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U12 girls at National Finals.
Mike Rushmere17 May 2015 - 07:13
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Thirsk U12 Girls take their place at the In2hockey National finals at Beeston HC on Saturday 9th May 2015.
The team from L to R: Izzy Saxby, Olivia Borchard, Fern Watson, Olivia Turner, Amy Flintoff, (Captain) Penny Baker, Olivia Barber (GK), Connie Gill, Sadie Bosomworth, Tabitha Cockerill .
Thirsk were drawn in the 2nd of two pools, which included Bournemouth, Worcester, Surbiton and Blue Hornets.
The first game was against Surbiton (who went on to be runners-up), and it proved to be a steep learning curve, as they were faster than Thirsk in all areas.
The first half was dominated by Surbiton, and despite the best efforts of Olivia Barber in goal, Thirsk found themselves 4-0 down at half time. The second half though proved to be much closer, Sadie Bosomworth on the left connecting up well with Amy Flintoff, and forcing a penalty corner, sadly the shot from Connie Gill went wide. Tabitha Cockerill was formidable in defence, and Thirsk looked much more competitive, forcing a further two penalty corners. They could not convert these, but did finish the stronger team.
Next up were Worcester and this time Thirsk started much better, with good possession down both flanks in the early exchanges.
Olivia Borchard and Olivia Turner both got into the game, Connie combined with Amy, only to shoot wide. Worcester opened the scoring just before half time, as Thirsk failed to clear. The Thirsk girl’s battled on in the second half, but the physical presence of the large Worcester girls, was definitely a factor, and Thirsk were not outplayed but did not get any reward for their pressure, whereas Worcester seemed to take every chance, resulting in a 5-0 defeat.
The girls picked themselves up well for the next game with Blue Hornets (from Essex).
It was a very closely contested game. Tabby, Connie and Amy all worked extremely hard both in attack and in defence. Thirsk earned two penalty corners in the first half, but saw both go narrowly wide. Blue Hornets however did convert their only penalty corner of the 1st half. Tabby and Penny Baker worked well together in defence, and Olivia made two fine saves. The girls played well in the second half, Sadie and Amy combining well only to see Amy’s attempt well saved. Tabby had to come off as a lifted ball came up into her face, but Izzy Saxby did well in her place, setting Fern away down the right, but no one could latch on to her fine cross. Thirsk just could not get that first goal, and finished frustrated, losing 1-0.
The final pool match was against Bournemouth, and the girls were very determined to get on the score sheet. It was a tough match, but at last Thirsk got some play down their right flank with Olivia Borchard working into the circle, and winning a penalty corner. This time Connie was on target, and her strong shot was well placed in the left corner. The cheers of the large supporting crowd could clearly be heard. Amy could have made scored again but shot narrowly wide when put through by Connie. Bournemouth did not have much possession in the Thirsk circle, but frustratingly their right attacker took her chance when she got it. The game ended 1-1, though Thirsk felt they really should have won it.
That left Thirsk with a classification game against Yorkshire rivals Wakefield. The girls were tired by this final game, but that did not stop them battling on. In what was a fairly even game as far as possession was concerned, it was Thirsk’s inability to score that again showed up. With both teams having 3 penalty corners in the game, it was Wakefield who converted one, and they got a goal from open play to gain revenge for Thirsk beating them in the North finals in March. Final score Thirsk 0-2 Wakefield.
Congratulations to the whole squad for having got to the National finals, which is an amazing achievement. Thirsk Hockey Club has yet again proved that it is capable of competing at this level, and the Girls should be very proud of themselves. I hope that it will inspire them all to greater accolades, as they can now appreciate what it takes to be competitive at this level.
Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends who came on the day to give such great vocal support. Also thank you to all of the parents who have been so supportive of the whole squad all season.
Thirsk were drawn in the 2nd of two pools, which included Bournemouth, Worcester, Surbiton and Blue Hornets.
The first game was against Surbiton (who went on to be runners-up), and it proved to be a steep learning curve, as they were faster than Thirsk in all areas.
The first half was dominated by Surbiton, and despite the best efforts of Olivia Barber in goal, Thirsk found themselves 4-0 down at half time. The second half though proved to be much closer, Sadie Bosomworth on the left connecting up well with Amy Flintoff, and forcing a penalty corner, sadly the shot from Connie Gill went wide. Tabitha Cockerill was formidable in defence, and Thirsk looked much more competitive, forcing a further two penalty corners. They could not convert these, but did finish the stronger team.
Next up were Worcester and this time Thirsk started much better, with good possession down both flanks in the early exchanges.
Olivia Borchard and Olivia Turner both got into the game, Connie combined with Amy, only to shoot wide. Worcester opened the scoring just before half time, as Thirsk failed to clear. The Thirsk girl’s battled on in the second half, but the physical presence of the large Worcester girls, was definitely a factor, and Thirsk were not outplayed but did not get any reward for their pressure, whereas Worcester seemed to take every chance, resulting in a 5-0 defeat.
The girls picked themselves up well for the next game with Blue Hornets (from Essex).
It was a very closely contested game. Tabby, Connie and Amy all worked extremely hard both in attack and in defence. Thirsk earned two penalty corners in the first half, but saw both go narrowly wide. Blue Hornets however did convert their only penalty corner of the 1st half. Tabby and Penny Baker worked well together in defence, and Olivia made two fine saves. The girls played well in the second half, Sadie and Amy combining well only to see Amy’s attempt well saved. Tabby had to come off as a lifted ball came up into her face, but Izzy Saxby did well in her place, setting Fern away down the right, but no one could latch on to her fine cross. Thirsk just could not get that first goal, and finished frustrated, losing 1-0.
The final pool match was against Bournemouth, and the girls were very determined to get on the score sheet. It was a tough match, but at last Thirsk got some play down their right flank with Olivia Borchard working into the circle, and winning a penalty corner. This time Connie was on target, and her strong shot was well placed in the left corner. The cheers of the large supporting crowd could clearly be heard. Amy could have made scored again but shot narrowly wide when put through by Connie. Bournemouth did not have much possession in the Thirsk circle, but frustratingly their right attacker took her chance when she got it. The game ended 1-1, though Thirsk felt they really should have won it.
That left Thirsk with a classification game against Yorkshire rivals Wakefield. The girls were tired by this final game, but that did not stop them battling on. In what was a fairly even game as far as possession was concerned, it was Thirsk’s inability to score that again showed up. With both teams having 3 penalty corners in the game, it was Wakefield who converted one, and they got a goal from open play to gain revenge for Thirsk beating them in the North finals in March. Final score Thirsk 0-2 Wakefield.
Congratulations to the whole squad for having got to the National finals, which is an amazing achievement. Thirsk Hockey Club has yet again proved that it is capable of competing at this level, and the Girls should be very proud of themselves. I hope that it will inspire them all to greater accolades, as they can now appreciate what it takes to be competitive at this level.
Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends who came on the day to give such great vocal support. Also thank you to all of the parents who have been so supportive of the whole squad all season.
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