DERWENT SECURED the women’s College Cup Crown after recovering from an early loss to beat Halifax in the final.
Halifax finished top of Pool A after winning both of their games against Goodricke and Vanbrugh 4-1 and 4-0 respectively. Vanbrugh qualified in second place after they edged out Goodricke 1-0.
In the other pool, it was James and Derwent who went through. After losing their first game against James, Derwent thrashed unfortunate Alcuin 4-0. James scraped through to the final four thanks to their superior goal difference to Alcuin.
The first semi-final between James and Halifax was a cagey affair, but Tess Webb provided a moment of quality for James with a hooked finish to the ‘keeper’s right. Halifax levelled with a penalty and Sally Dolton had a goal disallowed before Boyne slotted home the winner from close range after profiting from a lucky ricochet.
The second semi-final was between Derwent and Vanbrugh. Caitlin Greene opened the scoring and Holly Hathrell made it two with a penalty. The second half was less frantic and as Derwent went forward looking to add to their tally, they allowed Vanbrugh to grab a consolation goal through Megan Phillips. Yet Derwent still secured their place in the final, 2-1 the final score.
The third-place play-off between Vanbrugh and James was a tight affair, the match finishing 4-3 to Vanbrugh thanks to a winner from Naomi Rintoul in the dying seconds.
The stage was set for an entertaining final, with Derwent and Halifax going head to head. Derwent looked the more threatening in an otherwise tense half, with Ellie Birch and Caitlin Greene causing some problems. Halifax defended stoically though, and the half-time whistle blew with the score at 0-0.
Derwent finally made the breakthrough at the start of the second period, as Greene finished powerfully. Holly Hathrell was again instrumental, extending her team’s lead with a penalty and the result was put to bed when Birch scored a fantastic goal, bamboozling the defender and side-footing home.
Derwent’s quality proved too much and they were deserved winners overall. Captain Maggie Edwards was delighted with her team’s cup victory, commenting that she was “so proud of the team. We started with a loss but we worked really hard and powered through, and now we’re going to the pub to celebrate!”