Penalty shoot-out drama at U18 Indoor Finals

Jordanhill girls and Inverleith boys were crowned U18 indoor champions after penalty shoot-outs in the finals at Bells Sports Centre in Perth. This season’s U18 Finals on 29 January produced another great advert for indoor hockey, following the previous day’s exciting senior Gala Finals.

 

U18 Girls Indoor Finals

A dramatic day started with Edinburgh HC’s Iona Syme scoring with two seconds left to snatch a 3-2 win v High School of Dundee. Syme and Kate Wellington had EHC 2-0 up in only two minutes before Sophia Donald got one back and Isobel Skinner equalised with only one minute remaining.

Edinburgh HC also left it late to beat The Glasgow Academy 3-2, giving them top spot in Pool A. Iona Syme completed her hattrick three minutes from time to see off a battling Accies, for whom Saskia Wade and Alex Burdon had twice pulled the scores level.

In the final pool match, The Glasgow Academy edged High School of Dundee 1-0, thanks to Murrin Kilpatrick’s fourth-minute goal. That gave Mark Ralph’s team second place in the pool.

Pool B started with a 3-0 win for Jordanhill School against Gordonians, with a hattrick from the outstanding Ava Wadsworth, including a penalty stroke.

Gordonians bounced back well with a 2-1 win against Peebles. Alex Freeland and Sophie McIntosh secured the win, with Izzy Molyneux giving the Borderers hope with two minutes remaining.

Jordanhill secured their place in the final with a 3-1 win against a well organised Peebles team. Ava Wadsworth (2) and Mhairi Low scored for the Glaswegians, with Abbie Little getting Peebles’ consolation.

In the play-offs, High School of Dundee’s Georgia Colwell scored the only goal of the game against Peebles. That gave Linda Anderson’s team 5th place overall.

Gordonians produced their best performance of the day to beat The Glasgow Academy 3-1 and finish in third place. Grace Wilkinson’s double and one from Jess Freeland did the damage, with Amber Wade replying for TGA.

And so to the final, where Jordanhill struck first with Phoebe Haldane’s goal after seven minutes. Both teams produced high-quality hockey, but athletic goalkeeping from Aine Coad (EHC) and Katy Galbraith (Jordanhill) thwarted every attack. Just as it looked like Edinburgh HC weren’t going to find an equaliser, Iona Syme grabbed her sixth goal of the day from a penalty corner with two minutes left.

In the penalty school-out, Iona Syme scored for EHC, but Jordanhill’s Katy Galbraith made two superb saves. Although Aine Coad saved the first penalty, Jordanhill’s joint captains, Mhairi Low and Ava Wadsworth both scored to secure a dramatic win.

Scottish Hockey President, Colin Fraser, presented the medals at the end of a thrilling contest.

U18 Girls Indoor Champions – Jordanhill School (Photo: David McCarthy)

U18 Boys Indoor Finals

The boys’ finals had a similar format, with two groups of three teams, followed by play-offs and a final.

In Pool 1, Gordonians twice led against Watsonians through goals from Dan Palmer and Angus Freeman. However, the Edinburgh boys equalised through a Drew Lobb double to make it 2-2 at the close.

Watsonians’ next match was against Grove Menzieshill, who had won the Midlands qualifier. In a hard-fought game, a goal from Alistair Clark and a late penalty corner from Findlay Duncan sealed a 2-0 win for the Dundonians.

Grove Menzieshill then turned on the style against Gordonians with a 4-0 win. Ollie Hall scored a hattrick before Alfie Bonnar rounded things off. That gave them a place in the final as pool winners.

Clydesdale started Pool 2 with a hard-fought win against Strathallan. Captain Jamie Green’s double did the damage in a 2-0 win for the ‘dale.

Clydesdale had one foot in the final as Jamie Green’s 15th-minute goal gave them a 1-0 lead against Inverleith. However, a penalty corner right on the hooter gave the purples hope, and Ollie Wilson duly converted to make it 1-1.

Inverleith knew a 3-goal win against Strathallan would give them a place in the final, and they did exactly that in a 4-1 victory. Ollie Wilson’s hattrick and one from Rory Steedman saw them home, with Jake Swan getting the consolation for Strath.

However, Strathallan responded superbly in the play-offs, beating Gordonians 6-1 to seal 5th place. Conor Ferry’s hattrick proved decisive, with Calum Bradford getting Gordonians’ goal.

In the 3rd-place play-off, Clydesdale’s clinical finishing saw off Watsonians. Johnny Bradley and Jamie Green both scored doubles in a 4-1 win, with Drew Lobb netting his third of the day for the maroons.

The final was an absolute cracker! A great piece of skill from Findlay Duncan put Grove Menzieshill ahead before a 7th-minute penalty stroke from Ollie Wilson tied the scores. A high-quality end-to-end match thrilled the crowd, but both defences held strong until three minutes from time when Murdo Kiddie struck for the ‘hill. However, this Inverleith team are never finished, and Finlay Duncan equalised with 52 seconds left.

In the shoot-out, great goalkeeping kept out the first two Grove Menzieshill’s efforts. However, Ollie Wilson and Alex Marsland weren’t to be denied and Inverleith wrapped up a 2-0 win on penalties.

In the presentations, George Thornton (Youth Competitions Manager) paid tribute to the umpires and officials who had worked so hard to run 18 back-to-back matches on a superb day’s hockey. Anne Wotherspoon, Chair of the International Appointments Panel, presented the medals and trophy.

U18 Boys Indoor Champions – Inverleith (Photo: David McCarthy)

Next weekend, the U15 Boys and Girls Indoor Finals will be held at The Peak in Stirling.

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