East and West come out on top at U16 & U18 Girls’ Notts Sport Inter District

30th September 2018

Home » News » East and West come out on top at U16 & U18 Girls’ Notts Sport Inter District

It was a tremendous weekend of youth hockey at the Notts Sport U16 & U18 Girls’ Inter District 2018 at Peffermill. East topped the U16 Inter District while West finished first in the U18 event. The weekend also set a great example at the start of Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week for participation in hockey.

The U16 Notts Sport Inter-Districts got off to a flying start with an enthralling opening game between East and West. East took the lead early on with a goal from Abbie Grant, by half time they were 2-0 up with a well-worked team goal; Amy Guijarro putting the ball in the back of the net. West came out fighting after half time and had a number of efforts on target from Ava Smith and Niamh Green. The East keeper Maddie Boyes made a number of brilliant saves to keep West at bay. A rebound from a West corner saw Christina Miller popping the ball into the corner of the goal. Increased pressure from West and some resilient defending from East meant the final score ended 2-1 in favour of East.

Over on Pitch 2 East took on Midland. East opened the scoring in the 11^th minute with a goal from Ellie McKenzie. Just before half time East went 2-0 up through Emily Simmers. Midland upped the pace and had several attempts on goal. They were rewarded with a finely-worked penalty corner scored by Ellie Stott. Final score was East 2 Midland 1.

Pool B in the U16 competition saw a tight match between South West and North. Whilst both sides forced the goalkeepers into some brilliant saves, neither could break the deadlock and the score finished 0-0.

South U16 girls enjoyed a 4-0 win over Highland. Two goals in the second half came from Molly Morris and Molly Howlett. Hannah Patterson added another goal to the tally and Molly Morris bagged her second of the game.

West U16s had a solid 2-0 win over Midland. Niamh Green opened the scoring for West with teammate Nicola Fletcher following on 15 minutes later.

In the U18 competition South beat North 2-1. Caoimhe Minnikin scored in the tenth minute putting South 1-0 up, North responded with a goal with from Kassidy Mathers. With a minute from time South stole the win, Hannah McNair scored the winning goal.

West U18s enjoyed a 4-0 win over South West. Bronwyn Shields got West off the mark five minutes into the game. Anna Hoolaghan followed suit and scored a lovely reverse hit from the top of D, giving West a 2-0 lead. Mhairi Crooks scored for West just before half time, giving West a comfortable 3-0 cushion at half time. Katie Allison added a fourth to the West district tally, ending the game on a high.

The final game of the evening for U16s was between South and South West, and perhaps was the most exciting of the day. End-to-end for the majority of the match with little between the teams. In the end the deadlock was broken by Lucy Bell. The game continued with the same pace it had started with and Tilly Press scored. South West were unlucky not to score again when their effort had beaten the keeper but trickled past the far post. South scored through Sophie Younger and the final scored ended 2-1 in favour of South. South topped pool B and faced East in a semi final on Sunday morning.

Day 2

Day two commenced with South U18 producing a fine performance to draw 1-1 with East U18, goals came from Grace Drummond to put East in the lead. However 2 minutes later Chloe Aitchison pulled one back for South to end the game 1-1. West stormed to victory with a 13-0 win over North. Zara Mason, (2) Annabel Ballantyne, Katie Allison (2), Emma Forrest, Charlotte Simmers, Bronwyn Shields, a Lucy Williamson hat trick and a goal from Eve Downie gave West all three points.

North U16 had a 4-0 win over Highland, Jessica Barr put her side ahead two minutes into the game. On the brink of half time Ellie Barron gave North a comfortable 2-0 cushion. Eilidh Seedhouse and Molly Gammie also added to the collection for North.

Semi final one of the day was played between East U16 and South U16. A well fought game between two strong sides saw East run out the eventful winners and book their place in the final. Goals from Ava Allan and Neve Wood were enough to give the East side the win. South West had a solid 5-0 win against Highland. Tilly Press, Olivia Stark and Eilidh Thomson alongside a double from Carla Bruce guided South West to the win.

Semi final two in the U16 competition was played between West and Midland. Lucy Anderson opened the scoring for West in the 7^th minute, with team mate Ava Smith following several minutes later. Five minutes from full time Nicola Fletcher put West 3-0 up. A goal in the dying minutes from Ciara Forgie saw Midland claw a goal back, with the final score ending 3-1 to West.

The 3^rd/4^th play off between Midland and South saw Midland finish 3^rd in the U16 girls competition and South finish a respectable 4^th. Goals from Annie Neil and Sophie Younger saw the sides level at half time. However second half goals from Rachel Leslie and Iona Fleming gave Midland the win.

The final of the U16 competition fell between East and West. Straight from the whistle it was a hotly contested game with some impressive hockey being displayed. Olivia Henderson scored for East within the 3^rd minute from a slick penalty corner. West battled back and prompted East goalkeeper Maddie Boyes to step up and make some solid saves. However it was East to go to 2-0 up after Ava Allan scored just before the break. West responded after half time with Abi Blair batting the ball off the back board to give West a goal. A missed flick from East, and several attempts from both sides saw the game continue with the same tenacity and passion it had started with. East extended their advantage to 3-1 when Jemima Reid slotted one back post. West fought back to the dying stages of the game and Lucy Sillars scored for West to suggest the come back was on. It was too little to late for West and the hooter sounded for full time. A fantastic game of hockey to end the weekend, and some real talent being displayed.

Midland U18 enjoyed a 5-0 win over South. With just two minutes played Rhiannon Carr put Midland in the lead. Izzy Folan followed suit just before half time. Joanna Johnston, Sasha Niven and Lucy Smith also added to the score for Midland.

The final game of the weekend came down to a battle between East and West U18. West needed to take a point to be crowned over all winners, while a win for East would give them the gold. An intensely close contested game, there was very little between the sides. Goalkeepers Amber Murray and Jess Buchanan showcased their incredible talents, keeping the score sheet level. On the brink of half time west slipped their short corner to captain Bronwyn Shields, who coolly buried the ball in the back of the goal to give West the lead at half time. A barrage of West short corners were well defended by East and similarly East gave West their best efforts. However the battle between the sides was only to be separated by one lone goal. West succeeded in beating East, and finished as U18 champions

Final Standing U18

1 West

2 East

3 Midland

4 South

5 South West

6 North

Final Standing U16

1 East

2 West