Winners Crowned at Notts Sport Boys and Girls School National Championships

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre played host to the finals of the Notts Sport Boys Under 18 Tier 1 Championships and the Girls Under 18 Tier 1 Championships this week, with some fantastic hockey on show on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Sincere congratulations go to Repton School for their double victory, and a huge well done to all of the players, staff and officials who made for two great days of hockey in the capital.

Notts Sport Boys Under 18s Tier 1 Finals
In Wednesday’s semi finals, Repton and Whitgift played out an absolute thriller in their game, with Repton eventually prevailing 2-0 in a shootout after a 3-3 draw. Repton took the lead through Sam Cossey, but Whitgift raced into a 3-1 lead thanks to Matthew Hughson, Luke Holland and Morten Andersen, the third coming in the 44^th minute. But skipper James Gould soon got Repton’s second with a corner, and Tom Stahl scored in the 58^th minute to level matters at 3-3. Tyler Kim and Harry Stone scored to give Repton a 2-0 win in the shootout, and credit must also go to their goalkeeper Lorenz Fusch as his team overcame a spirited Whitgift side who could very much hold their heads high.

The other semi-final was also an end-to-end affair, Kingston Grammar School prevailing 3-2 against Taunton. Ben Chaffey’s tenth-minute field goal gave Taunton the lead, only for Theo Pawsey-Persaud to level matters. Jacob Pengelly again gave Taunton the advantage, but late corners from Tom Fox and Dan Roberts saw Kingston come through 3-2. Again, both teams could hold their heads high.

In the third-fourth match, it was Whitgift who dusted themselves down to take the win. Although Whitgift came through to win 6-1, it was Taunton who opened the scoring through William Harvey. Joshua Tikare made it 1-1 before half time, and five goals in the last 30 minutes saw Whitgift home.

After so many goals, it was perhaps no surprise that the final was a little less free-scoring. Repton took the lead in the fifteenth minute thanks to a James Gould penalty corner, and it was not until the 46^th that either side troubled the scorers once more, Gould again on target with a corner, his third goal in two games.

And so it was captain Gould himself who lifted the coveted trophy, his team expertly led by coach Neville Rothman to this prestigious title at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.

Girls Under 18s Tier 1 Finals
Each of the semi-finals saw five goals as the girls tournament got off to an exciting start in Wednesday’s semis.

First up was Cranleigh against Dean Close, with the latter edging it by the odd goal in five. All five goals were scored in a back-and-forth fashion, Dean Close scoring first only for Cranleigh to reply, the same then happening again before Emma Howitt’s eventual winner on 59 minutes to make it 3-2.

In the other semi-final, Repton scored on 17 minutes through Tilly Butterworth, but were kept at bay by Millfield until the 48^th minute when Claudia Swain struck. Sienna Dunn and Swain then made it 4-0 quite quickly as the game opened up, with Maya Kendell getting Millfield’s consolation on 67 minutes.

Both losing semi-finalists went into the third-fourth match trying to end on a high, and it was perhaps fitting that they shared third place following a 2-2 draw. Kendell put Millfield ahead at the interval before Eliza Wheeler and Boua-Lilly Shepherd put Cranleigh in the driver’s seat, only for Anna Edwards to ensure the spoils were shared at 2-2.

Like in the Boys event, the Girls final proved to be the lowest-scoring of any of the four matches across two days, perhaps a sign of the understandable tension in the air. Miranda Jackson’s two goals proved to be decisive for Repton, the first coming on 28 minutes. When her second went in right at the death on 69 minutes, there was to be no way back for Dean Close, unfortunately. So it was Repton’s captain Swain who lifted the trophy to crown a remarkable day for their school, securing both trophies.