From the U18 Hockey

We began the day playing against Bromley High; having just arrived, we didn't have long to prepare before our match started. It was a very tight game involving numerous short corner attempts from both teams, a Bromley penalty flick, and many amazing saves from Molly. Despite all of these efforts, our team was able to avoid conceding a goal, resulting in a 0-0 finish.

Our next match was against Oxford. When qualifying for the final’s day, we did defeat them, so expectations were high. This again was a close match with everyone hoping for a win, especially after our disappointing draw with Bromley. Luckily, in the second half we scored a deflection goal, giving everyone a newfound determination to not concede a goal. The end score was 1-0.

The last match we played before lunch was against Newcastle High. Of course, we entered this match with the desire to win, however, in order to finish at the top of our group in preparation for the semifinals, we had to win by at least 5 goals. We began with a slow start: only achieving 1 goal in the first half but improved after half time, scoring five more goals! We finished this group stage at the top with Bromley qualifying second.

We played Newcastle High in our final game before lunch. Naturally, we entered this match with the desire to win, however, in order to finish at the top of our group in preparation for the semifinals, we had to win by at least 5 goals. We began with a slow start: only achieving 1 goal in the first half but improved after half time, scoring five more goals! We finished this group stage at the top with Bromley qualifying second.

The final match was yet again against Bromley. With an earlier draw, everyone walked onto the pitch with butterflies in their stomachs. We scored the first goal with a great deflection, however, in the last 7 minutes, Bromley scored an equalising goal, meaning that it was down to shuffles again. For many of those who attended or read about the GDST rally last year may remember that we won against Bromley on shuffles, so this moment seemed familiar. The final score was 5-4 on shuffles, meaning a victory for Wimbledon!

Well done everyone!