Well, maybe that's a little bit of an exageration but after an amazing tournament in Otley on Sunday June 6 we are all rightly proud! What a day & what a Tournament!! Read on for the full report...
Boys, parents and coaches arrived in Otley for the U8s 6-a-side tournament to be greeted (after a full week of solid sunshine) with what could be politely described as 'awful' conditions. Oh, and we also found ourselves in the 'Group of Death' with teams from Burnley, Pendle, Leeds & Otley pitched against the might of little old Scotton Scorchers. Huddled out of the rain we were about to start a journey that would prove 'Big City' reputations would count for nothing !!
Scotton's U8 squad on the day were a mix of some of the U7's who have been at the club for some years now and some of our U8's. We hoped we had the mix of skill, application, attitude and strength right! Our squad was:
Cameron ' The Cat' Latimer
Lewis 'The Destroyer' Dobson
Ewan 'Cruncher' Cooke
Cameron 'Fox in the Box' Bedford
Joseph 'Nasher' Navier
Tom 'Wor Jackie' Johnson
Luke 'The Spirit' Deighton
George 'Enforcer' Easton
However the start we got didn't suggest anything other than a damp and disappointing day ahead. We were beaten 5 - 0 against Maccabi(Leeds) & then beaten again by 3 - 0 by Barrowford Celtic(Burnley). The boys couldn't get going and despite all their best efforts just couldn't get the break-through that would lift their confidence. However, it was clear that they would be our toughest 2 games in the group, and remembering how the Italians always start slowly in the major competitions, we were down but not defeated - and after a brief chat between coaches we planned to try a new - and untested - formation!! We needed to start our defending 'from the front' to give the back-line some time and the ball to build and put some passes together. '2-2-1' became a '3-2' formation with the wing-backs (our older parents will remember wing-backs) driving down the wings. After a quick re-group of the lads, we felt it was time for us to show what we were really about !
Next up was Weston Lane and it was crucial we got the first goal & we duly did. The lads suddenly found their true form & confidence and we went on to dominate the game & win 3 - 1....... we were off & running ! Victories over Pendle Forest (1-0) - a really spirited group of lads who despite loosing a few quite heavily on the day really showed that it's actually just about doing your best and enjoying themselves - and then a fabulous performance against Collingham Juniors(2-0) followed and the day was beginning to look a lot brighter! So 3 wins, 2 losses, 9 points. 3rd in our group, some great victories and good football. We thought our day was over. Wet tops were collected in and we were about to collect our participation medals. But wait - there where rumblings that - unknown to many - the U8s was going to run a knock out with quarters, semi's and a final. And more than that, Scotton might - just might - have squeaked through as the second best 3rd place finish into the final 8 for the quarters!!!
We had an agonising wait of over nearly an hour - while the other two pools finished their games - to find out that yes, we had qualified for the Quarter Finals as one of 8 teams out of the original 18 that had started. Quite brilliant bearing in mind our start & already exceeding our wildest expectations. However the fun was only just about to start. Another killer draw meant that we were to face Kirk Deighton in the Quarters - this was a team that had won all five of their Group games & in the process had scored 25 goals & conceded only 1 !!
Bother the lads?.. not one bit !
They played the most fantastic game and attacked & defended as if their lives depended on it, a truly inspired whole team display that lead to a remarkable 1 - 0 win !
Now we're in the Semi's and none of us can quite believe it. But then the lads see that we are due to play Barrowfield Celtic(Burnley) who beat us quite comfortably 3 - 0 in the Group stages. A 'Winston Churchill' speech was required and after the coaches had bored the lads silly with this, we just decided to give it our best shot and enjoy it - it might be our last game of the day! The game was a tense 'Cat & Mouse' affair that finished 1 - 1 after full time. We were now in Extra Time and the Golden Goal rule applied..... 4 minutes of sheer hell but still no-one could grab the winner.
What now we asked ? ...... Penalties was the reply !!!!
The finishing 6 players, including the Keepers, were required to take a Penalty. The lads stood in a line,shoulder to shoulder, arms round each other, legs trembling like I've never seen before !! We were first & it got to 4 - 4 before the first miss but then immediately Cameron 'The Cat' Latimer pulled out a truly world class save to bring us back into the game. A miss from each team then followed & we were back to the start. Up stepped Tom 'Wor Jackie' Johnson and lashed it into the bottom corner. Pressure now on the opposition and 'The Cat' obviously won the 'mental' battle as the next penalty hit the outside of the post & went wide ..... we were through to the Final & had just proved that an English team can win a penalty shoot-out !!!
The Final was to be against Macabi (Leeds) who had again beaten us in the Group stage & were undoubtedly the best team we had seen in the Tournament. The lads played with every last ounce of energy, skill determination, passion and desire they could all muster but after drawing level at 1 - 1 - the boys very long day and all their amazing efforts finally caught up with them and were finally undone by an excellent top corner finish that meant Macabi had won the Final 2 - 1.
Now some people might expect the lads to be on a real downer after that result - not these boys !! They once again demonstrated superb sportsmanship by shaking all the opposition players hands & really giving them an excellent ovation when Macabi were presented with their medals. The boys were not just a credit to their club but also to their parents and families. And also, thanks to the parents for their support on a day that started at 8.30 and didn't finish until 5pm in a day of relentless rain!
We have now proved as a Club & as a Team that we can mix it with the 'Big Clubs', that we can play really good football and 'dig in' when we need to, that we can get to Finals & that we WILL win tournaments in the very near future. This was about a group of lads who showed outstanding team spirit but who played the game in the right way and so very nearly got everything they deserved. On the day, the goalscorers know who they were but for this report we felt that we didn't want to single out just those who hit the back of the net - all the games (9 games, won 6 lost just 3) were full-team efforts. However we did award two MOTM awards - neither of which went to goal-scorers both went to boys who showed consistent commitment, true team spirit and despite the weather seemed to wear permanent smiles. And they went to Luke Deighton and Lewis Dobson.
However the Club & Coaches are proud of all of them but more importantly they should be proud of themselves !!!
