16 Apr 2024
U14 Junior Grand Prix review: next generation of talent on show
All matches at this level are played as 4 v 4 (Tier2) with an emphasis on skills development and enjoyment.
In the girls’ competition, three pools were held – at Newcastle Staffs (Pool A), MK City (Pool B) and SideOut (Pool C).
In Pool A, all teams played 12 games against the six other teams, with Wirral coming out on top after 11 victories and only one defeat.
Newcastle Staffs A (10 wins, two defeats) were second and Ashfield Vipers A (eight wins four defeats) were third.
Newcastle Staffs B, Ashfield Vipers B, Newcastle Staffs C and Newcastle Staffs D were the other teams to take part.
Pool B was contested by four teams and it was MK Ciphers who beat off the challenge of MK Interceptors to finish top of the group with three wins from three.
But that achievement was not without its challenges as all their matches were narrow 2-1 victories.
Welwyn and Hatfield A, meanwhile, beat MK City Decoders to decide the battle for third and fourth spot.
Six teams were in action in Pool C, which was split into two groups of three before crossover quarter-finals, leading to a semi-final and a final.
The semi-finals paired Richmond A against Team SideOut and Richmond B against Little Giants.
Richmond A came through the first semi-final by a 2-1 margin, as did Richmond B in the second semi, meaning club-mates took on each other in the final.
There, it was Richmond A who prevailed 2-0, while the third/fourth place play-off match saw Team SideOut defeat Little Giants 2-0.
The boys’ competition was divided into two pools, played at SideOut and MK City.
Five-strong Pool A saw the top four teams go through to semi-finals, followed by a final.
Team SideOut A took on AST in the first semi-final and came through to triumph in straight sets.
IBB Polonia were pushed harder in the second semi-final against Harvey Grammar before edging the match 2-1.
In the final, Team SideOut A underlined the excellence that had also seen them unbeaten in the group stages by running out 2-0 victors.
Welwyn and Hatfield finished top of the pile in Pool B, which was closely contested throughout.
They finished level on two wins and one defeat with ENVC and had the same set difference as well, but a slightly superior points difference (+13 compared to +11) enabled them to come out on top.
MK City B and MK City A both recorded one victory each, but the former took third spot by virtue of a better set difference.
Check out all the Junior Grand Prix results by clicking here.
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