A local U12 boys football team is celebrating winning the English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) National Cup following a triumphant 2-0 win in the final.
Pupils from St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, Hebburn, which is part of Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, beat Shenfield High School from Essex, to bring the cup back to the North East.
Hayden Cassin, the St Joseph’s Man of the Match in the final said – “It was a really good experience for the lads, I was really happy when we won. I was happy with my performance with two assists for Tom’s two goals. It has made us want to get there again and experience it as many times as possible.”
The squad consists of pupils – Hayden Cassin, Tom Connolly, Jax Davis, Ralphy Dinnery (captain), Joey Greenwood, Matthew Henderson, Tyler Hogg, Riley Jennings, Harvey Lee, Jacob Parker, and Harry Price. All of whom are part of the Elite Football Academy at St. Joseph’s run in partnership with Fast Feet Football Academy.
Fast Feet team managers at the event Charlie Bews and Isaac Gamblin, said – “The boys represented the school very well with a professional performance. The trophy is a result of their season long hard work. Hopefully, we can continue to win many more trophies in the near future.”
This is not the school’s only footballing success this year – their Year 8 girls’ team also reached the ESFA final but lost 3-1 to a strong Surbiton team who had seven players already attending professional academies. St. Joseph’s Year 8 girls team consisted of – Aliyah Ahmed, Layla Bailey, Zofia Bean (captain), Amelia Brown, Grace Cooke, Layla Daniels, Cerys Dickinson, Evie Harkness, Holly Nicklin, Fraya Pritchard, Millie Smith. Autumn Stoker and Lily Wilson.
And the Year 8 boys team also reached the semi-final of the ESFA National Cup – both teams showed brilliant attitudes throughout their games and represented both their school and Fast Feet impeccably.
Across the wider school other St. Joseph’s teams have also been winning trophies – the Year 10 boys team won the Londonderry Cup (County Cup) for the fourth year in a row, beating Mortimer Community College in the final. The U16 girls won their County Cup, beating Cardinal Hume Catholic School 4-2. And the U13 girls won their County Cup too, beating Carmel College 2-1.
So perhaps there is something in the water at St. Joseph’s! All eyes are now on next year to see if they can continue their winning streak.
For more information about St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy visit www.stjosephs.uk.net
To find out more about Fast Feet Football Academy visit www.fastfeetfa.com
For more information about Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust, visit www.bccet.org.uk