It has been an historic season for boys’ hockey at Bradfield in which the 1stXI reached the final of the England Hockey Schools U18 Tier 2 National Cup for the first time in thirty years, while the depth and quality of teams across the age groups has been impressive with the 2ndXI, U16Bs and U14Bs all winning their Independent Schools Hockey Leagues.
Coming off the back of a successful indoor season, the 1stXI were keen to impress and, having exited the Independent Schools Cup at the quarter final stage, firmly put the disappointment behind them in the England Hockey Schools Cup. They beat a strong Alleyn’s team 3-2 in the last eight and then Altrincham Grammar School 2-1 to book their place in the final where the boys came up against Magdalen College School at the Lee Valley Hockey Centre, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The team made the perfect start to the match taking the lead after just six minutes. Bradfield dominated the early possession and, after coming close to scoring from consecutive penalty corners, a quick turnover of possession in midfield saw Captain Thomas (H) break forward and his searching ball into the D was turned home by Arthur (H).
Having weathered the storm after going ahead with superb defending at the back first from Andrew (A) and then from Tommy (F), Bradfield began to press for another goal and they were rewarded with ten minutes to go to half time. Slick passing between the attackers opened up the space for Thomas to step up and smash the ball into the corner to double their lead going into the break.
Magdalen started the second half with much more attacking intent and got themselves back into the match almost instantly. With 55 minutes gone in what had become an end-to-end match, a topsy-turvy two minutes first saw Bradfield stretch their lead before conceding immediately from the kick off. Unable to finish off a quick counter a minute earlier, Louis (A) took a second chance when he was put clear and his flick found the top corner. Magdalen won a 2nd penalty corner straight from the kick off and the shot from the edge of the D soared through a sea of defenders to find the back of the net.
It proved to be the turning point in the game as Magdalen cranked up the pressure and got their equaliser with five minutes to go. Hope then turned to heartbreak for Bradfield as, with just seconds left on the clock, Magdalen won a 3rd penalty corner and the shot from the edge of the D was successful once more, finding the back of the goal and winning the Cup for Magdalen after a thrilling final.
