Girls U12 Festivals vs In2Hockey Plate Qualifiers

By Coach Rebecca Newman

A fantastic day of hockey for the Ealing U12 Girls team at the Plate competition – we finished 2^nd!

Despite the long trek to the other side of London, our GU12 team were raring to go in their first group match. They started off strong, with two back-to-back wins. They then drew their next two games, which allowed the team to top Group B!

The team then faced Panthers in the semi-final and after 10 minutes of nail-biting hockey, it went to penalty flicks. Although the players had never experienced this before, it did not stop them from giving it their all. A fantastic flick by Evie secured the victory 1-0 and the team moved on to the final!

 In the final, the team faced a strong Surbiton 2 team. Our GU12’s had an unbelievable 10 minutes of defensive play, with goalkeeper Abigail making impressive saves. With time ticking away, Ealing had a few last-minute attempts upfield, but as the whistle went, it was 0-0. Another set of flicks would decide 1st and 2nd place.

 Although Jessie, Eva and Evie all had fantastic flicks, Surbiton 2 narrowly won 2-0 on penalties.

 A huge congratulations to all nine players – every ounce of grit, sweat and determination was left on the pitch during the tournament, and we would not be prouder of how they all played. A massive achievement for a very young team (half of the players were U11!).