On Friday 21st October sixteen teams from Merton schools came to battle it out at the Borough Championships. Therefore, it was already a fantastic achievement for all those involved to reach this stage. After a short briefing regarding rules, format of the day and most importantly our REFSPECT campaign all teams were ready and eager to go. From the outset it was clear that the teams were well prepared, organised on the pitch and confident.
The group stage results were as follows:
Group A
1st Wimbledon Chase
2nd Bishop Gilpin
3rd Morden
4th Poplar ‘B’
Group B
1st Pelham
2nd Holy Trinity
3rd Merton Park
4th Liberty
Group C
1st Singlegate
2nd Bond
3rd Poplar ‘A’
4th St Peter and St Paul
Group D
1st Hollymount
2nd Aragon
3rd St Teresa’s
4th Hatfeild
The next round saw some very closely fought matches with lots of extra time and penalty shoot outs.
As the finals approached the tension began to mount but the girls weren’t phased and continued to perform.
The 3rd and 4th place play off saw Wimbledon Chase beat Singlegate 2-0, it was a great game to watch with both sides having plenty of chances.
The final was between the two strong and organised teams Bishop Gilpin and Hollymount. The game was nail-biting with excellent organisation, team work, passing and defending from both sides. As time progressed it was difficult to call the winner. The girls from both teams remained very composed and played some brilliant football but it was eventually the skills of Hollymount who shone through to score the goals that carried them to be crowned Borough Champions for 2022.
REF-SPECT
The etiquette and sportsmanship was fantastic throughout the day. Supporters were positive and the girls were very considerate to each other and the referees. The Ref-Spect Winners were Pelham who displayed a great attitude throughout the tournament even after a defeat. Well done Pelham!
The Rutlish sports leaders did a great job proving to be very confident and capable referees and they kept the event running smoothly.
Hollymount will now also represent Merton in the LYG School Games finals.
A huge thank you to Tooting & Mitcham FC for hosting and providing such a fantastic facility for the girls to show off their skills.
Overall placings:
- Hollymount
- Bishop Gilpin
- Wim Chase
- Singlegate
- Holy Trinity/Pelham
- Aragon
- Bond
- Merton Park
- St Teresas
- Liberty
- Hatfeild
- Poplar ‘A’
- St peter & St Paul
- Morden
- Poplar ‘B’