U18's road to Lee Valley

After a lovely evening dinner together and a hearty breakfast under their belts, the squad walked the short distance through the Olympic park to the Lee Valley tennis and hockey centre. We watched the first half of the games before us, had a professional team photo shoot and then it was down to the changing room to get frosty.

Words of wisdom were passed on, targets and principles were agreed upon and a thorough warm up was smashed out. Out on the pitch the players and coaching staff moved seamlessly through their preparations with excellent intensity, ball pace and volume. With encouragement from the vocal parents and Reading supports across the stands, the players led by captain Abbie Dixon, walked proudly out and lined up to shake hands with the umpires and opposition.

From minute one, the team knew this was not going to be a walk in the park. They were immediately placed under an immense amount of pressure, having to defend deep in their own half. They dug in and took every opportunity to counter and gain territory when possible. Livi Lee-Smith made a last-minute sliding tackle that had every member of the crowd on their feet cheering, regardless of who they were supporting! It took Beeston 25 minutes to break through our resilient defence and unfortunately two more goals quickly followed. In the final moments of the first half Jess M-B intercepted the ball in her own 25 and proceeded to carry the ball at a blistering pace the length of the pitch and win a short corner! Unfortunate, the girls were unable to convert but ended the first half on a high with determination resonating through the squad. 0-3

We went back out after a focused and simple team take. We reminded the girls of their targets and the goals we agreed on in the changing rooms. The grit and desire to stay in the fight was apparent and the girls kept push forward. Katie Goddard made save after save keeping us in the game. After a shift in momentum, the girls countered as a unit and were rewarded for their endeavour. Slick passing and precise leads gave Abbie Dixon the sliver of space she needed to backhand the ball past the keeper into the net of the goal. 1-3[b[/b]

The team lifted and kept pushing but the first half had taken so much out of the girls’ bodies, that Beeston scored 3 more times in quick succession leaving the girls a little shell shocked. We regrouped and regathered for the final 10 mins but the time was slipping away. Each and every member of the team played until the final whistle, fighting tooth and nail and putting their bodies on the line. 1-6.

The campaign has been a long road with the girls beating Wimbledon 7-1, Epsom 7-0, Surbiton 3-0 and Wakefield 10-0. We stood together and worked as a team to score goals but sadly, sometimes, you come up against a team that is simple stronger. The girls never gave up. They never gave in. They played and pushed until that final whistle blew knowing that they left everything they had on the pitch. The coaching staff, parents and supporters are so proud of what has been achieved and the manner in which the girls conducted themselves and represented Reading HC on such a big stage.