Four Farnham Roller Hockey Club players represented England at the World Skate Europe Roller Hockey under-17 European Championships.

Kyle Piper competed in the under-17 boys’ competition, while Erin Lloyd, Lois Bradshaw and Sophie French – who is on loan to Farnham’s Female Premier League team from Letchworth Roller Hockey Club – took part in the under-17 girls’ competition.

The tournament brought England face-to-face with Europe’s strongest roller hockey nations. England adapted to the fast pace, improving with every match.

A feature of England’s campaign was the unity between the boys’ and girls’ squads. Each stayed on to cheer the other, a level of support that carried both teams through some challenging fixtures.

Piper picked up an injury in the opening match and, despite playing through it, was forced to withdraw and was unable to feature in the final two days. The boys finished eighth overall, after a hard-fought match against Andorra that went to penalties.

In the women’s competition, French showed plenty of energy.

Lloyd captained England through six tough fixtures, and scored her first England goal against Germany.

Bradshaw delivered a standout championship and was arguably England’s most valuable player, scoring in four of the six matches and showing the rest of the squad what was possible on the European stage.

Bradshaw scored England’s first goal of the championship in the second match against France, her second against them in her England career. She then opened the scoring against a physical Italian side. Bradshaw scored England’s second goal against Germany, after Lloyd had opened the scoring.

In England’s fifth fixture, Bradshaw scored against Spain, the back-to-back-to-back European champions. Bradshaw powered forward and shaped left before placing her shot to the right of the Spanish keeper.

Anyone who wants more information on Farnham Roller Hockey Club should visit the club’s website at: https://farnhamrollerhockeyclub.weebly.com/ for further details.