U14 Boys Tier 2 NW of England Hockey Finals

PUBLISHED 28 February 2020

On Thursday of this week our U14 hockey boys travelled down to Timperley hockey club to take part in the Tier 2 North West Finals. This was a competition that they qualified for through the county finals day and something that the boys were looking forward to being a part of. Below is a full, match by match report from the day.

Game 1 v Wirral Grammar lost 1-0
Conditions were cold and slippery after heavy rain leading up to the day. A relatively even contest between the teams saw a lot of in close contested play. It was disappointing to give up the only goal of the match early on and we did not take full advantage to even the scores. Some brilliant saves by Cameron M kept us in the match to the final whistle. We struggled to consistently keep control of the play and register a score at the end of the match and simply ran out of time.

Game 2 v King Macclesfield lost 2-0
Not the start we were hoping for, going down 1-0 in the first minute. Then began the fight back, with plenty of passion and skill displayed in a spirited effort to even the scoring against our highly fancied opponent. Multiple attacking runs by Ben L and some desperate defending by Noah M saw us counter attack well and were unfortunate not to level the scores. Another goal was registered against us in the dying moments as we exhausted ourselves moving the ball forward to score. Cameron M again our best player making some outstanding saves.

Game 3 v Windermere won 1-0
Another hard-fought match, this time with us on the fortunate side. Every ball was a battle and our boys were up for the fight. Our defending was relentless and did not give up any easy chances to score - Jake G and Oliver H leading the way. Our midfielders and forwards stepped up and showed their spirit, working very well as a cohesive unit. Ben L played his best game and registered a fine back-stick goal with strong contributions from Harry B and a George G.

Playoff v Birkenhead won 1-0
Earning through to the 3rd place playoff was a big effort for our boys, squeezing through on goal difference. This was not enough for them, as a strong resolve shone through amongst the boys to make the most of the opportunity.
We did something. We hadn’t done all day - we scored first and early, through a hard running goal by captain Tom O.
From this moment, it was a hard fought scrappy contest of determination and endurance. Our boys were up for the challenge - all making important contributions as every contest was an epic. Birkenhead kept coming and manufactured some good chances, but AKS held firm with our player of the tournament, Cameron M, making several outstanding saves and Oliver H scooping a ball away from the goal on the last line of defence.
Players showed resilience and worked together when it mattered most.

In a hotly contested, close competition, AKS Boys finished third in the North West of England.  An outstanding result for our fledgling boys hockey programme. It was extremely pleasing to see our boys earn such a result; they truly came off the pitch with nothing left.