27 Mar 2023
On Friday the Year 8 girls hockey team were in action in the Henderson Trophy aspiring to win the double.
Having claimed the west of ulster league title a few weeks ago, they were excited at the prospect of playing for the Henderson Trophy a tournament involving several schools in the West of Ulster.
The girls were drawn against Strabane, Omagh B and Sligo Year 9's in their group. They struggled to get the momentum going against Omagh but after 5 mins it all clicked into place and they came out 4-0 winners. They then faced Strabane and this saw the girls in the attacking half for the duration of the game; however Strabane were strong in defence and the girls could only hit the back of the net once. They then went on to play Sligo Year 9's knowing that the girls were a year older than them. Once again they had the majority of possession but a dubious break away goal saw Sligo go into the semi finals as winners with Cookstown entering as runners up.
The semi final saw them face Raphoe Year 9's who had topped their group. Once again the girls played an excellent passing game and were rewarded with 3 well taken goals putting them nicely into the final. They again faced Sligo Year 9's in this final who had beaten Omagh A to get there. Once again the Cookstown girls dominated the game but the Sligo keeper and defence could not be penetrated and the game finished 0-0 resulting in penalty runs. The Cookstown girls held their nerve and slotted all 5 run ins past the Sligo keeper to win the Henderson trophy.
A well deserved accomplishment which the girls fought tirelessly for. Player of the tournament Lucy Black.