Hoping to continue with their excellent form, the Under 7s journeyed to the Wilmslow Tournament, ready for the final challenge of the season. We have had the pleasure of watching our squad of 4 to 7 year olds train hard to develop their skills and passion for this wonderful game come rain, wind, hail, bitter cold and (rarely) shine. It must also be noted that we have such a FAB group of supportive parents and guardians.
We invited all our Year 2 players to participate, and wanted them to have the chance of Festival experience, with hindsight (what a wonderful thing); it was ambitious of us to take so many children, as regrettably, some did not get much time on the pitch.
What began as a dry but dull day soon became one of the wettest and coldest, as the lovely green pitches quickly became muddy swamps. We met Manchester first, and despite their best attempts, we were too quick for them in defence and too powerful in attack, resulting in a 5 – 0 win to us.
The next hurdle was Wilmslow (C). Having heard great things about these guys we knew we had to pull out all our tricks and skills. It was a hard played game, made even worse by the conditions, and at half time we were down. Nevertheless our gang kept their heads up and managed to come back with a 7 – 6 win, leaving Wilmslow in utter disbelief and shock.
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By the time we played our final group game against old rivals Lymm (B) our guys had been able to have a warm in the club house. We knew we had to win or draw to stand a chance of making it to the semi finals and the pressure was on. Unfortunately the pitch had become so slippy that at one point we had two players injured, yet the ref played on, allowing Lymm to score. This was such a fast and furious game, but we still managed to pull it out of the bag to draw 4 all.
Ten nail biting minutes later it was confirmed that we were our Group Winners – and had made it to the semis to play against Macclesfield. The problem was that our guys were all soaked through to their skins, shivering and very hungry. We had 20 mins before kick off to let them have their picnic under the cover of umbrellas, blankets, Mum’s and Dad’s coats and anything else that would provide some relief from the elements.
Macclesfield, who just happen to be the Cheshire League Champions, outclassed and out-manoeuvred us from the start. We are not making excuses, Macclesfield deserved to win, they were everything we hope to emulate, however our little troopers were tired and cold and the excitement of the day had got to them. They battled on valiantly as try after try zoomed past them. We did manage to get one back though!
What a brilliant end to a fantastic season, we could not have asked for more from our Super Heros. We have all learned so much and just hope that we can keep building on the foundations already laid. With huge amounts of talent, drive and determination in our squad, we are sure that it will not be long before we start bringing home the silverware.
Team Line Up –
Alex (G), Will, Nathan, Nadia, Charlotte, Ben, Joe, Jack, Rahul, Paul, Tom, Morgan.
Try Scorers were –
Alex, Will, Nathan, Joe, Rahul and Morgan
Thank you to everyone involved, and to Wilmslow for a great sporting day.
Training continues at Green Lane each Sunday until the 11th May (End of Season Presentation and Mum’s and Dad’s Tag Tournament). Wednesday training is also at Green Lane 6pm – 7pm and will run throughout the summer.
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Best wishes
Phil, Allan, Karen and Dave.
