By Andy Davis

BUDE Hockey Club’s under 12s boys team headed down to Truro for the county championships on Sunday, March 9.

With a virtually full squad they were optimistic despite the tough challenge ahead and they started well with a 2-0 victory over Penzance Pumas.

After a bright start Bude took the lead with a strong solo goal which was shortly followed with an excellent team effort with both coming from open play.

There were plenty more chances for Bude but the scoreline stayed the same as they got off to a winning start.

Next up was Truro who always field strong sides so the boys knew they had to raise their game and they did just that with great tackles flying in from all players.

Bude managed to keep Truro at bay and then unleashed a perfect counter-attack goal to take the lead.

Truro came back with a vengeance and levelled the scores shortly afterwards before completing the turnaround.

But with not long left on the clock, Bude had another excellent counterattack shaping up but the umpire blew his whistle mid-attack to bring a halt to proceedings as he believed the game had finished.

However with there being over two minutes left to play the game was restarted and played to a finish.

But the stoppage allowed Truro to get everyone back in shape and behind the ball as they held out.

Falmouth, who the Seasiders have enjoyed plenty of battles with in recent times, were the next opponents and it was a close contest.

Both teams fought tooth and nail for every ball, even picking up injuries.

As time wore on and with both sides pushing for that elusive goal they created chances at either end, but it was the keepers who were in fine form as both pulled out top draw saves to keep a clean sheet.

Bude’s final line of defence pulled off a truly exceptional stick save as he dived across his goal to the accolades of both players and spectators alike.

This 0-0 draw meant that Bude went into the last game against Penzance Panthers knowing that anything less than a win against the pre-tournament favourites would not be enough to see them finish in the top 2 and progress to the next round.

The Panthers were clearly the strongest team Bude had faced all day as they started very confidently moving the ball around with ease.

They launched wave after wave of attacks and it needed another fine goalkeeping performance to keep it goalless.

As they entered the final quarter of the game, Bude pushed hard to find the magical goal but tired legs in the middle cost them.

After having a decent shot on goal saved, Panthers countered with lightening quick pace. Good numbers combined with their slick skills meant they whizzed the ball straight to the other end for a two versus one which they finished with aplomb.

The lads never gave up and pushed for an equaliser until the final whistle but the Panthers held on for the win.

The result saw Bude finish a disappointing fourth which belied the skill, character and maturity that they played with on the day. But with things to work on they will definitely be stronger come next year.