Y5/6 Girls Football Tournament

On Tuesday 20th February the Y5/6 girls football team travelled to Peppard Common for the first group stage round of the County 5-a-side competition. We knew that we had to finish either first or second to qualify for the next stage.

We began with a match against Kidmore End. A dominant start saw us go 1-0 up after a great strike from Lola. After this, we continued to play some good football, and a quickfire double from Elsie saw us take a 3-0 lead before half time. The good football continued into the second half with no further goals as we began our tournament in fine form.

Our second game saw us face the hosts, Peppard. Despite a solid defensive performance, we conceded a goal either side of half time, and despite creating several chances late on we couldn’t force our way back into the game, losing by a final score of 2-0.

We went into our last game against Shiplake knowing that we needed a win to see us through to the County Finals later in the term, and we achieved this in dramatic fashion. After an even start, it was Shiplake who broke the deadlock, volleying in from close range to go 1-0 up. This spurred the girls on, and after creating numerous chances, we finally equalised when Elsie squeezed in a shot from a tight angle. It wasn’t long after that that we found ourselves 2-1 up, Elsie firing home again from close range after good work from Lola down the left.

The second half was just as entertaining – end to end football with the next goal becoming more and more important. When it came, it went to Shiplake, who finally beat the impressive Sofia with a blast from a few yards out.

As the game drew to a close, it looked set to finish as a draw. However, with seconds to spare, the ball rolled to the feet of Sophie, who struck a wonderful shot into the top corner of the net – some will say there was a hole in the net already, but we think it was just a powerful shot – to seal a 3-2 win and send us through to the County Finals!

All in all, a satisfying tournament full of good individual and team performances. The girls’ determination and spirit, so often on show in our league games, was there for all to see, and our reward is a place at the County Finals, where we will be looking to finish higher than last year’s 4^th place.

A big thank you to those who helped transport the children to and from the event, and a big congratulations to Lily-May and Elsie, who were voted joint winners of the team ‘Item of the Week’ competition for bringing in the best flip flops/sandals!

The team was: Sofia M-P, Lily-May Y, Ella-Lily B, Sophie A, Freya K, Eva M, Elsie D, Lola B, Elsa D and Evie Q.

Y5/6 Boys Football Tournament

The Y5/6 boys football team also travelled to Peppard Common for their own football tournament, a local 7-a-side competition. Although there was no extra round of the boys’ tournament, they were keen to take their chance and stay sharp for the upcoming league games.

We began with a match against an ‘Invitation’ side, made up of two or three children from each school so that the boys would also have three games to play. We began really well, launching attack after attack and forcing our opponents back towards their own goal, and it wasn’t long before we took the lead through a ferocious strike from Wynter. We soon found ourselves 2-0 up, a great goal kick from George flying all the way into the goal at the opposite end of the pitch. Wynter added another before half time, and although we did concede in the second half, Xavi added another goal to give us a fantastic start – a 4-1 win.

Our second game, against Peppard, also began well. Solid defensive work gave us a good platform to build on, and we eventually took the lead when a cracking save from the Peppard goalkeeper ricocheted off the defender and into the net for an own goal. Unfortunately, we could not extend our lead, and went on to lose a tight match 2-1.

We went into our final match, against Kidmore End, still smarting from our earlier defeat but determined to show that we had learnt some lessons in that game. A hard fought, physical battle, full of desire and effort, ended with us winning 2-1, Xavi creating his own goal with some super footwork and strength before half time, and then latching on to a wonderful pass from Ronny to grab his second just after the half time break.

Overall, the boys finished third out of four teams, and will feel unlucky not to have finished higher, with only goal difference keeping us out of the top two.

A big thank you to those who helped transport the children to and from the event, and well done to the boys for their efforts as we switch our attention back to the league.

The team was: George B, Ronny B, Ben L, Riley A, Xavi O’B-W, Wynter G, Theo T, Oli R, Joe S and Max L.