AKS U13 are celebrating after another fantastic performance as the U13 Hockey squad finished 3rd in the NW In2 Hockey finals after a closely fought and nail biting day which saw 4 teams vying for the title. The first match of the North West Finals saw us up against Queen Elizabeth 2 School from the Isle of Man. We started well and played some superb passing hockey and Sophia T found the net to take us ino the lead. This settled the nerves and Sophia T and Alyssa W attacked at pace to put the QE 2 defence under pressure and eventually this told as Alyssa and Sadie A found the net to secure a 3 – 0 win and our first points on the board. Our second game against Kirkby Stephen School saw us record our second 3 – 0 win with a superb corner goal from Sadie A and further goals from Sophia T and Alyssa W. Game three against Manchester High was always going to be tough and so it proved to be. Manchester High started on the front foot and attacked at pace putting us under pressure from first whistle. Good defending from Penny A, Sadie A and Evie B and some great saves from keeper Faye J thwarted their initial efforts but they did find the net from a corner to take an early lead. Manchester went further ahead with an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net but we rallied and started to create some scoring opportunities of our own and when Sophia T found the net with 5 minutes to go the result was again in the balance. Lifted by the goal we threw everything at Manchester but could not find the net and the score remained at 1 – 2. With everything still all to pay for we went into the third game against Greenbank High in positive mood and the scene was set when Alyssa W found the net after only 30 seconds. We then dominated play and scored some great goals with Charlotte R netting 4, Alyssa 3, Sadie A 2 and Sophia T netting to make it an impressive win which did wonders for our goal difference! Our final group game against Kings School Macclesfield proved the crunch game with a place in the semi-final to play for! In an even first 5 minutes both teams had scoring opportunities but it was Kings who got their noses infront midway through the game. With a semi-final place on the line we again raised our game and managed to score and both had to settle for a point but this proved enough as we progressed into the semis on goal difference. The semi-final saw us against the top team of the opposite group, Kings School, Chester. It was another tough match with all the team having to be at their best. Kings won several corners but great corner defence kept them at bay and the scores remained level. Kings were always dangerous and they went ahead but the team continued to work hard and more great defending and fast attacking play saw us deservedly score when Alyssa W force the ball over the line after her initial shot had been saved. The teams could not be separated by the final whistle and so it was down to penalty strokes to decide the winners. Three brave souls Alyssa W, Sadie A and Sophia T stepped up to take stokes and all scored with their first efforts but Kings also scored despite the best efforts by Faye Jackson who was close to saving several of the Kings strokes. The results went on to sudden death strokes. More great efforts followed but a great diving save by the Kings keeper saw her tip our final effort round the post to take Kings in to the final and we had to settle for 3rd/4th place play-off. Although disappointed not to be in the final to the girls great credit they raised their game in the 3rd / 4th match against Manchester High to reverse the defeat of the group stages to win 1 – 0 thanks to a great goal from Alyssa Woodman and so finish in 3rd place in the North West. Overall a great day of hockey with the top 4 schools only separated by penalty shoot outs and anyone of them could have finished in top spot.
