King’s U16s Hockey Team Make History at Regional Indoor Finals

The U16s began their indoor campaign with their zonal round last week. They played three matches, winning two against Newcastle-Under-Lyme School (3-0) and Rugby School (1-0) and drawing with Malvern 2-2. This meant they progressed to the Regional Finals as the winners of their zone. The team made good progress throughout the afternoon, and confidence was high going into the Regional Finals this Tuesday.

Despite the snow and difficult travelling conditions, the girls arrived at Repton in high spirits. Their first game was against King’s High Warwick, and they started with intensity, forcing the opposition into early mistakes and scoring an early goal to settle the nerves. Amelia M. capitalised on a mistake by their goalkeeper to open the scoring. They continued to dominate possession, restricting King’s High to very few goal-scoring opportunities. Charlotte B. added another goal, slotting in at the far post after an excellent dribble from Hermoine P. The game finished 2-0, with the girls controlling the match from start to finish, though they could have been more clinical in front of goal.

Next up was Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and despite conceding an early goal, the girls kept their composure and soon equalised through a well-taken goal by Hermoine P. They began to trust in their game plan, passing the ball fluently and not allowing NULS to settle or gain possession. Hermoine P. went on to score another eight goals in the game—a fantastic achievement—and Charlotte B. also got back on the scoresheet, leading to a commanding 10-3 victory. This result sent a strong message to the other teams, showcasing their goal-scoring prowess.

The final pool game was against host school Repton. Knowing they had already qualified for the semi-finals, a few early mistakes gave Repton the upper hand, allowing them to record a 4-0 victory. Despite this setback, the girls remained focused on the job ahead, confident that a return to their earlier positive play would put them in an excellent position.

The semi-final was against Rugby, and the girls executed their game plan to perfection, applying excellent pressure and denying the opposition time on the ball. They connected passes across the pitch and created numerous scoring opportunities, despite the Rugby goalkeeper making many impressive saves. The defensive duo of Daisy F. and Poppy W. shut down Rugby’s attacks and controlled possession from the back. Goals from Hermoine P., Amelia M., and Charlotte B. gave the team a 3-0 lead at half-time. Although Rugby got on the scoresheet after the break, further goals from Mea B. (2) and Hermoine P. secured an impressive 6-1 victory and a place in the final.

A King’s team had never made a Regional Indoor Final before, having suffered multiple semi-final losses in previous years. The girls went into the final with confidence, knowing they were already the most successful indoor team in King’s history. Despite an excellent early penalty stroke save from goalkeeper Henri V., fatigue set in, and they struggled to keep up with Repton’s free-flowing and fast-paced game. Repton emerged as worthy winners, but the girls should be exceptionally proud of their performance and their silver medals. With only two Year 11 pupils in the squad of 10, eight players are eligible to compete in the same age group next season—a particularly exciting prospect!