Not the Dirty Dozen, but the ‘Triumphant Twelve’
Not the Dirty Dozen, but the ‘Triumphant Twelve’ make it through to the National Finals as East Regional Champions.
Following months of training, it was time for the City of Peterborough U18 squad to compete at the East Indoor under 18 Champions 2015/16 at Oakland College St Albans on Sunday 13th Dec.
With four other counties represented: Beds, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, we were in for a real challenge up against some formidable opposition.
The first game against Shefford and Sandy, was to be where the CoP team got to test their game plan as discussed before the match. From the get go the boys were on form and firing on all cylinders; with some fantastic defence work at the back, distribution in the middle and a great tally of goals up front, the game finished 8 – 0 with Sam Anderson scoring 5, Manish Patel 2 and Oscar Sadikot 1 as well as a clean sheet for Cameron Goodey and Ieuan Williams in goal.
With the teams strategy firmly in place and having set the bench mark high in their first game, they went on to face Essex; represented by Old Loughtonians, Norwich City; represented by Harleston Magpies and Suffolk; represented by Sudbury. All three of these games were far more challenging with teams that are known for being well drilled and far stronger oppositions. Sticking to their trained routines and formation, City of Peterborough boys dug deep and pulled off three further, brilliant but nail biting wins with a goal in the last seconds of the match against Harleston Magpies. We saw our short corner routine delivered with perfection as the ball was played out to Sam Anderson and delivered back to Manish Patel for a fantastic deflection off his stick which buried the ball in to the top left hand corner of the Harleston goal for a last second 2-1 win.
Other goal scorers, Arthur Franklin, Nicky Reddy and Daniel Wadsworth.
The “ Triumphant Twelve’ played immaculate hockey showing patience, skill and discipline throughout the tournament leaving them unbeaten throughout the day. Crowned regional champions, they will be off to the National Finals on Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th, January 2016 at Nottingham Trent University.
