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Bank Holiday weekend saw the Cheshire County Under 21 Mens Hockey Team
travel to Southampton for the end-of-season National Championships.
With a hectic and tiring schedule of 4
games over 2 days, the team needed to be fit and remain focused.
Cheshire qualified for the Nationals by beating Lancashire and
Yorkshire at Southport a month ago, lifting the Northern Region U21
Trophy in the process.
The 2 Saturday games saw Cheshire
first play Gloucestershire, winning 9-0, a truly excellent start! In
the afternoon, the boys played Essex, on paper, one of the strongest
teams. Despite a couple of periods under severe pressure during the 70
minutes, the Cheshire team took their chances well and ran out
convincing 4-2 winners.
On Sunday, Cheshire played
Staffordshire and put in a commanding performance to win 8-2. The
final match in the series saw Cheshire play Kent in the late
afternoon.
This last game saw the U21's from
Cheshire play powerful, controlled and mature hockey to win 5-2 and
secure the National U21 Championship Trophy!
The team had a 100% record, winning
all 4 games, scoring 26 goals and conceding just 6. Full
details are on the
England Hockey site
Manager/Coach Jeff Gazzard said:
"The team played some sublime hockey
at times with a range of passing and attacking moves that were
breathtaking! A solid defence was the launching pad for the midfield
and forwards to play powerful, pressure hockey and really dominate all
our opponents. We also scored some great goals with an almost visible,
instant demoralising effect on the other teams. Solid defence,
creative midfield and powerful forward play combined with a tremendous
work ethic from all the 15 team members adding up to only one outcome
- Cheshire Under 21 Team are the National Champions!"