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Ferndown Middle School
Peter Grant Way Ferndown Dorset BH22 9UP

Year 7 Girls 3rd in South West

Posted on 31/01/2017

On Wednesday 25th January our Year 7 Girls represented Poole and East Dorset as the champions in the South West Finals at Torbay Leisure Centre. We departed early for the near three hour mini bus ride down the winding roads to Devon. The girls spirits were certainly high in the bus and there was a lovely atmosphere going into the competition.

In our first match we came back from a goal down to beat the Bristol and South Gloucestershire Champions, Brimsham Green 2-1 with Hannah on target twice, she was supported by strong running from Tegan and Katie. In the second match against the West Cornwall Champions, Penryn we started well and Hannah put us into the lead. We couldn’t get the second goal and great goalkeeping from Leah kept us in the game. Unfortunately we conceded a late equaliser to finish 1-1. The third match was much tougher and we lost this 5-0 to the North Somerset Champions, Gordano. Here the girls started slowly but they were actually extremely unlucky as they matched the physicality of their opponents.

Our last match was against the Yeovil and District Champions, Holyrood Academy and in this match we needed a four goal victory to progress. We took our time getting into this match and we found ourselves a goal down and that meant we needed five goals in just over six minutes. The determination was clear to see and once Hannah scored the equaliser the confidence was up. Sydney and Tegan were charging down the wings creating space for Hannah to score a second and quickly a third, the excitement was building. Isobel was now playing as a midfielder taking the game to the opposition and before we knew it Hannah scored a fourth and the belief was there for a remarkable comeback. We had less than sixty seconds to go. We made another attack and Tegan struck a fierce shot that hit the outside of the post that looked like it was surely going to go in. Holyrood counter attacked us with all of our team in their half and scored a second that signalled the end of our brave attempt to make the final.

The girls could not have given more and the fact they had the grit and determination to keep battling all the way to the very end is a testament to the qualities of them both individually and collectively. They eventually finished in 3rd Place at The South West of England Championships. It sounds just fantastic when you say out loud that we are the third best team in the South West of England. What pleased me the most was the sporting attitude of our girls where they all shook hands, encouraged each other and played with big smiles on their faces. They certainly are role models for everyone in our school.  It was an absolute honour to be part of their special day.

I would like to thank the driver and the parents that came to support us on this five hour round journey, it made the day feel like a community event and the girls really appreciated their positive encouragement. Finally congratulations again girls on your super efforts, I am thoroughly proud of you all and it was definitely worth the late finish.

Mr Higgins