For the third year running the U16 boys had been selected to play at the indoor hockey trials to aim for a place in the Midlands finals.
From the starting whistle the boys faced Queens Mary and with an early break from Matt Cooper in defence saw Tom Whitfield slide the ball into the back of the net.
After half time Queens Mary fought through the mid field and from a well worked short corner scored to even the game 1-1.
The boys continued to fight till the end and with a foot in the D, gained their first short corner of the competition with a well worked routine saw Sam Ling fire the ball home to win 2-1.
Then came the pressure game against the club teams Cannock and Lichfield. Cannock from the off went in hard and scored two early goals to unsettle the Friary team. However after an inspirational team talk the boys came back with a short corner to see Sam Ling score his second goal of the tournament but Cannock finished the game with a 3-1 win.
Friary then took on Lichfield Hockey Club and until the last minute kept them to a 0-0 result but with a scrappy challenge in the D saw them slot the ball inside the left post ending the game 1-0. This then put pressure on the boys to win their final game which was against Newcastle.
Despite the loss on the previous game the boys went in hard, produced some lovely 1-2 play in the D to find Sam Ling score his two finals goals of the competition ending it 2-0.
Congratulations boys as going through to the Midlands Finals on Sunday 4th December with every hope of gaining a place at nationals. Thank you to all the parents who came to watch and supported with transport. A special thanks must go to Mrs Fallows, Mr Hickman and John Allcock (LHC) for their continued support and coaching.
Team: GK – Oli Williams, Lee Hames, Josh Smith, Matt Cooper (Captain), Sam Ling, Ethan Mitchelson and Tom Whitfield
