Boys finish Bronze Spot in European Tournament
posted 2 April 2008

CHS finished third in the European Youth Championships in The Hague after a tough fought crossover against Dutch team Ring Pass.

The path to the Bronze medal match was difficult having to play Dutch hosts HDM, the Swiss U18 national team and English elite school Wellington.

The first two matches against Swiss and English opposition found the Cookstown team to strong and powered home 15 goals with only one conceded. Technically and tactically more efficient the Cookstown team created chances and remained tight in defence allowing team coach Haycock the chance to play the full travelling squad.

The third group game paired up ultimately the best two teams in the tournament HDM and Cookstown. Although HDM ran out 2:0 winners, Cookstown more than competed and on another day, taking some of their chances, a reversal of scores wouldn’t have been unreasonable.

In the second round matches being played, again CHS posed too good for the Swiss and comfortably won the game 3:0. The next match would ultimately be the final with Cookstown needing a minimum 2 goal win against HDM side for a place in the final. Cookstown took the challenge and raced into a two goal lead against a very talented Dutch club. With home umpires playing a factor, Cookstown would be dragged back to ‘honours even’ and a place in the Euro final a bridge too far.

In their final group game in the morning against English team Wellington, Coach Haycock elected to rest the majority of his squad for the Bronze medal match and this would pay dividends later in the day. Despite losing this match to Wellington 3:1, goal scorer extraordinaire Mark Wilson showed why he has been pushing a starting berth on this team…when the team needed goals, that’s the man to look to!

The Bronze medal match would see the final match played in a CHS shirt for Allen and Acheson. Allen who has scored over forty goals for this team this season got them well under way when he neatly followed up after good work on the right.

David Acheson would send them into a two goal lead after a sweeping move that would see all of the front six involved. Ring Pass got the game back to 2:1 after a defensive clearance didn’t find its target and the Dutch striker scored from close range.

Cookstown would finish the half 3:1 leaders when captain Ames added to his tally and ultimately claimed the seasons top scorer award by one goal.

The second half was one way traffic with Cookstown now playing its season’s best hockey. Energy and enthusiasm flowed into all the moves as the defensive team unit ethos was evident when the Dutch team went on the attack.

Cookstown, despite many chances couldn’t get a fourth until late in the game when Stuart Smyth thundered in a furious reverse stick to leave the Dutch keeper grasping at air.

This was an end to a tough tournament that saw CHS play seven times in three days and to an eventful and successful season. Congratulations to Greg Allen who was the tournaments second highest goal-scorers with eight goals as he signed off his school career to the delight of many school defences around Ireland and abroad. The boys would like to express thanks to all who followed the boys on their travels at home and abroad. Cookstown were probably the best supported team at the event and it was noticed by the vocal support through tough conditions.

This team has brought pride and success to both school and town in their triple wins at home and now third in a European competition. This event would not have been possible without the help of Team Sponsors Stanley Best and generosity of Embroiderus and other businesses in Cookstown and further afield. This help has provided the CHS team an opportunity to compete against other European teams in a world hockey environment.

Travelling team: A Thom, A Henry, D Best, A McGucken, R Johnston, J Ames, S Smyth, D Ames (Capt) S Sloan, I Sloan, G Allen, M Crooks, D Atkinson, C Hutchinson, H Acheson, M Wilson, R Millar, M Elliot, G Donaldson, G Purvis. Coaches: Michael Haycock and Gareth Cuddy.