Loreto U-16s Trip to Rainey

Bright and early on Sunday 9th October, thirty-four wide awake u-16s and their four not so wide awake coaches Stu, Ben, Hannah and Aisling began the long, long bus journey to Rainey Hockey Club, Co. Derry. Despite several pit stops for pre-match sweets, Burger King and bathroom breaks, a few wrong turns and choosing to take the “scenic route” through Derry, we somehow managed to arrive on time and ready to take on the northern teams!

First up were our U-16 IIs. While wet weather wouldn’t be enough to put our girls off, it was certainly nice to warm up and play on a dry, indoor astro-turf pitch, and the coaches and supporters definitely weren’t complaining either J  We knew the Rainey players were going to be strong opposition and while the Loreto IIs gave it their all, we ended up losing 4 nil. Next up it was the 1sts’ turn with the IIs swapping places and cheering them on in the stands. The second match was played to an extremely high standard and everyone was delighted when Loreto were the first to score. Unfortunately the lead couldn’t be maintained and the match finished 3-1 to Rainey.

After the matches there was just time for cake and sandwiches with the Rainey teams and then it was back onto the bus to try and make it home for x factor! Everyone was exhausted after the long day and the bus was lovely and peaceful on the way back J Even though we didn’t get the results we would have liked, the day was a great success and excellent experience for the U-16s. When we take on Rainey again later on in the season, we’ll be ready!

Some more shots of the trip are below…