Tournament Win for U9 Eagles

The Eagles headed off to Goldsworth Park on Sunday 7th June in ‘golden’ sunshine. Little did they know what the day had in store for them….

The boys hadn’t played together for a number of weeks so it was great to be back together and working as a team once again. The group stage started off with 3 wins, 1 draw and just one defeat from a disputed goal (if only we had goal line technology). The Eagles performance to date secured an advance straight to the semis as winners of their group. As a team the Eagles went over to watch the Falcons in their play offs to see who finished 1st or 2nd in their group, after a tough penalty shoot out the Falcons finished second and had to play in the quarters whilst their opponents went straight to semis. The quarter finals again went to penalties as the Falcons held their opposition to 0-0 at end of extra time having dominated the game. Sadly the penalties once again went against the Falcons (and against the run of play) and they were knocked out – although had they got through it would have been to meet the Eagles in the semis which would have been a difficult situation for all.

So the semi started and it was very even until a blinding goal created from a great corner hit the back of the net for the Eagles. The boys then dug deep in the heat and comfortably held it to a 1-0 victory until the final whistle. The boys were ecstatic and the Falcons, who’d stayed to cheer us on, instantly pitch invaded to congratulate their peers.

And on to the final…………..with nerves jangling, and that was just the parents, we watched the 2nd semi so we could suss out our opponents in the final, which ended up being the very team who won against the Falcons in penalties to secure a by straight to the semis. It was clear from the start that these boys were not going to be easy to beat. With Matt and Grants words of ‘if you want it you can have it’ ringing loudly in their ears the boys started the game solidly and confidently. It was pretty end to end for the duration of the game but with the Eagles probably having the better chances. Extra time and an out take of breath from all as the boys changed ends. The dreaded thought of penalties hung heavy in the air. The extra time was much the same as the normal time again with Eagles showing some great depth of character and making some great runs up the pitch and then the whistle and an audible groan from all!! The boys huddled and took their place on the half way line………It was all or nothing now, two players pitched against one another at a time, who could hold their nerve?? It was 2-2 at the end of the first round of penalties which each team having missed one. The agony went on and on as one by one the boys stepped forward to take sudden death penalties………one of ours missed, one of theirs missed, fabulous saves by Dylon our keeper, but one after another our boys stuck them in the back of the net until the last possible boy stepped forward for the Eagles….the pressure was tangible…..Jack put the ball on the spot which a huge amount of calm and stuck it straight in the back of the net with such confidence……….now just theirs to go until the boys all had to step forward to take a second……….we all held our breaths, some of the boys couldn’t even look and then NO GOAL!!!!

The EAGLES HAD WON!!!!! In their first season of playing as a team they had finally won something and shown that they are a team to be reckoned with! The boys, the Falcons the parents, the coaches went mad!!!

In the early evening sunshine in a beautiful Goldsworth Park the boys proudly and jubilantly collected their hard earned trophies. Their faces all telling a story of fatigue, heat but most of all the incredible achievement they had fought so hard to secure.

Well done to Liam, George, Jack, Ethan, Ben, Dylon, Monty, Calum and of course to Matt and Grant!!! and thank you to the Falcons, coaches and families for staying on for such a long time to support our boys.