South of Scotland U18s put in a commendable performance at the inter-district indoor tournament at Hutcheson's Grammar School in Glasgow.
Made up of girls from Kelso and Berwickshire high schools, South were scheduled to play North first, but due to severe weather, their opponents were unable to travel to Glasgow. So South’s first appearance was against South West – and they got off to
a disastrous start, giving away a goal in the opening seconds thanks to a defensive error and conceding a second soon after.
However, South fought back and Kirsty Hill scored following a solo run down the left wing. The equaliser was notched by Siobhan Murphy, but South West regained the lead.
Hill bagged her second goal just seconds later and after South West had again edged in front, Hill completed her hat-trick to make the final tally 4-4.
South took on eventual winners East in their second tie. Their opponents went in front from a penalty corner and despite the efforts of Kelly Aitchison who saved a shot on the goal line, East scored a further three.
Hill replied, but East added another two goals to their tally. South had the last word when a run-up from defence by Aitchison to Henrietta Cooper gave the Kelso High pupil the chance to net a superb goal for a final score of 6-2.
South suffered their second defeat of the tournament against Midlands, losing 5-2.
Midlands opened the scoring after two minutes, but South levelled from a penalty corner with Holly Millar finding the target. Jenna Simpson and Anne Ramsay then fed the ball from defence to Hill who set up Millar to put South in front.
However, Midlands equalised and then added three more, despite some fantastic saves from Natasha Hewson.
The final match of the competition saw South take on West. Right from the start West were strong in attack and took the lead before adding four more. South had some great attempts on goal which they could not finish.
Although they ended fifth, South displayed some excellent hockey and the scorelines did not reflect their performances.
Coaches Mary Weir and Kathleen Haldane were presented with gifts by South captain Michelle Stewart for their pre-tournament sessions and coaching throughout the event.
