Football Tournament Part One. 28th September 2023
Date: 3rd Oct 2023 @ 2:52pm
Football Tournament Part One. 28th September 2023
After a succesful training session last week, we were thrown straight in at the deep end having been entered into a 5/6 tournament.
Once we arrived at Delp Side to take part, we ran enthusiastically to claim a pitch to practise on. We did some passing drills, some shooting and free kicks. Finley’s dad elped us with this and gave us some good tips for playing.
In out first match we had all of the ball possession and, no exaggerating, Mr Brearley reckons we had around 40 shots, but we just couldn’t score. Then with the last kick of the game, our opponents scored with their only shot. It was heartbreaking, but we knew not to give up.
In our next match, we played just as well as the in the first game but this time we could score! Finley Clarke dribbled through the whole team and scored twice. We won 2:0. Alex and Henry defended for their lives and Florence ensured the other team couldn’t keep the ball. She was incredible throughout. Ted played his part well, especially in this game where we needed someone who could help Finley run with the ball.
In the third game, we faced a really good team. After three minutes, Finley went to block a shot, but ended up deflecting it past Charlie for an own goal. Charlie, by the way, was amazing throughout. It was his first time playing in net and he was solid! We knew we had time to make a comeback…and we did. Finley Clarke ended up scoring two more goals to make it 2:1. Gabriel was extremely important in this as he was busy winning the ball back and setting Ted and Finley free. Alex then handballed on the edge of the box and the other team had a free-kick in the last few seconds. It couldn’t happen again could it? No! They missed and we won 2:1.
In our fourth and last game, we faced our toughest challenge yet. The team we played were well organised and aggressive (but fair). One of their players enjoyed sliding tackles, but was a bit late one time and accidently fouled Finley Clarke, around 20 yards from goal. Finley stepped up and scored direct from the free-kick into the top bins. We ended up winning 1:0 after some excellent defensive work from Henry, Ted and Alex. Florence once again was buzzing around everyone, stopping our opposition mounting any attacks. When they finally did, Charlie was on hand to thwart them.
We ended up winning three games and losing one, but more importantly, we had fun. We can’t wait for part 2 next week. If we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. We think we’ve already won, just by taking part.
By Alex and Henry.