HC Knole Park beat local neighbours Sevenoaks HC 3-1 on Sunday in the club’s first ever U18 fixture. The victory was sealed with goals from Elloise Paler, Amelie Allen and Olivia Breed. In a very high quality match, the victory was the perfect start to the season for Knole Park’s newly introduced U18 team.
In a very even first ten minutes both sides created good chances. Knole Park won a few penalty corners and tested the goalkeeper, likewise Sevenoaks saw a chance go begging just inches in front of goal! It was however Sevenoaks who broke the deadlock when their new England U18 signing scored after some confusion in the Knole Park defence. Not to be perturbed, Knole Park continued to play and dominated the ball and shortly after, a sweeping full pitch passing move started by Elloise Paler was then finished off in style by the flying half back. Elloise has been superb since joining Knole Park over the summer and her performance throughout this match was outstanding.
The second half was a similar format as both teams played some brilliant hockey and created chances. Alice Reeve in goal for Knole Park was excellent throughout making a number of excellent saves. Betrys Galloni and Jessica Lewis also managed to keep the Sevenoaks threats at bay. The midfield trio of Lottie Bingham, Anna Faulstich and Sasha Kelbrick were also exceptional in midfield.
15 minutes into the second half it was the quality of the Knole Park girls who managed to break the stalemate as they scored goals number two and three of the match in relatively quick succession. Another excellent passing move saw Alex Sewell roll in Annabel Cheveley who squared the ball to Amelie Allen who netted for a 2-1 lead, Olivia Breed then capitalised on some scrappy defending as she scored Knole Park’s third goal which gave Knole Park a landmark 3-1 victory in their first U18 fixture!
Many congratulations to all the players on both sides for an excellent U18 match. Both sides should be exceptionally proud of how they played.
