Junior teams from Lewes Hockey Club came first and second in Sussex-wide competitions this weekend.
The club's Under 10s boys team continued their run of recent good form, winning the Ron Easton tournament final with a convincing 6-1 win over Horsham at Hurst School.
The Under 12 girls took their Ron Easton final to penalty shuffles after drawing 1-1 at full time before losing to a strong Mid Sussex team,
Lewes U12s Boys were also in action in a friendly tournament in Brighton, where they won one game and lost two.

U10s Boys Win Ron Easton Final
U10s Boys, current East Sussex champions, played Horsham, current West Sussex champions, in the Ron Easton Final. The boys played some exceptional, fluid hockey and proved too strong for Horsham.

The boys scored early and regularly throughout the 40min match, winning 6-1. A great team effort, with some stunning passing play and really testament to the strength throughout the squad. Well done to the Sussex Champions!

Under 12s Girls Ron Easton runners up
It was the case of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object at this year's Under 12 girls Ron Easton Final, as a strong attacking Mid Sussex side repeatedly failed to break down a resolute Lewes defence.

Lewes, East Sussex champions, soaked up wave after wave of pressure from the West Sussex Champions. In the first half, it felt like Lewes could be overwhelmed but the score stayed nil-nil.
For the first period of the second half, the Lewes team gained in confidence and attacked with more purpose, using their wide players more. But then the Mid Sussex onslaught began again, with short corner after short corner. But Lewes's defence and outstanding goalkeeper would not yield. Suddenly Lewes broke free - and sprinted up the pitch to score a runaway goal.

Mid Sussex attacked with renewed vigour and won a penalty flick to draw the game. Short corner followed short corner but again and again Lewes kept Mid Sussex out to draw at full time.

The lottery of penalty shuffles followed, which Mid Sussex won. The Under 12 girls showed grit and determination and great team spirit which belies their age. The moments when Lewes' attacking team play also gelled, showed how great the team is close to becoming.

Under 12 boys Brighton Tournament
Having not had much tournament or match experience this year the trip to Brighton on Saturday was a welcome fixture to continue the development of our U12 boys as a team and as players.

First up was Brighton B which saw us play some good hockey with some very positive positional play, passing, width and movement. There were many attempts on goal and thankfully one top D shot from Rufus Hodgkinson finally snuck through. The impressive point was the team shape and how they responded well to their positional responsibilities.

This was not quite the case in our next match versus Brighton C, where we lost our width and possession trying to play into and through a congested middle. We were finally undone by some higher forwards who, from behind our defensive line, had a clear sight on goal one time too many. We did create a chance or two to be proud of though.

Lastly we played Hailsham who had two exceptional strikers of the ball, which saw Sam Harrop bravely tipping one chest high shot onto the cross bar and out for a corner - WOW!! Even though we lost 1-3, this was still a good performance by the team. Yes we struggled in defence at being goal side and closing players down, but we still created opportunities to run at their defence with pace and support - Rufus levelled us at 1-1, driving back a rebound, and we missed a couple of crosses at the far post which could have made the score look very different.

Well done guys - there’s always something to learn from these matches and I’m proud of your team spirit and team play.

Results:
Brighton B Won 1-0 (lewes goal Rufus Hodgkinson)
Brighton C Lost 0-1
Hailsham Lost 1-3 (lewes goal Rufus Hodgkinson)