Friday 20th February 2015 @ Heartlands Academy
Teams:
One – Harvey, Brandon, Kane, Tyrese, Kruize, Troy and Shilo
Beat Aston 2-0
Lost 1-0 to South
Beat Harborne 4-0
Lost 1-0 Kings Norton
Beat East 3-0
Semi-final: Beat Harborne 3-0
Final: Beat Aston 2-0
Two – Rahmane, Teon, Shaun, Jermaine, Tristan, Cameron, Hayden, and Romeo
Drew 1-1 with Kings Norton
Drew 0-0 with South
Lost 3-2 to Harborne
Lost 2-0 to Aston
Scorers – Cameron, Kruize x 2, Kane, Tyrese, Shilo x 7, Troy x 3
Sorry for the delay producing this match report but I’ve been busy staring at the trophy for the past couple of days!
Erdington and Saltley, Champions of Birmingham. It has quite a ring to it! We couldn’t be prouder of the whole squad. Since September we’ve watched as this group of young men have developed into a fine team. That 9-0 defeat to Solihull seems a long time ago now! Plus the exciting thing is, I genuinely believe we can get even better. You only have to look at the fact that the two goals in the final were scored by Year 5 lads (Kane and Troy), whilst Cameron was a constant handful for the other team. Exciting times indeed!
In terms of a blow for blow account of Friday…er…er…I’m going to be honest, it’s all a blur! I remember a few things, but not much!
There was team two’s comeback from 2-0 down against Harborne, only to suffer a late heartbreak. Nevertheless, the way that they dragged themselves back into the game was brilliant. Guts, determination and commitment were all evident. Then there was team one’s nail biting escape from the group! After losing two games, we knew we needed South Birmingham to do us a favour and beat Kings Norton if we were going to progress from the group. Luckily for us they did, and our 3-0 defeat of East Birmingham put us through courtesy of our better goal difference.
Once we were out of the group, we turned on the style! We faced Harborne in the semi-final and raced into a 3-0 half time lead, before seeing out the remainder of the game. The final promised to be a juicy affair, with Aston the opponents. As an Aston teacher, I have a soft spot for them and love playing against them. It was the perfect final for me. However we knew it would be a stern test as they’re a talented bunch of lads. The boys were told that they had to match Aston’s work rate and strength if we were going to get anything from the game. Fortunately for us, this is exactly what we did! With two minutes of the final remaining, Shilo burst down the right and crossed for Kane, who steamrolled in and slotted the ball away despite pressure from the Aston defender. Then the trophy was secured when Troy raced clear to rifle the ball into the roof of the Aston net.
To become the first winners of the Daniel Sturridge Trophy is something to be immensely proud of. Just over ten years ago, Daniel was playing district football and now he is an idol for millions of fans around the globe. Let’s dream boys and aim big! That could be you one day!
Mr Waldo was awarded player of the tournament after finishing the top scorer with seven goals, and is now only one goal away from beating the 30 goals that he scored last season! Well done Shilo. However, we’re not a one man team and everyone played their part on Friday. From Shaun anchoring the defence of team two, to Tyrese switching from playing up front to dropping back into defence for team one. Without everyone’s contribution we wouldn’t have won the trophy. We’re a team and we win and lose as a team. Therefore, well done everyone!
Man of the Match – It’s hard to disagree with the Sturridge family who picked Shilo as their play of the tournament.
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 