Watsonians and Edinburgh HC are Under 14 Champions

This season’s youth club competitions reached an exciting conclusion on 4 June, with the U14 National Club Cup Finals. After a thrilling day’s action, both finals went to penalty shoot-outs before Watsonians girls and Edinburgh HC boys were crowned the 2022-23 champions.

The Finals were held on a glorious sunny day at Strathallan School in the stunning Perthshire countryside. A large crowd enjoyed 16 high-quality matches involving the top six girls’ and boys’ teams who had qualified from regional competitions during the season.

U14 Girls Cup

Pool A

GHK made a strong start to the day with a 6-0 win against Dundee Wanderers. Lula Neilson scored twice, with Luisa Cartwright, Neve McQuilter, Rebecca Burgess and Mae Fraser adding the others.

The Dundee Wanderers’ girls found it tough in the heat with only 10 players, losing 11-0 to Watsonians in their second match. Goalscorers were Jessica Forman (3), Sophie Hogarth (3), Sadie Hart (2), Lucy Scott (2) and Ava Forrest.

In an exciting last match, Watsonians won the Pool with a hard-fought 1-0 win v GHK. Ava Forrest’s strike was the only goal of the game, and it took a strong defensive effort to thwart a talented GHK team.

Pool B

Inverleith came out of the traps quickly, scoring two goals in the first four minutes against Edinburgh HC. It ended up 5-0 with goals from Jessica Hayward (2), Ellis Taylor (2) and Eleri Jones.

Edinburgh HC and Clydesdale Western then served up a six-goal thriller for an appreciative crowd. It was 1-1 at half-time, but the Glaswegians sealed a 4-2 win with a last-minute goal.

Finally, Inverleith had another 5-0 win, against Clydesdale Western, to win the Pool. Eleri Jones, Jessica Hayward and Amelia Wilson scored within the first nine minutes, before two second-half goals rounded off the win.

Girls’ Final

The Final burst into life in the 2nd minute when Jessica Forman’s strike put Watsonians ahead. However, a stunning reverse strike from Tamzin Ralph equalised five minutes later. In the 15th minute it was 2-1 to Watsonians when Sadie Hart scored a brilliant solo goal, sprinting from the half-way line before finishing from a narrow angle.

In a thrilling, end-to-end match, both sides had chances before Tamzin Ralph scored her second to make it 2-2. Both goalkeepers made good saves to ensure it stayed that way until full-time.

Inverleith took an early lead in the penalty shoot-out when goalie Niamh Lowe saved from Forman. However, ‘Sonians goalie Alyssa Davis made two great saves, and team-mates Lucy Scott, Gracie Mitchinson and Sophie Hogarth all scored to give them a 3-2 lead. Amelia Wilson equalised for the purples, but Emily Wallace kept her cool to score the winner, making it 4-2 for Watsonians.

Over on pitch 2, GHK sealed third place with a good 2-0 win over Clydesdale Western, bringing an excellent girls’ competition to a close.

Watsonians – U14 Girls Club Cup Winners
Photo: David McCarthy

U14 Boys Cup

Pool A

In a really tight group, Edinburgh HC started Pool A with a 2-0 win against Clydesdale. Ceiba Colquhoun and Hamish Roberts scored the all-important goals. In their second match, Clydesdale held a 1-0 half-time lead. However, Dundee Wanderers scored two late goals to grab a 2-1 win.

With a place in the final at stake, Dundee Wanderers and Edinburgh HC fought out a 0-0 draw, with two excellent defensive performances. That meant Edinburgh HC won the pool on goal difference, by one goal.

Pool B

Watsonians began their day strongly with a 3-0 win against Hillhead. Jonny Lambert did the damage with an impressive hattrick. However, the maroons’ next match was a different story, as they found themselves 4-0 down to Inverleith after only 15 minutes. A strong second-half comeback by Watsonians wasn’t enough and Inverleith ended up 5-3 winners.

Inverleith held a slender 2-1 half-time lead against a hard-working Hillhead team in the deciding match. However, the purples turned on the style in the second half to record an impressive 5-1 win and book their place in the final.

Boys’ Final

The Boys’ final was an enthralling, end-to-end battle, with defences and goalkeepers on top form. Ceiba Colquhoun finished off a good move to give Edinburgh HC a 1-0 lead at half-time, which looked like being the winner.  However, with only two minutes to go, Alex Eckersall slid the ball into the corner of the goal to equalise for Inverleith and take it to penalties.

In the shoot-out, Will Colhoun, James Gordon and Alex Buckley all scored for Edinburgh HC; and Simon Temperley, Kaze Cordero and Charles Bremner were successful for Inverleith. The purples had a chance to win it, but EHC goalie Bryce Forbes made a superb save to make it 3-3 after five penalties each. That meant ‘sudden death’, and once again Forbes made a fantastic save from Cordero. Edinburgh HC’s James Gordon then scored the winning penalty to claim the title and begin the celebrations.

Dundee Wanderers’ boys finished on a high with a well-earned 2-1 win against Watsonians to give them 3rd place.

Edinburgh HC – U14 Boys Club Cup Winners
Photo: David McCarthy

It had been excellent day of youth hockey, and thanks must go to all the volunteers, umpires and coaches for their contribution to a great occasion. We’re also very grateful to the Scotland U18 boys’ parents who provided teas, coffees and snacks, and to Ross and Ollie from the U18 squad who presented the medals.

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