Two football teams from Highbridge’s King Alfred School are celebrating becoming county champions.
The school’s Year 9 team took on Nailsea in the Under 14s Somerset County Cup Final at Street Football Club.
Having lost to Nailsea last year in the final the team knew that they would have to be at their best to be successful.
The game began with KAS playing down the hill and, after some early sparring, were able to fashion their first attempts on goal, which included the goal frame being stuck on more than one occasion. It was proving to be a very tight affair and this was reflected by the 0-0 half time score.
After a half time team talk from Coach Mr Tipler, the team got out of the traps very quickly and took the lead after two minutes thanks to a fine strike from Ryan Stiles from outside of the area. This was quickly followed with a second from Jordan Cann and the KAS team were able to dominate possession and with it the game. Two further goals were scored by Finlay Paul and Fred Berry and the team ran out 4-0 winners.
A special mention goes out to the defensive unit who kept a dangerous Nailsea attack line quiet for the majority of the game.
“To win this cup is a fantastic achievement for all of the boys and captain Paul Grant can be very proud of his team, as we all are!” the school’s Pete Harris told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
Having watched the Year 9 team lift the County Cup, the year 10s were determined to match that achievement. However, they knew that the game would be far from easy, as they came up against the same Backwell side that had knocked them out of the National cup earlier in the season.
The first half of the In the Under 15s Schools Final was a very tight affair, as both teams pressed the ball and limited the time that the players had on the ball.
Charlie Harding tested the goalkeeper with a long range free kick, but it was Backwell who had the first clear opportunity. After a rare slip at the back, Fraser McDairmid had to be alert to save at the feet of the opposition striker.
At half time, the team emphasised to each other the need to keep concentrating in defence and an opportunity would present itself at the other end.
And almost as soon as the second half had started, KAS took the lead. After good work from Charlie Hughes and Scott Fouracres, Dan Rosser picked up the ball on the edge of the penalty area. Using quick feet, he beat two defenders before firing past the on rushing goalkeeper into the bottom corner of the net.
As expected, Backwell responded and as the half progressed applied more and more pressure the KAS backline. However, Jack Thorne, Charlie White, Kyle Durrant, Ben Gates and Joe Kew demonstrated superb organisation and willing to repel most of Backwell’s threat.
On the two occasions when Backwell did manage to create an opportunity, McDairmid was again on hand to maintain a clean sheet. It wasn’t just one way traffic, however, as Matt Ellis and Kieran Moores proved useful outlets and still maintained a threat to the Backwell goal. The final whistle was greeted with a huge celebration from both players and supporters. The boys can be extremely proud of their efforts this season.
Pictured: The school’s year 9 and year 10 teams celebrating becoming county champions. The team in white shirts are the Under 14s
