It was the annual Girls Day School Trust Under-15 Hockey Tournament in Oxford on Thursday 9th November. Having reached the final and finished as runners-up in the competition for the first time last year, Howell's were keen to go one better this time around and left Cardiff at 6am brimming with confidence. Upon arrival at Oxford Hawks Hockey Club, the girls warmed up prior to their first group match of the day. Newcastle High School were the first opponents, and following a highly-powered opening that lead to string of early goals, HSL ran out 6-0 winners to set themselves up well for the day. After a game on the side, their next opponents were Birkenhead High School Academy, who had also managed to win their first match. Again, a fast-paced introduction to the game brought about early goals for Howell's, who eventually won 4-0. Croydon High School were the last team left to play in the group-stage, with the girls already knowing a place in the quarter finals had been secured off the back of the opening performances. The pace didn’t let up, and Howell's scored a further two goals to finish the group campaign with three wins from three games, twelve goals scored and no goals conceded. A number of fantastically worked, individual goals were scored by Lily R, with Katie G, Alicia L, Sophie S and Pascha T also putting their names on the scoresheet in the morning.
The standard of hockey improved as the day continued, with the opposition becoming increasingly more difficult to break down. Host school Oxford High were the opponents in the afternoon’s first Quarter Final, and following a tense opening exchange, Howell's were able to find their way past the defence to win 3-0. Evie O was working hard in the midfield to support the forward players, namely Ella K and Holly P, who were getting themselves into great positions in the attacking areas of the pitch. A great semi-final ensued between Howell’s School and Northampton High School, with the solitary goal separating the two teams in a 1-0 win. Having been largely untested throughout the morning, defenders Georgia M-P, Annabelle W, Maisie R and goalkeeper Nia H played especially well in the semi-finals, preventing their opponents from converting any chances and thwarting most Northampton attacks before they could develop.
After successfully getting past Nottingham High School in their semi-final, it was Streatham and Clapham that would be competing with Howells for the gold medals. Confidence was at a high and the play was really starting to reflect this. Early forays into the attacking D were threatening, with Lily R proving too difficult to stop. It was her effort on goal that was deflected in at the far post by Alicia L to open the scoring after five minutes. Just moments later, Alicia doubled the lead in a similar fashion, this time turning in a Sophie S pass to make it 2-0. The girls played out the rest of the match by controlling possession. Georgia M-P, Annabelle W and Maisie R were excellent in defence, intercepting the ball and making timely tackles every time Streatham & Clapham came forward. This stellar defensive play instilled confidence into the rest of the girls, who were ecstatic at the sound of the full time whistle.
It was a truly emphatic tournament by Howells, who managed to score eighteen times and not concede a single goal all day. It was also a historic day, with Howell’s School winning the prestigious GDST event for the very first time! Credit must go out to all players who have worked so hard over the past few years, improving in all facets of the game. The new GDST Under-15 and Welsh Under-14 Hockey champions are now looking ahead to the County Hockey Tournament in the new year, which always proves to be a very high-quality competition with so many fantastic schools and players in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
