Newark Under-13s beaver their way to the county title
The Newark Hockey Club Otters and Beavers Under-13 girls team won the county title at Highfields Sports Club on Sunday, beating hosts Beeston in the final.
They won 4-0 against Beeston Bees (with three goals from Orla Bamford and one from Lucy Skelton) beat Beeston Whites 6-0 (Frances Taylor 3, Katie McMunn, Bamford, Skelton) and then beat Samworth 3-0 (Bamford 2, McMunn).
The semi-final was a tense affair as they drew 1-1 with Ranby, with Orla Bamford getting the goal, and she scored again in the penalty shoot-out, with Phoebe Duckworth and Frances Taylor getting the others in a 3-2 success.
Beeston Golds scored first in the final, but goals from Lucy Skelton and skipper Taylor earned Newark a 2-1 victory.
They now go on to represent Nottinghamshire in the Midlands tournament at the same venue on April 26.
The Newark squad was:-
Frances Taylor (captain) Chelsey Kerry, Orla Bamford, Lucy Skelton, Phoebe Duckworth, Katie McMunn, Harriet Codd, Amelia Mitchell, Caitlin Furniss and Severine Matthews.
The Newark Under-11s fielded two sides, with the Beavers reaching the semi-finals before going down 2-1 against Beeston Gold.
The Newark men’s 1st XI travelled to Ashbourne without seven of their regulars and went down to a 6-2 defeat in East Midlands one, with the consolation goals coming from Nick Crouch and Adam Reynolds.
Both games involving the Newark ladies’ 1st XI and the Newark ladies’ 3rd XI were cancelled because of frozen pitches, and it was left to the Newark ladies’ 2nd XI to fly the flag for the club against South Nottingham at Bingham Leisure Centre.
The home side had been pushed off the top of Notts League Division One after their shock defeat the previous week, with Newark replacing them at the summit.
The game started at a frenetic pace, with South Notts dominating much of the early play, but they were denied by some brilliant saves from keeper Sophie Chambers.
South Notts were finally rewarded for their efforts with a goal from Rachel Powell just before half-time, following a superb pass from Ali Glazebrook.
In the second half, following a slight change in formation, Newark came out fighting. They began to play their own game of slick passes and incisive runs, but they were unable to break through the home rearguard, and the match ended with a 1-0 win for South Nottingham.
Southwell Brincliffe United Ladies 1st XI travelled to Warwick for a friendly before they return to league action tomorrow.
They started against Warwick 1st XI with only eight players —with the rest were lost in Warwick, including the goalkeeper — but the team pulled together after the home team scored after ten minutes.
The Southwell side managed to pull a goal back following a great pass from Judith Grainger to captain Hannah Wraith who scored with a superb strike into the top left-hand corner.
With 15 minutes of the first half left, the remaining Southwell Brincliffe players finally arrived and, with a full complement of players, the visitors netted a second from Wraith.
After the break, Southwell Brincliffe further consolidated their lead following a short corner routine that saw Wraith complete her hat-trick.
Warwick pulled another goal back, but Southwell Brincliffe held on for an excellent 3-2 win against all the odds.
The Southwell Brincliffe 2nd XI were due to play West Bridgford Monarchs Ladies 2nds in the league but the game was cancelled because of a frozen pitch.
The Southwell Brincliffe 3rd XI played at midday, when the pitch had thawed, but they lost 2-0 against Beeston Ladies 4a.
Both the Southwell Brincliffe Under-11s and Under-13s got a chance to play some competitive hockey as they were both in action at the Nottinghamshire Mini Hockey Championships.
The Under-11s had a great day and lost only one pool game, 2-0 to Beeston (the eventual winners on flicks) beating Newark 2nds 7-0, Hollygirt 5-0 and Grosvenor 3-1. They lost 4-1 in the semi-finals to a very good Ranby House team.
The Under-13s lost to Beeston and Ranby, beat Samworth A 3-0 and drew with Samworth B 0-0. The good news is the U-13s are all aged under 12 so they have another year in the age group.
The Southwell Brincliffe squads were:-
Under-11s: Hattie Carr, Elizabeth Bernhofs, Libby Day, Molly Earle, Emma Cundy, Harriet Ferguson, Ester May, Laura Ford.
Under-13s: Claire Norris, Rachel Norris, Holly Prentice, Jo Thompson, Hattie Carr, Millie Bowes, Ella Hughes, Susannah McMillan, Grace Brown, Naomi Slack.
