Worthing complete three-peat of U19 Open national titles with narrow win

Worthing successfully defended their U19 Open national title yet again as they completed a spectacular three-peat at the GoCardless Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships 2024 (U17/U19).

It was a repeat of the 2023 final as Worthing faced off against Cheltenham – with both sides knowing to expect a difficult match up.

It was the Sussex-based team who were on the right end of the result again in 2024 as they claimed an 8-5 victory, but they were pushed all the way by their opposition.

The scores were level at the halfway stage, but a double from Worthing’s Henry Broadhurst helped to open up some breathing space in the third quarter and saw his side enter the final quarter with a three goal lead.

There was just one goal for each team in the fourth quarter – one from Cheltenham’s Tobias Chilcott and then a final blow from Worthing’s number nine, Nickolas Karamanlis, sealed the win.

The Most Valuable Player award was presented to Cheltenham’s Rex Lewis while Worthing’s Felix Monaghan earned the rights of top goalkeeper. Caledonia’s Joe Mathieson was the top goalscorer.

Worthing head coach, Alastair Roberts, gave praise to his team following their triumph.

He said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to win three in a row. They’re a fabulous group of boys, they deserve it and they work so hard.

“We played Cheltenham last year and got past them, just. They’re a terrific team – we’ve got a lot of time for their boys. We had to play our best game today to get the win.

“The team train every week and put a shift in – they’re really hard working and you can’t ask for anything more.

“You can see we’ve got a lot of parents here and we’re delighted with the support we have. Everybody puts a shift in for us.

“There’s a lot of people behind the scenes. We’re only a little town in Sussex – I don’t like over-playing that – but it’s a big effort to come and compete against the big city clubs, so it’s great.”

Caledonia come out on top for bronze

Caledonia’s Murray Dickson scored the opening goal of the U19 Open bronze medal match against Corrib and set his team on course for an eventual 18-13 victory.

The first half was a close fought competition with just two goals in it at the break in favour of Caledonia.

Corrib fought valiantly in the second half, going on to score six more goals, one of which was in the closing seconds, but this couldn’t match Caledonia’s nine conversions.

Corrib’s Paddy Cunningham Smyth and both Murray Dickson and Joe Mathieson of Caledonia were on form in front of goal – each scoring five goals for their respective teams.

Those sorts of numbers resulted in Mathieson being awarded the top goalscorer honours alongside Caledonia’s bronze medal.

You can keep up with all the scores by visiting the live scoreboard and see all the reports from the Swim England Water Polo National Age Group Championships here.

Images – Will Johnston Photography