PUBLISHED 09 May 2023
To finish a superb season the AKS U13 hockey team played in the National In2Hockey finals at Nottingham and although not able to lift the trophy they come away with immense pride as the eighth best team in the whole country.
We started the tournament nervously against eventual winners Surbiton High School and found it hard to keep possession against the quick and determined Surbiton players. Some great saves from Natalie H kept us in the game early on but they deservedly went ahead in the 5th minute and extended their lead before a great individual goal from Anna V settled the nerves and we went in to the break with the score 1-2. The second half saw Surbiton up the tempo of their game and they put us under constant pressure forcing mistakes which lead to further goals and the final score was 1-6.
The second game against Clifton College saw us have a better start and play with more confidence. Good link play on the right between Captain Olivia D and Olivia W , who used her pace well to attack , saw us create scoring opportunities but it was Clifton who found the net first and scored two quick goals. Great defending from Lauren M and Emiley F kept the Clifton attack at bay and with some great passing hockey we started to put the Clifton defence under pressure and create scoring opportunities. We were rewarded for our great play when Camilla C found Olivia W free infront of goal and she made no mistake in slotting home make it 1-2. We then enjoyed our best spell of the game with some good passing hockey but two fantastic goals from the very talented Clifton forward, one a reverse stick strike into the top right corner of the goal, made the final score 1-4.
Our third game against The Grammar School at Leeds saw us improve again and we started superbly dominating the opening exchanges to put the GSAL goal under pressure. Despite this and several attacking corners we could not find the back of the net and GSAL took the lead against the run of play midway through the half. The second half went the way of the first with us enjoying a lot of possession and playing our best hockey of the day. Some more great saves from Natalie H and more superb defending from Lauren M, Emiley F, and Olivia D kept the GSAL forwards at bay and the speed of our attacking play with Olivia W, Camilla C and Camilla W were a constant threat but another goal against the run of play at a corner from GSAL made the final score 0-2.
Our final game was against Cheam School and again saw us play well, dominate possession and put the Cheam goal under pressure but again we just could not find the net. Two quick goals from Cheam saw them go in to the break ahead. We continued to work hard after the break but again the final pass or shot did not find the net and Cheam went further ahead. We did get on the scoresheet when Maisie W scored a superb breakaway goal but we could not get back on terms as Cheam scored again before the final whistle.
At the end of an incredible day of fantastic junior hockey all the girls can take great credit for their superb achievement in finishing as the 8th best U13 Hockey Team in the country. They will have learnt a lot from the experience of ‘ playing at a National Final’ and seeing the tremendous standard of hockey exhibited by some of the older and more experienced players on show which they can take forward to help them develop their hockey further. It is a magnificent achievement for AKS of which everyone is very proud. Well done to all 13 girls who made this possible.