U16 and U18 Girls Inter Districts Report

There was another action-filled weekend of hockey at the weekend as the Glasgow National Hockey Centre played host to the U18 and U16 Girls Inter Districts competitions.

Two days of excellent hockey were played out as Scotland’s youth international coaches and managers got together to select the squads for the Scotland U16 and U18 performance programmes.

Teams from seven districts took part over the weekend – East; North; West; Midlands; Highland; South; South West and a joint squad of MidEastWest took the number of teams to eight.

U16 Competition

On what was a misty morning in Glasgow the U16 tournament got off to a flying start with twelve goals scored over the first two games. Midland, last year’s winners, enjoyed a 5-0 victory over South West with Lucy Smith scoring two of the five. Over on pitch two, last year’s runners up, West, put seven goals past a hard working North side with Kirsty Cannon netting a hat trick.

Midland continued their dominance into their second match inflicting an 8-0 defeat on North. In what was a very one-sided match Midland proved to be clinical in front of goal. Goals in this match came from a variety of players including Lucy Smith, Izzy Folan, Ellie Stott (2), Hannah Marchant (2), Ellie Ritchie and Ruth Blaikie.

East proved to be too strong for South, defeating them 6-0. Georgia Jones bagged a brace with Olivia Bell, Katy Martin, Tori Williamson and Sophie McGlynn claiming the other goals.

The final games of day one in the U16 competition saw West take on South and East play against South West. Both East and West went into the game knowing victory would see them tied on six points with Midland going into day two. It was West who claimed the victory as they put six goals past South to claim the three points, while East defeated South West 4-0.

Day two started in very misty conditions but this did not stop the players from showcasing their potential to the national coaches. North claimed their first three points of the competition with a 2-1 win over South. West began the day with a 4-0 victory over South West with goals coming from Lucy Williamson (2), Kisten Canon, and Katie Allison.

The second matches of the day began as the sun finally started to make an appearance in Glasgow. East claimed a vital three points at the expense of Midland in a 2-1 victory. Early in the second half East took the lead through Katy Martin before they doubled their lead through a goal from their captain Olivia Bell. Midland pulled one back late in the game through Shona Campbell but it was not enough as East held on for the victory.

South West picked up their first three points of the tournament with a tremendous win over North. Lucy Bliss scored three of the four goals with Emily Clark getting the other.

West took a vital step towards clinching the title after beating East by two goals to one – goals coming from Kisten Cannon and Katie Allison from West, and Georgia Jones claiming the goal for East. The result meant West were out right leaders of the group on twelve points, with both Midland and East on nine with one game remaining. Midland made sure they kept the pressure on West with a 2-0 victory over South.

East’s final game saw them defeat North by six goals to nil. They would have to wait until the last match to find out their fate. On pitch two South West overcame South beating them 2-0 to claim fourth place.

Midland versus West would be the deciding game of the competition with West needing just a point to claim the title. Midland took the lead through Lucy Smith but West grabbed a goal back shortly before half time through Lucy Williamson. This goal proved vital as the result remained level making West District outright winners of the competition with East as runners up.

Final Placings:

1^st West

2^nd East

3rd Midland

4^th South West

5^th North

6^th South

U18 Competition

The U18 event also got off to a high scoring start with a total of nine goals scored over the first two games. In Pool A, Midland 18s equalled the 16s’ score by beating the hybrid team of EastMidWest by five goals with Katie Stott netting three. West began the competition with a strong 4-0 win over North. Emma McDiarmid grabbed two goals with Kayleigh Justice and Lucy Findlay netting the other two.

The second matches of the competition saw East take on Highland, and South West face South in Pool A. East were last year’s winners and didn’t lose a match in 2015; they were determined to carry on their winning streak. The district secured a comfortable 11-0 victory over the Highlanders with both Katie McCullum and Ella Watt bagging a brace. Over on pitch two, a much closer game took place with both sides having chances. South West took the lead through Lexi Sabatelli, however South responded in the second half with a goal from Jenny Wright. Both teams pushed for an equaliser and South West had the ball in the back of the net. The goal was disallowed and the game finished 1-1 with the teams sharing the points.

In Pool B Midland secured a 2-0 win over North in what was a tough game for both sides. North made it very difficult for Midland to secure all three points. Next on the pitch, it was West’s turn to take on the hybrid team, and West came out on top with a 4-0 victory; securing their place in the semi-finals alongside Midland who they were yet to face.

East secured their place in the semi-finals with a hard-fought 2-1 win over South. In a close match there were ten minutes remaining when East broke the deadlock through Katie MacCallum. They then doubled their lead five minutes later through Ella Watt. This goal proved to be vital as with three minutes remaining South grabbed a goal back through Tara Aitchison. East managed to hold on and collect all three points.

South West claimed their first win of the tournament by inflicting a 6-0 defeat over Highland. Imogen Davies claimed two of the goals with Rebecca Conroy, Louise Redpath, Mirrin Gillespie and Lexi Sabatelli also getting on the scoresheet. The result meant South West and South were fighting for the second semi-final place and it would be decided after the last matches in Pool A.

Midland took on West in the final Pool B match which would decide who tops the group. It was Midland who prevailed after a last minute penalty flick, scored by Emily Dark, to win 1-0. Midland therefore claimed first place in Pool B with West finishing runner up.  The other match in Pool B finished North 0 EastMidWest 2.

South and Highland were playing on pitch two and South took an early lead through Imogen Johnston Jones. For the remainder of the match it was very close with both teams having chances. However South secured the win with two late goals from Lucy Murray. This was not enough to claim a semi-final place however as South West held East to a goalless draw meaning both these sides were through to the semis.

The classification matches began for the 18s on Sunday with districts competing for positions 5-8. In the first crossovers North achieved a hard fought 2-1 victory over South, elsewhere the hybrid team of EastMidWest defeated Highland 2-0. These results meant that South would face Highland for 7^th and 8^th and North would play EastMidWest for 5^th and 6^th.

Next up was the semi-finals where East took on West, and South West faced Midland. East were looking to make the final for a second year in a row however they were completely outplayed by a strong West side who were able to advance to the final with a 5-0 victory over their rivals from the East. Goals in this match came from Lucy Findlay, Abi Harrowell, Kayleigh Justice, Marnie Richmond and Sammy Bell.

Midland were looking to continue their unbeaten run in the competition, South West however had other ideas. Goals from Louise Redpath and Rachel Bain and a consolation goal for Midland after the hooter saw South West win 2-1 and advance to the final to play West. East would play Midland to battle for 3^rd and 4^th place.

Disappointed not to make the final both East and Midland were determined to finished third – the game was set to be a close encounter. The match was indeed very close with Midland leading 2-1 until the final minute when Alex Massey netted to bring the scores level and send the match to penalties. Emily Cross for East scored the decisive penalty giving East a 4-3 victory in the shootout therefore claiming third place with Midland having to settle for fourth.

Over on pitch two EastMidWest fought hard against North to claim 5^th place with a 1-0 win; the solo goal coming from Sarah McTaggart. South comfortably beat Highland 6-1 to take 7^th with Highland finishing 8^th.

The final was a very hard fought match, South West made it difficult for West but it was West who came out on top as 2-0 winners with Abi Harrowell and Kayleigh Justice securing the title.

Final placings:

1^st West

2^nd South West

3^rd East

4^th Midland

5^th EastMidWest

6^th North

7^th South

8^th Highland

Photographs by Duncan Gray and Mark Pugh.

Duncan Gray: http://www.duncolm.co.uk/

Mark Pugh: https://mpsphotography.smugmug.com/

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