Kew's Holly Munro admitted there were a few tears shed after England U18s secured a bronze medal at the EuroHockey Youth Championships in their final game together, writes Frank Smith.

England beat Belgium 2-0 in Santander, Spain, on Saturday to claim the final step of the podium in a hard-fought tournament.

Munro and co won one, lost one and draw one of their three pool games to squeeze into the knockout stages only to lose 6-0 to the Netherlands in their semi-final before bouncing back against the Belgians.

It was the final match for the current U18 team, and although the 17-year-old Munro will still be eligible to play next season she insists it is the end of an era.

The Kingston Grammar pupil said: “It was brilliant. It was such a good feeling. We had some really tough matches in our group stage so it was so good to come away with the bronze.

“This was our last event together before the rest of the team finished.

“I think everyone was up for the bronze medal match so we played well and afterwards there were a lot of tears, especially on the way back after the match because a lot of us probably won’t play together again. It was great to get the win.”

Munro had previously stated just making the England U18 squad for the European Championships was one of her short-term goals and now she has achieved it, the Surbiton player has set her sights on even more success.

She now has a number of targets at both domestic and international level, explaining: “My main aspiration is to captain the England U18 team at the Euros next year, which is hopefully a realistic aim, and we have school and club stuff as well.

“We have a good school team so hopefully we can have a good crack at the nationals next year and I would also like to have more of an influence at my club. Because of where I play [on the pitch] I compete against [GB and England players] Giselle Ansley and Hollie Webb so being able to play more at Surbiton would be great as well.

“The Olympics is the long-term goal. I think I will just be coming out of university around the time of the 2020 Olympics so I might not make that cycle but I’m hopeful of playing in the Junior World Cup as well so that is another goal I am working towards.”

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