Hermitage Academy made their annual trip to Lenzie last Wednesday to compete in their annual mixed S1/2 hockey tournament.

Winners back in 2013, Hermitage had fond memories of the tournament and were keen to get back to winning ways with a talented group of players.

On the day Hermitage entered two teams, Hermitage Yellows and Hermitage Reds. Competing in the group stages to begin the day, both teams performed well winning their two league matches.

Hermitage Yellows defeated Bearsden Academy 2-0 with goals from Douglas King and Abbie Murray.

In their second match they hammered Lenzie 5-0, with goals shared between Hamish McGillivray, Abbie Murray, Keir Lang, Drew McCann and Douglas King.

The Reds meanwhile defeated another Lenzie team 4-0 with Jack Clemett scoring a super hat-trick and Tara Jackson grabbing the fourth. In their second match they defeated one of the pre-tournament favourites Douglas Academy 2-0 with Mia Rooney scoring an impressive brace.

Having topped their, groups both teams progressed to the Champions League where they were joined by Douglas A.

First up was an all-Helensburgh affair, with Hermitage Red up against their friends and classmates Hermitage Yellow.

After an enthralling match in which the momentum changed hands as quickly as possession, Hermitage Reds were 2-1 winners with goals for Jack Clemett and Robert Whittick doing the damage.

With defeat fresh in their minds Hermitage Yellow had to beat Douglas by two or more goals to stand any chance of winning the tournament. They duly delivered with a 2-0 win after goals from Abbie Murray and Daniel Dooley.

With even the most expert mathematicians reaching for their calculators to work out the permutations for the final match of the day, It soon became clear that the fate of the tournament was in the hands of Hermitage Reds.

A draw or a win would be enough for a win. However, a 1-0 defeat would gift their schoolmates the title. So in the final game in a most unusual occurrence Hermitage Yellows cheered on Douglas Academy in favour of their own school mates.

Hermitage Reds did just enough to hold on for a 0-0 draw, thanks to the goal-line heroics of stand-in keeper Oscar McCallum Del Priore.

It was a great day for Hermitage as they finished first and second overall.

Special mention to Andrew MacAulay of the Hermitage Reds who steered his team to victory with an assured and confident defensive display. Star performer for the Hermitage Yellows was Abbie Murray with her endless energy and impressive goal return.