Saturday 20th October 2018 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale
West Midlands County Schools’ FA Cup – Quarter Final
Erdington and Saltley 9 – 0 Wolverhampton
Team: Jude, Alfie, Toby, Rhys, Cian S, Markie, Daniel, Callam, Tavani, Cian L, Romaeo and Jeval
Goals: Callam x 2, Daniel x 2, Markie x 2, Toby x 2 and Romaeo
Man of the Match: Daniel – A defensive and attacking masterclass from the defender/midfielder!
What a stunning performance! What an amazing victory! Over the past seven years, Wolverhampton Schools have generally held the upper hand in our encounters, with yesterday’s victory only our third win. More impressively, it also represented our biggest win, surpassing the 6-1 victory of Kane, Troy, Sam et al in 2016.
Seven minutes into the cup quarter final, Callam broke the Wolves offside trap to put the boys one up and they never looked back from there.
With pace, power and skill supplemented by an infectious work rate, the boys put in their best performance of the season to dominate the cup game.
Up front, Cian L worked tirelessly for the team, holding the ball up superbly to allow his buccaneering midfield to make runs past him. With all nine goals coming from midfield, it was certainly a tactic that paid dividends! Furthermore, the fact that five different players got on the score sheet shows the formidable attacking potential of this team!
At the back, Jude made his debut in goal and kept a clean sheet in his first 25 minute of district football, while Alfie repeated this achievement during the second half. The commitment shown by the Abbey striker to play in goal, as opposed to his usual striking position, epitomised the selfless teamwork on show yesterday.
Equally impressive yesterday was the fact that we kept our first clean sheet in five games, thanks in no small part to the defensive work of Toby, Daniel, Rhys and Cian S, who like Alfie, had suppressed his attacking instincts to play in an unfamiliar defensive position.
It’s often easy for the goalscorers to steal the headlines, but a word or two should be reserved for Tavani, whose tireless work on and off the ball, like that of Cian L, created so many goal scoring opportunities for the team. Had the Wolverhampton keeper not been in such imperious form, the boys would have bagged more than the nine goals that they did.
Nevertheless, while a huge amount of praise can be heaped upon The Ton lads, an equally large amount should be given to Wolverhampton for refusing to give in when it would have been easy to do so. Their attitude was excellent throughout the game and it’s a near certainty that they will bounce back to winning ways in no time at all.
Well done boys!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 