Saturday 5th January 2019 @ Vale Stadium, Castle Vale
Representative Match
Erdington and Saltlely Black 3-3 Wolverhampton
Team: Danny, Rhys, Daniel, Romaeo, Jeval, Kyran, Markie, Toby, Callam, Alfie and Cian L
Goals: Alfie, Callam and Toby
Man of the Match: Rhys – best game of the season for the centre back
Erdington and Saltley Gold 3-4 Wolverhampton
Team: Jude, Sean, Ethan, Oscar, Cole, Kian, Jason, Lennon, Keon, Joshua, Kyran, Gonzalo, Kaydan and Kian
Goals: Keon, Kian and Gonzalo
Man of the Match: Jason and Keon – the tricky under 9s wing wizards created havoc down the wing all game
2018 was an amazing year for The Ton. The inter-schools league has more schools than ever playing regular competitive football. We have more district teams than ever. Both the girls and boys made history throughout the year.
If 2019 is half as good as 2018, it will be a great year!
After a long mid-season break, the black team pulled on their Erdington and Saltley jersey for the first time in six weeks and the first time since being crowned 7-a-side champions of the West Midlands. Although they hadn’t been as inactive as their black team peers, the gold team were dusting off their boots for the first time in two weeks and the first time since lifting the BPSFA Winter Shield.
Both games were packed full of excitement and goals. Both games were packed full of moments of quality but also a few moments of rustiness, although they were hugely outnumbered by the moments of class!
The gold team started their game by playing some excellent passing football, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the opposition manager. As they have all season, the boys played as a united team, passing as one and working their socks off for the team.
While the opening brought no goals, it wasn’t for the lack of opportunities created. We simply couldn’t finish them. Unfortunately we were then hit with a sucker punch after going behind to a superb Wolves strike. Fortunately the boys were only behind for a short while and soon equalised via Keon.
Then shortly after the half-way point in the game, Wolves capitalised on their pressure and raced into a 3-1 lead.
Never one to let their heads drop, the boys battled back and levelled the game through the boots of Kian and Gonzalo. At 3-3 the game was ebbing and flowing from end to end. It was a a great game to watch for all!
Alas, the brilliant effort of the lads was to no avail when Wolves scored a decisive fourth goal at the death. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant game to be involved in and another example of the super team spirit amongst this group and amazing young men.
On the adjacent pitch, the black team found Wolves difficult to break down in the opening 15 minutes despite dominating the early exchanges. A number of chances were created but the back of the net proved elusive.
The second quarter saw a marked improvement in the teamwork and play of the boys. This in turn coincided with the black team taking the lead thanks to a sublime run and finish from Callam. At the half-way mark, the boys could argue that they deserved more than their one goal lead, although as they would come to regret later, they simply didn’t take them.
After conceding soon after the restart, the boys somehow found themselves level with 30 minutes to play. Fortunately they rallied and quickly retook the lead, this time from the penalty spot after Markie was brought down. Despite watching the resulting penalty cannon off the right-hand post, Toby was alert enough to charge in and tuck away the rebound. A third goal quickly followed, this time courtesy of a sweet strike from Alfie.
At 3-1 up with ten minutes to play, the boys lost their discipline and with it, their lead. As with everything we do, the emphasis was put on the learning to come out of the experience. The final ten minutes of the game will not overshadow the 50 minutes that preceded it. Wolves did brilliantly to level the game late on and were rightly proud of their efforts. However, our boys played some excellent football and controlled the game for large periods. They too were proud of their efforts and know exactly what they have to do as we strive to push forward in 2019.
Well done boys!
Up The Ton!
Erdington and Saltley Primary Schools' FA 