U11 IAPS Regional Hockey Qualifiers, Friday 14th October

U11 IAPS Regional Hockey Qualifiers, Friday 14th October

Feeling a little nervous but incredibly excited, the U11 girls travelled to Repton school to play in the IAPS Hockey regional qualifiers. Following an unbeaten record in both tournaments and matches, the girls were certainly full of confidence but also determined to treat every match as a final. The competition involved four pools of six teams with matches of fifteen minutes in the pool stages. Fairfield were drawn in a group with schools from the west of the country and of which we knew little about. From the outset, the team set out to play an attacking game, pushing up the pitch to put the opposition under constant pressure and, as can be seen from the pool results, it certainly payed dividends.

Pool results:
Vs Crescent 10-0 win
Vs The Downs, Malvern 2-0 win
Vs Hereford Cathedral School 2-0 win
Vs Beachborough 4-0 win
Vs Cheltenham College 1-0 win

Topping the group put Fairfield into the quarter finals, where the games lengthened to eight minutes each way. They played a super game against Winchester House and secured a fairly straightforward 3-0 win. Moving into the semi-finals and with legs starting to become weary, the team had to dig really deep against The Elms, Colwall. After Fairfield had lead the game at 2-1, the opposition scored an equaliser in the dying seconds which resulted in a penalty shuffle decider. Keeping very cool heads and with some outstanding goalkeeping, Fairfield won the match 2-1 (on penalties). This meant the team had secured their place in the National Finals (top three qualify) and just had the small matter of the final to play against a very strong Royal Grammar School team. By now the girls had played almost two hours of hockey and were all feeling shattered but also resolute to give their all in the final. We scored fairly early in the final which helped to relieve the pressure but the girls had to continue to work together to stop the counter attacks from RGS. With sheer exhaustion now evident, RGS eventually found the net to get the equaliser but Fairfield did not give up. The girls continued to pound the D with shots at goal, one of which went hard into the corner to secure a fabulous 2-1 victory crowning Fairfield as Regional Champions. It was a truly outstanding performance from the team in which every member played their part. An enormous thank you to the fabulous support from all the parents and to Ms Nicol and Ms Gillard who umpired and provided support for the team. The very best of luck to the girls as they go on to the National Finals at Repton on November 11th.

Mrs Sutcliffe

Team
Jane
Emily
Grace
Rebecca
Orla
Violet
Sahar
Molly
Alani