U12 Hockey Team Crowned Midlands Runners Up 2018!

The U12 Girls' Hockey Team came a fantastic second place in the recent Midlands Hockey Finals.

In the group stage of the finals the team faced Solihull, Wolverhampton Grammar School, Kings Worcester, Oakham and Wrekin.

The girls started positively in their first match against Wolverhampton, with some great attacking play and a winning last minute short corner goal to finish the game 1-0. Next up they played Solihull, with Hannah Elliott coming back from a head injury to play amazingly and Imogen Pemble scoring a great goal, they dominated play and won 2-0. They then beat Oakham 2-0 and Kings Worcester 1-0 after an incredible short corner straight strike from Libby Harrison and a fantastic goal line save from Emily Maughan. The girls' continued their winning streak into the last group match beating Wrekin 2-0.

The team went through to the semi-finals top of their group and unbeaten without conceding a goal. Connie Paterson made some great saves in the semi-final and after scoring in the first six minutes the girls continued to dominate the match, maintaining their 1-0 lead and making it through to the final. 

After a long hot day the girls were very tired but still gave everything against Loughborough in the final. Loughborough were a very strong side and after dominating their group went on to score in the first two minutes against Bablake. The girls fought back forcing Loughborough to make a save on the line and clear the ball wide. However, despite the Bablake team creating lots of chances, it was Loughborough who scored in the closing minutes of the match to make the final score 2-0, the only two goals Bablake conceded all tournament.

Despite disappointment in the final the team picked themselves up to celebrate the fantastic achievement of being crowned U12 Midland Finals Runners Up 2018 and are definitely a team to watch out for in the future!

A huge thank you to the players, their parents for their support (at every match this year!) and to the fantastic Bablake hockey coaches.

The U12 hockey team and their coaches celebrate being crowned the Midlands Hockey Finals Runners Up 2018.