Bronze medal for Fairfield at IAPS U11 National Hockey Finals
Following their outstanding performance at the Regional Finals before half term, the Fairfield girls’ Under 11 hockey team returned to Repton on Friday 11th November to take part in the IAPS National Finals. There were twenty teams competing, consisting of the eight regional winners plus the second and third place teams from the various regions.
Each pool of five teams had two regional winners (the other regional winner in our pool was Ashfold) and it was with great interest we noticed we also had RGS Newcastle, the team we had beaten in our Regional Final. The first match saw Fairfield off to a flying start, helping to settle nerves and resulted in a confident 2-0 win against Beeston Hall. Next up was St Faiths from Cambridge, a well organised and determined team. Despite some excellent work from the team we let our guard slip and on the break St Faiths secured a narrow 1-0 victory. This was the first game that the team had ever lost and made them realise just how tough the competition was going to be. Moving into their third match against RGS Newcastle the girls knew how they played and positioned themselves well, creating numerous goal scoring opportunities to secure a fabulous 2-0 win. With only the top two teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals, the final pool match required a victory against Ashfold. Although the game was quite tight to begin with, Fairfield pressed really high and to maintain possession in their attacking half. Continued pressure through some superb build up play paid dividends and the deadlock was finally broken to secure the three points needed for Fairfield to top the group. Following a hearty lunch and a motivational team talk from both parents and staff, the girls moved towards the business end of things with a quarter final against Chafyn Grove. There certainly must have been something good in their lunches as the girls put on a fantastic display of hockey and won the game 1-0 in very convincing style. Now into the semi finals the realisation dawned that the girls had secured a top four placing in the country; a wonderful achievement whatever the outcome. Our opponents were Kingswood School from Bath and from the outset it could be seen that it was going to be a tightly contested match, particularly as our girls had given their all and were beginning to tire. Despite working hard for each other and tracking back to help in defence, it was eventually breached and Kingswood went 1-0 up. In true Fairfield spirit the girls picked their heads up and worked tirelessly to get the equaliser. The last few minutes of the game saw the team have several chances to get the ball over the line but unfortunately it wasn’t to be and the final score remained 1-0 to Kingswood.
Although disheartened the team had to compose themselves for the 3rd/4th place play off game and a chance to take the bronze medal position. Our opponents were St Faiths, the team who had narrowly beaten us in our pool games and who must have felt they had the upper hand. With all the fantastic support from parents, grandparents, Mr Earnshaw and Mrs Barton, the team wanted to finish the day on a high and went into the match with their heads held high and a steely determination to reverse their fortune against the opposition. The first half was even, both teams pressing well but also defending in numbers. Early into the second half and following one last morale boosting team talk, Fairfield finally found the back of the net with a well worked ball into the left hand corner. The final few minutes were incredibly tense for everyone, but the girls kept their composure and called on every last bit of energy to secure a very well deserved 1-0 win.
This placed them 3rd in the National Finals, a fantastic achievement for the team. The girls should feel very proud of themselves, not only for their outstanding performance on the pitch but for being such wonderful ambassadors for their school. Enormous thanks to all the parents and grandparents who came to support in such numbers, it was great motivation for the team and ensured they dug deep to secure victory in their final match. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to coach such a talented and motivated team; well done girls!
The team is pictured with former Fairfield pupil Esme Burge who has been selected for the England U21 squad to compete at the Junior World Cup in Chile. Congratulations to Esme from everyone at Fairfield!
Mrs Sutcliffe