The U18 Girls’ Indoor Hockey squad travelled to Bromsgrove School as East of England Champions last weekend in what would prove to be a very tough two days of competition.
The tournament started very well with a strong and confident performance against Hymers College that led to a 5-1 win. The nature of indoor tournaments meant a long wait for the second game of the day against Beaconsfield School in a match that ultimately cost the girls dearly; a sluggish display littered with small errors and missed chances saw a 3-2 loss in game that really should have been won, making day two look very daunting, with matches against last year’s champions Millfield School and perennial favourites Repton School.
A good night’s rest and a chance to review and reflect on the day before meant the girls were more than ready for the challenge of a physical Millfield side and they delivered a stunning performance to be leading 3-2 with 28 seconds remaining until a last gasp penalty corner conversion shared the spoils. This meant that only a win against Repton would suffice if the team were to qualify for the semi-finals. In what proved to be the final match of the tournament, the girls put on a gritty display in which they tested the opposition goalkeeper a number of times in the first half but without the luck of a goal and at 2-0 down with five minutes remaining the goalkeeper was taken off in favour of another outfield player. The gamble did not pay-off and Repton won to halt the Framlingham team’s chances of a semi-final.
Head of Hockey, Jamie Kingstone said, ‘the girls can look back with a tinge of disappointment but they should be very proud of the quality of indoor hockey that they played and they can now look forward to their next challenge – an outdoor National Final playoff with Cranleigh School on Wednesday 1st February at the College.’
