Having emphatically won the Kent and East tournaments already this season, the Sevenoaks under-12 girls hockey team travelled to Nottingham Hockey Centre for the National Clubs IN2 Hockey Finals on Saturday.
The start did not go according to plan when they conceded an early goal in their first match against the Midlands champions Beeston, however the team showed great strength of character and composure to turn the match around and win 2-1 with both goals from captain Lottie Bingham.
Next up were Yeovil and Sherbourne (runners up from the West) and this was an easier match with Sevenoaks cruising to an 8-0 victory in with goals from Josefina Hippe, Anna Faulstich (2), Phoebe Gough Cooper (2), Olivia Breed (2) and Bingham.
In the third group game, Sevenoaks beat Alderley Edge from the North 4-0 (Hippe, Gough-Cooper, Breed and Gale).
The final group game was against Teddington and Sevenoaks won 2-0 with both goals from Breed to win the group convincingly with maximum points. The final was against the winners of the other group Surbiton, who they had already beaten twice this season.
Surbiton scored first, but Gough-Cooper equalised soon after. Surbiton scored again and then Bingham levelled the game at 2-2. Despite continued pressure the scoreline remained the same at the final whistle, and so the competition was decided by penalty flicks. On this occasion Surbiton were the victors and Sevenoaks had to settle for the runners up medals.
The whole squad should be congratulated on a fantastic season and although it ended in huge disappointment the girls, they should be proud of being in the top two teams in the country. Special mention to Duncan Parnis the coach whose dedication and commitment has made the girls so successful.
The squad on the day was: Pascale Pottier (GK), Jessica Lewis, Anna Faulstich, Camille Poracchia, Lottie Bingham, Olivia Breed, Josefina Hippe, Evie Hemming, Phoebe Gough Cooper and Jessie Gale.
Coach: Duncan Parnis; Assistant Coach/Manager: Ruth Bingham.
