After dominating the pool stage of the competition, Bedford Hockey Club’s Kelly Bingham and her England Women’s over 45’s team, playing in the European Championships in Valencia, headed for the semi-finals.
They reached that stage thanks to a dominant group stage performance, which included victories against Scotland, Ireland and Australia plus a 4-0 win against Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Read: Bedford Hockey Club’s Bingham stars in European Masters
Disappointment was to follow in the last four, as their German opponents adopted the tactic of creating a defensive barrier to prevent England pressing on goal.
Their approach, opting to maintain the barricade throughout the match, rather than themselves putting up any forceful attack, resulted in a goalless scoreline at the final whistle, taking the game to a penalty shoot-out.
Sadly, it was Germany who booked their place in the finals, netting two penalty shuffles to England’s nil.
There was consolation for Kelly and her team in their bronze medal play-off, where they took on the host nation, Spain.
It was Kelly who opened the scoring, with a converted penalty corner in the first quarter. Two further goals from her teammates completed a 3-0 victory and saw the squad return home as European bronze medallists.
Success at home
There was further success for Bedford Masters players over the weekend, with players participating in the age group regional tournaments representing the East region.
The Men’s over 35’s won gold; a team that included Bedford’s Adam Priston and Oscar Jenkins, while there was also a gold for the Women’s over 55’s, with Cheryl Harding, Emma Isherwood and Bev Bucklee involved.
Cheryl Harding was also awarded the ‘star player’ award for her performance with the over 55’s.
In addition, there was a creditable 4th place for the Women’s over 60’s team with Bedford’s Mo Wickson and Pam Begg included.
Words by Jean Fitch
