Saturday 5th April 2014 @ Braemar Road
Erdington and Saltley 8 – 2 East Birmingham
Team: Dermot, Callum, George, Leyton, Marc, Michael, Ethan, Ramello, Amari, Tyrese, Shilo, Alex, Kruize
Goals: Shilo x 4; Ethan x 2; Ramello x 1; Marc x 1
Man of the Match: Shilo
With the league season done and dusted, and with the pain of missing out on the Birmingham league by a solitary point still a prominent memory, we welcomed East Birmingham to Braemar Road for the quarter final of the Birmingham Cup. It was our first home game since the start of January when we entertained Nottingham Primary Schools. Unfortunately East Birmingham were short of numbers due to unforeseen circumstances and the match had to be down scaled from 9-a-side to 6 and then 7-a-side. Tonn and I both stressed the need for the lads to be professional and work as a team, whilst making sure that everyone understood it was about the team and not the individual.
The lads did just this throughout the whole match and played with pace, flair and intelligence from the first whistle to the last. Some of our attacking combinations were breathtaking and on another day we could have reached double figures. The East goalkeeper had a blinder of a game and should be proud of her efforts, as should the whole team. It’s not been the easiest of seasons for East but they have never given up and played with courage throughout the whole season.
I’m not really sure about the order of the goals and I’m not even 100% of the score! I think it was 3-1 to The Ton at half time! In fact, I’m certain that it was! What I am sure of is that the lads executed the game plan to perfection and should be immensely proud of their efforts. It was a clinical display and even more pleasing was the way that all of the lads swapped positions and roles with frequency and ease. At one point we substituted every player apart from Dermot in one go! We couldn’t have gained the victory if the lads hadn’t been so focused throughout the game. Even though the game is a blur, I do remember Shilo nagging me a lot and Dermot briefly requesting to take the penalty!
We now have a few weeks off and return at the end of the month for the final games of the Midland Challenge Cup in Gloucester. If we win both of those tough games, we could claim our third trophy of the season. Then it’s on to the two semi-finals – The Burton Shield (West Midlands FA Cup) against Harborne and the Birmingham FA Cup against Aston. This amazing season sits nicely on the brink of becoming a historical season but whatever happens, people will be talking about The Ton of 2013/14 for years to come!
Well done boys. Enjoy your Easter and with a bit of luck Tonn and I will make it back from our travels in one piece!
Up the Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 