Both our U13s and U18s performed excellently at this weekend’s National Finals in Lousada:

The U13s showed great character in never giving up and fighting to the end in all 3 of their pool games, with nail-biting finishes in the games they won. Against Viso, they were trailing 0-2 until the 32nd minute in spite of having many more goal scoring chances, when finally they pulled out the stops and won their first game 3-2. Against CAMIR, they got a 32nd minute tip in from a well-worked passing move up the pitch and then defended their lead like tigers for the last 8 minutes. In the last pool game against Lousada, they eventually lost 6-3, but only after clawing it back to 5-3 after trailing 5-1 at the interval. The final saw a very tired young side lose 7-0, but to their credit they only let in 2 goals during the second half (after a goalie change).

It was just reward that 3 of their players were picked for the ‘Dream Team’ of 7 – Maarten Green, John Harrison and Vicente Mourão.

The U18s’ first game on Saturday against Lousada was a very even game, with lots of missed chances from both sides. In the second half Casuals scored from a penalty corner which ended a game that could have been a 4-4 draw, as a 1-0 win. The second game against Juventude was again a game with many chances for both teams. The first goal came half way into the second half from a bullet pass into the circle which took a deflection for a goal. Casuals then scored from a penalty corner and scored a third from close range in the final minutes, to end the game 3-0 and top the points table overnight.

In the decisive first of their return matches today, Casuals went ahead against Lousada after 15 minutes and, despite  conceding an equaliser shortly afterwards, they went 2-1 up before half time. The second half saw some top, high intensity team hockey from Casuals and total dedication from their players. With two minutes to go, a Casuals player found himself one on one against the goalie but, after having managed to dribble past him, the angle was too narrow and his shot flew past the post. Casuals hung on until the final whistle, winning the game 2-1. Even a loss in their last game against Juventude made no difference to them claiming the National Champion’s trophy.

They also picked up prizes for ‘Best Goalkeeper’ – Gonçalo Brito, and ‘Best Player’ – Philipp Wenzel.

This weekend saw almost all the Casuals teams in action, with most playing their last matches before the Final play-offs, which take place over the next three weekends.

On Saturday the U18s travelled to Lousada to play Juventude and, despite being 3 goals down at the break, fought back to score the only goal of the second half. Although they had several more chances, the score remained 1-3.

The U13s played Casa Pia B and were beaten 1-2, although they squandered a penalty stroke which would have tied the game.

In the last game of the day, the Veterans played Belenenses and were soon a goal down. Although they equalised from a penalty corner, Belenenses continued to attack and by midway through the second half were 4-1 up. Casuals however fought back to score 2 excellent goals, but were unable to avoid a 3-4 defeat.

Today the U15s had an early start against Casa Pia B. They lead 1-0 at half time and, although Casa Pia equalised from a short corner, Casuals scored twice in the second half for a 3-1 win.

The Men then played União de Lamas in their final league game. Casuals survived several close misses and an injury scare to their keeper, but even so conceded two goals before half time. But the game really became exciting in the last 15 minutes: Lamas added a 3^rd goal, but Casuals pulled one back from a penalty corner. Lamas were then awarded a penalty after a brilliant last ditch stop by a defender, but hit the crossbar. This stung Casuals into some serious attacking, from which a penalty corner conversion pulled them back to the final 2-3 score line. This result means that they finish the league in 5^th position, just outside the play-off places.

The final game of the weekend saw the Ladies play Viso. Although Casuals had the better of the first half, the teams went into the break at 0-0. Casuals went ahead after the break, but once again allowed Viso a scrappy equaliser for a 1-1 draw.

Both Casuals’ senior teams travelled to Porto today to play Sport Club. In the first game, the Ladies kept up a much better  work rate to keep Sport at bay for most of the game. But a goal at either end of the game sealed a 2-0 win for their hosts.

The Men’s game was evenly matched for most of the first half, so it was galling for Sport to take the lead from an unfortunate own goal a minute before the interval. However Casuals came out for the second half in determined mood, and a fast break after 15 minutes gave them an equaliser after the keeper was left stranded from a square pass. Although Sport tried to attack down the middle, Casuals kept up their momentum and a close range tip-in gave them the lead with 7 minutes to go. They even defended two penalty corners in the last minute to seal an excellent 2-1 win, which takes them above their rivals in the league table.

Friday’s Men’s game against Carris had the two teams very evenly matched for the first quarter of an hour, but then Carris scored from close range and increased their lead from a penalty stroke. Casuals reduced the arrears early in the second half, but Carris converted two more penalties and a penalty corner for a 5-1 win.

Saturday saw 3 matches played at the Estádio Nacional. The U18s had no problem beating Sport Club Ladies 8-3. Conversely, the Ladies were no match for Juventude U18s, going down 0-7.

Finally, in their penultimate game before the Outdoor Finals, the U13s led Casa Pia A 3-0 at half-time and looked set to maintain their unbeaten record outdoor. Even though Casa Pia pulled one back in the third period, Casuals responded with another well taken field goal to lead 4-1 at the start of the last period. However, one of the older players was injured by a hit inside the circle, which should have resulted in a free hit against Casa Pia for dangerous play (indeed these were the Referee’s pre-game instructions), but instead was given as a short corner, which resulted in Casa Pia’s second goal. With a man down, Casuals were sadly unable to defend their lead and Casa Pia finally won their first game of the season 5-4.

On Sunday the U15s played Casa Pia A and were 3-0 up at half time, all from open play. They added 4 more goals in the second half from a penalty stroke and 3 penalty corners, for a 7-0 win.

In the afternoon the Ladies dominated Belenenses, but were unable to break a 0-0 deadlock.

In today’s Men’s match against CAMIR, Casuals were by far the stronger side. They put away a penalty awarded in the 4^th minute, and then scored another 5 goals from open play. In the second half they converted 2 penalty corners and, despite the opposing keeper making a series of good saves, scored 3 more goals to win 11-0. With two of the teams closest to them in the league table drawing 1-1, this win helped Casuals jump two places to 5^th.