England National Teams
11 April 2023

England Age Group Easter Competitions

Over the Easter weekend, the England U18 Boys and Girls travelled to Utrecht for a 3 Nations event with games against the Netherlands and France. Meanwhile, the England U16 Boys and Girls were at Nottingham Hockey Centre, where England hosted a 4 Nations event, with teams from Scotland, Spain and the Netherlands travelling to play some excellent competitive matches.

The U16 Boys had the pick of the results, with resounding wins against Spain and Scotland and a draw against the Netherlands.

Lead Talent Coaches Mark Bateman and Lisa Letchford reflected on the weekend positively. Lisa Letchford commented: “The Easter weekend was, as always, a great weekend of growth for the players, with many receiving their first international caps across the squads and all teams making progress and highlighting some key focus areas.” Mark Bateman said: “Playing tough international opposition was an excellent opportunity for the players to see what is required in upcoming competitions – and to provide them with the experience of what they will need to achieve the goals they have set themselves.”

The squads meet regularly over the coming months, with training camps matches against Ireland, France, Belgium and Germany, before the U18s travel to Krefeld for the U18 European Championships from 7-16 July, whilst the U16s will play in the 8 Nations in Granada from 7-12 July.

Full match reports can be found below.

: Saturday 8 April: England U18 Girls v Netherlands
England 0 – 3 Netherlands
England girls opened the first of their 2 matches against The Netherlands with an excellent 1st half display and were unlucky to concede a well taken Dutch goal in the final minute of the 1st half. The Dutch opened the 2nd half with renewed confidence and, with England somewhat deflated, the away team conceded 2 further goals in the 3rd quarter. To their credit, the England team drew on their resilience, limiting the score to a 3-goal loss.
Sunday 9 April: England U18 Girls v France
England 3 – 0 France
In their 2nd match of the weekend, England raced into an early lead against France, with a well taken goal from Anna Cogdell. However, thoughts of an easy win were set aside as a resilient French side disrupted England’s flow. The performance was lifted by 2 further well-
worked team goals. The first of these was slotted by Amelie Rees. The second led to the award of a penalty stroke, confidently converted by Sienna Dunn.
Monday 10 April: England U18 Girls v Netherlands
England 1 – Netherlands 5
The final match of the weekend opened with a bang! The Netherlands scored after just 3 minutes, but England immediately hit back on the counterattack through Katie Alexander. The Netherlands then added two converted penalty corners, leaving the score 3-1 in their favour after 12 minutes. England dug deep into their energy reserves and maintained that score until the 3rd quarter. Ultimately, the demands of playing a third game in three days, after their opponents had taken a rest day on Sunday, proved too much, especially against such a talented Dutch side, leaving the final score 5-1 in favour of the hosts.
Commenting on the weekend, Head Coach Lisa Letchford said “The 3 Nations has proved to be a great weekend of progress for the team. The energy displayed by the players, and their intent to try new options cannot be faulted. This has given us very clear focus areas, and a great platform to move forward from.”
: Saturday 8 April: England U18 Boys v Netherlands
England 0 – 3 Netherlands
England began their Easter series in an even contest with their Dutch hosts. Despite enjoying long spells of pressure, England were lacking in the final third and were unable to capitalise. The Dutch gained a foothold in the game and took the lead with a well finished deflection. At 1-0 down at halftime, England kept up their intensity and made life difficult for their opponents, moving the ball well and retaining possession. The Dutch were clinical in front of goal and a good noisy crowd saw them add two more goals to see the game out 3-0 winners.
Sunday 9 April: England U18 Boys v France
England 2 – 2 France
A less than perfect start saw England concede inside the opening minute of the game, with the French team looking the fresher of the two sides in the opening exchanges. England soon woke up though and an even game broke out with both teams creating chances to score. England finally grabbed an equaliser before halftime with Sammy Dowds tapping in from close range after some good build up play down the left-hand side. The game continued in the same vein throughout with both sides enjoying good spells and creating chances. England took the lead when Jack Webb (TBB) slammed in a reverse hit from the top of the circle. France were not to be denied though and they equalised late in the game with a back-post finish. England pushed for a late winner but could not find a way past the French keeper and the game finished 2-2.
Monday 10 April: England U18 Boys v Netherlands
England 0 – 7 Netherlands
Three games in three days took its toll on England as they endured a tough day at the office against a clinical Dutch side. England were second best for large spells of the first half and some tired mistakes were punished by their opponents who went 4-0 up with some lethal finishing. The team were able to fashion some chances of their own and had an effort ruled out on the stroke of half-time for dangerous play. England continued to be positive with their small unit play but the fresher Dutch team always carried a threat and wrapped things up with a further 3 goals in the second half.
Head Coach Mark Bateman reflected on the Easter campaign: “Playing two tough, experienced opponents this weekend was a good chance for the lads to experience what is required of them at the upcoming Euros and further forward. There were elements of our game that were good but 3 games in 3 days took its toll – and they will need to be more ruthless to achieve the goals they have set themselves.”
: Saturday 8 April: England U16 Girls v Scotland
England 3 – 1 Scotland
England U16 Girls started slowly in their first international match of the season against Scotland’s Emerging squad, with 11 out of 18 English players in the squad receiving their first caps. A goalless first three quarters saw too many errors and some lucky escapes in the form of excellent saves from Ruby Butterfield and Ruby Massey. In the final quarter, some relentless pressing from Evie Smith led to a turnover and an excellent reverse stick delivery from Smith across goal, for a Scottish defender to deflect in. A moment of individual magic from Evie Grindal saw her carrying through to the top of the circle and turn to create just enough space for a swift forehand strike into the netting. Scotland countered with a goal, before a third England goal secured the win after a penalty corner reverse strike from Grindal.
Sunday 9 April: England U16 Girls v Spain
England 3 – 4 Spain
England came out firing in a much-improved performance against a pacey Spanish team. Both teams showed strong attacking intent from the outset and the play was end-to-end. England’s first goal came from a powerful long-ranging hit into the D from Evie Grindal, masterfully deflected in by Evie Smith. A second came from a penalty stroke converted by Evie Grindal, after her strong carry into the circle was abruptly halted. Spain countered with a well-taken penalty corner drag flicked into the top corner, against the run of play. In the third quarter, England stretched further into the lead with a PCA, scored by the prolific Grindal. Spain edged back into the game with an excellent goal. At 3-2 going into the final quarter, England lost composure and Spain stepped up their attack. Goalkeeper Ruby Massey made some fantastic saves to maintain England’s lead, but awarded a penalty stroke after a questionable tackle, Spain duly converted, and the game was even with seconds to go. Some England naivety led to unforced errors and Spain capitalised from an extremely skilful carry through the heart of the English defence to score their fourth goal, celebrating their win until the final whistle. England left the field gutted to have undone their hard work but with some excellent moments to build on.
Monday 10 April: England U16 Girls v Netherlands
England 2 – 3 Netherlands
With some valuable lessons learned from their narrow defeat to Spain, England brought renewed vision and intensity to their first game against the Netherlands. The game was at a faster pace than anything the girls had experienced before, but they rose to the challenge and played with passion, pressing the Dutch from the off. The Dutch were quick to score two simple goals through slick teamwork and passing, but England were still very much in the game. A penetrating carry and hit into the circle found Bella Muñoz on the left post to score her first goal for her country. The game continued at fast pace, with excellent circle entries and opportunities for the forward line but it wasn’t England’s day for finishing. A rocket PCA drag flick from Biba Mills pinged off the post and an excellent solo carry through the Dutch defence and strike from captain Summer Knight-Thompson was stopped by the Dutch keeper. A sublime Dutch team goal looked to have taken the game out of reach, but in the final quarter, England were the dominant team, with aggressive pressure and attacking intent. A final goal from Beth Gardens was celebrated by England on the final whistle, ending an excellent performance on a high.
Head Coach Don Vinson said: “After a real journey of a first international series, the squad achieved something special today - I’m delighted for them. We will continue to work hard on building a platform from which they can fly – the girls certainly did today."
: Saturday 8 April: England U16 Boys v Scotland
England 10 – 0 Scotland
The England U16 Boys’ first game was against Scotland, with England running out 10-0 winners. Charlie Cook and Will Barber scored hat-tricks, joined by goals from Louis Powell, Marcus Lake, Isaac Dale and Tom Mead. Scotland competed well but struggled to keep up with the pace of play at times, as England were dominant on counterattacks.
Sunday 9 April: England U16 Boys v Spain
England 3 – 1 Spain
On Easter Sunday, England then took on Spain. In a tight first half, both teams had their chances, however good defending and goal keeping kept the score line even until Charlie Cook scored with a brilliant reverse strike to give a 1-0 lead into the break. Ben Mayes stretched the lead in the third quarter with some clever play near the goal, although it wasn’t long till Spain scored their first goal. England defended tirelessly in the fourth quarter, but it was Will Barber who put the game beyond doubt with his fourth goal of the weekend.
Monday 10 April: England U16 Boys v Netherlands
England 2 – 2 Netherlands
Rain and clouds met the teams on the final day, with England taking on The Netherlands to finish off the weekend. England started brightly, with Ollie Bennett picking up the ball near the halfway line and evading some tackles before calmly slotting the ball past the approaching keeper in the fourth minute. The Netherlands hit back immediately in the sixth minute, but Isaac Dale deflected one moments later to push the scoreline to 2-1 after seven minutes. Although the goals dried up, the speed of play didn’t, with both teams defending strongly and requiring high quality saves from their keepers. Eventually, after their fourth re-awarded penalty corner, The Netherlands drew level with a well-placed drag flick. The boys left the field with honours even and both teams looking forward to meeting again in Spain in the summer at the 8 Nations.
Head Coach Jimmy Culnane said: “The weekend was thoroughly enjoyable. It was great to see the lads represent the Lions with pride on home soil. Lots of quality hockey was played against good opposition. The boys are looking forward to further challenges in the months ahead.”