Having not played a match together since July, the under 14s made the long journey up the A1 to play Sedgefield WPC. Grantham players had to adjust to playing in a pool with a shallow and deep end, alternating playing ends at each quarter.

With Grantham having a squad of 9, each player got plenty of pool time and were able to test their fitness and teamwork. The opposition had plenty of subs and fresh legs available to them and they capitalised on this by ending the first quarter 3-2 up. First goal for Grantham was secured by Olly with Seth securing the second.

The second quarter saw Grantham start to settle and were shooting towards the deep end. The opposition gave away two penalties which were both scored by Sam. Grantham were able to continue with their goal scoring opportunities and a further 6 shots on goal were converted by Bella (1), Seth (1), Alex (1), Olly (1) and Sam (2). The great defence work by Grantham, including some great pressure from Charis forcing the opposition out to the wing. Jacob and Ethan both provided great pressure on the pass/shot and Gabriel making some super saves in goal saw the opposition only manage to score 1 goal in quarter two. Grantham won the second quarter making the score at the end of quarter two 4-10.

The third quarter saw the Grantham players start to tire but they did not give up. Sedgefield were again able to utilise their full bench and were able to score 4 goals. Both goals scored for Grantham in quarter three came from Alex which meant Grantham were still in the lead with the score being 8-12 at the end of quarter three.

Knowing his players were definitely feeling tired, coach Dave’s team talk was to look at being able to keep the defence tight since Grantham were in the lead going into quarter four. Sedgefield were able to make a slight comeback and scored three goals making it an intense end to the match. A goal from Alex ensured Grantham were able to secure the win with a final score of 11-13.

An away match win for the Grantham U14s was a great result and made the long drive worth while. Some wins on the alcoholic raffle also resulted in some happy parents/supporters!

A big thank you to coach Dave for his super coaching. Thank you to all the players for digging deep and playing till the very end of the match. A tough, hard fought win which you should all be pleased with and super proud of all your efforts. And finally a massive thank you to all the parents/guardians/supporters that made the journey and got the players safely to the venue.