PUBLISHED 14 March 2023
AKS U13 Hockey Team are celebrating after qualifying for the National In2Hockey Finals after a superb performance in the North West Finals where they again remained undefeated!
On Monday the AKS Lytham U13 Hockey Team played in the NW Hockey Finals at AKS in brutal weather conditions which tested all the participating teams, however this did not deter the team and they started their tournament with a very strong performance against Cowley School, Merseyside. AKS dominated the game from the very first few minutes and were 5-0 up at half-time thanks to devastating finishing in front of goal and strong defending from Maddy K, Amelie C, Victoria H and a confident start from goalkeeper Shelby Q that gave the team assurance. Cowley fought back in the second half and despite more AKS pressure, the Cowley defence held firm and only conceded one goal in the second half from a well worked penalty corner making the final score 6-0. The goals came from Anna V and Maisie W.
In the second game, AKS faced Sedbergh, Cumbria in a much closer match and both teams worked hard to create goal scoring opportunities. Both teams defended very well and goalkeeper Shelby Q made a couple of valuable saves to keep the scores level. The breakthrough for AKS came from a penalty corner when Camilla C and Anna V combined beautifully to create space allowing Anna to slot the ball home with ease. AKS maintained the 1-0 lead for the rest of the game and there were more points on the board.
The third game against Manchester High was another tight game at the final whistle we had to settle for a draw. AKS created a number of chances but on this occasion the final touch to score was missing. However, the girls knew that tournament hockey rarely goes according to plan and they were determined to keep working hard.
We went into our fourth game against Kings Macclesfield unbeaten and once again, Anna was punishing in front of goal and put us into an early lead. The team played well and deserved to win the game but Macclesfield refused to be beaten and created an overload and equalised with a few minutes left in the game despite an outstanding and tenacious defensive performance from Emily F.
With other results going our way the final match of the day was against King William School, IOM and the AKS team knew that only a win would see them qualify to represent the North West at the National Finals in May. The girls rose to the challenge and kept their best performance for the final game and within 2 minutes Anna V and Camilla W had combined together to allow Camilla W to score a wonderful reverse stick goal, placing the ball out of reach of the GK with awareness and composure to take us into a lead. This early goal gave the team the confidence and belief to take the game by the scruff of the neck and they didn't allow the opposition to settle. Camilla C and Olivia W combined well down the right and Anna added to her wonderful impressive goal scoring display with a further two goals to take the game to a 3-0 win and the AKS girls to the National Finals. Despite the weather conditions the entire squad performed exceptionally during the afternoon and we are now looking forward to the challenge of the National Finals in May. A tremendous achievement, well done girls!!