THE success currently being experienced by the senior Penarth Hockey Club sides appears to be trickling down to the burgeoning junior section, with both the Under-13 and Under-11 sections proving competitive in their latest outings.

The under-13s travelled to Bryntirion School in Bridgend for their latest round robin tournament, making the most of the spring weather as they took on some familiar foes.

In the first match, against Whitchurch 'C', Elys Johnson scored an early goal but, despite the promising start, the boys did not increase their tally. The game became a midfield battle with both teams struggling to get the ball wide, leaving Kavan Kalsi-Lucas with very little to do in goal.

This changed dramatically in the next game, where Penarth faced Radyr. The Vale side had previously drawn twice with their opposition, but could not manage a repeat on this occasion.

Radyr were strong in defence and Johnson and Iwan Meddins were thwarted on several occasions whilst Radyr managed to put two goals past Kalsi-Lucas with well-worked attacking moves. In the dying seconds of the game, Lewis Ingram threaded a superb pass through to Felix Clark, who was clean through on goal, but the 'keeper made an excellent save and the game ended 2-0 to a much-improved Radyr side.

Whitchurch 'A' provided Penarth's next opponents, and the Vale side began to play some more expansive hockey. Aron McJennett-House and Gabriel Pryde were superb in defence, whilst Kalsi-Lucas made several great saves to keep the scores level before Ingram broke through from midfield and scored.

Penarth then managed to cling on to the lead despite facing a barrage of penalty corners, recording their first win of the day.

Swansea proved even tougher opponents in the game that followed, with several players possessing exceptional skill but working well as a team. A fast start saw the Penarth defence torn apart as Swansea racked up three quick strikes before McJennett-House and Pryde came on and managed to halt the flow of goals.

Despite the battering his goal took in the early stages, Kalsi-Lucas also made some outstanding saves to keep the game at 3-0.

Penarth's penultimate game was against a very tall Bridgend team, but Ross John and Aaron Noor-Mohamed proved dogged in midfield and the game was very evenly matched. Even when Bridgend broke the deadlock, Meddins equalised to make the game a deserved draw.

The final game was against the third of the Whitchurch teams present, and the Vale side proved dominant - something which ironically limited the scope of the final result. Elis Knight enjoyed his best game of the morning, while Meddins managed to score another couple of goals, but the Penarth team could have scored a lot more if they had passed the ball instead of going for glory, giving themselves something to work on in training.

The under-13 boys' final tournament will be the South Wales Cup in Swansea in April.

Sunday morning saw two teams of Under-11s set off for the King George VI playing fields in Swansea to take part in the qualifying rounds of the South Wales Cup.

Due to the withdrawal of other teams, Penarth 'B' were entered for the reserve competition, with the 'A' team competing for a place in the cup finals.

Penarth 'B' opened their campaign strongly, beating Swansea 'B' by two goals to one, with the sterling efforts of Joe Price in goal restricting the host side to a single goal whilst Joe Casey and Toby Collins scored from open play for the visitors.

Penarth then took on Gwent in their second game, losing by two goals to one, with Will Fishlock getting the side's only goal and the two results leaving Penarth a creditable third on goal difference.

The 'A' team, meanwhile, opened their campaign with a hard-fought game against Abergavenny that eventually saw them go down 2-0. Lucas Perez, in the Penarth goal, was called on to make several saves from open play before Abergavenny scored from successive short corners to put the result beyond doubt.

The second game pitted Penarth against Llanishen and Caerphilly and finished goalless despite the sterling efforts of the Penarth team who were unable to capitalise on the opportunities they created.

With a point on the board, the Vale team went into their third game with more confidence and produced a strongly-contested encounter with home side Swansea which ended in a 3-3 draw. Penarth’s goals on this occasion came from a Lewis Latimer Williams brace and Edward George.

The 'A' team's results ultimately qualified them for the second/third place playoff, where they encountered a more experienced and well-drilled Whitchurch team. Despite a valiant performance, the result never appeared in doubt, with Penarth eventually losing by three goals to nil.

Coaches Graeme Jones and Zbig Sobierserski were delighted with the youngsters, who were playing their first games as a team, noting that it was obvious to the crowd of parents and supporters that, as the day progressed, the Penarth players grew in strength and confidence, boding well for the future.

Having witnessed the cup exploits of the senior sides on Saturday afternoon, club chairman Nick Pratt was delighted to see the next generation showing promise as well.

"On a weekend that saw continuing success for the senior sides, the sterling efforts of the youngsters bodes well for the future of the club," he concluded, "We are very lucky to have such talent."