PUBLISHED 11 February 2023
AKS U14 hockey squad can boast the accolade of being the 3rd best team on North West of England after a superb performance in the National Schools North West Finals at Timperley HC finishing just behind Manchester High School and Kings School, Chester.
The first game against Kings School, Chester saw us start very nervously as many girls were experiencing this high level tournament for the first time and the skilful Kings forwards put us under pressure from the start and deservedly went ahead in the first 5 minutes with us still in first gear! We slowly gained our composure and started to pass the ball to each other and minutes later a great run and pass from Lola H found Hannah A free in the circle and her shot flew just wide. Charlotte L went close from a corner minutes later and then we got reward for our improved play when Lucy W found the net to make it 1-1 at half time. With everyone gaining in confidence the second half saw us start to lift our game, with Charlotte L a constant threat on the right but we just could not find the net. Kings were always dangerous on the break and only great defending from Esther T, Emilie B, Lilly G and Ellie S along with a great save from Sophie S kept us in the game. An unfortunate awarding of a Penalty Stroke late in the game saw Kings take the lead with a well taken flick which gave Sophie S no chance and the final score 1-2.
With nerves settled, the second game against Sedbergh saw us start more positively with greater passing accuracy and team structure and we deservedly went ahead in the first have when Anna V and Camilla C exchanged passes and Camilla coolly slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 1-0. The fast athletic Sedbergh team constantly threatened and only a goal line save from Lilly G kept us ahead into the break. The second half saw Sedbergh raise their game and press well which saw us struggle to outlet effectively but again great defending kept them at bay until late in the game when they converted a corner to make the final score 1 – 1 and we had our first point on the board.
As the tournament was a round robin format we went into the third game with everything still to play for and produced our best performance of the day against Manchester High School. We started well with Amelia H, Lola H and Charlotte L linking well to create scoring opportunities and Amelia H forced a good save from the Manchester keeper. Manchester High had chances of their own but our great penalty corner defence kept them at bay and at half time the scores were level at 0 – 0. Playing the best hockey of the day and with everyone more confident we started to pass the ball to each other and put the Manchester defence under pressure. We were rewarded for our efforts when Amelia H found the net with a great strike at a corner after a perfect touch back from Anna V to make it 1 -0. Manchester High then threw the kitchen sink at us but some great defending from all the team saw us hang on to the final whistle and get our first win and 3 more points.
We went into the final game against King William College from the IOM still in with a chance of top spot but knew only another win would do! We got off to the perfect start when Lola H found some space to drive in to the circle and her superb shot found the corner of the goal to make it 1 – 0 in the 4th minute. Lifted by the goal we raised our game again and played some great passing hockey with Ella A, Lola H and Charlotte L linking well on the right but a determined King William College thwarted our best efforts and at half time the score was 1 – 0. The second half saw us score our best goal of the day in the 3rd minute when Anna Vavoso, Charlotte Lavin, Cammilla Coupe exchanged passes to move the ball up field and Anna V was on hand to find the net to make it 2 – 0. With King William tiring and us playing good passing hockey Amelia H and Charlotte L added two further goals , Charlotte’s a great reverse stick shot, to make the final score 4 – 0.
Two wins, a draw and a loss saw us finish in third place on the day but with not much between the top three teams we were so close to a spot in the National Finals having beaten the winners Manchester High. Players of the tournament were Esther T for her superb defending and Charlotte L for her dominant attacking play.
A superb day of hockey where the girls did us proud and from which all the team will have learnt a great deal and taken another step forward in their hockey development.