IAPS U13 Girls’ Hockey (A) Oundle

Match Report

The U13 girls represented the school brilliantly at the IAPs Hockey Tournament held at Oundle on Friday 2nd October, facing some very strong opposition throughout the day. Although we were beaten in every game, the results certainly did not reflect a lack of effort or commitment. The girls worked incredibly hard for one another, competed throughout and came away having learnt a huge amount.

There were some fantastic moments across the tournament, with every player having opportunities to shine. Aggie was outstanding in goal, making a number of excellent saves, particularly against Bilton Grange. Emily also had a superb tournament, playing out of her skin and producing some excellent tackling alongside Coco.

Against Bromsgrove, we went into half-time 1–0 down before eventually losing 2–0. The girls then produced an excellent first half against Bilton Grange, holding them to 0–0 and creating chances of their own. Lilian narrowly missed converting a short corner, while Aggie made several excellent saves. Bilton eventually broke through in the second half to win 2–0.

Repton saw some really positive attacking play, including a strong move which resulted in a short corner that we were unable to convert. Repton led 2–0 at half-time and finished 3–0. Swanbourne were a very well-drilled side and, despite plenty of hard work from our girls, finished 5–0 winners.

Our strongest performance arguably came against King’s College. There were so many positives to take from the game, with Emily and Coco making some superb tackles, Lilian producing a fantastic run up the wing, and Eliza having a great shot on goal following excellent work from Verity. We went into half-time 2–0 down, but the girls battled brilliantly to keep the score unchanged in the second half.

Our final pool game was against Heath Mount, who went on to reach the final across the two pools. They were an outstanding team who really clicked on the day, but our girls continued to work incredibly hard and produced some excellent passages of play. Despite the 7–0 scoreline, the Heath Mount coach went out of her way to thank our girls for a super game — a lovely recognition of their attitude and sportsmanship.

To round off the day, we played a friendly against St Peter’s York, producing a much more evenly contested game and a well-deserved 1–1 draw. Eliza capped off a great day with an excellent goal from open play. OPOM Aggie. 

Perhaps the best indication of the girls’ attitude came on our return to school. Despite a long and challenging day, their spirits were so high that they ran straight over to the Astro to join Hockey Hobby!

Bromsgrove
0–2

v Bilton Grange
0–2

v Repton
0–3

v Swanbourne
0–5

v King’s College
0–2

v Heath Mount
0–7

v St Peter’s York – Friendly
1–1