PUBLISHED 17 March 2020
The AKS U11 Boys Hockey squad are proving a force to be reckoned on the Boys hockey scene after a superb performance saw them finish runners up at the U11 Lancashire Hockey Championships and so join the U13 girls in the North of England Finals.
With 5 teams playing for only 2 places in the North of England Finals, AKS had to be at their best and 2 victories and 2 defeats proved enough to claim a coveted North Final place.
AKS played Ashbridge in their first game and in a close encounter both teams gave a great account of themselves with chances at either end. Xavier leading the attack for AKS tested the Ashbridge keeper on numerous occasions and with the game seemingly moving towards a draw, he coolly slotted the ball to the side of the keeper to find the net and AKS were victorious 1- 0 and we had our first points on the board.
The next 2 games were a little tougher against Kirkham and Rossall. Against Rossall we were put under pressure but great team defence kept them at bay for most of the game. Lucas melling made some great saves but Rossall did find the net before the final whistle. The Kirkham game went the same way and a strong Kirkham side put us under a lot of pressure and deservedly took the points. Whilst the results favoured the opposition AKS never gave up and made their opponents fight hard for their victories.
In the final game AKS took on Scarisbrick Hall knowing that a place in the North Finals was still up for grabs. With the team playing with great confidence from their previous 3 games, AKS started moving the ball a lot quicker and created a number of scoring chances early on. Scarisbrick had chances of their own but more good team defending and some good saves from Lucas kept the ball out of the net. We continued to grow in confidence and with some great hockey we sealed a second victory of the day with goals from Ollie, Xavier and Tom.
At the end of the tournament the finals positions were very close but AKS collect runners-up medals beating Rossall to 2nd spot by just 1 point in a close afternoon of hockey and now look forward to the challenge of playing in the North of England Finals.