Hurst hockey girls win Sussex Cup

Having been drawn in the tougher of the pools, Hurst faced Ardingly College, Brighton College, Worth School and Mayfield School. The first game was a tough encounter against Brighton, which Hurst managed to win 2-0, thanks to some clinical finishing in the second half. Mayfield followed, and put up some stern resistance until half time, with the score at 0-0. At the start of the second half, two quick goals settled the nerves for the Hurst girls, and a 3-0 win was secured.

Next up was Ardingly, who started brightly, but the girls kept them at arm’s length, playing some superb hockey to take a 3-0 victory. The Hurst girls saved their best performance for the final group match against Worth, when the entire squad contributed very effectively throughout to produce some outstanding team moves for a 7-0 win.

Tournament hosts, Eastbourne College topped the other pool, which left Hurst facing Farlington School in the semi-final. After some scrappy initial exchanges, Hurst broke the deadlock and swiftly seized control of the game, for a second 7-0 victory. With Eastbourne sneaking past Ardingly in the other semi-final, it was another Eastbourne versus Hurst Sussex Cup final.

Eastbourne started well, but Hurst denied them any meaningful scoring chances in the early exchanges, and then the Hurst girls began to dominate through some great passing in midfield, and superb pressing from the forward line. After a single goal before half time, Hurst's Ciara Daniell secured a 2-0 win with a superbly taken goal just before full time. This is the first time that Hurst has won the U16 Sussex Cup.