Borders teens’ age groups are past in Future Cup

Hannah Miller( Gala Academy and Fjordhus Reivers,U17 girls’ age group), Livvy Hogg (U15 girls, Earlston High School and Fjordhus Reivers), Molly Byers (U15 girls, Selkirk High School and Fjordhus Reivers) and Charlie Jack (U15 boys, Ancrum and Inverleith), were representing Scotland as the Caledonian Cougars.

The U17 girls, with Hannah Miller, made the bronze play-off with 1-1 draws against both Wessex Leopards and the Saxon Tigers.

Their final game was also a 1-1 draw but saw the girls win 3-2 on running penalties against Mercia Lynx, earning them the bronze medal.

The U15 girls disposed of Merica Lynx 3-1 and followed up with a Wessex Leopards win by 3-2, which took them into the final.

This was a fiercely competitive game, with the girls going up 1-0, but a 30-second lapse in concentration resulted them losing two goals in quick succession which resulted in a frustrating 2-1 loss. A silver medal, however, is the highest placing for the girls in this tournament.

The U15 boys dominated their first two qualifying matches, sweeping aside Saxon Tigers with a 6-2 victory, followed by a 6-1 win against the Celtic Jaguars. Charlie Jack was on hand to put two in the net against the Celtic Jaguars.

The final was a much more competitive game, with the Wessex Leopards going 1-0 up. The boys pulled it back to 2-1 by half time with another goal from Charlie.

The second half was a fantastic end to end game with both teams scoring one apiece, leaving the final score 3-2 to the Scottish boys and a well-deserved gold medal. This is the first time the boys have won the tournament and have also won against every Home Nation this season.

The U17 boys also won the gold medal with an 8-4 victory in their qualifying round against Mercia Lynx and a 4-4 draw against Celtic Jaguars. They then disposed of the Penine Pumas 4-3 to lift the gold medal.

This tournament draws to a close the national programme for the 2019-20 season, with Charlie, Molly and Livvy moving up an age group to the U18s.

All four will be looking ahead and working hard to try and gain a place in their respective Scottish squads who will play in the European Cup in July 2020.

All the players were grateful to Clubsport Ettrick and Lauderdale, Clubsport Roxburgh and the Rowan Boland Trust for their support, plus Live Borders ASP (Athlete Support Programme).