OXFORDSHIRE Under 15 girls outclassed the six other southern counties to lift the South Champions hockey trophy for the first time in their history at Cranfield Community School, Heathrow on Sunday.

The team won five and drew one match in the round robin tournament, scoring eight goals and conceding only one.

Goals from Flo Cooke and Emily Malden in the opening games against Surrey and Bucks gave Oxon an excellent start with two hard-fought 1-0 victories.

In the third match against Sussex, Oxon could manage only a draw despite having most of the play.

However, they resumed in the afternoon, playing a fluent passing game with Katrina Mason scoring a typical poacher's goal to beat Berkshire 1-0, followed by the best performance of the day where they overran Hampshire with goals from Emma Yarrow, Cooke and Gemma Farrell.

Going into the last game assured of the title, they eased past Middlesex with goals from Rachel Stoakes and the third of the day from the excellent Cooke.

Presnting the trophy to captain Alex Smith, President of the South Association Sheila Plant said: "Oxfordshire won the tournament convincingly and played with maturity and style."

Story date: Tuesday 09 February

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