The Women’s team put on an impressive performance at Lee Valley securing a 4-1 win against North Premier Division League Champions, Liverpool Sefton to be crowned England Hockey 21/22 Tier 2 Champions.

England Hockey match report :
Evie Grindal scored twice as Repton beat Liverpool Sefton 4-1 in the Tier 2 final at Lee Valley Hockey & Tennis Centre.
Captain Sally Walton set the tone, opening the scoring for Repton with a fine finish inside the opening five minutes, and Grindal doubled the lead before the first quarter was out.
Sefton battled hard to stay in the contest and created a couple of half-chances themselves, though they were largely kept on the back foot by a lively Repton and Hannah Tjon Soei Len was next to go close.
Walton also saw a shot saved by her opposing skipper Jen Ratcliffe before setting up Daisy Bennett to add a third in the final minute of the first half.
The Merseyside outfit started the second period on top and a marauding run by Hannah Gavigan earned them a penalty corner, from which Renee Ojikutu was denied by a fine Izzi Evans save.
Ratcliffe was called into action at the other end to keep Len at bay and before long Sefton were back in the game, a swift break finished by Kirsty McMillan to the delight of the sizeable travelling support.
Chances came at both ends throughout an even second period, Ratcliffe pulling off an excellent double save to frustrate Phillippa Jowett and Grindal before Jane Bazley-Harrison saw her well-struck effort kept out following a Sefton penalty corner.
Grindal twice came close to adding to her tally late on, putting one shot wide before seeing another stopped by Ratcliffe, while Walton also fired narrowly past the post as Repton finished strongly.
And they put the icing on the cake with two minutes remaining when Grindal fired a terrific reverse stick finish into the far corner.

It has been quite some journey for the Repton Women since their formation in 2017.
In their inaugural season the team were crowned Tier 3 Champions, led by captain Georgie Brownhill, with Aimee Mayfield making her debut at Lee Valley as an Under 13. It was great to see Aimee taking such a leading role in the team yesterday to once again secure a Championship title for Repton HC!

The Women have also had a flawless record in the outdoor leagues, earning year on year promotion as League Champions to reach the Midlands Premier division in 2022/23 dominating Midlands Division 1 this season. This success is a result of the week in week out commitment of the squads over the past 5 years and the huge efforts of the coaching team supporting our talented junior players to juggle NAGS, academic and extra curricular activities with their club league fixtures. Covid may have slowed down our journey by a year but the goal is still to push for the National Leagues by 2023/24!

It is in the indoor game that the Women’s team have been able to truly show their talents against the very highest opposition on a national stage. They gained quick promotion over two seasons from the Midlands Divisions through to the National Super 6s Premier Division in 2021/22. After a stand out semi-final performance against Europe bound Buckingham HC the final went down to the wire 3-4 against East Grinstead HC and the team took silver in their first outing at this level in front of a packed crowd in the CopperBox Arena.

As we look back on the Women’s League, Championship and Super 6s success this season we are hugely proud of all the squad members who have played a part in the team’s journey to date and look forward to exciting times ahead as the team strive for the National Leagues.