Isca
Dragons U15 Cup
If
some one had said to me at the beginning of the season that we
would be playing in the National U15 finals the following April,
I would have laughed out loud.But
then I wrote down what players we had in the club and I thought
this dream could become a reality, and so our campaign got going.
Our
first match away to West Wilts was a matter of putting the girls
together, seeing who could play where, and the outcome was a
9 – 0 win.
Next
on were Clifton at home, another win although closer 3-1. Things
were starting to look good.
Cheltenham away
12 – 1 and then Matlock away in the quarter Finals, an
emphatic 6 – 0 win meant we were there.
Training
sessions, and two training matches later and we were off, looking
extremely smart in our new kit.
The
finals were held in Canterbury, good of England Hockey to hold
it in a central location ! and we managed to find a travel lodge
next to Burger King and Pizza hut. It was only a short drive
away from the pitch, or so we thought until we let Anne on the
mini bus who tried to take us to Dover.
Our
first match was against Amersham and Chalfont, from Surrey. The
girls got off to a nervous start, finding their feet on the big
stage, and shock horror, we went a goal down after only 5 minutes.
This certainly woke us up having never been a goal down before
and we pressed forward looking for an equaliser. This came just
before half time. Good work by Emmie Giles and Grace Gabbitass
down the right won us a short corner. Hetti Murray whipped the
ball out, a strike by Lauren Hutchings left the GK only able
to stop the ball, and it was Hetti who was quickest to react
by slamming the ball home from close range.
More
pressure led to another short corner mid way through the 2nd half.
This time Lauren belted the shot into the bottom left hand corner,
leaving the GK flat footed. It was then Amersham’s turn
to press, and the final 5 minutes were a nail biting affair.
Sarah Tresidder held her defence steady, with Lucy Hancock, Alice
Woolley and Issy Smith, throwing themselves at every ball, keeping
the attacking Amersham out to hold on to our 2 – 1 win.
Sunday
morning came and we knew we faced our stiffest challenge, Belper,
with their England U16 girls and 8 Midlands regional players.
We faced them without fear and put up a tremendous fight. We
eventually lost 4 – 0 but Belper were a class above us.
They were sharp, professional and clinical, but if it wasn’t
for Goalie Chloe Pick who’s reaction saves amazed every
one watching we could have lost by a lot more. Saying that, we
had our chances, but just couldn’t put them away.
Next
up were Chelmsford and we only needed a draw to finish 2nd. But,
it was the end of a long hard weekend, a first for a lot of the
girls, and we just lost our way a little in the first half. Having
picked up a few nasty injuries against Belper from a few lifted
balls, we allowed Chelmsford to run at us and we backed off,
letting them into our ‘D’. 3 goals in quick succession
left us with a mountain to climb in the 2nd half.
After
a stirring half time team talk, the girls went out to make amends,
within 5 minutes we got a penalty stroke which was calmly put
away by Lauren Hutchings, but despite mounting attack after attack,
we couldn’t get the ball in the net. The final score of
3 – 1 meant we finished in 3rd place by a goal
difference of only 1 goal.
On
reflection 3rd place is a fantastic achievement and
the girls should be proud of themselves. It was a great team
performance, with every one giving 100 % at all times. It was
also a massive learning curve, we now know what we have to do
if we want to get there again.
A
massive thank you to all the parents and supporters, who were
the most vocal there. Who needs a megaphone when you have Hetti’s
dad. Thanks to Ian for driving the kit up. Thanks to Sue and
Nicky for organising the trip. Thanks to Liz Hodges for her kind
donation.
But
the biggest thanks must go to the girls themselves for the way
they conducted themselves. They were a credit to the club.
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