U12 Boys:

Telford and Wrekin U12 Boys travelled to Ratcliffe College on Sunday in the In2Hockey Regional finals.

They had a very strong group in front of them being drawn against Stourport, North Staffs and Loughborough Town.

Game 1 was against Stourport. The lads competed well and had their fair share of the ball and possession in the attacking half. They lost 2-0 with the fine margins making a difference in a game where both sides played some good hockey and a good spirit.

North Staffs were next who also proved to be a very strong opponent, North Staffs were ruthless taking a 3-0 lead, but Louie Lawrence scored a late consolation goal for Telford from a short corner.

Loughborough who had lost their previous two games allowed Telford to get their first win of the day after Elliot Blackie was on hand to slot home early on to give Telford the lead after some nice work by James Ashbridge down the right-hand side. More chances came and went but Telford could not convert and ran out 1-0 winners. Charlie Heath and Keertan Dhanjal were on hand to thwart any Lufbra attacks, and Seth Bunn cleared well when necessary.

A respectable 3rd place in the group stage as eventual winners Stourport beat North Staffs in the final, showing the quality of opposition that the lads faced.

Towcester were Telford’s opposition in the placement fixtures. The lads put in a strong performance but conceded an early goal to go 1-0 down. Despite Telford’s dominance and pressure they could not convert any of their chances and just fell short in a game that they should have won.

No matter, Northampton Saints were next and yet again the lads dominated proceedings but could not convert their chances. The game finished 0-0 and the dreaded penalty strokes decided the winner. Oscar Johnson, James and Louie put their hands up stepped up for Telford. James took the first and flicked into the left hand side netting to give Telford the advantage. Seth Bunn was primed in goal and saved Saints’ first stroke comfortably. Oscar was next. Low and hard was the instruction and Oscar delivered. He sent the keeper the wrong way and slotted into the bottom right-hand corner. Unsavable. Seth delivered the goods saving Saints’ 2nd stroke to send Telford into the 12th/13th play off.

Ashby were the final opposition of the day. The lads saw lots of the ball in the opening exchanges and created early chances. Not converting these chances was the story of the day and it looked like Telford were heading for another set of penalty strokes. Keertan maruaded his was down the left with some flashy inside pulls, a little 1-2 with Louie provided Louie the chance to get a strike at goal. Bang. Bottom left with 30 seconds on the clock saw Telford win their final game of the day.

The lads put in some really good performances all day against some quality opposition. They worked their socks off all day and should be proud of the way that they represented the club.

Thanks to all the parents who came to support, and Raj for umpiring! Another great day for the club!

Telford and Wrekin U12 Boys:

Freddie Morgan, Nathaniel Hale, Elliot Blackie, Charlie Heath, Oscar Johnson, Louie Lawrence, Seth Bunn (GK), James Ashbridge ©, Keertan Dhanjal

U12 Girls:

The under 12 girls team were placed in a tough group for regionals and unfortunetly lost 3-0 in the first group game against a strong Bestow side, the girls battled hard and Ellie made some great saves to keep the score line low. They then went on to play Leek where they created lots of chances and managed to win 2-0 goals coming from Alisa and Daisy. They then suffered a narrow defeat against Rugby 1-0. After the group games the girls went on to win their next 3 fixtures. 1-0 win against Northampton and 5-0 win against Stone where the girls played some of their best hockey of the day with lots of different goal scorers. The girls then went on to play there final game against Shrewsbury a local Shropshire rival and won 2-1 with a great save by Ellie in goal clearing the ball wide for Daisy to break through the Shrewsbury defence and slap the ball to Ivy who was waiting calmly in front of the goal to first time slap the ball home for the win.

The girls finished in 9th place, well done to all the girls that represented the club at the regionals, Ellie, Zara, Ellie, Amber, Molly, Niamh, Alisa, Daisy and Ivy.