Thursday 21st December 2017 @ AVFC Academy, Villa Park

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Eniola Aluko Shield

 

A Team: Liberty, Millie, Lacy, Latia, Javeigh, Sami and Rihanna

Goals: Rihanna x 3, Latia x3, Liberty x2 and Javeigh x1

Girl of the Match: Javeigh – a commanding presence in midfield and defence!

 

B Team: Keira, Tiana, Jenny, Mary, Amne and Shay-Leigh

Goals: Jenny

Girl of the Match: Shay-Leigh

The Eniola Aluko Shield is named in honour of one of the most inspiring footballers to have learned their trade playing Birmingham Primary Schools’ football. Both on and off the pitch, Ms Aluko has been an inspiration to the primary school pupils of the Second City since bursting into the Birmingham City FC first team while still at school.

Through her incredible silky skills and strong moral purpose, the former Broadmeadow pupil rightly becomes the first female footballer to have a BPSFA title named in her honour, following in the footsteps of her close friend and former Aston footballer Daniel Sturridge.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Eniola Aluko moved with her family to Birmingham at the age of one. 

Aluko started her career at Leafield Athletic Ladies and subsequently played for Birmingham City Ladies’ youth team and scored on her Birmingham City debut against Leeds United, aged just 14. 

Called into the England national setup at the tender age of 14, Eniola has amassed 102 caps for her country, as well as playing professionally in America and England.

The current Chelsea sharp-shooter lifted the Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA 4-a-side title while captaining her school Broadmeadow of Kings Norton.

Twenty years on from Eniloa’s heroics for Broadmeadow, 70 of Birmingham’s most talented footballers took to the field on Thursday night to compete for the Eniola Aluko Shield. After lifting the first title of the season – Birmingham Primary Schools’ 7-a-side Championship – the girls from Erdington and Saltley were determined to make it two titles from two.

Up first for the girls was Aston, with the A team charging to a 3-0 victory and the B team falling to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of a stunning Aston goal. While the B team succumbed to a great goal, A team midfielder Rihanna bagged an amazing hat-trick to set her team up brilliantly for a confident tilt at the title.

Next up for both teams was South Birmingham. Less dramatic than the opening round of fixtures, the double header against South Birmingham saw the A team win 1-0 and the B team pick up their first point of the night after a confident performance and 0-0 draw.

That left both teams in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals with a favourable draw. The third and final round of group fixtures saw both teams lock horns with Kings Norton. It was very fitting that it was the district where Eniola grew up and went to school who provided us with our sternest group-stage test. For long periods of the game the A team struggled to break down the resolute Kings Norton defence until Latia popped up with a deserved goal to maintain the girls 100% record. The B team encounter was lit up by a breathtaking Jenny volley into the top corner of the Kings Norton goal – the type of goal that Eniola no doubt would have been proud of!

In the knock-out stage, the B team conceded for only the second time in the night to lose to Aston B. Despite failing to make the final of their respective competition, the girls of the B team should be incredibly proud of their efforts and the amazing improvements that they have made since September. With new additions Shay-Leigh and Keira sparkling and old-heads Jenny, Mary, Amne and Tiana on form, it was a pleasure to watch them in action all evening.

That left the A team to fly the flag for The Ton and after captain Liberty scored a classy brace against Kings Norton in their semi-final, the A team marched onto the final.

With dreams of a second title firmly at the forefront of their mind, the girls started the final against South Birmingham at full speed, taking the lead from the boot of Latia after only one minute of play. However despite piling the pressure on South Birmingham, the girls suffered an epic blow in the final second of the final when South Birmingham equalised via the first and only goal that we conceded all night. That sucker punch could have knocked the stuffing out of the girls and derailed their title charge, but these girls are made of tougher stuff than that. With five minutes of extra time on the clock, Latia scored a smart first time finish to snatch a deserved victory and claim the girls’ second title of 2017/18.

A Birmingham City FC striker scoring the winning goal in a Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA final – now where have we seen that before?

The most pleasing thing about this victory was the manner in which the girls played as a team. From start to finish they passed the ball with confidence and worked tirelessly to defend in numbers. The pride and determination shown by the girls made all in attendance incredibly proud of these talented young ladies. It must also be pointed out that while Liberty, Javeigh and Sami are in year 6, Latia, Lacy, Millie and Rihanna are only in year 5! In fact, most of the B team girls are also competing against girls a year older!

The present is bright but so is the future!

Well done girls!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 2nd December 2017 @ Hollyfields Club. Erdington

Erdington and Saltley A 1- 1 Sutton Coldfield (Erdington won 2-1 on pens)

Erdington and Saltley B 1-7 Gloucester

 

A Team: Remi, Savannah, Millie, Liberty, Rihanna, Lacy and Javeigh

B Team: Remi, Taija, Amne, Kayla, Rosie, Shay-Leigh and Sophie

Girl of the Match: Savannah – energy and passion. A driving force from midfield and great foil for Liberty in the centre of midfield.

 

Two very different results but one very similar feeling – proud! With a number of girls falling down ill on the day of the games, both teams had a patched-up look about them.Yet despite this, both teams worked as hard as possible, showing what it meant to them to pull on the jersey of their community.

The A team locked horns with Sutton Coldfield for the third time this season. After drawing 4-4 in the first encounter and then winning 1-0 in the final of the first BPSFA tournament of the season, it was another tight affair with Erdington once again prevailing.

The opening half of the game saw The Ton girls camped in the Sutton half, with our opponents first attack coming in the closing minutes from the spot after a Rihanna foul gifted them a penalty. Fortunately for us, Sutton missed their penalty and the score remained 0-0 at half-time.

Captain Liberty broke the deadlock from the narrowest of angles and at that stage it seemed like The Ton were going to progress to the semi-final of the Midlands Cup. Yet Sutton refused to lie down and equalised soon after Liberty’s opener following a brilliant team move.

With light fading and the score still level, it was straight to penalties. Rihanna donned the keeper’s jersey and saved the first two Sutton penalties to put The Ton in a commanding position with two chances to wrap up the tie. The winning penalty came from Lacy who rifled low and hard into the corner of the net. Next up in the cup for The Ton girls is South Birmingham A.

After watching their teammates pick up a victory, the B team took on Gloucester in the final match of the day. The opening exchanges were fairly even, with Taija scoring a brilliant individual goal to level the scoreline at 1-1. However, with the team battling away against a quality Gloucester side, they were dealt a blow when their southern opponents scored a couple of goals in quick succession to retake the lead.

The second half saw Gloucester score several more goals and despite our valiant efforts, it was hard to deny that the classy Gloucester side fully deserved their victory. Nevertheless our girls should be immensely proud of their efforts, rather than worrying about the scoreline.

Overall it was a great day for our great district!

Well done girls!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 2nd December 2017 @ Hollfields Club, Erdington

Midlands Challenge Cup

Erdington and Saltley 8 – 0 Aston

 

Team: Padraig, Rhys, Ethan, Jeval, Daniel, Callam, Che, Tavani, Romaoe and Alfie

Goals: Alfie x 3, Tavani, Daniel, Romaoe x 2 and Callam

Man of the Match: Daniel – captained the side and drove the team on throughout the game. Amazing attitude!

 

In the first of three Ton games yesterday, the under 10s turned on the style to put on a showing of scintilating attacking play. Four Ton goals in the first twenty minutes seemed to knock the stuffing out of Aston, only for the visitors to bounce back valiantly during the middle third to create chances of their own, including a missed penalty, before The Ton raced out of sight in the final 20 minutes of the game.

From start to finish the boys played as a team, defending in numbers and countering with pace and aggression. In fact, the manner in which the team countered every Aston attack was possibly the most pleasing thing about the performance.

Throughout the team there were performances to marvel. From captain Daniel running the show in centre midfield to the youngest player Ethan producing the kind of ball playing defensive display that Bobby Moore would have been proud of! Out wide, Che was a menace, especially during the first twenty minutes, while Tavani and Romaoe continuously switched positions to bamboozle the Aston back line. With quality finishes, Callam and Alfie proved a thorn in the side of Aston throughout. At the back Rhys and Jeval were a composed and balanced pair, despite the latters protests that he isn’t a defender! Between the posts, Padraig collected his second clean sheet in two games thanks to a number of good saves and a slice of luck here and there.

Overall it was a brilliant performance and one to be incredibly proud of.

While the eight unanswered goals rightly reflects our superiority during the game, it doesn’t do Aston justice in the sense that they battled their hearts out and bounced back during the middle third after falling four behind. With a missed penalty (Padraig saved it) and goal line clearance (thanks to Ethan) they would have got on the score sheet on another day.

Nevertheless the day belonged to The Ton!

Well done lads!

Up The Ton!

Saturday 25th November 2017 @ Hollyfields Club, Erdington

Midlands Challenge Cup

Erdington and Saltley 2 – 0 Gloucester

 

Team: Padraig, Klechai, Loiue, Jaiy, Olly, Callam, Mason, Reece, Cian L, Enoch and Liam

Goals: Reece and Cian

Man of the Match: Jaiy – posed a creative threat throughout the whole game

 

After a couple of tricky weeks and defeats at the hands of Solihull and Sutton Coldfield, the lads showed superb bouncebackability by putting on a great showing against Gloucester in the Midlands Challenge Cup.

If truth be told, there have been beaten at times this season by ourselves rather than our opponents. Yet against Gloucester we put right the wrongs that we identified in our games against Solihull and Sutton Coldfield. We worked incredibly hard, battled when required, stayed positive even when things went against us and passed the ball in a way that demonstrated a level of trust hithero seen amongst the boys. In fact, the word that comes to mind when reflecting on this game is ‘positivity’. Everything about the victory could conceivably be put down to our positive attitude.

Throughout the game the lads passed the ball around with confidence, showing a trust in each other that hasn’t always characterised our games. Even when passes went astray or boys arguably made a poor decision, the team responded positively to ensure heads and spirits remained high. Consequently some of the passages of play were breathtaking to watch. Intricate passing moves built through patience and determination led to more chances being created than in the previous two games combined.

The goals came from a superb Reece finish in the first twenty and drive low into the corner from Cian as the clock ticked down at the end of the game.

As excellent as the two finishes were, an equal amount of credit must go to all departments of the team and not just the two attackers. With two up front, we shuffled the pack to play two in defence, with Klechai and Louie proving a brilliant pairing. In goal Padraig had an excellent game and on another day could have been man of the match. The midfield showed energy and desire when out of possession and creativity and flair in attack. Orchestrating affairs was captain Jaiy, ably supported by the endless running of Enoch and Mason, flair of Olly and verve and vigour of  Liam and Callam.

Gloucester played their part in an entertaining game, hitting the crossbar in the final minutes of the game with the score still 1-0. However despite their best efforts, it was The Ton boys who picked up a well deserved 3 points in the Midlands Challenge Cup.

It was genuinely a joy to watch and a performance that sets us up perfectly for when the second half of the 9-a-side season starts in February.

Well done lads!

Up The Ton!

 

Midlands Challenge Cup standings:

District	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	For	Against	Diff	Points
Erdington and Saltley	3	3	0	0	20	0	20	9
Gloucester	2	1	0	1	3	2	1	3
Aston	3	0	0	3	0	21	-21	0

Saturday 11th November 2017 @ Sutton Coldfield Town FC, Coles Lane

Burton Shield

 

Sutton Coldfield 3 – 0 Erdington and Saltley

 

Team: Tyrese, Loiue, Aidan, James, Reece, Toby, Daniel, Olly, Jaiy, Cian L, Callam and Klechai

Man of the Match: Louie – a committed performance fall of heart and courage. The Oval pupil continues to make light work of the fact that he plays as a striker on a Sunday with some stunning defensive performances for The Ton.

 

After an uncharacteristically subdued performance against Solihull last week, the boys bounced back with a much improved showing against 2017/18 favourites and near neighbours Sutton Coldfield. With a place in the last four of the West Midlands County Schools’ FA Cup up for grabs, the boys were determined to move on from last week’s defeat and in doing so attempt to defend the trophy that we have won in each of the last three seasons.

Spirits were high during the warm up and the boys started the game brightly, creating three chances in the opening five minutes. Yet it was Sutton who broke the deadlock in a fashion that came to sum up the game for The Ton. With their first chance of the game, Ben burst into the Ton box and slotted past Tyrese who could do nothing about it.

One chance, one goal. Clinical.

The first and second thirds were played in great spirits with both teams evidently motivated and determined to march on to the next round of the cup. Unfortunately for our boys, more chances came and went, with the Sutton keeper and defence proving a stubborn obstacle to overcome.

Despite still trailing 1-0, the boys continued to produce a pleasing performance. The midfield partnership of Daniel and Toby were on good form and making a mockery of the fact that both are only in year five. The same could be said of Cian who looked dangerous up front all game, even if he found himself snuffed out of the game at times by the impressive Sutton back line. The fourth of the u10s making waves was Callam, who produced a lively performance wide on the left.

In the final third, the game drifted from our grasp as Sutton pounced to make it 3-0: a scoreline that flattered them. However despite being better than the 3-0 scoreline suggests, we can’t deny the fact that Sutton had a great game and deserved to win after taking their chances. Nevertheless, we asked for a response from the boys after last week’s washout and this is exactly what we got. Everything we asked of them, they gave us. As a teacher, that’s all I can ask.

Well done Lads.

Up The Ton!