Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Boys land title after shootout
Canterbury youth
The Canterbury JHC under-12 boys A team successfully defended their county title at Polo Farm on Sunday.
Having won all seven pool games and topping their group, Canterbury faced Sevenoaks Tigers in the semi-final.
After a rather tentative start, Canterbury scored four goals to secure a final clash with Marden A.
Marden started quickly and took the lead on the break.
Canterbury fought back to level and although Marden went 2-1 up, the city club netted again to force penalty flicks.
Callum Conlon and Thomas Izzard slotted their flicks home and keeper Eddie Rowney saw one flick hit the post and made a magnificent save from their second to ensure Canterbury progressed to the South Regional Tournament in April.
The under-12 B team finished their seven-match campaign with four wins, two losses and a draw – against eventual finalists Marden A – missing out on a semi-final place by a point.
The under-12 girls’ A team dominated their group games in the county tournament at Tonbridge, beating Folkestone, Gillingham and Sevenoaks B scoring 11 without conceding.
After topping the group, they played Burnt Ash, easing to a 6-0 win, to set up a semi-final against Sevenoaks A.
After a goalless draw, the city club lost 2-1 on penalty shuttles, although they bounced back to beat Tunbridge Wells Bs in the 3rd/4th play-off and will go through to the regional finals next month.
The B team went down 4-0 in their opening game against eventual champions Sevenoaks A, despite heroics from keeper Kitty Clifton and despite dominating the game, had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Ashford.
They also bossed their game against Tunbridge Wells B but allowed a 1-0 lead to slip after conceding a late goal.
A third-place finish in the group left them in the plate, however the girls found their scoring touch and won the competition, drawing the final against Blackheath but winning via a coin toss.
The under-14 boys took part in a 12-goal thriller at Marden.
Two goals in the first 10 minutes gave Canterbury an early lead but the hosts battled back and the city club were on the end of a 7-5 defeat.
Canterbury under-14 girls beay Reigate 8-0 in the Home Counties Development League with all the goals coming after the break. The under-16 girls enjoyed mixed fortunes in the England Hockey regional play-offs at Chelmsford.
The city club were handed a tough draw and went 1-0 down inside the opening minute against a strong Surbiton side in their opening game, although neither side could add to the scoring.
Canterbury, however, bounced back with a 4-1 win over Spencer in game two before a 5-0 victory against Chelmsford in their final game.