At 6am on Tuesday 26th February, six Dragons players set off from Norwich High School for Girls with their school team-mates to take part in the Girls Day School Trust Under 15 Annual Hockey Tournament in Oxford. The tournament, which involved 19 of the GDST schools, is always of a very high standard.
The six Dragons were Ruth Willmott (Capt), Maddie Denman, Amy Brown, Niamh Lowe-Davies, Polly Watson and Laura Bruce.
Group Matches:
Norwich High School for Girls won every single group match, the results were as follows:
Against Howell’s School (Llandaff, Cardiff), Norwich won 5-0. Goals were scored by Catherine Longe 3 and Amy Brown 2.
Croydon, Norwich won 3-0. Goals were scored by Polly Watson, Catherine Longe and Kate Gowing.
Streatham and Clapham, Norwich won 4-0. Goals were scored by Ruth Willmott, Catherine Longe, Kate Gowing and Polly Watson.
and finally against Notting Hill, Norwich won 2-0. Polly Watson and Amy Brown scored the goals.
Knockout Phase:
After winning the group Norwich progressed to the quarter finals where they faced a strong Portsmouth side, however goals from Catherine Longe 2 and Amy Brown ensured a 3-1 win.
On to the semi finals, Norwich played Northampton winning 3-0 with goals scored by Catherine Longe, Amy Brown and Kate Gowing.
The Final:
In the final the team came up against a very strong Oxford team. They played some excellent hockey but could not convert any of their chances, resulting in a 0-0 draw at full-time. The game then went to nail-biting penalty flicks to decide the winner.
Niamh Lowe-Davies and Polly Watson scored their penalties and Holly Riches in goal made 4 fantastic saves to ensure Norwich High School for Girls won 2-1 and were crowned GDST hockey champions!! This is a proud achievement for the school as it is the first time they have won this event and shows the direction hockey is moving in at Norwich High School for Girls.
Congratulations to all the girls, and particularly from the Club’s viewpoint the six Dragons and Ms Smith for bringing back the silverware.
