After the highs and lows in the South IAPS Championships, Cranleigh Prep’s U13 boys still went into the Surrey Hockey Championships full of confidence. However, they were also wary, knowing only a semi-final place would be enough to progress through to the regional stage of the competition.
The team started slowly and a late goal from St. Andrew’s, in the first group game, saw them grab a 1-1 drew against Cranleigh Prep.
Next up was a tough game against Reed’s School. Still not fully awake, and not firing at full cylinders, Reed’s took the game to Cranleigh and secured a 1-0 win.
Knowing that they had to win the rest of their group games to progress to the semi-final was exactly what the Cranleigh Prep boys needed to get them going. Victories came against Barrow Hills’ B and St. George’s B; now 4 teams from group A were in the hunt for a semi-final place; still nothing less than two wins would do.
Cranleigh Prep stepped up and secured comfortable wins against Danes Hill and Lingfield Notre Dame. This meant they finished second in their group and were faced with a tough semi-final game against St. George’s A.
If the team won the semi-final, they would qualify for the regional competition, so they knew what they had to do. Now awake, the extra pressure didn’t faze them and they put together a brilliant team performance of hockey.
Every player worked hard for their team and showed great determination, resulting in a 1-0 win, securing a place in final and the regionals competition. The final, against Barrow Hills A, was once again a tight encounter. Cranleigh Prep, now in full flow, completed the day with another brilliant team performance. They ran out 2-0 winners and became the Surrey U13 champions. 
They played 8, won 6, lost 1, scored 18 goals and only conceded 2 goals throughout the tournament.
Harry Thomas, team coach, says “It was truly a team effort and every single player contributed an enormous amount to the end result. Well done to all!”
- Group: D 1-1 Vs St. Andrew’s. Scorer: Tawse
- Group: L 0-1 Vs Reed’s.
- Group: W 3-0 Vs Barrow Hills B. Scorers: Petter W x2 and Cooksley
- Group: W 4-0 Vs St George’s B. Scorers: Tawse x3 and Petter
- Group: W 3-0 Vs Danes Hill. Scorers: Tawse x2 and Petter
- Group: W 4-0 Vs Lingfield Notre Dame: Scorers: Petter x2, Fewings and Cooksley
- Semi Final: W 1-0 Vs St. George’s. Scorer: Tawse
- Final: W 2-0 Vs Barrow Hills: Scorers: Tawse and Petter
