THE Under-16 girls hockey team at Lady Hawkins' School in Kington represented Herefordshire in the southwest regional finals at Dean Close School, Cheltenham.

Lady Hawkins were the only state school in the 16-team tournament and were placed in a group alongside established public schools Marlborough, Colstons and Dean Close.

They started off against Marlborough and kept the match scoreless for the first 10 minutes.

However, Marlborough's class eventually showed and they scored three quick goals before the break.

A further three goals were scored in the second half and Marlborough won 6-0.

Lady Hawkins' player of the match was Bethan Slade Jones, who defended well.

The next game was against Dean Close, which proved to be an even contest for during the opening stages.

However, Lady Hawkins struggled with the transition from attack to defence, which allowed the hosts to scored three times before half time.

The Herefordshire school were unable to come back into the game from thereon in, eventually losing 7-0.

The final game was played against Colstons, which proved to be Lady Hawkins' best performance of the day.

Despite a disciplined first half, Colstons went into the interval with a 2-0 lead.

But in the second half, Lady Hawkins defended well, with Aderyn Carter putting in a strong performance in defence.

Lara Ozdemir also performed admirably, making some crucial long passes and clearances, which allowed Emily Griffiths and Lydia Fitz-William more freedom in midfield.

Between the sticks, Maddie Budd made some excellent saved to keep her team in the game, which Bella Westlake and Sophie Lloyd, who are in years eight and nine respectively, did not look out of place despite their younger years.

The latter had the best effort for her team, but a Colstons defender managed to block her shot when she looked destined to score.

The match finished 2-0 to Colstons, but Lady Hawkins took heart from their second half performance.