After winning the Leicestershire Hockey Championships the boys U10s had earned the right to represent Leicestershire at the Midlands Hockey Championships at the National Hockey Centre, this was a great honour for the boys. 16 of the best teams in the Midlands would be taking part coming from as far afield as Leek in the North, Towcester in the South and even Newport in the West. The boys turned up looking smart with their new playing tops kindly sponsored by Jelson Homes and Omexom and several clubs also commented on how nice the shirt design was.
The boys were drawn in a very tough group against West Bridgford, Sutton Coldfield and North Staffordshire. First up was West Bridgford, and Westleigh almost scored from the push back using our secret tactic of aerialing the ball into the corner for Emmett to run onto it, a tactic that worked in every game! With the games being only 12 minutes the pace was frenetic and although West Bridgford had some big skilful players Westleigh were able to win the ball back early and counterattack, James had a brilliant start to the tournament in this game timing some amazing flat stick tackles winning the ball so cleanly and setting up counterattacks with great distribution. Two goals game in this fashion with Clark scoring the first at the near post and then Emmet right at the end scoring a nicely positioned hit into the corner – 2 -0 win.
North Staffs were next and they seemed to have even bigger boys but they hardly touched the ball with Westleigh controlling the possession and having so many shots on goal. Teddy also contributed well in defence in this match coming on for his debut and tackling anyone that dared get near him! The opposition keeper although small in stature was amazing and must have made over 10 saves in the game, and the North Staffs defence also cleared well. Torby picked out Freddie several times during the game and Freddie was able to expertly fire off some great shots into the corners even but the keeper was equal to them! A frustrating game 0 – 0 draw.
The final pool game against Sutton Coldfield was the decider, Westleigh were actually in top position in their pool on goal difference so a draw would do it. This was a very hard game though and Sutton Coldfield had two very skilful forwards who attacked wave after wave down the right. This was Dylan’s standout game he was an absolute hero tackling their best player every single time much to the frustration of their star player and the opposition crowd! Clark was also rapid in tracking back showing supreme fitness and speed and helping Dylan out, and then immediately starting the attack again. Emmet was relentless with the self pass and run and this really kept the boys in the game allowing them to mount lots of attacks of their own. Samuel was also magnificent making a super sliding save taking the ball and everything else! Westleigh did have chances in this game as well but were unable to convert. Despite it being a 0 – 0 draw Westleigh progressed to the final stages of the competition top of their Pool!
Belper were up next, a club who had been scoring freely in their pool stages. The boys played their best hockey in this game winning several short corners and hitting the post and having lots of shots. Belper were certainly taken by surprise by the level of play from Westleigh who were dominating possession. It looked like the game was heading to flicks with another draw. Unfortunately after thwarting another Westleigh attack two Belper players went on a fantastic counter attack and scored right at the end. 1 – 0 loss!
The next match was against Beeston, who were certainly confident but they knew of Westleigh after having been beaten by them a few times in a prior friendly fixture. This Beeston team was stronger though and contained some very skilful attackers and strong defenders. As usual Westleigh surprised Beeston with their ability to keep possession and mount attacks and Westleigh had several short corners and shots putting the Beeston defence under a lot of pressure. Torby was winning everything in centre mid and flying passes out all over the place. The game was end to end though and Teddy was immense playing a whole game at the back making some brilliant tackles, guided well by James whose timing and positioning were excellent all tournament. Beeston did apply the pressure late on in the game with several short corners of their own, with Clark charging out bravely to block all of them and then Samuel making some amazing saves through a crowd of players. Unfortunately in the last few seconds of the game one of the Beeston players went on a brilliant solo run after foiling one of the Westleigh attacks and scored in the corner. 1 – 0 loss.
The final game was against Leek for the honour of finishing 7th out of 16, something Westleigh would have taken at the start of the day. This game seemed unusually physical from the start and unfortunately was marred by a very dangerous and deliberate foul on Torby which would have attracted a red card and season ban in adult hockey. The game was stopped for a long time to sort out the unfortunate issue and when the final whistle was blown Leek did not want to decide the game on flicks so Westleigh won by default and secured 7th Place.
It was a great morning of hockey with fantastic weather, big crowds and a fabulous atmosphere. Special mention to Owen who rotated on in attack several times and got into good positions and also Atticus who was the mascot for the day cheering on from the side lines and winding the opposition up. The Club are so proud of not only the achievements of the boys but also how well they conducted themselves on the pitch, always first to shake hands after the game and lead the three cheers regardless of the result.
The team conceded the fewest goals out of any of the 16 teams there so credit to the defenders and Samuel who had a fantastic tournament.
Westleigh will most certainly be remembered after the boys performances and the bigger clubs will not take them lightly. With a bit of luck Westleigh could have won the whole thing, something to aim for next year with the squad being mostly year 3 and 4.