Hockey: Hockey New England defeat Tamworth in under-13 boys state championship Division 2 final

In what was an all-Northern Inland Division 2 final, the Lions pipped the Frogs A's 1-nil to claim the silverware and add another trophy to their state championships chest.

Angus Youman scored the decisive goal, which was their 12th for the tournament and the first Tamworth had conceded in what was a remarkable defensive effort.

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Both sides were undefeated through their round games to finish on top of their respective pools, the Lions then going on to beat Orange 2-1 in their semi-final while the Frogs defeated Sydney South 1-nil.

Tamworth coach Craig Mackay said it was a bit "bittersweet" to come so close to achieving their goal, which was to win the division and earn promotion to the top division for next year, but couldn't have been happier with how they performed.

"The boys played fantastically well all weekend and did everything we asked of them," he said.

They posted four wins and one draw from their pool games and, most impressively played as a team.

"One of our main philosophies going in was we were going to play as a team," he said.

"And they definitely did play a great team game."

He thought Owen Mackay in attack and Sam Rodgers and Max Brown in defence particularly were outstanding for them across the carnival, but said it was a great team effort.

And as much as hurt that little bit more losing to them, he said it was great to see HNE in the decider, and there was some good hijinks between the two sides.

"It was really pleasing to see our region with two sides in the final," Mackay said.

The Frogs Bs also performed strongly. It was a near thing for them also making the final, in Division 4.

"Their last game they had a 0-all draw. Had they won that they would have made the final," Mackay said.

They finished third in the end.

Tamworth umpire Peyton Abra was meanwhile awarded the Division 1 final.

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