for more information on this and everything else on the club please visit www.donaghadeelhc.co.uk