Westleigh descended on the picturesque Ratcliffe College for an early 9am meet. There was excitement in the air not just because of the impending prospect of 60 mins of tough hockey to come but also because the children were going to get their new playing shirts kindly sponsored by Jelson Homes and Omexom. As usual Westleigh bagged the best dugout to set up their base for the 5 teams they had entered this year, a Club record.
The format of the matches was the official England Hockey rules, so this was a good chance for the Westleigh juniors to experience formal competition hockey including short corners.

Starting with the U10 girls, both teams unfortunately did not qualify. The older team played some amazing hockey throughout but unfortunately conceded an unlucky goal in their first game against Leicester and ended up missing out on qualification by 1 point. When the two Westleigh U10 girls teams played each other this was an entertaining match with Anabelle scoring three goals for the older team all from short corners. The younger team, which included some of the U8 squad put up strong opposition in all their games so they can hold their heads up high and will have had valuable tournament experience which will come in very handy for next season’s county cup.

The U10 boys had a bit of expectation coming into the County Cup having dominated all the local tournaments this season, including beating Beeston in a separate fixture. This pressure did not show however and the boys qualified comfortably winning all their matches and scoring 18 goals in their three matches and only conceding 1. Team captain Emmet had dutifully learned all the short corner routines and the pre game practice certainly calmed the nerves.

Ashby were first up and were full of confidence after beating Westleigh’s U10 girls development team a few weeks prior. That confidence soon evaporated as the boys dominated possession for the whole game scoring two simple team goals – both finished by Clark. The boys really should have scored a few more. Ashby did have one breakaway attempt ending up one on one against the keeper but Samuel came sliding out like a rocket taking ball and player, what an amazing save and it got the biggest cheer of the day! Our good friends Charnwood were next and Westleigh had to be very careful as Charnwood have some very skilful players. Westleigh came out on top 5-1 but despite the scoreline it was a much tougher game than the Ashby game and Westleigh had to do a lot of defensive work, with the ever-unflappable James at the back calmly mopping up. Dylan was using his pace to good effect running the ball down the wings regularly and this was the game where Freddie really showed everyone what he could do with two well taken goals and a fantastic all-round performance. Torben contributed with his usual tomahawk and managed the game well showing control and discipline finding good passes. This game also featured the goal of the tournament with all 6 outfield players involved starting at the back from Dylan to James and then Freddie’s lifted ball into Emmet who sent an outrageous reverse flick pass to Torben who juggled the ball egg and spoon style into the D and slipped it to Clark who scored with a first time slap. Unbelievable !

The boys won their final game 11-0 against Leicester and the scoreline did not do justice to the Leicester players who tackled hard and kept trying right to the end. Ted had a great game in this match making some fabulous one handed tackles and really got stuck in. Credit to Owen as well who took a nice first time slap goal. The Club is especially proud of the U10 boys team considering it is made up of year 3 and year 4 boys with only two year 5 players.

The U12 girls team are often playing against all boys teams in the local tournaments so this was a chance to see how they measured up against the other local all girls teams.
In their first game against Ashby, the girls dominated the game and had several half chances but were unable to convert. Ashby had a couple of ventures up the pitch but they were comfortably dealt with. 1st game 0-0.

The girls went into the 2nd game knowing they had to win to keep their hopes of progression alive. A slow start meant that Charnwood were able to break away from a short corner and take an early lead. This seemed to wake the girls up as Poppy immediately replied with a great solo goal. Charnwood responded but a couple of fantastic saves from Neva kept the game level.

With the game tied at half time, more was demanded of the girls and they delivered. The 2nd half was a close affair with Westleigh having more chances before eventually Darcey unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner of the goal leaving the Charnwood keeper no chance. Charnwood pushed for an equaliser and despite some strong pressure, the girls stood firm and claimed all 3 points. Second game 2-1 win.

The girls went into their final game knowing a win would be enough to secure top spot and a place in the midlands competition. They played against a plucky but inexperienced Leicester side. The girls were immediately on the front foot applying some intense pressure and manufacturing several chances for themselves, the Leicester keeper however was on fire and we were unable to convert. The breakthrough eventually came after another superb save from the Leicester keeper was followed in by Molly. The lead was doubled just before half time with a calm finish from Darcey to make it 2-0.

The second half was more of the same brilliant hockey that the girls had been playing all day. Unfortunately they were unable to add to their 2 goals due to some more athletic saves from the Leicester keeper. But it did not matter, 2 was enough and they had won it. Third game 2-0 win

Overall an amazing morning of hockey for the girls U12s. The team looked extremely comfortable and will be looking forward to testing themselves in the midlands competition in April.

Now to the boys U12s. From a great warm up looking so sharp their first game was against Ashby - on paper the hardest game. Ashby scored within a minute from a fantastic strike, but after that, despite it being all Westleigh possession, we never got the ball into the goal - very frustrating.

Second match was against our close friends Charnwood who stunned Westleigh with a succession of very quick and direct goals. It was a very even game despite the goals and Westleigh had large amounts of possession and several short corners which were good, just not good enough. The game was lost 4-1. The final match was against Leicester which ended up a 2-2 draw, this was another game that we could and should have won but unfortunately we need to learn to be more aggressive and clinical in the D.

Despite not qualifying we were still very impressed with the standard of hockey and effort shown by the players and couldn’t ask any more. From the back Arlen and Nico controlling and building and the play. Jake H skill in the middle with great width in Hayden and Solomon. Tommy , Bentley and Jake F on another day upfront would score more. Theo also made some great saves. We hope the boys are not too disappointed - please keep your heads up this is still a very strong team and the Club are looking at entering an U14s side next season in the England Hockey Tiered competition so plenty more formal competition hockey to come.

Now to look at some numbers….forty-five players took part from the Club assisted by ten coaches and four umpires and there was even one mascot and one professional photographer! The medal presentation at the end of the tournament was a brilliant way to round off the morning and was well supported by all.

It was a great morning of hockey despite not all the Westleigh teams qualifying and there were smiles on everyone’s faces as the players drifted off into their own separate parent taxis. The Club do not underestimate the commitment from the parents who bring the players week in week out in all weather so thanks again for the support it means a lot!