Belper girls look to the future...
It might be taking hockey a little too seriously but the ladies secured another player when Julie Carter gave birth to Daisy Abigail, born 11th July, weighing 6lb 12ozs, a sister for Jessica. Congratulations to Julie and Roger. Click here for photograph...

Four Belper girls savour super silver success
On Sunday 13 July, 2008, Alice Sharp, Joanna Lane, Sophie Hawkins and Anna Toman became proud possessors of a European Championship silver medal when they lost 1-2 to the host nation, The Netherlands, in the final of the Under 16 Tournament at KZHC in The Hague. Having lost 0-3 in their pool match to the impressive Dutch outfit, the final was a much closer affair. In their other pool games, England beat Belgium 5-0 and Italy 4-1, with Alice Sharp scoring in both. In their semi-final England crushed the pool B winners Spain 4-0, to ensure their rematch with the Dutch who defeated Ireland in the other semi-final.
Six Belper girls on u18 international duties
An interesting Belper confrontation will occur at 2.00pm on Tuesday July 29th as 1st team Belper team-mates line up against each other in the Under 18 Home Nations Tournament in Cardiff. In the starting line up wearing the England Lion will be Louisa Boddy, Sabbie Heesh, Jess Wood and Lucy Horn, whilst sporting the Welsh Dragon will be Rhiannon Rogers. The Tournament also involves Scotland & Ireland and finishes on Friday August 1st. Only a few days before Rhiannon will have been in training with her opposition trio as Belper 1st team squad prepare for their forthcoming Slazenger England Hockey League campaign in the new North Conference league.
If seeing some of her friends and team-mates in the opposition in Cardiff was not enough for Rhiannon, she is likely to get another dose of them in Bristol a month later when England and Wales clash again in the UK Schools Games tournament which is designed to represent a mini-Olympics as there are 9 different sports involved. On the other side of the halfway line this time for England will be Jess Wood again plus Belper U18 captain Alicia Robinson. The other countries involved in the UKSG are Scotland & Northern Ireland.

Summer 'turn-up and practise' coaching sessions
If you are in need of some extra hockey coaching during the summer months Tim Barlow is kindly running five ‘just turn-up and practise’ sessions where he will help and advise you on any part of your game you need to improve on - so come along with your wish list! Open to all ladies, junior girls and and junior boys 11-18yrs. Dates: July 15th, July 22nd, August 5th, August 12th and August 20th. All sessions are 18.30 - 20.00 and £3 per session.

Belper Hockey Club junior internationals
Great news was announced earlier this week for both Men's and Ladies sections of Belper Hockey Club. Four Belper junior girls Alice Sharp, Anna Toman, Sophie Hawkins and Joanna Lane have been selected to represent England u16 girls at the European Youth Nations Championships being held at The Hague in Holland July 3rd - July 14th, 2008. Meanwhile Rhiannon Rogers will be wearing the red shirt of Wales u16's as she is playing this coming weekend - Friday-Sunday 13-15th - versus Scotland at Wrexham in a 3 match test series. The fantastic news for the junior boys section is the selection of Richard Cassidy for England U18's to play in Poland at an European Tournament. Also this week has been the selection of Ben Mills for the National Young Umpire Promising List 2008 (NYUPL). This means he will work with the best umpire coaches, umpiring the best young hockey; club national cup finals, county championship finals; regional tournaments in England.
This is superb news for all these youngsters and reward for all their hard work in training and time spent travelling the country. We're proud of you all - not bad for a small rural hockey club in Derbyshire -eh!

Under 13s unbeaten but fail to secure title.
By Tim Barlow
Belper Under 13 mini-hockey team drew 3 and won 1 of their matches in the National Finals and consequently came 3rd on goal difference. A crucial blow to their plans was the quadriceps injury in training to Ellie Miles three days before the finals. She was the key right sided attacker who had done so much to help win the county and regional rounds for the team. With her missing, Belper never quite produced the control and quality decision making that she provided in that important area of the pitch. That said, the team still had every chance to win the title but too many of the players did not perform to the best of their ability when it mattered, particularly so at penalty corners where many opportunities were not taken.
In the 1st match versus the eventual champions, Millfield School from the West, Belper were 1-0 ahead at half-time through Maddy Wood. Then Lowri McIntosh put them 2-0 up shortly after and Belper were dominating the play. This was the time to close the game down and play safely and tightly. However, inexperience led to several defenders playing too high up the pitch and being caught on the break. From being downcast and resigned to defeat, Millfield were re-energised and took the game to Belper who were then unable to prevent a second goal, which allowed Millfield a scoring draw in a game that they had almost given up.
In game 2 vs St George's College from Surrey, Belper missed 2 open goals in the first four minutes that would have put the game to bed as St George's never really looked like scoring. However Belper continued to squander chances and finished the game 0-0 with 1 more point but the opposition were drawing further away.
A tournament win was still possible at the start of game 3 vs King's School, Canterbury, the East champions. Belper took an early lead through Lowri McIntosh but then were pegged back as King's scored from a narrow angle. In the 2nd half Belper then got ahead again through Jess Horn but shortly before the end, a strong shot from the top of the circle pierced the Belper defence to enable King's to escape with a score draw and remove Belper's last chance of taking the title.
In their last game vs Arnold School, the North representatives, Belper took control again and scored early through Lowrie McIntosh. They extended the lead to 2-0 when Kathryn Lane was quick to deflect a loose ball at a penalty corner. Arnold School then scored on the break and Belper had visions of yet another draw looming. However, Jess Horn neatly put away a penalty stroke to make the score 3-1 which Belper then held to the end.
So Belper were hugely disappointed with their final result because in every game they were in charge of the play but failing to take the chances created cost the team dearly, along with moments of lack of concentration in defence that allowed the opposition their opportunities to score.
Team: Sammy Evans, Kathryn Lane, Maddy Wood, Alex Smith, Olivia Rafferty, Jess Horn, Lowri McIntosh, Becky Hawkins, Joey Holroyd.

Final Table:

TEAM	PLAYED	WON	SD	DRAWN	LOST	GF	GA	GD	POINTS
Millfield Prep School	4	3	1	0	0	8	3	5	11
King's Junior School	4	2	1	0	1	12	8	4	8
Belper HC	4	1	2	1	0	7	5	2	8
St George's College	4	0	1	1	2	4	7	-3	3
Arnold School	4	0	1	0	3	3	11	-8	2

In their total of 17 matches through the County, Midlands and Finals rounds, Belper won 14, drew 3 and lost 0. They scored a total of 51 goals and conceded 6, giving them a goal difference of +45. 

Team Slazenger initiative to assist young players
By Nick Fox

Belper u15/u18 girls National Club Cup Finals success
It was another remarkable weekend (10th-11th May, 2008) for Belper Ladies Hockey Club when the junior under 15 and u18 girls travelled to Canterbury Hockey Club to play in the England Hockey National Club Cup Finals. The u18's were a class act, winning the u18 title in style and a very young u15 team were amazing as they finished runners-up to Wakefield HC. Congratulations to all players, coaches, management and parents who have spent many hours at the training pitch and have run-up hundreds of miles travelling far and wide across the country throughout the season.
Belper u18 girls triumph for a second consecutive year
Tim Barlow
With one slight hiccup, Belper Under 18 team retained their national title at Canterbury HC on May 10/11th by winning two and drawing one of their games. This victory is dedicated to those 2nd team players (and a few from the 1sts) who went and fulfilled a National League fixture at Nottingham in March to allow the Under 18 team to win their 4th round match at Hull (which England Hockey had timetabled on the same day) to progress to the next round. Without their club spirit and willingness to go and endure an 8-0 loss, a result that they knew was likely happen, the Under 18s could not have enjoyed their success at the weekend.   
Belper opened finals weekend on Day 1 with an impressive 5-0 win over Leicester. The team's control of the game was evident from early on and, but for an outstanding display in goal by England U18 keeper Lucy Dawkins, the score could well have been in double figures. Ellie Green opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a tap in at a pc after Louisa Boddy's powerful shot had punched a hole in the keeper's defences. Lil Robinson bagged a brace - a reverse stick chip over a horizontal keeper after the initial shot had been saved and then her trade-mark deflection at a pc via Louisa Boddy and Jess Wood, that has scored so many goals in the National League. Just after the break, Jess Wood was waiting at the far post to slap the ball home after Anna Boyd had eliminated 3 players along the back line and to finalise matters, Jo Lane delivered a cracking cross-shot at a pc that the keeper never saw.
Belper were confident in the early start on Day 2 vs Harleston Magpies but they had not bargained for the determination and aggression that the Norfolk side exhibited from the start in their desire to take on the holders of the Trophy. Belper had enough chances to put the game beyond the Magpies' reach but it was not until 8 minutes into the second half that Charlotte Hobbs's mazy run set up Jess Wood to fire Belper into the lead. The feisty Magpies kept going and Belper did not help themselves with a number of players trying to win the game on their own. With two seconds to go, Belper conceded their first pc of the tournament. The initial shot was blocked by the runner-out but the subsequent mishit looped over all the defence and dropped under the bar to nestle in the net.  
A 1-1 draw between Magpies & Leicester and Leicester's 3-0 win over Chelmsford meant that Belper only needed a draw to take the title in their last game vs Chelmsford. No thought was further from their minds as in the 1st minute, Louisa Boddy's exquisite pass to Jess Wood ripped open the Chelmsford defence and her subsequent run and reverse stick shot was stunning in its execution. Belper were on fire as their pride in their performance had been dented in the previous game. On 16 minutes Lil Robinson's classy turn and quick shot put Belper in reach of the Trophy. Soon after, Alice Sharp's shot was then deflected past the stranded keeper by one of her own defenders and just before half-time, Louisa Boddy stepped up to thunder a pc against the backboard. At 4-0 Chelmsford were out on their feet. There was no let up in the second half as Belper continued to produce their best Under 18 performance of the season. Anna Boyd and Lil Robinson managed two neat deflections in the 35th and 48th minutes respectively and Alice Sharp needed no help this time from the defence as she smacked in a shot from the top of the circle. The match ended with Belper holding the ball in the back with ease of possession to run the clock down.  
As the sun sank low in the west behind the famous cathedral, so Lil Robinson led her team up the steps to receive their trophy and gold medals to emphasise once more, that they are the outstanding Under 18 team in England. No more need be added - they were simply the best.
Belper LHC would like to express their grateful thanks to the following for their help in making this weekend possible: Belper Meadows Sports Club, Belper Rotary Club, Derbyshire Sports Injuries Clinic, The Lion Hotel, DHL and Derby Rugby Veterans.
Squad: Sabbie Heesh, Ashleigh Theobald, Joanna Lane, Rachel Mason, Louisa Boddy, Rachel Sharp, Sophie Hawkins, Ellie Green, Anna Boyd, Alice Sharp, Lucy Horn, Jessica Wood, Alicia Robinson (capt), Charlotte Hobbs, Rhiannon Rogers.
Finals Results: vs Leicester - won 5-0 (HT 2-0). Ellie Green 10c; Lil Robinson 25f, 31c; Jess Wood 27f; Jo Lane 37c.
vs Harleston Magpies - drew 1-1 (HT 0-0). Jess Wood 31f.
vs Chelmsford - won 7-0 (HT 4-0). Jess Wood 1f, Lil Robinson 16f, 48f, Alice Sharp 19f, 36f; Louisa Boddy 21c; Anna Boyd 35f.

Final Table:

TEAM	PLAYED	WON	DRAWN	LOST	GF	GA	GD	POINTS
Belper  HC	3	2	1	0	13	1	12	7
Leicester HC	3	1	1	1	4	6	-2	4
Chelmsford  HC	3	1	0	2	2	10	-8	3
Harleston Magpies	3	0	2	1	2	4	-2	2

Competition Results:
Round 1.    Bye.
Round 2.    vs Cannock - won 4-0.
Round 3.    vs Nottingham Highfields - won 7-0.
Round 4.    vs Hull - won 6-0.
Round 5.    vs Reading - won 4-1.

Belper u15 girls silver medalists
Kathryn Lane
Having won our four previous cup games of the season we made it through to the  England Hockey National Cup Finals, this year held at Canterbury Hockey Club. The weather was gorgeous (if you weren’t playing) and the facilities and hospitality at ‘Polo Farm’ were great. After a long bus journey on Friday, everyone was ready for food and rest. The players and management teams were in good spirits even when we nicked all the pofiterolls from the under 18’s (sorry)!
After a fairly early get up on Saturday, it was straight down to the club to prepare for the tournament. Our first game was against Wakefield whom we were sharing a hotel with and who we also believed to be the toughest opposition. We started the game really well and were unfortunate not to take the lead because of two great saves from the Wakefield goalkeeper and it was Joanna Leigh who scored the important first goal for the Yorkshire team to take a  half time 1-0 lead. In the second half after some furious battling from both teams our heads dropped after once again Joanna Leigh found the net, the final score was 2-0. We rested and ate lunch, or in my case sucked a muffin to death! We watched the under 18’s and then warmed up for our second game of the day against Pelicans. In the team talk Ben and Lozza gave us two incentives, and I think the best tactics ever invented: ‘Win, and we’ll take you to the beach and buy you ice cream!’ These worked well and we won the game 6-3 with goals from captain Anna Toman (3), Nat Tipper, Charlotte Middleton and Georgi Horn. Maybe we shouldn’t have let three goals in but hey, we were off to the beach!
Back at the hotel Ben was timing exactly five minutes to get ready so we alarmed the rest of the guests by running in with our hockey bags and charging down the stairs. After promising to bring shells back for the under 18’s (they’re weren’t any pretty one’s) we ran back upstairs (giving the guests another heart attack) and out onto the coach. The sea was freezing, but the ice cream was good! Tash was the first to dive in to the sea and everyone else followed (slowly in some peoples case).
The next day we got up much later and didn’t have breakfast until 9:30. Arriving down at Canterbury HC, we ran down to the bottom pitch to support the under 18’s playing Harleston Magpies. We then played in the heat of the day at 1.15pm and performed really well winning 4-1 against Canterbury the host club with goals from Tash Webb, Georgi Horn, Anna Toman and Charlotte Middleton.
Despite being beaten by a well prepared Wakefield team, we got a silver medal (and therfore we’re the second best team in England!) I’d just like to say thanks to Janice, Becky, Viv, Jackie, Tim, the bus driver Steve, all the parents, and well done to the under 18’s. A special big thank you to Ben for being an amazing coach, and I hope you enjoyed your five years of coaching the under 15’s. Hoping to see everyone at the mini hockey nationals next Sunday if you can make it. Well done everyone!

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Belper u13 girls Midland Champions 2008
The regional round of the under 11 and under 13 mini hockey was held at Cannock this year. Belper had two teams that were through to this round – the girls under 13’s and the boys under 11’s. The boys under 13’s narrowly missed out being beaten by Trent on penalty flicks in the county round.
After waking up at quarter past six, we made it to Cannock for eight o’clock ready to meet all the team at quarter past. We were playing first game, so needed a warm up and a team meeting early. After Tim arriving late (lorry shed its load of pallets on the M6 – 8am Sunday morning? - can’t use that excuse too often!), we had a quick practice, and then made it into the changing rooms for a detailed team talk. The games were 12 minutes one way with a cross over semi and a final. In the semis and the final, if it’s a draw in normal time, it would go straight to flicks.
We were playing Newark HC first and we knew it would be a pretty tough game. They didn’t arrive until nine o’clock though, and as our game was at 9:30, I think they were panicking slightly. We started well with both teams having a fair share of attacks. Around half way into the game, we won a short corner. Jess Horn got the ball, beat the first defender then shot at goal in the left hand corner. The goalkeeper missed the ball and it was 1-0 to Belper. We kept them under pressure and defended well when we needed to, the final score ended as 1-0 to Belper.
After and hour and a half break, we were back on against Lichfield Hockey Club. Lichfield won the regional round last year, but luckily for us, most of their better players had gone up to the next age group. After goals from Lowri McIntosh and Maddie Wood the game ended at 2-0.
Another long break and lots of Haribo later, we were back on the pitch against King’s High School. Jess Horn slotted two goals past the keeper (one in the roof of the net from a great reverse hit), and Lowri got another from a first time slap into the corner. The game ended 3-0. As we went to have a team photograph after this game, I thought we should win the next game 4-0. So our scores would have been, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0. We went one step better than that though, winning the game 5-0 with goals from Lowri McIntosh (2), Ellie Miles, Jess Horn and Maddie Wood.
These results meant we were through to the semi finals, we were playing Cannock who had the home crowd and were use to the pitch. We sat in the changing rooms talking (and in Ellie’s case reading the strangest book ever). Then disaster struck. All day we’d (well I’d) been taking pictures, and I accidentally deleted them all! Anyway, we went out to play Cannock and were all over them. In the first minute, Ellie Miles received the ball on top of the circle, skilled about 3 people, went round the goalkeeper and slotted the ball in the goal just as she was took out by the GK. Everyone was cheering loudly where as Ellie lay on the floor for a while then said, “Ow!” We had four short corners consecutively, but didn’t manage to get any goals from them. The final whistle blew and we were through to the final. Newark had beaten Bromsgrove in the other match so that meant that once again we were playing Newark.
This was a very tense and well fought game, (not quite as tense as Surbiton but it was still pretty bad). We had about 5 minutes of attacking until Newark made a quick break, which we dealt with well. After they had won a short corner, Livi Rafferty got out to her really well and slipped the ball past their attacker to Lowri who was waiting at the other end. Lowri passed it to Ellie, who then past it back, then Lowri shot at goal and scored. We had to do some important defending in the next 4 minutes. After they won a short corner we were trying desperately to waste time. I stood on the line and told the umpire that the goal wasn’t on the line. She pushed it forward, but it still wasn’t on the line. We played on anyway and once again, Livi dealt with the player on top of the circle. The final whistle blew and we all piled on top of Sammy who had only touched the ball 4 times in the whole tournament.
Well done girls everyone did awesome! Thanks Tim for all the work you did, mum for managing and many thanks to our shirt sponsor. Congratulations to the under 11 boys who also won their competition – see you at the Nationals at Highfields!
Kathryn Lane

Gold Medals Galore for the Gallant Girls from Belper!
Leaving their navy blue in the bottom drawer for the weekend, 22 Belper HC girls donned the colour purple on Saturday and Sunday to represent Derbyshire in a variety of county championship encounters.
Royal in colour and majestic in deed were the Derbyshire Under 17 team in winning the national title in far-away Surrey. A total of 21 goals for and 2 against gives some indication of the gap in class. West Yorkshire were first under the hammer with a 7-0 score but numerous missed chances kept the victory margin against Devon to 2-1. On Day 2, Derbyshire were back to their mercurial best with a 5-0 win against Oxfordshire and 7-1 victory versus Cambridgeshire. Eleven Belper players were the heartbeat of the team. First team players Louisa Boddy, Sabbie Heesh, Alice Sharp, Joanna Lane, Sophie Hawkins, Ellie Green, Charlotte Hobbs and Rhiannon Rogers plus Under 18 squad stars Rachel Mason, Judy Wrigley and Katie Jones showed why Belper HC have no rivals in England at this age group.
In the Belper HC pipeline are the victorious Under 14 and Under 13 players who helped their county teams to glory in their Midlands age groups on Sunday.
In Birmingham, Sarah English, Lowri McIntosh, Natalie Tipper, Olivia Rafferty and Rachel Griffiths ensured that 4 wins and 2 draws were enough to take the Midlands Under 14 title. Wins over West Midlands 5-0, Northamptonshire 3-0, both Leicestershire and Shropshire 1-0, plus two draws, 1-1 vs Staffordshire and 0-0 against Warwickshire gained enough points and goals to ensure the title in the round-robin competition format.
Just along the A45 at Coventry, six Belper players were engaged in winning the Midlands Under 13 competition for Derbyshire. In their pool matches they beat Shropshire 4-0, Staffordshire 2-0, Nottinghamshire 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Worcestershire. This meant they topped their group. Bedfordshire were defeated 1-0 in the semi-final and that was also the score in the final when Leicestershire were the victims. Kathryn Lane, Ellie Miles, Maddy Wood, Becky Hawkins, Sammy Evans and Naomi Cotterill were the Belper stars in this excellent achievement.

Two finals as Belper teenagers and ladies finish well
By Caroline Jones (courtesy of Derby Evening Telegraph) 9th April, 2008
Three matches in two days saw Belper Ladies end their EHL campaign on a high and move two steps closer to cup glory. The Nailers kicked off their weekend by clinching a 3-2 win at Women's National North Division rivals Ben Rhydding. This meant Belper finished the season level on points with Nottingham Highfields and Liverpool Sefton, second and third respectively, but remained in fourth place on goal difference. The following day saw the Under-18 squad book their place in the National Cup final after a 4-1 win over Reading, while the Under-15s also progressed to the last round, winning 2-1 on penalties against Surbiton after holding them to a 3-3 draw. Although hoping his side could manage a second place finish, Belper coach Tim Barlow was nevertheless impressed by the professionalism of his national league squad. He said: "I was worried we might not win our last league game because you can only motivate a side so much. "The players knew there was nothing riding on this game except personal pride. "If I had told them it was the most important game of their lives, they would have seen right through it. "It's good to push that hard infrequently so it doesn't lose its effect. "The players weren't at their best because there was no incentive but I was pleased that they won. "They were reasonably professional about the game and there was no point driving them further. "In some ways it was enough to just win in order to save the squad for the two games the next day."
Ben Rhydding opened the scoring after 15 minutes from their first penalty corner but the Nailers got back on level terms seven minutes later, Ellie Green firing in from close range. Belper took the lead after 31 minutes, with a hurried shot from Charlotte Hobbs rolling in. A third goal, courtesy of Gill Boddy, put the Nailers in control, although the home side pulled one back on the stroke of half-time. "We preserved our record by winning at Ben Rhydding," said Barlow. "We may not have finished second but we know that we were capable of that. "We sacrificed the game against Nottingham Highfields in favour of the Under-18 cup and the national finals will prove if that was the right decision."
Both the Under-18 and Under-15 squads will travel to Canterbury for the round-robin finals, which take place on May 10 and 11. The Under-18s, looking to defend their national title, will face Leicester, Chelmsford and Harleston Magpies, while the Under-15s will be hoping to win for the fifth successive year, when they will take on Canterbury, Pelicans Hockey Club from Norfolk and Wakefield. Both teams created history last year winning the national championships at the same time. "I think the Under-18s stand a very good chance of retaining their title," said Barlow. "They didn't have a good first half in the game against Reading but I think that was down to the long journey straight after the Ben Rhydding game. We certainly came back well after the interval. "I am more confident about the Under-18s than the Under-15s simply because the latter are a very young side. "I have high hopes for them and they may do it. It is a big achievement that they have reached the finals."

England Hockey under 18 girls cup quarter final. Reading 1 - Belper 4
Scorers: Alicia Robinson 17(c), 57(f); Charlotte Hobbs 40(f); Anna Boyd 43(c).
Team: Sabbie Heesh, Joanna Lane, Rachel Sharp, Louisa Boddy, Sophie Hawkins, Ellie Green, Alice Sharp, Lucy Horn, Jess Wood, Alicia Robinson, Charlotte Hobbs, Anna Boyd, Rhiannon Rogers, Rachel Mason.
The sacrifice of the National League fixture to Nottingham a month ago in the fixture clash with the 4th Round of the Cup, was partly repaid when Belper Under 18s qualified for their National Cup Final with a 4-1 win over Reading. The effects of a hard National League game the day before and a 5 hour journey from North Yorkshire to the South of England were evident in Belper's first half performance. The Nailers started well and took the lead on 17 minutes when a slick corner routine saw Alicia Robinson deflect high into the net. Reading replied on 28 minutes from open play and it was no more than they deserved, as Belper's passing and decision making were starting to disintegrate as the weekend's demands took their toll and Reading finished the half the stronger team.
However, Belper are not the current Under 18 champions for nothing and within 10 minutes of the restart had taken the game away from the Berkshire side. Five minutes into the half, a stunning dribble by Jess Wood found her in the circle and when challenged by the keeper, she flipped a reverse pass across the goal to enable Charlotte Hobbs to deflect the ball in at the far post. Three minutes later the well-oiled comer machine struck again; this time Anna Boyd deflecting in underneath the bar. Reading visibly wilted at these two blows in quick succession and Belper took increasing command of the game. It was no surprise when Alicia Robinson scored her second with another delicate deflection off a Jess Wood pass to make the score 4-1 and put the game to bed.
Without doubt, the fact that the side have virtually played and trained all season together as the National League 1st team, contributed hugely to their slick routines at set plays that earned 3 out of the 4 goals. Also, after an indifferent first half, their ability to pick themselves and raise their game when the chips were down, meant that they blew Reading out of the water within a few minutes of the restart and then proceeded to keep the game tight.
These characteristics are going to fully tested on May 10/11 at Canterbury HC, when their opponents in the round-robin finals will be National League sides Leicester and Chelmsford plus Harleston Magpies from Division 1.

Belper u15 girls hold their nerve to win close cup encounter!
After traveling down on Saturday night, in Lowri’s dad’s smart motor, to the Travelodge at Sunbury on Thames and getting an early nights sleep, I was woken up to the sound of, “Kathryn? Look out the window!” Not exactly the ideal way most people would have like to have been woken up. Anyway, once I’d got out of bed at last and looked through the window and seen the huge flakes of snow and a winter wonderland, I thought there was no chance we were going to play our EH cup quarter final game. But, I was proved wrong. We arrived at the Surbiton Hockey Club about 10:00, to be sat around a table, drinking hot chocolate and munching biscuits. (Not that I’m moaning of course, the bourbons were gorgeous!) Surbiton’s under 18-plate match had already been cancelled, and while we were there, the Surbiton Men’s 1st team match also had to be called off. Just as we were considering coming back next weekend, people started clearing the pitch. (Thanks for helping with that everyone). Just as we were warming up, there was a hail shower, but both teams battled through it and we started the match. Yes it was two and a half hours delayed, but at least we played!
Surbiton were straight in our half, putting us under constant pressure. Sarah English made some great saves to stop Natasha Nicholls and Stephanie Anderson (Surbiton) from scoring. Anna, picked up a clearance and made a break for Surbiton’s goal, but just put the ball wide. Surbiton took the hit out, and looked threatening after two short corners in succession. Their determination paid off when Stephanie Anderson (Surbiton) whacked the ball into our goal. We applied pressure to Surbiton immediately and within three minutes Anna Toman scored from a short corner making the score 1-1. After some good defence from Olivia Rafferty, she sent the ball up the pitch, to Lowri. Lowri beat several players before slipping the ball coolly passed the goalkeeper, causing Belper to take the lead, in the 19th minute. Surbiton again applied pressure, but Belper managed to clear their short corner. In the 23rd minute, we won another short corner, but some good defending meant that Surbiton cleared the attempt. Anna Toman lead an attack but got tackled and beaten. Surbiton took the ball through our defence with a series of passes with Natasha Nicholls (Surbiton) finding the backboard. 2-2 at half-time.
The play was fairly even for a while – with both teams looking threatening. Surbiton shot wide and Tash Webb Belper's star defender, got a knock on the eye causing some panic. With fifteen minutes left until full time, the score was 2-2 and both teams were desperate to get a winning goal. Surbiton finally managed to score when Stephanie Addison put the ball past Sarah English. Belper then won three short corners in a row. Although Surbiton cleared the first two, in the final 5 minutes, Tash Webb converted the corner with a tremendous reverse hit shot, causing Belper players and supporters to scream with relief. The game wasn’t over yet though – in the final seconds of full time Surbiton won a short corner. The final whistle blew, and both teams knew that this was the short corner, which would win or draw the game. Thankfully, Belper managed to clear the ball and the game ended at 3-3.
As it was a junior knock out competition the game went straight to penalty flicks. As we won the toss, we chose to go first…
Belper – Tash Webb’s shot was saved. 0-0
Surbiton – Maddie Tait’s shot was superbly saved by Sarah touching the ball on to the post and wide. 0-0
Belper – Anna Toman scored low in the left corner. 1-0
Surbiton – Minnie James’s shot was superbly saved by Sarah again touching the ball on to the post and wide. 1-0
Belper – Jess Horn mishit the ball, which rolled slowly towards the goal. 1-0
Surbiton – Olvia Moore’s shot was saved by Sarah. 1-0
Belper – Kathryn Lane (me) scored in the right hand corner. 2-0
Surbiton – Stephanie Anderson scored low in the right hand corner. 2-1
Belper – Lowri McIntosh mishit the ball which didn’t reach the goal line. 2-1
Surbiton – Emma Royce also mishit the ball and Sarah saved! 2-1
For the second time in the competition, Belper had won on penalty flicks. Well done to Surbiton, who played excellently and I think both teams should be at the finals in Canterbury. I’d just like to thank everyone – both Belper and Surbiton supporters - for the combined effort of clearing the pitch of two inches of snow as without you we wouldn’t have been able to play. Thank you to Surbiton Hockey Club – for all the hospitality you provided us with including the refreshments after the game. As well, I’d like to say thank you to the umpires – Shaun E and Peter Redshaw, and all the match officials. I’d like to say that I couldn’t have written this report without Colin Pike (who wrote the Surbiton report) who included all the timings and exact details of the game. Most of all though, I’d like to thank all the players and supporters of both Belper and Surbiton hockey clubs. You made it a great day and I hope everyone enjoyed it. (Including all the scary moments – and there was a lot of them)! Canterbury watch out – ‘cause Belper are about!
Kathryn Lane

Ladies fundraising 'Virgin Vie Party' this Tuesday 8th April.
Tuesday 8th April in the club house - Free Admission - starts at 7.30pm. Why not come along and enjoy a pamper session with a facial, get great personal information on super skin care products. How about a brand new look for the summer with lots of fresh and and new ideas on how to wear your make up, and what in for this season. Or just come to see the lovely gifts that are available. For £2.00 you can play the board game, your number gets pulled out you and you could win £50.00 worth of V.V vouchers - to be draw out on the night. A good night out, lots of fun, why not bring a friend or two. We look forward to seeing you. For more information please call Mandy on 01773 609099 or 07950790427

Four Nations Tournament at Mannheim HC in Germany
Over Easter, 21-24 March, 2008 six Belper junior girls travelled to Mannheim, near Frankfurt in Germany to represent England Hockey. Alice Sharp (vice capt.), Sophie Hawkins, Joanna Lane and Anna Toman represented England u16’s with Jess Wood and Lucy Horn representing England u18’s.
Mannheimer Hockey Club has facilities any sporting body can only dream of - boasting two water based hockey pitches, an indoor hockey gym, superb clubhouse with bar and restaurant facilities and a 200,000 Euros video tower!! Unfortunately the only thing not under their control was the weather which proved to be very cold and windy with snow showers – at times it was an endurance test for the hardy supporters.
Both age groups played Germany, Netherlands and Spain over the first three days in a league of four teams with the top two teams playing off for the winners spot and the other two teams contesting third / fourth place on the fourth and final day.
England u16’s managed an encouraging draw in their opening game against hosts Germany but then lost the other three games by a single goal which was really not the complete picture as at times England were the better team as they certainly competed throughout all of their games but were unable to put the ball in the net at crucial times and maybe conceded too many goals.
England u18’s started with a 2-3 loss to Germany, but then had a superb 3-1 win against favourites Netherlands. A 2-2 draw against Spain unfortunately was not enough to see them through to the final and they then lost to Spain 0-2 in the play off game.
However, both teams should be encouraged by their overall performances with the u18’s due to play again at the Home Nations tournament in Cardiff during the summer and the u16’s who are now preparing for the European Championships in Holland in July. We wish the Belper players all the best over the next few weeks during further England training sessions and hope they can secure their places in these forthcoming squads.
u16 results: Germany 2 England 2, England 2 Netherlands 3, Spain 3 England 2, Germany 1 England 0. (4th position).
u18 results: Germany 3 England 2, England 3 Netherlands 1, Spain 2 England 2, Spain 2 England 0. (4th position).

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