12th June 2017: On Sunday 4th June the Under 14 team of AH&BC were crowned Junior EHCC Champions following a full day of play at HC ‘s Hertogenbosh.
Sunday 4th June was a momentous day for women’s hockey as the inaugural Junior EHCC took place between the Under 14 teams from, hosts HC ‘s Hertogenbosch, Canterbury HC, Surbiton HC, CSP Krylatskove and AH&BC.
CSP Krylatskoye from Russia took the early spoils in the opening game v Canterbury 0-3. The hosts then struggled to get past a tight defensive Surbiton team and the game ended 0-0. Amsterdam set out their stall early with a solid 3-0 win over Surbiton, some excellent attacking play worthy of older more experience players! Den Bosch, the hosts then got into their stride in their second game, putting 5 past the Russians without reply. Amsterdam once again attacked well with a 2-0 win over Canterbury.
CSP Krylatskoye and Surbiton HC played an excellent game, and as the play had now moved to the stadium pitch the girls got a real feel for international hockey, with amazing friendly support from all the parents and fans in the stadium! Surbiton’s one goal was enough to beat CSP Krylatskoye. The local derby of hosts ‘s Hertogenbosch v AH&BC saw Amsterdam winning by one goal, but with incredible skill and positive attacking play from both teams!
Another local derby as the two English teams faced eachother in the 8th game of the day, Surbiton getting the better of Canterbury by 3-0. A tiring Russian team fell 4-1 to the ladies from Amsterdam, again their well executed short corners making the difference, in spite of a feisty performance from the Russian keeper. Canterbury fell 2-0 to the hosts in the final game of the day!
None of the results dampened what was perfectly summed up by Marijke Fleuren, President of the EHF “See these girl shining! They have met girls of the same age from different countries and they did a great job playing them. Thank you HC Den Bosch that you made the first international performance for all the U14 teams so enchanting!”
Marijke pictured with CSP Krylatskoye
A gorgeous moment ensued just before the prize giving as we informed the very happy ladies of ‘Den Bosch’ that they had come second “Oh” and then a shrug of the shoulders, giggles and happiness and they took their place for the final parade of the teams.
We often say ‘hockey is the winner’ and for sure on 4th June, that idiom rang through, whilst Amsterdam H&BC were crowned overall winners, the joy and fun around the ground showcases the love that these future stars of our game have for our sport.
A huge treat was in store for the girls as legend Maartje Paumen postponed her team meal to award the prizes, impart some wisdom and generally be amongst the girls, her message to the young talent “train hard, play hard and have fun with your team”
Final Results
10.00h Canterbury HC vs CSP Krylatskoye 0-3
10.45h ‘s-Hertogenbosch vs Surbiton HC 0-0
12.30h AH&BC Amsterdam vs Surbiton HC 3-0
13.15h ‘s-Hertogenbosch vs CSP Krylatskoye 5-0
14.00h Canterbury HC vs AH&BC Amsterdam 0-2
14.45h CSP Krylatskoye vs Surbiton HC 0-1
15.30h ‘s-Hertogenbosch vs AH&BC Amsterdam 0-1
16.15h Surbiton HC vs Canterbury HC 3-0
17.00h AH&BC Amsterdam vs CSP Krylatskoye 4-1
17.45h Canterbury HC vs ‘s-Hertogenbosch 0-2
Huge thanks to Edna Rutten (TD) and her team of umpires and officials! All the umpires were under 25 and just as excited to meet Maartje as the players!
Also thanks to Ady Kerry (EHF Official photographer) who took the time to create a wonderful gallery on our Facebook page! Click here