Norwich School's under-14 girls hockey team have been crowned eastern region champions – in dramatic fashion.
The pupils competed in a tournament at Redbridge Sports Centre in Essex, which saw the top four teams in the east of England play each other in a round-robin format.
Representing Norfolk after their win at the county championships last month, Norwich School were victorious in all of their three games and will now go on to represent the eastern region at the national finals at the Olympic Hockey Centre in Stratford in February.
The team played three matches, against New Hall, Sevenoaks and Bedford Girls' schools. After winning the first two games, the team was left needing a win against Bedford in their last match to reach the national finals.
Having made a great start, Norwich found themselves 2-0 at the break. Bedford showed why they were also unbeaten to this point and scored twice in quick succession to level the match.
With three minutes to go, Norwich took their keeper off and played with 11 outfield players, and with 30 seconds to go, won a penalty corner – which was tucked into the back of the net by Amelia Barclay, after some intricate passing from Kate Houldey.
The dramatic win meant Norwich School were crowned regional champions for only the second time.
Director of sport, Joe Cowan, said: 'We are delighted to qualify for the national finals after such a dramatic finish to the final game. All the girls can be hugely proud of their achievements in beating three very strong teams.
'The hard work they've done so far now continues as they prepare to visit the Olympic hockey centre for the finals in February.'
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