Shenfield School made history at The English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on Saturday 3rd July when they became the first ever Essex school to scoop national titles in two separate age groups at the FA Futsal Youth Festival.
The school’s Under 14s Boys and Under 12s Girls represented the County and the Eastern Region with distinction having battled through two tournaments to reach the pinnacle of the annual Futsal calendar. Slender wins in their respective finals gave Managers Lee Thomas and Fiona Walker plenty to be proud of while Eastlea School from Canning Town also narrowly missed out in the Under 12s Boys’ final.
Over 60 teams nationwide arrived in Yorkshire for the weekend after qualifying through their own regional festivals, with professional club academies also sending teams to feature in the Under 10s Boys’ competition. Saturday was booked for the 10s and 12s whilst on Sunday it was the turn of the 14s and 16s and each age group was separated into two groups, with a ‘round robin’ system used to decide which four would progress.
“When news filtered through that the girls had won the previous day the boys were proud and this fuelled their motivation to land a Shenfield double,” recalled Thomas, ‘Director of Football’ for the day while Michael Naylor was in Barbados on the school’s cricket tour. “They’re exceptionally talented and the belief amongst them is enormous - but even they didn’t envisage winning the whole thing having hardly played Futsal before!”
They’d already tasted victory as national eleven-a-side champions at Molineux two years ago but this campaign started with defeat to Northampton Futsal Club. However, they eventually wreaked revenge in the final. Lee continued: “Northampton were an extremely good team with an exciting brand of football. Losing in the first match was a huge blow but as the klaxon sounded for full-time in the final the boys were ecstatic! The words to “You are my Shenfield” must have been heard all the way back down the M1!”
Meanwhile, the girls’ team were equally euphoric after a single-goal win over Poynton High from Stockport in the final. Fiona described: “The team were so pleased and they were all treated to a McFlurry afterwards! All the parents who supported were excellent as well and there was a great atmosphere after the game. I would like to thank everyone who attended and supported the team - it could not have been done without them.”
Throughout the County, Regional and National games the girls amassed 52 goals and only conceded four and they will be congratulated along with the boys at a special assembly where Sir Trevor Brooking will be a guest. Fiona continued: “We’d not really heard of Futsal and had certainly never played it before and we entered the county rounds for fun and for the experience! On seeing my girls play the first few games, winning 7-0 and 7-1, I then started to think we have got a really good team here!”
Lana Gillard, Education Development Officer at the Essex County FA, has been following the progress of all three teams closely and she added: “This is massive for a school to win two national titles, especially as Futsal is still quite new to schools in terms of competitive opportunities. Shenfield have been successful in the past and I believe their extremely dedicated PE staff provide a fantastic structure of opportunities and support to nurture sporting talent. I am also very proud that the Under 14s Boys’ trophy will be staying in Essex after Canon Palmer from Ilford won it last year!”
Eastlea Community School Under 12s Boys: Group Stage: Eastlea 2-0 Greenacre, Wormholt Park 0-3 Eastlea, Baden Powell & St Peter’s Middle School 1-2 Eastlea, Eastlea 1-0 Colmers. Semi-Finals: Eastlea 3-2 High Storrs. Final: Griffstars Bushloe 3-0 Eastlea.
Shenfield School Under 12s Girls: Group Stage: Shenfield 2-0 The Commonwealth, Shenfield 6-0 Sacred Heart, Shenfield 1-1 The Commonwealth, Shenfield 2-0 Sacred Heart. Semi-Finals: Shenfield 2-0 Portland. Final: Poynton High 0-1 Shenfield.
Shenfield School Under 14s Boys: Group Stage: Shenfield 0-1 Northampton Futsal Club, FC Enfield 0-1 Shenfield, Wadham 0-2 Shenfield, Shenfield 3-0 Streetly. Semi-Finals: Mersey Futsal 0-0 Shenfield (after extra time, Shenfield won 3-2 on penalties). Final: Shenfield 2-1 Northampton Futsal Club.
Photos: Kate Evans/www.sheffieldfaprintstore.com.