Ben Rhydding U10 girls ended their season in style on Sunday, following up their triumph in the Yorkshire tournament by being crowned North U10 champions with some skilful and disciplined hockey against the best sides in the North of England. First up the Ilkley side had to face Alderley Edge and Kirkby Lonsdale in the group stages of the competition. Alderley Edge started strongly and soon had Rhydding on the back foot, firing home a lifted strike from the edge of the area in the opening exchanges. Ben Rhydding did not let their heads drop, however, and were soon back on level terms, some great teamwork seeing Eleanor Pilling fire the ball out of defence to Lauren Day, whose neat pass to Phoebe Ogden allowed the latter to drive the ball down the right flank before slipping the ball to Alice Jackson to fire home. This set the scene for the rest of the game, Ben Rhydding passing the ball around confidently, with Abigail Prentice putting great pace on the ball to find Ogden and Jackson in space on the flanks, whilst Day worked tirelessly to control the central play, working well with young Kirsty McMillan, who gave the Alderley Edge defenders no time on the ball, chasing down every opportunity and winning possession for the Ilkley side. Ben Rhydding were justly rewarded for an excellent team performance with two goals from prolific scorer Phoebe Ogden, a further strike from the on-form Alice Jackson and the final goal for Lauren Day, who deservedly found the net after some neat build-up play from Anna Pateman-Johnson. A superb performance from the Rhydding girls which drew praise from the opposition coaches and supporters alike. Next up were Kirkby Lonsdale, and Rhydding showed no mercy in a nine-nil scoreline. Alice Jackson netted four in another fine performance, alongside another brace for Phoebe Ogden, with Lauren Day and Kirsty McMillan both getting on the scoresheet. Kirkby Lonsdale created chances of their own, but found keeper Claudia Dobson in determined form, stepping in with three confident saves to maintain a clean sheet. Evie Malir and Rachel Scott entered the fray, and both demonstrated the great strength in depth of the Rhydding squad, tackling with confidence and distributing well to their teammates to create further opportunities, Malir firing in a neat deflection from an Ogden cross for the final goal.
Thus Ben Rhydding marched into the semi finals of the competition, and showed few nerves as they took on Deeside Ramblers from Cheshire. After a hesitant start the Ilkley squad were once again in full control, Anna Pateman-Johnson tackling with tenacity and distributing well to Lauren Day and Phoebe Ogden. Deeside could not contain the pace of Ogden, who drove the ball down the right time and again, firing the ball in for conversions from Day and Jackson before bagging the third goal herself. Meanwhile Rhydding’s defensive duo of Eleanor Pilling and Abigail Prentice dealt capably with Deeside’s attacking forays, stepping in with crucial tackles and distributing well to the flanks and out of danger. Claudia Dobson grew in confidence in the Ben Rhydding goal, her second clean sheet proving just reward for a couple of timely saves.
Ben Rhydding faced a nervous wait for their final opponents, as the other semi final (between Alderley Edge and Wakefield) had to be decided on penalty flicks. Alderley Edge ultimately won through, whilst Ben Rhydding knew they were just one win away from victory in this prestigious competition. Cheered on by a vocifierous crowd, Ben Rhydding’s youngest team showed signs of nerves and tiredness but Pilling and Prentice demonstrated great maturity in defence, calmly dealing with an improved Alderley Edge side to keep their side in the game in a nervy first half. Kirsty McMillan worked hard up front to create the openings, with Jackson, Day and Ogden piling on the pressure, but their efforts were initially unrewarded as Alderley Edge’s solid defensive formation kept their opponents at bay. It was Prentice who settled the nerves just after half time with a well struck short corner which slid past the keeper to open the scoring. Alderley Edge responded strongly but were thwarted by some tenacious tackling from Anna Pateman-Johnson and Lauren Day, whilst some confident goalkeeping from Claudia Dobson allowed her to clear the ball to the wings where Phoebe Ogden was on hand to drive the ball at her opponents and keep up the pressure. A period of sustained possession was justly rewarded as Ben Rhydding increased their lead, Alice Jackson easing supporters’ nerves with a neat goal after a goalmouth melee. Alderley Edge looked visibly tired as they faced an uphill struggle to get back in the game, and Jackson effectively sealed the championship with a further strike late in the match. The final whistle was greeted with celebration from the Ilkley supporters, as Ben Rhydding were deservedly crowned North champions.
