County Champions

After the postponement of the County Hockey finals last week, the girls travelled to King’s High to play Stratford Grammar and Bablake. The final was based on a round robin basis with all the teams playing each other.

The girls’ first match was against Stratford Grammar who they beat last week 4-0. They started strongly and looked to dominate the performance. Pressure was applied although the crucial goal would not arrive. The commitment and work rate of the team could not be faulted as they relentlessly attacked the Stratford goal. However, it was not all one way traffic as Stratford looked to counter attack. The defence held firm and were able to repel any attack without Brooke, in goal being forced into any saves. As time ticked away, the girls lost a bit of composure in front of goal and chances were missed. The final score was 0-0 and the girls had to wait for the outcome of the match between Bablake and Stratford Grammar to see what they needed to do in their final match.

Bablake beat Stratford 2-0 meaning that the girls needed to win against Bablake in order to win the tournament.

After their rest, the team was thoroughly committed to winning the tournament and to cap off what has been an excellent season. From the first whistle, the girls looked to put pressure on what was a skilful Bablake side and not give them time on the ball. This tactic worked as Bablake were forced into several errors as the girls went in search of the winning goal. Cosima Berry and Genevieve Barton worked tirelessly in the middle of the pitch and were instrumental behind many of the attacks. Hannah Hawkesley and Ellie Lewis were full of running up front hassling the defence all the time. The defence were called into action on several occasions but coped excellently with the skilful forwards. Helen Bewicke-Copley organised them very well which allowed Helen Francis and Alannah O’Donnell to push forward to support the midfield. Sasha Worrall played her role at sweeper as the line of defence and was able to step out of defence when she was required. Constance Krarup and Hannah Brindley worked tirelessly giving width and a useful outlet to the team and their attacking play forced several short corners although none were converted. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Genevieve passed the ball to Hannah Hawkesley who calmly slotted the ball home from the top of the ‘D’. This goal settled the team down, knowing that a win would be enough to win the tournament. With the pressure off, the girls settled down and produced their best move of the afternoon with a flowing move orchestrated by Hannah Hawkesley down the right wing involving Alannah, Constance and Genevieve. The end result of this move was a well taken goal by Hannah Brindley who pulled away from her defender at the far post to create some space for herself. She then controlled teh ball and struck it just inside the near post giving the goalkeeper little chance. It was an excellent move that summed up the girls’ season. The last 5 minutes brought a few more chances but the team was content to play out the match and seal the victory which brought with it the title of County Champions.

It was a fantastic way to conclude what has been a great season. Well done to all those who have played for the 1st XI this term. Best wishes to those who will now be plying their trade with senior schools and for those who will be with us next year – let’s hope for an equally successful season. Finally, I would like to thank all the parents who have turned up regularly and supported the girls in sunshine and more recently rain.

CJH  

Tags: Hockey, Prep, Sport

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