In defence, Tommy and William tackled well and used the ball skillfully to set up attacks. William also demonstrated his ability to move into midfield, as well as converting his only chance in front of goal. Jacob dominated the centre of midfield in most matches, driving with the ball but also passing it intelligently; he also chipped in with two goals. Flynn and Dan, playing right and left midfield, kept width in attack, again keeping possession, as well as defending resolutely when required. Dan scored an excellent goal against Holme Grange.

Oscar at centre-forward was on a mission, as he could not stop scoring, ending up with a total of seven goals. He also celebrated every one as if he had won the World Cup Final! In the end, a 2-1 loss to Holme Grange in the last 15 seconds of the match was the difference between first and second place, but what a fantastic achievement to win the silver medals at this age group for the second year running.

Results:

v  Ballard Won 2 – 0               
v  LVS Won 2 – 0
v  Holme Grange Lost 1 – 2
v  St Edward’s, Cheltenham Won 2 – 0
v  Lucton Won 3 – 0
v  St James’ Won 1 – 0

Squad:  

Finlay, Tommy, William, Flynn, Jacob (Capt.), Dan, Oscar.

U16 Tournament: Although this was an Under 16 tournament, a number of schools usually play their Under 15s, but not this year. Our team was completely from Year 10 and this made the tournament a tough one for them. The Under 15s started with a draw against Ballard ‘B’, a match that should have been won, but the team struggled to take chances and it was left to Oliver to salvage a draw when he  scored a penalty flick after being flattened by the goalkeeper. The next two matches saw 4-0 and 3-0 defeats against St James’ and St Edward’s respectively, with the squad struggling to cope with the good close skills and quick movement of the ball.

Although heads were down after these two results, from then on individual and team performances greatly improved. A 2-0 loss to Ballard ‘A’, saw an excellent performance against a very strong team who fielded an England Under 16 international. The next match against LVS finished 0-0 and was probably our best performance of the day, indeed being the only team to take points from the eventual winners. The final match against Lucton from Herefordshire ended in a win by 2 goals to 0, with Seb scoring both goals. This was a good way to finish and after the early disappointments, confidence was regained with a very positive performance.

Results:

v Ballard ‘B’ Drawn 1 – 1
v St James’ Lost 0 – 4
v St Edward’s Cheltenham Lost 0 – 3
v Ballard ‘A’ Lost 0 – 2
v LVS Drawn 0 – 0
v Lucton Won 2 – 0

Squad:

Ewan, Josh, Oliver (Capt.), Joe, George, James, Ben, Tom, Seb.