Saturday 18 March saw a new challenge (and an early start!) for the U10 Whites, who headed to Leyton for the National Futsal Cup County Finals.
Report by Peter
The team, who usually play their football in the top division of the Brentwood League, had not competed as a futsal team before and had a tough challenge ahead of them, against several specialist Futsal academies from around London and Essex.
The team were not daunted though, and after a quick reminder of the rules, took to the court for their opening fixtures which saw the youngsters play a heady mixture of breathtaking passing football and defensive grit – their determination and skill creating chance after chance. The games came thick and fast with only a 2-minute break between matches. The lads moved the ball with confidence and challenged themselves to produce match-winning skills in tight areas of the court and this proved a winning formula for the young stars who topped the group stage with 10 points (winning 3, drawing 1 and losing 0).
The reward was a final against Genesis Futsal Academy, with a place in the UK National finals at stake. The boys continued to play some incredibly skilful, battling football despite going a goal down early on. In the end, we were losing finalists but it was a good close match, and the team couldn’t have given more. Finishing second place in the region is a fantastic achievement at our first attempt; the boys earned many compliments on their football and conduct from the organisers. We’re looking forward to challenging again next year.
We finished the tournament as top goal scorers with 21 goals and the fewest goals conceded (3 goals) and the players should be hugely proud of themselves.
Roll on the Junior Premier League next season for this group!
