Belhaven Hill School

Co-ed Boarding & Day School for ages 5-13

Girls' Hockey: Loretto Tournament

Girls' Hockey: Loretto Tournament

U11 Girls Hockey Loretto Tournament

Plate Winners

Belhaven 2 – 1 Loretto

Belhaven 1 – 1 St Mary’s

Belhaven 1 – 1 Cundall Manor

Belhaven 0 – 3 Cargilfield

Finished 2nd in pool

Semi Final

Belhaven 0 – 2 Cundall Manor

Plate Final

Belhaven 1 – 0 St Mary’s

Overall 3rd in tournament

 

An early Sunday morning start for the team saw us arrive at Loretto with time to warm up before playing our first match.  The team were warned about short matches and the need to be fully on the ball from the first whistle, as there was no time to ‘get into the match’.  First match up was against Loretto.  Having drawn against them already this term, the girls knew they were a tough opposition.  Right from the start the girls were keen to dominate the pitch.  Good passing between players, running to meet the ball and looking for wide passes allowed the girls to keep possession.  Excellent defending from Poppy and Grace in this match kept the ball away from Hester in goal and a great pass forwards from Alice R allowed Eliza and Alexandra to position themselves ready in the circle.  The first goal was soon scored by Eliza and the girls were smiling.  Good teamwork and passing again allowed us to create space and with an interception of a Loretto pass, we made another quick break up the pitch to score again.  Loretto manage to get one back before the end of the game to make the final result 2-1.

Next match was against St Mary’s.  The play was fairly even all round.  Alice T played well in midfield passing the ball forwards to Lucy and Belhaven managed a good break once more.  The Belhaven attack were ready and scored the first goal of the match.  St Mary’s were keen to get one in their goal and despite some great defending and super saves from Hester, they managed to equalise just before the final whistle, leaving the score 1–1.

Straight away we were then changing pitches to play Cundall Manor.  Having beaten them just yesterday in a thrilling match, we knew they would want revenge.  It was a great game, evenly fought for possession, good passes and some amazing defending by Grace and Poppy with Hester saving some rather high balls!  Alice and Lucy worked brilliantly in midfield and quickly got the ball up to Eliza who was ready to score once more.  We were one goal up with a few minutes left on the stop-watch.  Taking our eyes off the ball a little, Cundall managed to take advantage of the gaps we made on the pitch and once more tested Hester’s goal keeping skills.  A few saves later, the ball made it over the line just before the final whistle.  Another draw 1 – 1.

We finally had a 12 minute break to have a snack and a drink before our final match against Cargilfield.  We knew they were a tough team as they had won all their matches so far.  The Belhaven team were going to need to work hard in this match.  The Cargilfield team had some talented players who found gaps in our positioning and although we defended brilliantly they managed some sneaky goals past Hester.  Play was even throughout and the Belhaven team had some good shots at goal but couldn’t quite get them over the line today.  Unfortunately we lost this match 0 – 3.

 

Having totalled up the points we had finished 2nd in the pool and so were to play the third place team – Cundall Manor.  For the third time in two days, the two teams battled out on the pitch.  Play moved end to end with both teams having shots on goal.  Cundall Manor just got ahead of us in this match to take the lead.

Losing the semi-final now meant we were to face St Mary’s in the plate final.  What a game!  The girls were beginning to tire and I don’t blame them, five back to back matches with little rest in between.  Again, an evenly matched game with equal possession on the ball.  Belhaven had a few shots at goal, only to go wide each time and St Mary’s were fighting hard for the ball too.  Great defending by the Belhaven girls gave them the break they needed once more and the attack found the ball in the shooting circle.  A few rebound shots and it finally went over the line.  The team were thrilled, one goal up and only a few minutes to go.  They needed to stay focused so St Mary’s couldn’t take advantage.  The Belhaven girls played hard to keep possession until the final whistle, winning the game 1 – 0.

 

What a super morning of hockey girls!  You all rose to the challenge and played some great matches.  You showed great stamina and teamwork on the pitch, and didn’t drop your heads when you were a goal down.  I never mind losing to another team if I know you have played your hardest - and you all certainly did today.  Well done!

KG