West London Penguin win U15 national title after dramatic penalty shootout

West London Penguin were crowned national champions after a dramatic penalty shootout win against City of Liverpool at the GoCardless Swim England Water Polo Female U15 National Age Group Championships.

In a repeat of last year’s final, Penguin avenged their defeat from 12 months ago in spectacular style – scoring three times in the final 90 seconds to take it to penalties before going on to win the shootout.

Penguin won the shootout 4-3 after two rounds of penalties where both goalkeepers put on a masterclass to deny either side the win.

Issy Taylor and Kalia Saltman both saved numerous penalties each with Taylor’s sharp reflexes and Saltman’s impressive reach standing out as nine penalties were not converted.

Nieve Folkes scored both of her penalties with tournament MVP Lily Watson grabbing the other for the Merseysiders.

Emily Barea also put both of her penalties in for Penguin as Manpreet Gill and match winner Romilly Clarke sealing the 8-7 win.

That sparked scenes of celebration from the Penguin players, coaches and parents in Coventry and the teams head coach, Rumen Kurtev, said he couldn’t be prouder of his side after they claimed the trophy.

“I’m very proud of my girls, they followed the structure as a team all weekend and they really deserve this,” he said.

“They never gave up and I really want to credit them today because in the second quarter I could see that they were a bit down, but they kept on fighting, and they worked really hard to achieve this.

“For them I think this is a very important final and winning it this way is very good for them mentally.

“I’ve also got to say congratulations to Liverpool because they were brilliant. We were behind for almost the whole game but at the end we fought back and really stepped up.

“It’s really good for us because it helps us build mentally and it was a great game for the spectators and great for both teams to improve and a great performance for us as a team.”

Hard work paying off

The match was a game of two halves with Liverpool looking in control at half time after pulling into a 4-0 lead.

The defending champions were solid at the back throughout and clinical in front of goal as Francesca Horrobin, Poppy Clarke and Watson’s brace put them into a strong position.

But Penguin kept on fighting and grabbed one back early in the third through the event’s top goal scorer Gill.

The two teams were locked in a tense battle and just when it looked like Liverpool had seen the game out, Penguin pulled off one of the great comebacks to take the game to penalties.

They netted three goals to go from 4-1 down to pull the game level at 4-4 to give them a chance at gold in the shootout.

Gill completed her hat trick after goals with 94 and 65 seconds to go to leave the game within one going into the final minute.

Liverpool tried to keep the ball but Darya Kakari was the Penguins hero, firing her shot into the bottom corner to put the game on level terms.

That then forced the shootout where Penguin ran out worthy winners to become national age group champions.

It was a result that Kurtev admitted that his team’s hard work had finally paid off.

He added: “It is special (to win after losing in the final last year), it’s been challenging having a little bit of pressure on us and seeing how we were going to go. The players been so committed throughout the year and today their hard work has really paid off.

“Right from the first game they played together as a team. The communication has been crucial, there was always a control in the defence and a clear plan in attack.

“Obviously there has been a few mistakes but that is part of the game and having this experience is crucial for them. But I just have to credit them for that final because they never gave up trying to get back into the game and that was our target.”

An impressive string of performances saw Liverpool’s Lily Watson named the tournament’s MVP, which included two goals in the final. Her teammate was awarded the competitions top goalkeeper, in part thanks to her heroics in the shootout whilst Penguin’s Gill topped the scoring charts with an incredible 35 across her six matches.

Caledonia claim brilliant bronze

The bronze medals will be heading over the border as Caledonia claimed the final spot on the podium after their excellent win over Exeter.

They defeated the South West side 7-2 after an excellent final quarter display.

It was a close contest in the early stages but Caledonia were always in front thanks to goals from Libby Duncan, A Thornton and K Mann in the first half.

Exeter grabbed a couple back through Lottie Smith and Molly Dean but the Caledonia defence was on top form to deny them any opportunity to reduce the deficit further.

The Scottish side added four more goals in the second half thanks to a double from Kayla Da Silva Reeve and another goal each from both Reeve and Mann to see out the win.

In the battle for fifth spot, Cheltenham came out on top after back-to-back wins on Sunday.

The Gloucestershire based side defeated Beckenham 9-3 in their crossover match before beating Rotherham Metro 9-6 to secure fifth place.

It was a close contest but Cheltenham’s excellent second half display saw them come from behind to take the win.

Four goals in the third quarter put them into a 7-6 lead heading into the final five minutes after goals from Amy Thacker, Sophia Kania, Pippa Forrest and Lucy Patterson.

That left the game wide open for a winner in the final few minutes, but it was Cheltenham who had the most left in the tank as Alice Ross and Forrest added a goal each late on.

In the seventh-place playoff, Beckenham held off a late Tyldesley fight back to take the victory.

The London based club stormed into an early lead and never looked back with Issy Rayes grabbing eight of their 11 goals.

Tyldesley never gave up and began to reduce the deficit in the second half thanks to an impressive third period, winning 5-4. Unfortunately for them though Beckenham just had too much of a lead and managed the game well to see out the victory.

Ninth place went to Croydon Amphibians after their stunning 17-4 win over Worthing.

Tarryn Lewis topped scored for Croydon as they ended their campaign by taking down last year’s bronze medallists – who finished in tenth spot.

You can find all the scores and from the weekend here and make sure to check out all of the event photography courtesy of Will Johnston Photography.

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