Our U19 hockey squad have performed incredibly well in the ISHC Plate competition this year. After a dominant display against Queen Ethelburga’s, they finished the match 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Mariella and Zoe. In their next match they were pitted against local rivals GSAL. After a blistering start they found themselves 3-0 up at half time thanks to two goals from Captain Leah and one from Vice Captain Jess. However GSAL rallied at half time so this, coupled with an injury to defensive stalwart Sofija saw us put under considerable pressure. Despite conceding two goals in the second half Wakefield Girls’ did enough to come away 3-2 winners.

Their next match was against a strong Kings Macclesfield team. After multiple postponements due to frozen pitches, it had a been a long time since Wakefield Girls’ had competed together in outdoor hockey. They played out a frustrating goalless first half but managed to regain their composure for the second half. Lucy H had the game changing moment where her solo run down the left ended with a brilliant finish from a narrow angle. With the game still in the balance, Molly took the pressure off by using her tennis skills to volley in a high ball! Flo finished off the scoring with a fabulous deflected effort from Zoe’s pinpoint 30 yard pass, to make it 3-0 to WGHS. 

Due to the rescheduling this meant that we had to play two games in two days, and had to immediately get organised for an away trip to Cheadle Hulme. The team were clearly fatigued and conceded early on. However they came back with a vengeance and had multiple shots flying just wide of the posts at the other end. For the second day in a row, it was Lucy H with the decisive intervention, firing in a goal on the left post. However despite their dominance, Wakefield Girls’ continued to struggle to find the net and once again let Cheadle back into the game. Thankfully a goal from Leah and one more from Lucy H ensured that they finished 3-2 winners.

This meant that Wakefield Girls’ would now play in a national semi-final match at Bromsgrove School. After a long journey down to the Midlands, the girls had to focus quickly against the rapid counter attacks from Bromsgrove. Some excellent goalkeeping denied Rosie from scoring on her debut and the half time whistle went with the score still tied at 0-0. The deadlock was finally broken in the second half when Molly came off the bench and had an immediate impact to finish at the far post. Our team couldn’t celebrate for long as Bromsgrove immediately changed their tactics and began to heap on the pressure. There were some nervy moments in defence and the game suddenly swung from 1-0 to 1-2. We then went on the counter and a fabulous flowing move saw Henny finish with composure to make it 2-2. It was now Bromsgrove’s turn to feel the nerves and some heavy tackles saw them lose two players to the sin bin, but the final whistle came to their rescue and allowed them to get their breath back. Wakefield Girls’ continued to dominate in extra time but could not find that winning goal, so the game had to be decided with penalty shuffles. Captain Leah took the decision to try and emulate Football World Cup Winners Argentina by opting to take the first shuffle and she confidently rounded the keeper and finished with aplomb. However despite another excellent finish from Lucy H and a fine save from Alice in goal, the Bromsgrove goalkeeper made life difficult for Wakefield Girls’ and meant that the final score was a 2-3 loss. 

The Wakefield Girls’ team were incredibly disappointed not to make it to a National Final, with this being the final competitive match for many of them before they head off to university. However after a hearty post-match tea, they were able to reflect on another wonderful season of Wakefield Girls’ hockey and should feel incredibly proud of all that they have achieved both this year and in previous seasons. 

Mrs G Morgan

Head of Academic PE