After a successful Euro 22 campaign for the Lionesses, MSSP began our own girls football calendar with a Year 5/6 Girls Football Development Competition at Farm Road Playing Fields. Eighteen teams arrived in great spirits and prepared to take to the pitch and show off all the skills they have been learning at school. The teams were split into two leagues of nine to play a round robin format where they would get plenty of opportunity to develop their skills further.
The competition kicked off in League A in great style with wins for St Matthews and St Peter & Paul, while Holy Trinity and Hillcross couldn’t be seperated and the game ended 0-0. The games remained very close and St Teresa’s and Bishop Gilpin ‘A’ played out another tight game with neither side able to break the deadlock. Poplar ‘A’ started brightly and picked up a few wins in their opening matches to set them up for a great competition. Similarly Bishop Gilpin ‘B’ were playing some fantastic football and picked up a few wins, but their derby match against the ‘A’ team proved to be a very close encounter with both sides unable to break each other down and it finished 0-0. St Mary’s had some exciting matches to watch and the crowds were being thoroughly entertained as they finished strongly with a couple of wins to reward them for all their efforts. The league was tight throughout, but it was St Matthews who were consistently producing top performances and finished the league with six wind out of eight games to take top spot. Bishop Gilpin ‘A’ were not far behind and finished in a deserved second place after some magnificent goals and attacking play. There was nothing to seperate the next two teams in the league, so finishing in joint third place was St Peter & St Paul and Bishop Gilpin ‘B’.
If anything League B was even closer than League A and the matches produced an amazing standard of football. The goals were flowing and Malmesbury kicked off with a resounding 4-0 win to highlight their ability and intentions. Singlegate were keen to show off what they could do and started their campaign with a solid 2-0 win. Sacred Heart were showing great spirit and started strongly with a 1-0 win which gave them momentum going into the rest of their games and ending up with an impressive five wins out of eight games. Lonesome played fluently throughout the competition and all their games remained close, there were some very exciting matches they were involved in, none more so than their draw against Bond where the game ebbed and flowed but could not find a winner. St Thomas were showing off some top talent and were in contention in all their games, winning five out of eight games and keeping pace with the top of the league throughout. Bishop Gilpin ‘C’ had a solid start to the league and played out a couple of draws before they fought to their first victory. The Sherwood were showing amazing tactical awareness and were sound defensively in all their matches, with all games involving them being taken by a single goal. Bond had some very tight games and it took them a little time to get into their stride before they finished strongly with a couple of wins to leave them finishing on a high. Poplar ‘B’ had a very similar day to Bond but were rewarded for all their hard work with a win to finish their competition. After finishing unbeaten in the league, it was Malmesbury who took top spot. Singlegate ran them close but couldn’t quite get the results they needed but still finished in a superb second place. It was very tight between St Thomas and Sacred Hear for third place but just edging it on goal difference was St Thomas.
A great event culminated in our presentation being conducted by Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah who awarded certificates to all the participants. She was also on hand to award our Refspect certificates to St Peter & St Paul and Poplar from League A, and Lonesome from League B. Well done to everyone attending who played their matches in a fantastic spirit with positive sporting behaviours being demonstrated throughout todays competition, you have represented your schools superbly and they will be extremely proud of you.
A huge thank you to Rutlish sports leaders who supported the day by refereeing and coaching the teams during their matched to aid their development, a real credit to the school.