Having secured a place in the Regional hockey finals back in November the U13 girls travelled to Redbridge on Wednesday 12th March. With a number of training sessions and practice matches against Framlingham College Girls U14 and Brandestons boys 2ndVII, the girls entered the tournament in a confident mood. The girls knew that starting the tournament quickly and successfully would set the tone for the rest of the day and so a pleasing 3-1 win over Bourne Grammar what just what they needed. The remaining two games in the pool were against Queenswood and Bedford Modern and although we stuttered a little against Queenswood, their class and skill came to the fore and saw them win 3-0, which they then followed up with a 4-2 win to complete the group against Bedford Modern. Finishing top of Pool A meant the girls would play the runner up from Pool B, St John’s, Cambridge. Knowing no games in this end of the tournament were going to be easy the girls listened to and executed the instructions perfectly ending in a 2 nil win. Thinking the tournament would now go to a semi-final and final with the two finalists qualifying for the National finals, all thoughts were solely on the next game, which would be against an impressive, athletic and physical New Hall side. The first half was very tight with both sides creating chances. However, the second half was a lot more clear-cut, with Brandeston dominating proceedings and playing some fantastic hockey ending the game 1 nil winners. Thinking they had reached the National finals with a game to go, we were brought down to earth with a bit of bump, as we realized we were actually in another Pool of the top four teams and had two more games to go with the top 2 in the Pool going through. Brandeston’s next match was against Norwich School had already lost their previous game to Felsted. Therefore one more win and we were guaranteed a National Finals spot. The girls were unfazed by being close to such an achievement; instead they stirred their tired bodies into another 16 minutes of hockey. In another dominant display, which the scoreboard doesn’t reflect and where they were rarely threatened, Brandeston ran out 1 nil winners. Having qualified there was genuine elation from the girls, their coaches and their families who had come to support, but attention was quickly turned to the match against Felsted to see who would be crowned Regional Champions. In a fantastic display where Brandeston went 2 nil up, before a piece of individual skill from one of the Felsted girls saw them peg the score line back to two one. A nervy final minute and a saved penalty corner against the girls in the dying seconds meant the excitement and relief of winning was palpable, but genuinely deserved. The girls had played seven games, won all seven, scored 16 goals and conceded only four. It was one of the most complete team / squad performances I had seen from the girls and was a pleasure to watch. They had been training hard prior to the tournament and executed the perfect game plan, game after game, in uncomfortably warm weather. A great amount of admiration and congratulations must go to the girls on this remarkable achievement. Each one of the girls did their bit and made the difference on the day and I am sure they will be determined to emulate last year’s U13 boys and become National Champions and prove what a fantastic team they are becoming in their own right.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:01:33 +0000
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