A PRIMARY school’s hockey starlets pulled off a masterstroke by storming to the county title.

The six-strong team from Primrose Hill Academy in Lydney beat 19 other teams at the finals of the Quicksticks Hockey competition at Cheltenham College, taking the cup with victory over Bishop’s Cleeve.

By being in the top 10 per cent of Gloucestershire’s hockey teams, they had already achieved a lot to make the finals last Wednesday, April 5.

In their pool matches, which each lasted 10 minutes, Primrose Hill got off to a flyer beating St James 2-0, drew their second match 1-1 with Bourton, won the third 4-1 against The Rosary and then saw off Croft by the same margin.

That saw them win the pool to land a semi-final against Cirencester, which proved another tough game with a 3-1 win guaranteeing a medal position and a final clash with Bishop’s Cleeve.

Emotions and excitement were running high and the game began with their opponents scoring the first goal within the first two minutes.

But undeterred by the early setback, team members Harry Taylor, Zach Mountford, Jake Norris, Lourdes Mann, Isabelle Kiely and Libby Brooks fought back to triumph 4-2.

Proud coach Victoria Turner said: “The true grit, determination, resilience, teamwork, skill and sportsmanship that our team displayed was absolutely second to none and it was a pure honour to be there as their coach.

“I just can’t put into words what an amazing achievement this is and how very proud we all are of them. County champions, out of more than 200 schools in the county, is nothing short of incredible.

“As always, the support from parents and grandparents was also champion quality ­– thank you to all who came to enjoy and support this fabulous day.”