This weekend the Lisbon Casuals U12 and U14 mixed teams and the U16 girls’ team played a total of 10 games at the Nationwide EN.NA Indoor Tournament at Casa Pia. With so many games, it is hard to give an idea of the roller coaster of emotions, but the final placings do not reflect the great effort the kids made and the palpable improvement in their game as the weekend went on.
After a big win against Carris and a rather bigger loss than the half-time score of 2-3 would suggest against Lousada on Day 1, the U12s were unlucky in their first game today: they lead CAMIR 3-2 in the 20th minute with the captain making it a hat-trick from a flick over the goalie’s head, only to lose 3-4. In the fourth and most exciting game, the kids got a hard fought 1-1 draw against eventual 2nd placed Futebol Benfica, but their failure to convert a couple of short corners and a penalty flick meant the difference between 4th and 2nd place.
U12
After two heavy defeats on the Saturday, the U-14 girl dominated team showed great character to come back strongly on the second day: they took 3rd place from CAMIR in a thrilling 4-2 finish, with 3 of the goals coming from the girls.
U14
The U-16 Girls won both their games against Futebol Benfica in great style, and it is a shame their category was not considered worthy of a National title.
U16
The results and final places can be found on the FPH website: http://www.fphoquei.pt/index.php/competicoes/hoquei-campo/2988-calendario-enna
In their first league match after the indoor break, the Men lost 1-7 to Carris today. With several senior players missing, this young team still put together bursts of good hockey, but they were caught out in defence too often.