Girls Hockey: U16 County Cup Report
Position: 3rd Place
The U16 Hockey team did themselves and the school very proud at the recent U16 County Cup. With the school not running an U16 team for regular fixtures during the term, the squad was made up of Y10s, usually playing for the U15A team and Y11s playing in either the 1st or 2nd senior teams. With only limited sessions to prepare as a team, the players were very focused to make sure they gelled, and had the key tactical and structural things right as a group.
The evening started on a high as the motivated team took on Framlingham College to won against their more favoured opponents. Woodbridge defended with all they had and made sure they built fast counterattacks, one of which stunned the opposition as the ball ended in the back of their goal. A big onslaught of attacks followed but the Woodbridge defence stood firm giving Woodbridge a 1-0 win!
The team could not quite get their concentration and efforts up to the same level for the next match against Ipswich School. Lack of experience, slow decision making and lapses in concentration resulted in Ipswich School having 3 uncontested attempts at goal and they made no mistake. Unfortunately these three moments decided a game in which otherwise Woodbridge wasn’t outplayed by any stretch. But it is the score line that counts and Ipswich were deserved winners, 0-3.
Woodbridge started slowly against St Joseph’s but found their stride after about ten minutes. For the second half of the match it was all Woodbridge but we were just unable to score. The St Joseph’s goalkeeper managed to stop the final effort every time as Woodbridge did everything right apart from score. 0-0 was the final score.
The last match of the evening was against Ipswich High. Woodbridge spent much of this game in their own half, unable to build quality attacks reliably. As legs and minds fatigued, players opted to run with the ball rather than pass, resulting in too many turnovers of possession. Issy Cory made key saves to keep Woodbridge in a match that by the final few minutes our girls were dominating. This last period of possession and sustained pressure on the Ipswich High D was however not enough and again the teams had to settle for a 0-0 draw.
Woodbridge thoroughly deserved their 3rd place in this event and will look back thinking “perhaps we could have even gone one better”… But that is sport, and our girls were magnificent, and showed great sportsmanship on the night.
There were outstanding performances from a number of players: Eleanor Berridge and Maud Peel in defence showed composure, speed and good decision making; Harriet Petley was influential in the midfield and was one of the outstanding players of all the teams; Maddie Craig ran miles on the night, winning the ball in the press and building attack after attack, using her speed to good effect; and Issy Cory played well in goal and made some telling saves.
Thanks to Sophie Little who was an excellent team manager and supporter for the evening..
