U16s National Champions 08-09

The much anticipated National U16 Championships took place in Kent and with 6 clubs participating, it was always going to be a highly contested affair.

The tournament was played on a round robin basis, with each team playing 5 matches. The opening fixture of the day saw Tornadoes kick off their challenge against the highly rated local rivals Kingfisher. With both clubs being well supported, the tension mounted as both teams exchanged numerous attempts on goal without success. It was Tornadoes who broke the deadlock, this was quickly followed by an equiliser from Kingfisher.Tornadoes responded with 2 more goals, but with each game being 23 minutes long, time was ticking away fast and with 5 minutes remainingKingfisher levelled the score and the game ended 3-3.

The following games saw victories against Nomads 7-3, Scorpions 5-2 and the newly formed Milton Keynes 15-1. As the final round of games commences, the first big game was between 2 of the 3 remaining unbeaten teams, Bearsted & Kingfisher, which promised to be an enthralling encounter. The final result was a 5-3 victory for Bearsted which set up a mouthwatering game between Bearsted & Tornadoes and the winner would almost certainly become champions.

The game began positively for Tornadoes by taking a 1-0 lead, which was quickly cancelled out by a Bearsted equiliser. As time ticked away, Tornadoes coach, Dave Buckland introduced several tactical changes which proved significant as Tornadoes scored a further 2 goals without reply, winning the match 3-1 and securing their first U16 National Championships

Tornadoes Team
Alice Bodkin, Lucy Woodham, Jess Edkins, Heather Stokes, Alexandra Derham, Ashleigh Warner, Sam Coleman, Josh Lloyd, Kieran Taylor,Jordan Holdstock, Alex Down & Oliver Woodham