A rainy and cold morning, the Crostyx girls arrived at Redbridge Sports Centre raring and ready to go. After a successful run of practice tournaments and their lucky purple sweatbands on, they were focused and prepared for their five games ahead. Ending the day with 2 wins and 3 draws, with clean sheets and the only undefeated team in the tournament, the girls came second overall and will be representing Essex at the East tournament at the end of April!

The first game was against Braintree, where the Crostyx girls secured a goal in the first two minutes. A brilliant run down the right from Amalie who perfectly crossed the ball into the D, after a rebound off the keeper Bella was on the pads to put the ball in the back of the goal! Braintree attempted to even the scoreline, but Holly and Hannah (also known as our wall of defence) stayed strong at the back and alleviated any pressure, with Beanie making some critical saves and keeping the clean sheet of 1-0.

Straight on for the second game, Crostyx were up against long-time rivals, Old Loughts. The girls set off strong once again, with some excellent play through midfield by Ella & Amalie, persistent attacking from Elizabeth, making sure to make their defenders lives difficult, and Jess who ran endlessly and turned over 3 balls from their 16! The game was end to end with the full team putting in a strong effort and creating good chances, the game ended at 0-0 with Beanie keeping her clean sheet and making some excellent saves and keeping her defenders in check.

After one quick game off, the girls were back on to face Upminster. The rain was chucking down but the girls didn’t let this phase them. They played hard out the back, with Holly and Hannah distributing beautifully into midfield. Bella and Frankie holding down the wings and putting in the legs to create attacking chances as well as some excellent tackles to stop the Upminster counter attacks. Cordelia held her own in centre mid, linking well with Amalie to disrupt the Upminster defence and get shots on target. The game stayed at 0-0 just before a corner was given against us as the final whistle blew. Despite Upminster bringing their full team to surround the D, Crostyx charged out and Cornelia tackled and cleared the ball from their striker to end the game at 0-0.

The girls then had a two game break. After loading up on Haribos and Lucozade, and taking shelter from the rain, the girls were ready to face Chelmsford — rumoured to be one of the tougher games of the tournament… but not for our girls! Chelmsford had a strong and physical team, but we used our nimble skills and speed to our advantage. Frankie had some great dribbling opportunities down the right, linking with Elizabeth and Jess up front to cause some close calls. Holly stepped into centre mid and the girls leveraged her distribution to cause havoc in the Chelmsford D. Cordelia and Hannah protected the goal and Beanie made some critical saves to keep yet another clean sheet at 0-0.

Moving into their fifth and final game, we knew this was the game to win to have a chance at qualifying (it also came down to the Loughts Chelmsford score…!). Waltham Forest set off strong and won a short corner in the first few minutes. No stress for Crostyx, Cordelia sped out to the top and managed to clear the ball before they got a shot away. Within minutes, Amalie was unleashed and on the run, chasing down the right win to win us our first short corner of the tournament. The girls, having practiced corners meticulously the night before, were prepped with their routines. Holly fires it out to Cordelia, who takes a swing from the top to plummet the ball into the bottom corner! With Tony and Daff biting their finger nails on the side line, parents holding their breath, players panting for air, the final whistle blew and Crostyx secured the 1-0 win.

The girls played some excellent hockey, performed as a team, and came with the best of energy. The represented Crostyx with pride and a great performance, and will go on to represent Crostyx and Essex at the East tournament at the end of April.

Massive thank you to all who came and supported (parents, siblings and friends! Especially the U14 girls who came along and helped), and of course special shout out to Donna, Brent, Matt and Kate for making this all happen!

Looking forward to taking on East and getting some new hoodies :)
Daff & Tony