Saturday 27th August and Sunday 28th August 2016 @ University of Bath

 

Saturday Results:

Erdington and Saltley 2-0 Haken

Blessing x 2
Chelsea 2-0 Erdington and Saltley
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-1 Erdington and Saltley

Blessing
Erdington and Saltley 2-0 Thurrock

Cameron and Rio
Erdington and Saltley 0-3 Reading

 

Sunday Results:

Erdington and Saltley 1 – 0 North Somerset

Rio

 

Bath and Wiltshire 2 – 1 Erdington and Saltley

Tion

 

Erdington and Saltley 3 – 0 BK Skjold (Denmark)

Blessing, Rio and Cameron

 

Erdington and Saltley 2 – 0 Thurrock

Samim and Rio

 

Erdington and Saltley 5 – 0 Haken

Rio x 2, Cameron x 2 and Jaiy

 

Kicking off the competitive season in style, the boys from Erdington and Saltley once again competed on a stage that belies the size of this great district.

After putting in a number of stunning performances on day one, the boys missed out on qualifying for the cup competition on the Sunday by goal difference, with Borussia Monchengladbach pipping the boys to the final qualifying spot. Nevertheless the boys were rightly immensely proud of their Saturday efforts in picking up more points than any other schools side.

After a night of great fun with our friends from Thurrock and some well needed sleep, the boys arrived on Sunday determined to emulate the class of 2015/16 by lifting the Bath International Plate.

However as is now customary with the boys from Erdington and Saltley, we started off very slowly and looked far from our best in the opening two games. After failing to convert possession into goals against North Somerset Schools, the boys were well below par against Bath and Wiltshire Schools.

After holding their own team meeting, the boys picked themselves up and started to play football more like the standard that we have become accustomed to over the past few seasons.

A comfortable 3-0 victory against Danish side BK Skjold, the lads dug deep to grab all three points against a very good Thurrock side, before rounding off the day in style against Swedish side BK Haken.

Reflecting on the weekend, there are so many positives. The style of attacking football played by the lads, the defensive solidity shown on Sunday (four clean sheets from five games), the behaviour of the lads on and off the pitch but arguably the thing I am most proud of is the attitude of the four older lads – Rio, Kye, Samim and Tion. Acting as true role models and mentors, the boys showed why they’ll go down as Ton legends! Well done boys.

 

A brilliant weekend that only adds to the excitement that is building as the new BPSFA season fast approaches!

 

Player of the weekend: Tion. In two years this young man has come so far as a footballer and as a person. An amazing weekend at the heart of our defence was capped off with him lifting his first piece of silverware wearing the captain’s armband and his tenth in total as a Ton player.

 

Up The Ton!

Friday 22nd July 2016 @ Lichfield City FC

Lichfield City FC Invitational

 

Team: Gerard, Cian Tevlin, Kian O’Neil, Blessing, Aidan, Ilani, Taylor, Reece, Resharne, Cameron, Che, Kian Brade and William

Goals: Cameron, Reece, Ilani, Blesssing and Che

 

Man of the Match: Cian Tevlin and Iliani – trying to choose between the two was near impossible!

 

Results:

Group stage:

D 0-0 Boldmere St. Michaels FC

W 3-0 Lichfield City FC

W 1-0 Derby County FC

Semi-final:

W 1-0 Boldmere St. Michaels FC

Final:

D 0-0 Derby County FC (Derby won 1-0 on pens)

 

Over the past few weeks the boys have played a number of friendlies and whilst showing glimpses of their potential, they haven’t necessarily clicked into first gear. This is to be expected as they’re a new team. However on Friday night they showed exactly what they are capable of, with five performances of immense quality.

Every single one of the lads worked their socks off and proved that they understand the prestige of representing their district. On a number of occasions they threw their bodies on the line by diving in front of shots, fighting for lost causes and clearing goal-bound shots to safety.

Furthermore, in possession they were calm, composed and imaginative in attack. Every time they had the ball, the crowd watched on in excitement as the lads created chance after chance. Reece’s goal in particular stands out as a fine example of playing through the thirds, whilst Cameron’s goal was pure pace and power down the right wing.

The spine of the team was solid, with Gerard reaping the rewards and bagging himself five clean sheets. At the heart if the defence, Cian Tevlin’s ability to read the game as if it were a book  meant he constantly sniffed out any danger and extinguished it in a composed manner. In the centre of the park, Ilani and Taylor formed a formidable partnership, with the the former going box to box and the latter shielding Cian and the rest of the back three.

To finish the evening unbeaten and without conceding a goal is something to be incredibly proud of. This was the night when the lads truly became a team!

More importantly the chemistry between the lads was electric! As a group they genuinely get along with each other on and off the pitch! 

Up The Ton!

 

 

Saturday 16th July 2016 @ Colebourne Primary School

The curtain was finally brought down on the most amazing season in the history of this sensational district. Here are the highlights of this season:

Under 11s Player of the Season – Troy Smikle-James

Under 10s Player of the Season – Ilani Edwards

 

 

Under 11s Captain – Kane Taylor

Under 10s Captain – Ilani Edwards

 

Under 11s Top Scorer – Kane Taylor 65 goals

Under 10s Top Scorer – Cameron Eubank 27 goals

 

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Team vs. Leeds:

Troy, Kane, Kye, Sam, Cameron and Rio

 

West Midlands County Schools FA League – Winners

West Midlands County Schools FA Cup – Winners

West Midlands County Schools FA 7 a side – Runners-up

English Schools’ FA/Premier League Cup – Winners

National Finals – Fourth overall

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA League – Runners-up

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Cup – Winners

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA 6-a-side Cup – Winners

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Futsal Championship – Winners

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Daniel Sturridge Cup – Runners-up

Birmingham Primary Schools’ FA Winter Cup – Runners-up

Bath International Cup – Winners

Midland Challenge Trophy – Winners

Jersey ESFA Festival – Third; played six, won five

 

Sam signed for Walsall FC, Blessing signed for Birmingham City FC, Troy signed for Everton FC and Ilani signed for Aston Villa FC.

 

Our first ever girls team.

 

 

A season to be immensely proud of. A season to smash all other seasons!

All of this was achieved through hard work, teamwork and an amazing attitude to everything that we did. We achieved all of the above due to the brilliant relationship between the parents, players and coaches. World class!

 

However before signing off, it’s only right to have one last match report:

 

The Above Average Parents 3 – 2 The Average Parents

 

After standing on the sidelines for 12 months and thinking they could do it just as well as their sons, the parents took to the field to show the kids how it should be done. However, as many would have predicted prior to the game, it didn’t really go like that! It was evident to all present, that the lads got their footballing skills from their grandparents!

Roaming the centre of the park like an injured lion, Rio’s dad had none of the energy or desire displayed throughout the season by his son. Whilst Ilani’s dad matched his son’s ability to get box to box, his shooting was like something from the rugby pitch rather than the football pitch! King Paul of Jersey showed he could talk the talk but not walk the walk, whilst Sam’s dad showed the agility of an elephant between the posts. The list is endless, so I’ll leave it to these pictures to tell the full story…

All joking aside, the match was a perfect example of why we are such a great district. It was played in great humour and spirit, with all of the dads (and mum) diving head first into it and giving it their all. Despite my tongue in cheek write up above, there was some great football on show too!

 

It’s with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to the class of 2016. We wish them all the very best as they start secondary school and know they’ll be a huge success if they show the same attitude that they’ve shown all year.

 

Thank you too parents. You’ve been a key factor behind the success of this team and a pleasure to work alongside.

 

Have a great summer everyone!

Up The Ton!