U13 County Hockey Tournament
The U13 A&B teams travelled to Tudor Hall School on Wednesday 5th February for their first tournament of the season – the Oxfordshire U13 Hockey Girls’ County Cup. Hopes were high after last year’s victory for the A team and both teams were excited for the day ahead.
The U13 A team started the tournament with a tight 1-0 win against their rivals, Cranford House, before beating Shiplake B 5-0 and Cokethorpe 2-0, which was enough to secure top spot in the group, despite a 0-0 draw against Oxford High School in their other group match.
Finishing first in Pool A set up a semi-final against St Helen and St Katharine’s, who finished second in Pool B, and an excellent display of positive, passing Hockey led to a comfortable 4-0 win.
With qualification for the South Central finals already secured, the girls relaxed in the final to play their best match of the tournament, beating a strong Cranford School team 3-0 to win consecutive county titles.
The U13 B team started the tournament with a 1-0 loss to eventual bronze medallists St Helen and St Katharine’s, but they came storming back in their next match against the hosts, Tudor Hall, to secure a comfortable 4-0 win.
Another victory followed against Oxford High School, before a close match against Shiplake A finished 0-0, which left the girls third in the group.
Mr Nathan Monk, Head of Hockey at Headington Rye, said: “Despite narrowly missing out on a place in the semi-finals by two points, the B team can be incredibly proud of their performances throughout the day as they more than matched their A team opponents and their conduct on and off the pitch was exemplary.
“All the students involved were excellent both on and off the pitch – the B team epitomised the Headington Rye spirit by supporting the A team in the final. We’re proud to say our U13A team are county champions once again!”
