Having won the southern conference the U12 squad qualified for the ENG National League finals in Birmingham. The Top 4 form the south would meet the top 4 from the north to find out who would be crowned the best U12 squad in the country. Our first game we were drawn against....
The girls started the game quite nervously and went down by 6-7 points in the first quarter. Coaching team Mel and Luke gave the girls some morale boosting confidence during the interval which seemed to inspire the girls into making a comeback. by the time we had entered into the last quarter the girls had reduced the deficit and making it square.
The momentum built up in the 2nd and 3rd quarter the girls raced out in the 4th quarter and blew the opposition away winning the quarter finals match to progress into the Semi- finals.
The semi-finals saw us drawn against eventual winners Oldham NC who would really test the girls like no other competitor before. After the victory in the quarter finals the girls morale was buzzing and they carried this straight into the Oldham match the girls went goal to goal with Oldham for the entire match and narrowly lost by a few points, this was by far the biggest test the girls have faced and they walked away with a 4th placed finish but more importantly the confidence that they can compete, as well as any U12 squad in the country.
An amazing journey with so many great individual and team performances, we look forward to how much the group can progress next season.
ENG U12 YNPL Grand Finals 2022
Winner - Oldham NC
Runner Up - Kingsway Power
3rd - Leeds Athletic
4th - Starz NC
MVP of the Tournament - Hettie Tidy (Leeds Athletic)
All Stars - Hettie Tidy (Leeds Athletic), Thea Uprichard (Kingsway Power), Amber Bonnett-Powell (Turnford NC), Gabby Olatundun (Sutton Town), Ava Brown (Oldham NC), Chloe Horne (Starz NC) Sophie Pinder (Wyre NC)
Squad list:
1. Josie
2. Elsie
3. Lexie
4. Penelope
5. Chloe
6. Meredith
7. Isabelle
8. Tilly
9. Carmela
10. India