City of York Girls secure unprecedented double to reach second national final

·2-min read
City of York Hockey Under 16 Girls celebrate reaching the national finals for the second time this year. <i>(Image: Laurence Thornton)</i>
City of York Hockey Under 16 Girls celebrate reaching the national finals for the second time this year. (Image: Laurence Thornton)

APRIL is shaping up to be a fantastic month for the girls at City of York Hockey Club.

Their Under 16 Girls have secured an unprecedented double, topping their England Hockey Supra League group to earn a trip to the national finals on April 22.

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Laurence Thornton's side will also feature in the England Hockey National Cup Final on April 2, having booked their spot with a thrilling 3-2 victory in their semi-final clash at Trojans Hockey Club last month.

Having secured a 3-0 win away at Bowdon on Sunday, York knew that a win last night  against local rivals Leeds would see them qualify as champions for the North of England.

And they achieved that in style, with an eight-goal rout over their Yorkshire rivals.

Bea Thompson opened the scoring after just two minutes for York after finishing off a lightning counter-attack.

Hatty Henebury then doubled York’s lead from a penalty corner in the 16th minute before Helena Freshwater added her own penalty corner strike on 25 mins to give York a 3-0 lead at half time.

Second-half goals then followed from Niamh Clements, who smashed home from a tight angle in the 36th minute, and Kate Barker’s unstoppable strike into the net on 44 minutes.

Chloe Robinson then added her name to the scoresheet with a true poacher's finish after turning in at the far post nine minutes later, before Henbury netted twice in as many minutes to complete her hat-trick late on.

Progressing to the finals as group winners, York will now face the other seven top ranked teams in the country in a two-day tournament at the Nottingham Hockey Centre on April 22-23.

The Girls earned a bronze medal at last year's competition, and will be keen to see if they can replicate that performance this year.