S1 and S3 hockey tournament wins for Kelso and Peebles
Girls’ S3 and S1 hockey teams from Peebles and Kelso are celebrating after winning south schools tournament finals.
Peebles High won this year’s girls’ S3 tournament, staged at Tweedbank and Selkirk last Friday, after finishing second in their pool to Kelso High on goal difference after both beat Eyemouth High and Galashiels Academy and drew 0-0 playing each other.
Peebles and Earlston couldn't be separated in open play the first semi-final, with the former winning it after a penalty shootout, and Kelso beat Hawick High in theirs to set up a final rematch with their pool’s runners-up.
The final was another tight affair, with Peebles and Kelso still level after extra-time, necessitating a further penalty shootout to decide the trophy's destination. Goalkeepers Hannah O’Dwyer for Peebles and Cerys Payne for Kelso made it tough for the strikers facing them, saving the first five shots prior to Peebles’ Robyn Gibson proving to be the match-winner by squeezing the final penalty home, enabling her skipper Abi Clapperton to raise the 2025 trophy aloft.
It was Kelso High’s turn to celebrate on Saturday as their team won the south schools girls’ S1 title at Jedburgh Grammar Campus.
Kelso and the hosts went through as first and second in their pool after matches against Galashiels Academy, Peebles and Berwickshire High, and Earlston and Selkirk emerged as top two in the other pool after going up against Hawick and Eyemouth.
Kelso pipped Selkirk High to the post and Jedburgh edged past Earlston High in the last four to set up a rematch for the final after drawing 2-2 in their pool.
That turned out to be another close-run thing and it took a running penalty goal from Zara Milburn in extra-time to decide it and leave Kelso captains Eva Burton and Jess Elliot to lift 2025’s S1 trophy.
This year’s south schools tournaments draw to a close this week with Berwickshire High hosting a sevens contest tomorrow and Kelso High the delayed S2 girls’ championship on Saturday.
Those tournaments followed Kelso’s senior sevens squad competing at 2025’s Goldenacre Sevens at Edinburgh’s George Heriot’s School the weekend before, drawing 0-0 with Dollar Academy and 1-1 with Strathallan School and losing 5-0 and 6-0 respectively to Heriot’s and Edinburgh Academy.