15/09/2026
It was a busy weekend of football at Hook Norton Sports and Social Club ⚽️
On Saturday…
There was a great atmosphere at the club for the U8s first game of the season!
Hooky got off to a steady start against Wychwood, but then the players found their feet and there were some great battles to win possession.
There was also some lovely passing, footwork and crossing to create some quality goals!
Well done to the players for volunteering to go in goal making some great saves 👏
Passing into space and chasing back to defend after losing the ball are two things to work on over the coming weeks.
Happy kids at the end and lots of smiles! 😃
The U10 Girls played their first home game of the season, and what a game it was to get the season back up and running!
Hooky and Launton have met a few times now, so the players were familiar with one another.
The visitors were strong and relentless but the Hooky girls matched them.
It was probably one of the best games the girls have played, with the two new starters looking right at home.
In their first game of the season, Hooky U11s and Chadlington went toe to toe in an 11-goal thriller!
Following a tentative start which saw Hooky go a goal down, the players upped the intensity and managed to assert themselves on Chadlington. The game went back and forth throughout with mistakes punished and plenty of goals scored at each end.
It was fantastic to see the players push themselves and stand up to a very strong and physical Chadlington side.
The team showed real spirit and bravery, and every player delivered a performance to be proud of 💪
The U11 Girls showed fantastic team work at Summertown Stars. Their passing was rewarded with goals and at the other end they were solid.
Hooky dominated the midfield and really never gave Summertown room to play. An excellent performance by the team. And the new players have fitted in perfectly, making the team even stronger 👏
🦈 The U12 Hammerheads played Hardwick, formally known as Adderbury.
Back in January when the two sides met in the cup, the opposition won convincingly, so everyone knew this game would be tough.
Hooky had the stronger first half but just could not put chances away. The home side was stronger in the second and got a messy goal early on.
Hooky kept going but a poor decision meant the players didn’t get the equaliser they probably deserved. But that’s football, and the week before Hooky got lucky with a decision!
The performance was brilliant and the kids knew they had done well.
The players had forgotten the score by the time they got to Oxford United, where they enjoyed being the guard of honour 📸
Hooky U13s welcomed a couple of new/old faces into the team as they took on Adderbury at the Lucy Plackett Playing Field.
With both teams enduring a pretty tough season last year, the coaches were expecting a very competitive game to start the new season — and that's exactly what they got!
The message was simple: teamwork, shape and pressure on their backline at all times. And once the players got going, that's exactly what they delivered!
After a fairly even opening, with both teams creating chances, Adderbury took the lead after 12 minutes.
That seemed to spark the boys into life, and just two minutes later Hooky were level. Heath, moved from centre defence to centre forward, closed the defenders down, won the ball, held off a couple of tackles and then blasted it into the roof of the net!
1-1!
The half-time message was simple: more of the same. The next goal would be key!
Hooky started the second half brilliantly, with Liam — set-piece wizard — finding the top bins from 20–25 yards out.
What. A. Goal!
Adderbury continued to match the Hooky effort and found an equaliser on 45 minutes before being awarded an incredibly harsh penalty, with the referee missing a clear foul on a Hooky player only seconds earlier. They missed - still 2-2!
But Hooky kept pushing.
And almost immediately after Adderbury's penalty miss, Heath found the back of the net again with another great finish on 48 minutes.
3-2!
The coaches' hearts were in their mouths for the final 12 minutes, although Hooky were playing brilliantly and looked the more likely team to score.
And that's exactly what they did!
An absolutely thunderous shot from nearly the halfway line from Noah squeezed past the Adderbury keeper.
4-2 HOOKY!
And that's how it ended 🙌
The coaches are absolutely over the moon for these boys.
They should be so incredibly proud of themselves. If there has ever been an example of "keep working hard and you will eventually get what you deserve," these boys are it.
They endured one of the toughest seasons imaginable last year, and to see the smiles on their faces, is something that will stick with the coaches for a very long time! 💙
The U13 Girls knew they were in for a tough test, with this fixture always proving to be a closely fought encounter. Tower Hill are a strong, well-organised side, so the team knew they would need to work hard for each other from the first whistle.
Hook Norton started the game well, remaining compact and well positioned while creating some dangerous moments in the final third. On the 15th minute, Olivia delivered a great corner into the box, which Arabella got on the end of to put Hook Norton 1–0 up.
Hooky continued to battle hard for the remainder of the first half, defending well and working together to maintain their lead.
Half-time: Hook Norton 1–0 Tower Hill
The second half saw Tower Hill put some serious pressure on the Hooky back line, but the team stood strong and defended brilliantly.
In the 32nd minute, Hook Norton launched a quick counter-attack. Olivia played a fantastic ball through to Mabel, who ran onto it and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net to make it 2–0.
Just a minute later, Tower Hill managed to pull one back to make it 2–1, but Hooky continued to push forward in search of a third goal. As the ball was played over the top, a Tower Hill player handled it inside the box, resulting in a penalty. Mabel stepped up and smashed the ball into the back of the net to restore Hook Norton’s two-goal advantage at 3–1.
The girls remained composed as both teams battled through a very hard-fought game of football. Tower Hill managed to pull another goal back in the 45th minute and created a number of further chances, but Hook Norton’s defending and goalkeeping remained strong to see out the game for a win and maintain Hooky’s unbeaten start to the season.
On Sunday…
Hooky U15 Whites took on Donnington in the cup at The Bourne.
Hooky took an early lead through a bit of a scrappy goal but then went into a poor five minute spell, giving a goal away through some lapse defending.
To be fair to the Hooky squad, this was the last time they let Donnington into the game. They started playing some lovely football and showed some great individual composure.
The team settled into a solid team performance with plenty of chat and creativity.
The main take away was that a lot of substitutions were made during the game, with players playing in unfamiliar positions, without it affecting the performance/shape or intensity.
A 5-1 victory with four different scorers 👏
