Match Reports for Girls' Netball and Boys' Hockey against Strathallan
Belhaven Hill match reports for Girls' Netball and Boys' Hockey against Strathallan
Wednesday, 14th January 2026
Girls' Netball
1st Team
1st Netball v Strathallan
Belhaven 17 – Strathallan 23
With just a couple of training sessions under our belt, we played our first fixture of term against Strathallan. We knew they would be a strong team and were determined to play well. Our first quarter got us off to a really good start. Equal possession of the ball, play moved from end to end with both teams scoring from their centre pass. Maggie and Bee created some good spaces in the attacking circle and used Bella and Clemmie well to reposition. A 6 – 6 scoreline after 10 minutes was encouraging.
In the second quarter, we let Strathallan take advantage of our fast play which resulted in some forced errors for the team. The passes were not secure into our attacking circle and playing too fast meant that we were not thinking about footwork and offloading the ball. Strathallan took advantage of our mistakes and free passes to get the ball to their attacking end. Imogen and Sophia did really well trying to defend the ball and the large number of goals the Strathallan girls scored doesn’t reflect their hard work. By half time Strathallan were firmly ahead 7 – 16.
The team made a comeback in the third quarter and began to slow down their rate of place, thinking more carefully about their passes. They dominated this quarter and, along with excellent defending in the centre of court by Emily, we limited the number of shots Strathallan had on goal. We narrowed the scoreline by the end of the quarter, so Strathallan were just 4 goals ahead. 13 – 17.
The girls sped up again in the final quarter as they were keen to keep a close gap with the scores. There was some further excellent defending from Imogen and Sophia, with Emily linking up well in defence. Clemmie and Bella worked well together creating space in the centre of the court, creating space and intercepting the ball well. Iris and Maggie also shot some good goals, working well together.
I was really pleased with your efforts today. You tried to execute the different centre passes we worked on with success and the mid court play was super. There is still a lot to work on and more importantly we need to slow the pace of the game, taking a full 3 seconds on the ball to allow the team to get into a space.
Player of the match as voted by the opposition: Maggie
Mrs Gales’ player of the match: Bella
2nd Team
2nd Netball v Strathallan
Belhaven 20 – Strathallan 11
Belhaven 2nds claimed a solid 20–11 win over Strathallan Senior 2nds with a composed and disciplined netball performance.
Belhaven set the tone early, with strong defensive pressure from Sylvia and Molly creating turnovers that were converted through accurate shooting by Rose and Anastasia. Controlled play through the midcourt, led by Holly, helped Belhaven maintain their lead into halftime.
Strathallan challenged in the second quarter, but Belhaven’s full-court defence, anchored by Isobel, limited scoring opportunities. Consistent shooting allowed Belhaven to extend their advantage and see out the game comfortably.
A focused team effort ensured a deserved 20–11 victory
Player of the Match: Holly
3rd Team
3rd Netball v Strathallan
Belhaven 16 – Strathallan 2
Match Report written by Calantha
Today we were against Strathallan at a home match. Mrs Gale coached. The weather 🌦️ was grey and cloudy but perfect temperature for running around (we all warmed up quickly).
We played the match in quarters: the 1st quarter everybody was on their tiptoes because Strath are short but speedy in the second quarter only a few people switched places but Chloe and Blanche scored some great goals. Pia and Calantha kept plenty of balls out of the hoop and the wings were on fire. By the 3rd quarter we were leading 14 to Belhaven and 1 to Strath.
In the 4th quarter we scored a total of 16 to us and and 2 to Strath. Kudos 🙌 to Blanche for getting player of the match.
Well done to all the internationals for playing their first netball match!
U11A Team
Belhaven U11 A Team vs Strathallan U11
Final Score: Belhaven 12 – 9 Strathallan
Belhaven Under 11 A Team got their season off to a fantastic start with a convincing 12–9 win over Strathallan in their opening fixture, played in the freezing cold dome in rural Perthshire.
Belhaven made an excellent start to the match, showing strong teamwork and sharp passing to build an impressive 8–1 lead by half time. The girls worked hard in all areas of the court, applying pressure in defence and moving the ball confidently into the shooting circle.
In the second half, several players swapped positions to give everyone valuable experience. While this led to a slight loss of rhythm, it also provided plenty of learning opportunities and areas to work on in future training sessions. Despite this, the team showed great determination to see out the win.
A special mention goes to Dulcie, who played superbly at Goal Keeper in the first half before selflessly volunteering to play for the B Team in the second half to give others a chance — a wonderful example of teamwork and sportsmanship.
In attack, Flora was outstanding, scoring an impressive seven goals. Holly and Annie both added two goals each, with Eliza also getting on the scoresheet with a well-taken goal.
A brilliant team performance in challenging conditions and a very encouraging start to the season for the Belhaven U11s.
U11B Team
Under 11s B Team Match Report against Strath
The Belhaven Under 11s team put together a really strong and encouraging performance, showing great teamwork and determination to secure a well-earned 19–2 victory. From the first whistle the girls worked hard for each other, showing confidence as a team.
Defence was a major highlight of the match, with the girls making some excellent intercepts to win back possession. This gave Belhaven plenty of opportunities to score in the attacking end. The defenders supported one another well, always ready to step in and help when needed.
Special mention to Coco, playing both C and Defence. She showed great initiative, stamina and was consistently making numerous interceptions.
In attack, Belhaven’s shooters worked extremely well together. They were excellent at finding space, and the shooters supported each other beautifully to create clear shooting chances. This teamwork paid off, with Holly scoring 3 goals and Delphine and Flora both scoring 8 goals each, reflecting the quality of the build-up play as much as the shooting itself.
Overall, it was a really positive match full of effort, teamwork, and improvement. Every player contributed, and the result was a performance the whole Belhaven team can be proud of. Well done to everyone involved! 🏐👏
Written by Addy
Boys' Hockey
1st Team
1st Boys’ Hockey
Opponents: Strathallan Time: 2.45pm
Date: Wednesday, 14th January Venue: Hallhill
The boys’ 2026 season got underway today when we hosted a good Strathallan team at Hallhill. I don’t usually expect much in terms of quality play from early season matches but today’s match was a high-paced thriller with some brilliant hockey on show.
Captain Geordie lost the toss so Strath got things underway but the boys immediately pressed forward, put them under some pressure and won possession. For the next few minutes, we dominated play and four minutes in, the pressure told and Wilbur slotted one home past their ‘keeper. 1 – 0.
Just a minute later, Xander won possession and immediately surged into the circle an pulled the trigger, scoring his first goal for the 1st Team. 2 – 0. The rest of the quarter was all Belhaven an the boys had six or seven (yes, I said it) more shots at goal but the Strathallan ‘keeper began to show his quality and made some brilliant saves – something he kept doing throughout the match.
At the first quarter break, all I asked was that the boys tried to use the wide channels a little more in order to stretch the opposition and leave space in front of goal.
The second quarter was a little more even with Strath getting into the game and having a few attacks of their own. Though we didn’t add to the scoreboard, we certainly had the best of it. Wilbur mostly dominated the midfield, tackling and carrying well and linking up with Xander, who was dynamic up front and got into some good areas and pressed hard when Strath had the ball at the back. Geordie was a real force at the back, being highly proactive, making interceptions and then doing exactly what I’d asked him to do: quickly turning defence into attack. He was well supported by Tristan who played a slightly more defensive role but distributed effectively.
Into the third quarter and Strath continued to work hard, earning a well-deserved goal after an excellent pass saw their forward player pick up the ball to go one-on-one against Juan who did everything right but just couldn’t quite keep it out. In fact, though he wasn’t tested too much, Juan had a good game, making some good saves and clearing confidently. In the final minute of the quarter, Wilbur fed a good through ball to Xander at top D and he made no mistake to end the quarter at 3 – 1.
In the final quarter, I mixed things around a bit with Wilbur pushing up into the forward position and Geordie slotting into a central midfield position. Fin, who’d started on the left flank, had a go in defence and he learnt on the job, improving his positioning with each minute. Pat remained on the left flank where he continued to work tirelessly, posing a real threat in attack, on the left post and nearly getting on the end of a couple of good balls through. Fred played wide on the right and he linked up well with the defenders and forwards. In the final minutes, Wilber made it a brace and so the game ended 4 – 1.
This was a highly competitive match against good opposition, played with urgency an at a high tempo. I was delighted with the boys’ determination – most of the fifty-fifty balls were won by Belhaven – and the positive attitude. There are things to work on, of course, such as utilising the wide channels to a greater extent, shifting the point of attack and playing the ball around the back a bit more but, overall, it was a very impressive first outing which bodes well for the season ahead. Well done, boys.
Final Score: Belhaven Hill 4 - 1 Strathallan
Player of the Match: Xander – worked hard in a new role, got into some great areas and got a brace of goals on his 1st team debut.
WT
2nd Team
2nd Team Report against Strathallan
Belhaven 4 – 5 Strathallan
After only a few weeks of training, the first match of the season was always going to be a chance for the boys to find their feet, try various positions out and start the process of gelling together as a team. With all of that in mind, the standard of hockey played was impressive.
I would imagine that Strathallan will have come away from the fixture feeling pretty good about themselves after sneaking the victory. The result could have gone either way and had the statistics of the match been recorded, I would imagine that Belhaven would have come out on top on for possession, passes made, shots made and many other parts of the match.
The first Belhaven goal was incredibly well worked with some slick passing from Alexander to Tommy and then onto Ben who slipped the ball past the Strath keeper. Alexander got a second before the first break after some fine dribbling skills. Toby made some wonderful saves in the second quarter and Bertie was incredibly unlucky not to score in the same period too.
Oak & Will kept things tight at the back in the third quarter, Kaspar and Bertie were a constant threat on the wings and Santi the poacher caused a nuisance in the Strath box. He was a constant danger to them and deserved his two goals.
The final quarter was a frustrating one for the boys. Alexander and Tommy worked their socks off as did the whole team, but they couldn’t get the final goal needed to half the match. It was a shame to end in defeat, as the boys deserved more; however, that’s sport. They will have learnt a lot from the experience and should take much confidence from the way that they played. It will be an exciting season ahead!
Goals: Ben, Alexander, Santiago (2)
Man of the Match: Alexander (first half) & Tommy (second half)
3rd Team
U13 3rd team hockey against Strathallan
The 3rds had a fantastic start to the season with their first match against Strathallan last week. It was (as always) bitterly cold at Hallhill but the boys soldiered on! After a quick warm up the game was swiftly started so that the boys did not get cold.
The first quarter was a little bit messy as the boys were getting used to their positions and teammates, although they were all quick and individually playing quite well, they weren’t playing as a team. The passes could have been stronger and more accurate and they could have used each other more effectively in the circle. In saying this, I had a quick chat with them in the break, and they really started to improve.
We had solid defence which was making it hard for Strath to get through- our passing through the mid improved in accuracy but still not in strength but up front we were getting a lot of goal scoring opportunities. At half time I again said to the boys about how if their passes are not strong, they will intercepted before the pass gets to their teammate. Another goal for after half time was not mucking around in the circle and taking strong shots into goal and looking up before we shoot.
With all this information locked and loaded they boys really started playing as a team. I was really impressed with how they (in particular Innes L) was bring the ball all the back to the back line and sending it across for someone to tap in. Special mention also the the goalkeeper Leo for some fantastic saves today.
After the match finished the score was 4-3 to us, with William F scoring 1, Rocco scoring 1 and Innes scoring 2. Well done boys for a strong start to the season.
Miss Dyer
