Brilliant weekend as HC Knole Park’s U12 Girls, U14 Girls and U14 Boys all qualify for the National Finals, as well as the Women’s 1st and 2nd teams being crowned champions!
In an incredible weekend the U12 Girls, U14 Girls and U14 Boys have all qualified for the National Finals, joining the U16 Girls who had already qualified in February! The U12 Girls won the Regional Final 1-0 against Sevenoaks HC, whilst the U14 Girls beat Bristol side, Clifton Robinsons HC 6-2, and the U14 Boys beat Manchester-based Bowdon HC 6-0. The Women’s 1st team had two huge wins over second and third in the league to win the Invicta Division Two title and promotion! The Women's 2nd team are also champions of Invicta Division Six and will be promoted for next season!
HC Knole Park’s U12 Girls won gold at the South East Regional Finals on Sunday defeating local Kent side Sevenoaks HC 1-0 in the Final. In the round robin section of the tournament the girls made a slow start drawing and losing the first two matches (1-1 & 0-1). This left the girls with three matches to save their tournament, and three wins later (4-0, 3-1 & 2-0) they had just done that and were into the final!
In the final, a wonderful goal, set up by Emily B, and scored by Connie, secured the girls the 1-0 win and a place in May’s National Finals! Knowing that only one side was guaranteed to progress, the girls really rose to the occasion and played superbly in the final!
Throughout the tournament Georgie was once again the team’s top scorer with three goals. Farrah and Emily B both scored twice, Bea, Elisa and Imogen completed the scoring for Knole Park.
Head Coach, Ruth Bingham, said: “I am so proud of all the girls and the club! Their dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment to training and improving has been amazing. They even improved so much throughout the day! They were so happy at full time in the final; it was wonderful to see!”
Knole Park’s U14A Girls have also qualified for the National Final in April! The girl’s semi-final, against Clifton Robinsons, from Bristol, was rearranged from February. The extra time was ideal as it gave the girls more time for some training and matches before this tough encounter.
Flying high in their Supra-League (West), it was Clifton who opened the scoring in the seventh minute after some sustained pressure on the Knole Park defence. However, from this moment on it was one way traffic as the girls sprang into action and Captain Evie S netted from close range to make it 1-1. Celia then scored the first of her two goals into the bottom corner before Evie S added her second just before half time to make it a 3-1 lead at the break.
In the second half the girls were outstanding, creating chance after chance. Two goals from Biba, including a stunning diving deflection, and Celia's second saw the girls win 6-2. In the final minute the girls scored the goal of the match as the team made 10+ passes before captain Evie S netted with a stunning backhand. Whilst the goal was sadly chalked off, (we're not sure why - we were too busy celebrating!) it did summarise the match and the quality of hockey they played throughout the match. At full time there were scenes of jubilation as the U14A Girls had qualified for the National Final! The now return to the National Finals in a bid to retain the trophy they won last season.
On this super Sunday, the U14A Boys also won their England Hockey Plate Semi-Final with a fantastic 6-0 win against Bowdon HC. Travelling down from Manchester the northern side were 2-0 down in the first few minutes as Isaac and Benedict scored within minutes of the start. Benedict has been sidelined with a long-term injury so it was great to see him back in KP colours and enjoying his hockey! The boys from Knole Park never looked back from there as Isaac completed his hat-trick in the first half. Benedict also scored a hat-trick to make it a 6-0 win, and the boys go on to Lee Valley to play their final, in a bid to also retain the trophy they won last season, on the 3rd April too.
With the U16A Girls already through to the National Finals, Knole Park now have three sides through to the England Hockey showpiece event at Lee Valley which is an unprecedented level of success coming from the South-East of England. Only Beeston (Midlands), Surbiton (London) and Repton (Midlands) have more than one side at the Finals.
Director of Coaching, Duncan Parnis, said: “This has been an incredible season. The indoor success in January was phenomenal, but to have now qualified for the National Finals in four different age groups is just simply amazing! For our young members to be able to enjoy playing at Lee Valley Hockey Stadium, in a final, is a dream come true. All the coaches put in an exceptional amount of hard work to help support all the players at Knole Park and we wish everyone the very best as they prepare for these matches. Knole Park is a very special hockey club!”
Also on Sunday the U16A Girls won their final England Hockey Supra-League (South) league match of the season 17-0 against Alton HC. Olivia scored five times, Anna (4), Phoebe (3), Summer (2), Jessica, Charlotte & Lottie in the one-sided match up.
The HC Knole Park U16 Girls travelled to Hampshire on Saturday for their final match of the England Hockey Supra League against Alton Hockey Club. Alton had some talented players but were outpaced by a classy Knole Park side in scintillating form. Playing fluid passing hockey, the girls were absolutely outstanding. The umpires and opposition coaches all commented on the girls’ pace, teamwork, skill and style! Coaching on crutches, Sarah was able to sit back and admire some superb hockey and sublime goals.
A highlight was the first goal just seconds after the starting whistle, finished by Liv. The second was an excellent carry from Summer with impressive deception, which was again finished by the prolific Liv. The third goal was a thing of beauty – a phase of passing hockey that ran through Anna, Lottie and Summer and again was finished by Liv. The seventh was an awesome reverse strike from Charlotte. Liv finished with 5 goals, Anna with four, Phoebe with a hat trick and Summer with a brace. Lottie, Jessica and Charlotte all scored one, leaving the final score 17-0. Despite this scoreline, Alton were very much in the game and had a few counters and penalty corners, keeping in-form Pascale in action right until a break in the final moment of the game. The Knole Park girls worked superbly as a team and were consistently professional and positive throughout the game, showing leadership on the pitch and supporting each other throughout.
Alton were brilliant hosts and the Easter eggs at the end of the game were a lovely surprise!
Unfortunately, with only one team going through to the Final Day, Knole Park need a miracle result next weekend as Trojans HC host top of the league Surbiton HC. Should Trojans win, Knole Park’s superior goal difference will see them qualify for the League finals.
In the adults’ section the Women’s 1st team beat Tunbridge Wells 2s 9-0 and New Beccehamians 12-0. Against Tunbridge Wells, Anna (3), Olivia (2) and Lottie (2) were all amongst the goals, with Amelie and Josefina scoring one each. Against New Beccehamians it was once again Lottie and Anna who were the stars of the scoring charts as they scored four and three goals respectively. Boadicea scored twice, with Amy, Mackenzie and Polly adding singles. These wins against second and third in the league have secured Knole Park the Invicta Division Two title and promotion! The Women's 2nd team received a walkover against Gillingham and are also champions of their league! The Men’s 1st team survived a bruising encounter with Sevenoaks to win 5-2. Four goals from Duncan and one from Dave securing all three points. The team remain in second with two matches to play.
The U18A Girls travelled to Epsom on Sunday and played some excellent hockey throughout. Epsom played superbly and came out deserved 6-1 winners. Both sides played some fantastic, enjoyable hockey.
This was our Year 13s’ final junior league match - many thanks for all you have done over your time here at KP. Winning U18 Indoor Nationals, indoor promotion to the National League, Young Leaders at minis sessions, fabulous tourists to University of Nottingham - it’s been quite a ride.
Bea, Sasha, Alice, Alice and Elloise - we hope you enjoy playing your University hockey and we look forward to welcoming you back in the near future!
This weekend the U14A Girls compete for a chance to qualify for the Supra League Finals as they host Cambridge City at home. The U18 Girls are playing the English Universities team in an invitational match at Sevenoaks School. The U16B Girls have received a walkover from Marden Russets, meanwhile the U8s, U10s and U12s all head to Canterbury for the Canterbury HC Festival. The Men’s 1s are playing the in-form side in the league, Old Williamsonians HC, and the Women’s 1s travel to Blackheath & Elthamians. The Women’s 2s host Dartford.
Commentaires