St Catherine’s won the School Challenge Cup for the first-time defeating Surrey rivals Caterham 6-5 in the final.
In a thrilling match, St Catherine’s recovered from losing a three-goal lead to squeeze past Caterham with a goal in the final minute to take the 2021 title.
Things didn’t get off to the best start for St Catherine’s in the knockout competition featuring the country’s top eight schools as they trailed the 2019 champions Guildford High at half-time in their quarter-final match.
However, they managed to turn things around and come away with a 9-7 victory, momentum which they then built on throughout the rest of the competition.
They comfortably dispatched Benenden, who beat St Mary’s Calne in the quarter-finals (10-4), in the semi-final 6-1, before coming up against Caterham in the final.
Meanwhile, Caterham came through their own dramatic quarter-final, scoring a winner with just seconds to go before the buzzer to beat Downe House 9-8.
Then in the semi-final, they came up against the #1 seeds Berkhamsted, who had beaten Wycombe Abbey 12-5, but nevertheless raced into a strong lead before Berkhamsted slowly started to claw their way back into the game.
However, Caterham managed to hang on and as in their quarter-final, emerged victorious by a one-goal margin to win 6-5 and make the final.
In the final St Catherine’s moved into an early lead, putting up three quick goals in the first five minutes to take control of the game.
But Caterham slowly worked their way back into things, picking up two goals before half-time to trail 2-4 at the break.
When the teams then returned, it was Caterham who were squarely in the ascendency closing the gap to first draw level at 4-4, before then taking the lead with just over five minutes to go.
However, St Catherine’s bounced right back to tie things up at 5-5 before a nervy final few minutes ensued.
St Cat’s saw most of the possession but Caterham’s goalie denied their attack numerous times before a yellow card with a minute to go left Caterham fighting to keep the opposition out and hang on for overtime.
They continued to defend resolutely a player down, but a free position gave St Catherine’s the perfect opportunity to go ahead and with no time for Caterham to respond, St Catherine’s were crowned School Challenge Cup champions for 2021.
Final Standings
1. St Catherine’s
2. Caterham
3. Berkhamsted
4. Benenden
5. Guildford High
6. Wycombe Abbey
7. Downe House
8. St Mary’s Calne
Full Scores
Quarter-Finals
Berkhamsted 12-5 Wycombe Abbey
Caterham 9-8 Downe House
Guildford High 7-9 St Catherine’s
Benenden 10-4 St Mary’s Calne
5th-8th placement matches
Wycombe Abbey 5-4 Downe House
Guildford High 12-4 St Mary’s Calne
Semi-Finals
Berkhamsted 5-6 Caterham
St Catherine’s 6-1 Benenden
7th-8th place match
Downe House 11-5 St Mary’s Calne
5th-6th place match
Wycombe Abbey 5-7 Guildford High
3rd-4th place match
Berkhamsted 4-3 Benenden
FINAL
CATERHAM 5-6 ST CATHERINE’S