Harleston Magpies Under-18 Girls aiming for National glory in the England Hockey Championships

Having knocked on the door several times before, Harleston Magpies Under-18 Girls are now preparing to play in the National Final of the England Hockey Championships.

After defeating defending champions Southgate in the quarter-finals, Magpies were in clinical form during last weekend’s semi-final, running out 6-0 winners over Teddington.

And with their time in youth hockey coming towards a close, the team has the opportunity tomorrow to wrap things up in style when they take on their Bowdon counterparts in Nottingham (3pm).

“We don’t know much about them but they’ve knocked some big teams out in the northern section,” said coach Jason Harness, who runs the team alongside manager James Cantrell.

“It’s going to be a really tough game, but I think the quarter-final showed the girls that they can compete.

“We were behind twice in that game and ended up winning 3-2 against the defending champions, which really boosted us.

“We took that into the semi-final. Teddington offered some resistance up until half-time before we took them apart in the second half.

“These girls have been together a long time and they’ve been knocking on the door of finals. They’ve gone out of round robin competitions having not conceded a goal – it’s been unlucky.

“But now they’ve got over the hurdle and hopefully it all comes together on the day.”