U16 and 1st XI both win Cheshire Hockey Finals
Sunday 14th January: the U16 and 1st Xl hockey teams led by Robert Matthew
Jones and Chris Littler respectively both won their Cheshire Cup Final at
Bellevue, Manchester. On a sunny but bitterly cold day both sides put in
excellent team performances to beat strong opposition from East Cheshire. Early
in the afternoon the U16 played Altrincham Grammar School who, with a number of
talented players from Bowden Hockey Club, promised to be tough opposition. An
early goal from Jacques Bonfrer seemed to settle the nerves and two further
goals from Andrew Clarke and Tom Boys just before half-time, gave the team a
fully deserved 3-0 lead. A half-time team talk from Mr Topping asked the boys to
keep their shape, concentrate, defend well and "there was no way Altrincham
would score three goals in the second half". However, a goal midway through the
second half gave Altrincham a glimmer of hope, this was aided by an untimely
yellow card given to Jonathan Moxon-Brown, our goalkeeper, for kicking the ball
from outside the D. Alastair Allen proved to be a reliable substitute goalkeeper
and was helped with some excellent defending by Oliver Jones close to the goal
line. A late goal by Andrew Clarke settled the score at 4-1. A thoroughly
deserved win, the team will now go on to compete in the NW semi finals later
this term.
In the second game the 1st XI played Sandbach School. We started well with an early goal from Tom Boys who clearly still had enough energy left from his previous match. The game was then fairly even with both sides creating a number of good chances but unable to convert them into goals. 1-0 at half-time there was still everything to play for, Sandbach seemed gain control of the game for the first 15 minutes of the second and could easily have drawn level. The defence held tight and with 5 minutes left to play Chris Littler scored to secure a well deserved win 2-0 win. It was a team performance and should give them every confidence they can go further in the North West regional competition later this term.
Click in the photographs for a larger image
Post Match Report and Press Release by Neil Frowe:
Grins All Round for Twin Winners
New Brooms Help Old Hands Sweep to Victory in Cheshire Cup
Two resounding victories on Sunday led to Birkenhead School being crowned Cheshire Champions, twice. The U-18 XI beat Sandbach School 2-0, whilst the U16XI triumphed 4-1 over Altrincham Grammar School. Tom Boys achieved the notable feat of scoring in both matches.
In the tightly contested final against a strong Sandbach XI, goals from Chris Littler and Tom Boys saw School home 2-0. Then game was mostly contested in midfield, but was not without incident. ‘Goals apart, perhaps the decisive moment was when Sion Owen made a desperate goal-line clearance when School were 1-0 up, keeping the lead intact. Whilst we were in front throughout, we did very well to resist a determined 15 minute onslaught from Sandbach during the second half,’ noted Captain Chris Littler. It was his third final, and this time he captained his team to a memorable victory. The Old Guard played well, and have some excellent youngsters coming up,’ he added, and indeed Edward James, Oliver Jones, Andrew Clarke and Tom Boys had a short breather before, fresh from one victory, they took the field again for the U-16 final.
The road to the final led the U-18’s via a 6-2 victory over Cheadle Hulme, and a win 3-0 on penalites after the match with Kings, Macclesfield ended 0-0. ‘The Kings Mac match was a tough one, and many who played in it will remember the cruel grip of cramp during the closing stages!’ remarked James Boumphrey, wryly!
An incident –packed U-16 final opened with Jacques Bonfrer’s first minute goal. His 6 yard slap was the perfect start, settling nerves, and boosting confidence. All went smoothly, until at 3-1 up, keeper Jonathan Moxon-Brown was judged to have kicked the ball whilst outside the D. His 5 minutes in the sin-bin brought Allastair Allen into the keeper’s gloves, and Altrincham threw everything into attack. Two goal-line clearances from Oliver Jones maintained the two goal cushion, and the match ended 4-1.
U-16 Captain Robert Mathew-Jones is generous in his appreciation of his team: ‘Jacques’ slapshot got us off to a great start, and Clarkie picked up two classic striker’s goals, tapping-in from good crosses. They may look easy, but you’ve got to be in the right place, and you only get one chance at them. Tom’s goal was well taken, and we were pleased for him, as he scored in both matches! It was a great team performance, with Allastair standing in as keeper, and Ollie saving our bacon twice… Altrincham kept up the pressure right to the end, even though they were behind for the whole game!’
The U-16 XI had already managed to collect scalps from Kings, Macclesfield, (5-2); Knutsford High School, (5-1) and Kings Chester (8-2).
Dennis Topping, School Hockey Coach added his approval: ‘It was a good day’s work: now for the next stage!’
And finally a selection of photos taken by Mr Warren. Click on the photo for a larger image.
