A squad of nine excited Cargilfield boys made the short trip along Ferry Road to our neighbours, Fettes for the U11 IAPS Hockey Qualifiers. It was a chilly but dry afternoon and with the wind blowing, the boys were grateful for their long cosy coats which are only used in these special occasions.

We began with the worst possible start by conceding to Loretto in the opening seconds of the tournament. Our entire team didn't lay a glove on their impressive playmaker who ghosted past us to slot home as if they weren't there. It was certainly a wake-up call and within a few minutes we were pressuring their keeper who initially made some good saves but couldn't keep Theo out to prevent the equaliser. We kept up the pressure and ended up winning 4-1. Apart from the first 30 seconds, we looked good on the ball and moved it around nicely.
We had a tough second match against Craigclowan where chances came for both sides. We played a more attacking formation by having Hamish wide on the right hand side and he had a number of chances to shoot but just could not find the back of the net. However, in the second half he and Theo linked up well and we managed to get a good 2-0 against a good and well-coached side. 

With two wins in the opening two games, we knew that just getting a positive result in the final pool game would be enough to win the group. However, St Peter's had other ideas and played some very slick hockey, moving the ball into the space well. They opened the scoring early in the second half following a firm shot which was deflected past Jamie in goal and we suddenly had it all to do. In the dying moments of the match we won a penalty corner. Toby injected to Caspian at the top of the circle and our central defender smashed the ball home with just seconds to spare.



The draw meant that we topped the group and were into the semi final against the hosts, Fettes. Having had our regular fixture against them cancelled due to a frozen pitch earlier in the term, it was nice to be able to play them. We started a little lethargically with Caspian feeling pretty tired from all the pool games. However, he managed the sweeper role really well, playing the ball out of trouble and somehow found the energy to make a mazy run and get the opening goal to take us into the lead at half time. In the second half, we played some better, passing hockey, especially on the right where Edward fed some strong passes to Hamish on the wing. This opened up the space for Toby to run into and attack with Theo in support. We scored quite early on and this settled the nerves. Arthur came on for Caspian to give him a rest and played some great balls out wide to clear the danger. Fettes slipped the ball into the corner of our goal to make it a nervous last few minutes but we held on to win 2-1 and were into the final to play St Peter's again who had defeated Sedbergh in their semi final.

With a break and a chance to rehydrate, rest and fuel up with flapjacks and sweets we were well-prepared for what turned out to be an absolute epic of a final. 

It was end to end stuff with Jamie having to make some crucial saves and our defence having to make some crucial last ditch tackles as the St Peter's forwards got in behind - especially from Caspian who seemed to have recovered from his tiredness at the most important time. Oliver was absolutely outstanding on the left all day and in this game made so many interceptions to thwart the opposition attack down the right. We were on top in terms of penalty corners but St Peter's had learned from the pool match and closed Caspian down very quickly. Our third penalty corner came in the final moments of the game and Caspian was once again pressurised at the top of the circle; he moved to his left quickly and took the shot. It was a good save but when it happened to come back to him, he dribbled it left and then right and found the space to push the ball past the keeper from a few yards out with just 40 second left on the clock. St Peter's came back at us with urgency and we had to defend for our lives in our own circle. When the ball hit the foot of the attacker, it was relief all round and the hooter sounded, cuing ecstatic celebrations from the loud parental support and the absolutely shattered Cargilfield boys.

It was tough on St Peter's who really had so many chances in the final where the result could have gone either way. Toby and Jamie were on the receiving end of something similar last year where we lost in the final to Fettes on Golden Goal and I could really empathise with the team from York. The emotion from both sides poured out as the two teams had worked so hard all afternoon and there was really not a great deal between us and them. St Peter's players should be incredibly proud of what they achieved today and how they played a huge part in a very exciting and tight final.

I am immensely proud of the Cargilfield boys today who had to really dig in when we looked up against it. Although Caspian was our player of the match in the final, all the boys played some terrific hockey today and will no doubt be looking forward to representing their school at the IAPS Finals at Repton next month. It will be a big step up to play against the best Prep schools in England but we have time to work on a few things and there is absolutely no reason why we can't go toe to toe with those schools and I know the boys will be relishing the chance to do so. Well done, boys.