Newark Hockey Club coaches planning to switch roles
Newark Hockey Club’s top coaches are to swap roles for the start of next season.
Ladies 1sts coach Paul Halfpenny will swap roles with his wife, Sally, who leads the men’s 1sts.
Both will continue helping their current sides as assistant coaches.
Paul, 53, has led the Ladies 1sts for a decade and oversaw their climb to their highest-ever position in Midlands Division 2.
However, multiple relegations have seen the side drop to the Midlands Feeder East League and this weekend to the Nottinghamshire Women’s Hockey League Premier Division.
Sally, 46, has coached the Men’s 1sts for nine years, narrowly missing out on promotion from the East Midlands 1 1st Team League several times.
Paul said: “I took the ladies to the dizzy heights of Midlands Division 2 and then we lost a lot of players and dropped down the leagues.
“It is disappointing, so to keep things interesting the committee have allowed us to swap roles to get the best out of them.”
Paul said the club had reacted positively to the news.
“Between us we have created an academy and a junior section that is envied by many other clubs,” he said.
“We are looking forward to working together.
“We will be combining our experience and expertise.”
Both Paul and Sally will continue to coach at the academy on Sunday mornings and will support the coaches and managers of the adult teams.
Newark Ladies 1sts 0 Ashby 1sts 5
Five goals in the first half in Saturday’s relegation six-pointer with Ashby meant Newark will be plying their trade in the Nottinghamshire Women’s Hockey League Premier Division next season.
Newark cannot now finish any higher than seventh so will be one of four teams to drop out of the Midland Region Hockey Association Women's League Feeder East.
They held Ashby until the 11th minute when the visitors scored against the run of play — the first of five in 20 minutes.
The home side were again the better side in the second-half, but werefrustrated by Ashby’s keeper.
Coach Paul Halfpenny said: “The players are disappointed to be relegated but will hopefully dust themselves down and start again next year.
“We have got a lot of talented youngsters at the club and the highest number of county and regional players that we have ever had.”
Newark Men's 1sts 4 Mansfield 0
The last home game of the East Midlands 1 ended with a comfortable victory.
Newark set the early pace and scored through a Scott Robinson deflection.
Restricting Mansfield to occasional breaks, Newark dominated in midfield.
A quick break involving Alex Davies, Tom Roper and Robinson was cheekily pinched on the line by Josh Dent to make it 2-0.
Newark weathered a Mansfield storm for the first five minutes of the second half but regained their shape and composure and won a penalty stroke, which was missed by Dent.
As Mansfield tired the game became stretched and Newark’s superior pace and fitness told.
Dent made amends for his earlier miss with a sweet reverse strike from the top of the circle while a fourth was added by Davies.
Despite a strong end to the season, Newark can only now play for third place as Nottingham Players and Leicester Panthers won at the weekend.
Newark Men's 2nds 4 Tamworth 6
Newark travelled to Tamworth for their last away game of the season in the Midland Regional Hockey Association East Midlands 1 (2nd Team League) expecting a challenging game.
The home side didn’t make the best of starts and were 3-0 down after ten minutes with Tamworth taking advantage of some loose defending.
Newark pulled one back from a penalty flick by Ryan Foster after a shot was saved on the line by Tamworth but let another two in before half-time.
Newark scored a quick goal from a short corner by Steve Littlewood but immediately conceded at the other end from a Tamworth short corner.
After that Newark’s defence stepped up and, with Tom Shaw in goal, kept Tamworth at bay.
Newark scored twice more — one from Tim McManus from a tight angle between keeper and post, and another to Ryan Foster with a deflection from a ball into the D from Nigel Bett.
The home side had several chances to narrow the scoreline but good keeping kept them out.
Newark Ladies 2nds 0 Ashfield Aztecs 3
A win would have given Newark a chance of finishing sixth in the Nottinghamshire Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, but Aztecs were fighting relegation and made it a tough match.
Despite missing key defenders Kate Lambert and Anna Hall, Newark started well, applying early pressure.
Following a breakdown in play Aztecs turned the ball over and Newark found themselves overloaded and 1-0 down.
Good work in the middle from Hannah Coe, Dani Ashwell and Sophie Chambers along with Becky Wells and Ellie Laughton on the wings resulted in several penalty corners, which were well defended by Aztecs.
The home side added a second from a quickly-taken free hit just outside the D catching Newark on the back foot.
Newark again had several penalty corners awarded but shots from Sophie Chambers, Wells and Ashwell were all batted away.
Aztecs scored their third and final goal from a well-rehearsed penalty corner and secured all three points.
