St. Teresa’s under-11 team progressed through two rounds of competitions to reach the Nationals Finals at the King Power Stadium, Leicester on Wednesday 7 June.
The team had won the Northumberland and Newcastle Small Schools’ Trophies, which led them to the North of England Finals. The players then finished in the top two out of a group of six to represent Northumberland County in the prestigious National Finals -the first time the school has reached a National Final in any sport.
On the day, the team had to play three group game fixtures. The first fixture was a nervy start from both teams, but St. Teresa’s started to get a foothold in the game and dominate possession. It felt like it would only be a matter of time for the team to score, but both teams went in level at the half-time break. St. Teresa’s started where they left off in the the second half, rattling the post and drawing a couple of good saves from the opposition’s goalkeeper. The ball broke to our captain, Isaac Conway on the edge of the box and he took a touch to steady the ball before lashing it past the keeper.
The team continued to play some nice football, as well as remain defensively resolute at the back thanks to cool play from both Jamie and Ali. The game was reaching a potentially nervy end, until St. Teresa’s broke forward in the final minutes, with a square ball being played to number 9, Isaac Carr to clinically finish and put the game out of reach at 2-0.
The second match began badly for St. Teresa’s, with the opposition scoring with their first attack and shot on goal within 30 seconds. The team regrouped and replied instantly after a beautiful through ball and the two Isaac’s combining to great effect. Isaac Carr rifling the ball past the keeper.
St. Teresa’s kept up with their attacking football and scored a second within a minute of their first. The ball falling to Isaac Conway on the edge of the box and he lashed the ball in with his left foot.
Strong tackling from Ella on the right allowed her to shoot, with the keeper parrying to an onrushing Lucas, who coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 3-1 with less than three minutes played. The commentator on the ESFA YouTube channel stated that the worse thing the opposition could have done was score early, ‘as beware the wounded boys (and girl) of St. Teresa’s.’
A forth goal was scored in only the forth minute. Lucas with a wonderful ball from a corner and Isaac Carr was on hand to nod the ball past a despairing goalie. The commentator mentioned Luca towards the end of the half, ‘as being the conductor of the St. Teresa’s orchestra.’ High praise indeed!
St. Teresa’s conceded a second early in the second half, with a long, hopeful punt down field catching the defense and goalkeeper slightly off-guard. The match was now finely poised at 4-2. The next goal would potentially be crucial.
A well worked corner, with Lucas crossing low to Isaac Conway to whip a near post shot back off the inside of the post. The ball ricocheted across the goal-mouth and Ella was alert to smash the ball into the net for a 5-star performance from the team. 5-2 to a rampant St. Teresa’s!
The final game was to decide who finished top and second. The opening few minutes were evenly contested with both keepers called into action. Dylan making some smart saves for St. Teresa’s. There were warning signs for St. Teresa’s, as the opposition created a couple of chances that flashed wide of the goal and the team were caught out right at the end of the first half with a well-taken goal from the opposition.
St. Teresa’s were caught cold at the start of the second half, conceding a goal within ten seconds of the restart. Strong play from the opposition’s right-midfielder resulting in the goal. An unfortunate own-goal was conceded by the team and 3-0 seemed too much to come back from for St. Teresa’s.
St. Teresa’s did push for a consolation goal and played some of their best football since the early stages of the first half. The opposition conceded a penalty, that Isaac Conway duly dispatched. The first goal that they had conceded in the competition.
The semi-finals were next for the team in black and white representing Northumberland FA. They were to play a team that they had previously drawn 0-0 with in the North of England competition. The match started very evenly, but in the forth minute the team lost possession in the middle and opposition smashed the ball past a stranded Dylan in goal. Dylan pulled off another impressive save, before a long throw caught out the defense and a rebounded effort was turned in to make it 2-0 to the opposition with less than a minute left of the first half. The second half was evenly contested until nearly the eleventh minute, when Isaac Carr pounced on some defensive hesitancy and took full advantage by smashing the ball past the keeper.
With the game reaching the last couple of minutes, it seemed that time was running out for St. Teresa’s. A break by Ella down the right forced the opposition goalkeeper into a save down low. The match was slipping away and the team were pushing with everything they had left, with even Jamie from the back trying to press the ball high up the pitch to create one final chance. As St. Teresa’s pushed, they were caught out with a spectacular effort from the half-way line in the last few seconds of the match.
The team had given their all in four fast-paced matches and it had taken its toll on a team with no subs. All the children should be very proud of their achievements in the competition.
The final match for St. Teresa’s was the third-forth place play-off. That game ended 1-1, meaning that the team were joint third in the Pokemon Small Schools’ National Finals -a great effort in a highly competitive tournament.
Mr. Turner, Head Teacher and coach for the team said, ‘All the children should be immensely proud of themselves for going so far in the tournament with such a small squad. I think we were the only team with no subs on the day -which makes the children’s efforts even more impressive! They all showed great resilience to bounce back from the disappointment of the semi-final defeat to dig in and battle to a hard-fought draw to claim joint third place. A superb achievement and the first time the school has made a National Final in any sport.’
Dylan (GK) -made some superb saves during the tournament. Something we have seen him do over the course of the season on many occasion.
Ali – (Def) -not his natural position, but one in which he has grown into during the course of the season and he put in some timely tackles and was assured on the ball during our group stage wins. A selfless display and a tournament that he should be proud of.
Jamie (Def) -continued to grow into the tournament. Showed great composure on the ball and made some decisive blocks/tackles during the matches. Spurred us on in the latter stages with some driving runs and set up our only goal of the game in our third place play-off.
Lucas (Left-mid) -was instrumental in a lot of our attacking play and linked up brilliantly with our front four. Had an important hand in many of our goals and was a creative force to be reckoned with… tracked back and closed down, so showed he has many elements to his game!
Ella (Right-mid) -strong in the tackle and did not let it phase her that (I think) she was the only girl in the mixed tournament. Drove forward well with the ball at her feet and got the goal that her tenacious displays deserved. One to watch in the female game in years to come!
Isaac Conway (Centre-mid) -our captain fantastic. Pulled the strings in the middle of the park and it seemed like he had the ball on elastic at times. A slight injury hindered him from the semi-finals onwards, but he still gave it his all!
Isaac Carr (Forward) -ran tirelessly to close the ball down up-front. Worked hard for the team and showed he can score all sorts of goals on the day! Goal poacher, headed goals and one-on-ones were all duly dispatched by our number 9!
