England U17 finish 4th at the World Cup
The future is bright for England Korfball based on the performance of the England U17 squad this weekend at the Korfball World Cup.
England coaches Corinne Buckland and Danny Miles selected talented but young squad for the 2015 edition of the World Cup. The majority of the squad are young enough to be able to participate in at least 2 more under-17 World Cups.
England U17 played 6 matches at over the weekend, with wins over Portugal, Germany and Hungary.
ENGLAND – PORTUGAL 11-3 (HT 6-1)
First up for England was the inform European country, Portugal in the opening match of the World Cup. Shane Buckland opened the scoring for England, which was quickly followed by a goal from Eleanor Parker before Portugal scored.
England went into the half-time break 6-1 ahead. The perfect start!
Marcus Tighe then scored from the penalty spot and again followed by another goal from Eleanor Parker. England’s impressive first half performance continued throughout the 2nd half and England ran out winners 11-3.
England U17 goal scorers vs Portugal: Luke Coyte-McKenzie: 3, Shane Buckland: 2, Elise Sparks: 2, Ayishah Chaudry: 1, Jacob Dawes: 1, Marcus Tighe: 1, Eleanor Parker: 1
CHINESE TAIPEI – ENGLAND 9-5 (HT 5-3)
William Alderton, Chloe Swain, Ayishah Chaudry and Jacob Dawes started in defence for England with Elise Sparks, Laura Morris, Harrison English and Marcus Tighe in attack.
Chinese Taipei started well going into an early 4-0 lead. England U17 didn’t find the back of the korf until 10 minutes into the game.
At the half-time break Taipei were ahead 5 goals to 3. The second half was almost an exact copy of the first with Taipei winning the 2nd half 4-2.
England U17 goal scorers vs Chinese Taipei: Jacob Dawes: 3, Ayishah Chaudry: 1, Elise Sparks: 1
ENGLAND – GERMANY 6-5 (HT 6-4)
In match 11 of the World Cup England played Germany… England scored all of their goals in the first half, with Germany scoring all but one of their goals in the first half. There were no goals whatsoever in the final 7 minutes of the match.
England U17 goal scorers vs Germany: Jacob Dawes: 2, Elise Sparks: 2, Luke Coyte-McKenzie: 1, Ayishah Chaudry: 1
ENGLAND – HUNGARY 11-3 (HT 6-1)
England raced into 4-0 lead before Hungary scored their first of the match. England kept the momentum going throughout the first half. At the half-time England were ahead by 6 goals to 1.
It was then business as usual when the referee restarted the match with England winning the second half 5-2.
Goal scorers for England U17 vs Hungary: Elise Sparks: 3, Bethany Alexander: 2, Eleanor Parker: 2, Ayishah Chaudry: 1, Jacob Dawes: 1, Billy Ashby: 1, Jessica Bennett: 1.
BELGIUM – ENGLAND 22-4 (HT 15-1) Semi-Final
With a number of the England squad playing in their first major international tournament of their young careers – to reach the semi-final was a massive achievement.
Belgium scored the first 11 goals of the match.
Positive for England is the number of players that will participate in next years U17 World Cup.
Goal scorers for England U17 vs Belgium: Luke Coyte-McKenzie: 2, William Alderton: 1, Jacob Dawes: 1.
GERMANY – ENGLAND 18-7 (HT 9-3) Bronze medal match
Starting for England in first attack was Shane Buckland, Chloe Swain, Ayishah Chaudry and Luke Coyte-McKenzie.
In first defence England started with Elise Sparks, Eleanor Parker, Marcus Tighe and Jacob Dawes.
Goal scores for England U17 vs Germany: Shane Buckland: 1, Eleanor Parker: 1, Chloe Swain: 1, Laura Morris: 1, Jacob Dawes: 1, Ayishah Chaudry: 1, Elise Sparks: 1.