Saturday 3rd October 2015 @ Heartlands Academy
Erdington and Saltley 3 – 1 East Birmingham
Team: Rob, Sam, Ilani, Diago, Kye, Taylor, Rio, Oakley, Tion, Blessing, Cameron, Harvey and Pharelle
Goals: Pharelle, Blessing and Kye
Man of the Match: Sam
After kicking off the season in style against Harborne, the boys took on East Birmingham at Heartlands determined to send out a message to the other districts. However to their eternal credit, East Birmingham had ideas to the contrary.
Starting the game as the better team, The Ton passed the ball around confidently but found themselves undone by a goal of the most simplistic nature. One long ball from goalkeeper to striker, bounced in the centre of the pitch and over the top to the East striker who finished it with a sweet shot. With a few minutes on the clock, the boys found themselves one goal behind. This is how it finished despite the fact that we had the majority of the ball in the first 20 minutes.
The second 20 minutes continued in the same fashion, with The Ton having most of the ball but failing to convert their chances, whilst East defended with the commitment and bravery of a pack of lions. East also had a couple of chances of their own on the counter attack and could easily have stretched their lead. Half way through the game, The Ton equalised through a superb half volley from Pharelle, much to the relief of the Ton Army!
The final third of the game saw the boys finally take the lead courtesy of Blessing who finished smartly following a period of Ton pressure. Minutes later East threw everything at us when they got a corner, as they looked to equalise. However unfortunately for them we managed to break away, with Blessing picking up the ball deep in his own half and sprinting the length of the pitch before crossing to Kye to make it 3-1. It was a crushing blow for the East boys but they had no option but to chance the game.
Overall both teams should be incredibly proud of their efforts today. The Ton stuck to their principles and played some very attractive football, whilst the East boys defended better than any team I’ve seen in a very long time. Well done to both sets of players! This was a great advert for schools football!
We should also be very pleased with the fact that four under 10s played in this game – Blessing, Taylor, Cameron and Ilani – only further cementing our belief that the future is very bright indeed.
Next week sees us lock horns with neighbours and great friends Aston…we can’t wait!
Man of the Match – Sam: A rock at the back, who marshalled the two man defence like a young Paul McGrath.
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 