Hockey: Winning finish ensures Tamworth under-18 girls retain place in top division

The Hayden Lewin-coached side went away to Lismore with only one top age player but retained their place in the top division.

"To stay in Division 1 is a really good effort and sets them up for the next couple of years," Lewin said.

They also won the Respect for Officials Award.

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In a rebuilding phase, with Maddie Lewin the only 18-year old and a couple of under-15s suiting up, it was a tough weekend for the girls playing teams that were generally a lot older and more experienced.

Lewin said their inexperience did have an impact but they grew over the three days, their relegation game against Orange, which they won 1-nil, their best performance of the tournament.

"In that last game we started to string passes together and started to be a bit more cohesive," he said.

The second half particularly was "really good".

It was their only win for the weekend after losing three of their four pool games.

The other was washed out after a mid-game downpour.

Lewin said it bucketted down for about quarter-of-an-hour leaving pools of water on the surface.

"When there's a lot of water on the surface you can get pockets of air bubbles come up, which can affect the way the ball travels off the surface," he explained.

It was only their field that was affected though. The other game continued on.

Lewin said they were a great bunch of girls to coach and "did Tamworth proud".

Playing in Division 2, New England meanwhile finished sixth overall after finishing third in their pool.

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