U12 Girls claim 5th place in Hampshire In2Hockey

The U12 Girls team met up for their Hampshire In2Hockey tournament in high spirits following on from last weekend's win over Trojans. The weather was not looking great - almost 'four seasons in one day' but the girls were ready. After watching the U12 Boys for a couple of matches, it was time for their pool matches. In our pool were Yateley, Winchester and Andover.

Our first match against Yateley started a little anxiously but the players quickly found their rhythm and for most of the match, the ball was kept in the Yateley half. The goals soon started and the 4-0 win was a great start to the tournament. The second match was against Winchester, a team with which the girls have an adversarial relationship, almost akin to playing Havant! The match did not start well with Winchester going 1-0 up in the first few minutes. The players, however, were unphased and stuck to their game plan. A couple of minutes before the final whistle, to the annoyance of the Winchester coach, Fareham equalised. The remaining minutes were fever pitched for both teams hungry for the win but a draw was a fair result for two close teams. Lastly in the pools, Fareham played Andover. Again, Fareham dominated the match with many chances but we only managed to convert two for a 2-0 win.

We qualified for the final stages as the runner up in our pool; Winchester winning on goal difference. This was unfortunately our undoing as we came up against a strong Alton side in the quarter finals. The players battled hard and the two teams were, for the most part, equal with chances at both ends. Unfortunately Alton managed to break the Fareham lines and grab a goal with a few minutes to spare. Despite their best efforts with more shots on goal and penalty corners, Fareham couldn't find the equaliser and the hunt for the County title was over.

We moved into the 5th-8th place bracket for further play - offs to decide placings and a chance meeting with another rivals, Havant. The players bounced back with enthusiasm after their quarter final loss and came out guns blazing. Sensing weakness in Havant, the players pressed high and were rewarded with a 2-0 win.

For the last match (5/6th play-offs) Fareham played Aldershot and Farnham. As would be expected, a slightly harder match but the players quickly started to move the ball around A&F to get shots on goal. As we progresses the players got more confident and Fareham finished the victors with a 2-0 win to claim 5th Place.

The players had a great tournament with only one loss to the eventual winners Alton. Many thanks to Tom for managing the team and to the spectators who braved the wind, rain and hail!