England U16 Netherlands Update

ENGLAND U16, GIRLS

Saturday 12 July, The Hague, Netherlands

A superb team performance today saw England’s U16 girls deservedly earn their place in the final against Holland, with four excellent goals securing the win against Spain.

The first ten minutes were a close affair but England had early opportunities when the two Hollys, Brown and Chipman, fired wide. The deadlock was broken, however, when Brown did get on to the scoresheet in the 15th minute with a super strike from the top of the circle that found the corner and gave the Spanish keeper no chance.

The Spaniards attacked at pace but were constantly thwarted by excellent defending by the resilient England back four, well marshalled by Captain Josie Inverdale. England edged further ahead with an excellent goal from a corner by Kate Maxey and then held firm to go into the break two up.

With the next goal being vital England knew the Spaniards would start the half at pace. As expected, Spain threw everything at England in the first ten minutes forcing some desperate defending at times, but they could not score. Nerves were settled slightly when with a third England goal in the 53rd minute when Holly Chipman broke through the Spanish defence and played a perfect pass for Chloe Hunnable to slot home.

The Spaniards were still not beaten but excellent chasing back by England’s forwards never allowed them to gain control. The win was secured with the best goal of the game involving several players and a superb passing move finished by Sophie Crosley.

At the final whistle England celebrated a fantastic team performance and their place in the final, giving them another opportunity to take on the tournament favourites The Netherlands.



Sunday 13 July, The Hague, Netherlands

So near yet so far for England’s U16 girls in Sunday’s EuroHockey Youth Nations Championships in The Hague.

Manager Kay Hanham started her post-match comments with, “If you had offered us silver medals before the tournament we would have taken them but after today’s performance we feel a little disappointed that we did not achieve more.”

And so it should have been, as England gave the Dutch plenty to think about, forcing the pre-tournament favourites to call upon all their reserves to take the gold.

A great start from England was rewarded in just the second minute when Holly Brown reacted quickest to a rebound at a corner to volley the ball home. That start gave England confidence and they continued to work hard to put the Dutch defence under pressure and deny them any time on the ball. The Dutch did create a couple of scoring opportunities but were denied by good defending and goalkeeping. Gradually the Dutch pressure was building and they forced a number of corners towards the end of the half which were defended well. Eventually however, the pressure told in the 33rd minute when a shot was partly saved by keeper Davies only for the Dutch forward De Ruiter to be first to react and lift the ball into the net.

Determined not to let the goal swamp them, England started the second half as they did the first and took the game to the Dutch with speedy winger Holly Brown persistently causing problems. As the half progressed, The Netherlands started to press England who struggled to get the ball out of defence. This led to a turnover ball being taken into the circle and driven into the top corner giving Davies in goal no chance.

Despite the set-back England did not panic and continued to keep their shape and structure as the Dutch began to take control. Retention of possession was becoming ever more difficult and the Dutch capitalise, forcing a number of corners which England defended superbly, keeping them in the game.

As time ticked by, England’s girls continued to push up but the experienced Dutch side made it difficult for to gain useful possession and held on to their lead until the final whistle.

Hanham commented later, “We can be proud, not just of silver medals, but also in our performance both in the final and throughout the tournament.” Having finished fourth at Easter’s Four Nations in Mannheim, Germany, and fifth at the last Youth Nations Championships, England’s U16 girls can certainly be confident they are making good progress.