Year 7 Boys Football team into National Cup last 32!
The Sirius Academy Year 7 Football team showed tremendous grit and determination to overcome the tough challenge of Toll Bar Academy (Grimsby) to become the 1st ever boys team from the Academy to reach the last 32 teams of the National Football competition. The boys were up against it for much of the 1st half but turned the game around in the 2nd half and the resulting extra-time to deservingly take an outstanding win. The team are now the final team from Hull and East Riding left in the competition and will look for a home draw in the 6th Round against what will no doubt be another good opposition.
Sirius started the match going into the wind and up a slight hill, which meant the majority of the 1st half was spent penned in our own half, defending manfully. At the back captain Tom Overton led the back three, dealing with all situations calmly, whilst Oliver Walker and Mason Palmer looked assured as they made several timely tackles. Lewis Sutton was getting “stuck-in” in the centre, putting challenges in, with Harry Wallis and Harry Fenton doing well to provide an outlet, to relieve the building pressure. George Petty in goal was alert to every danger and did well to kick the ball away from goal. As pressure began to build, substitute Alfie Morgan was unlucky to be penalised for handball as he protected his face and the resulting penalty was dispatched to leave Sirius 1-0 down at half-time.
With a call for more urgency and to push higher up the pitch the key points of the half-time talk, Sirius began in much better fashion. Palmer was moved up-front with Fenton and Wallis dropping to get more of the ball. On the wings Carrington Walker and Callum Tadman became more involved, tucking into the middle to begin to outnumber the dangerous Toll Bar midfield. Josh Smith came into the centre of the pitch to unsettle the Toll Bar playmakers, and when needed Morgan, Overton and Walker were more than a match for the quick centre-forward. Palmer began causing no end of trouble for the Toll Bar defence with his strength and speed constantly challenging the opposition. Fenton and Wallis pushed on but as time ticked away it looked as though it wasn’t to be Sirius’ day until Palmer played a 1-2 with Wallis and calmly slotted the ball into the far corner to level the game at 1-1 and bring on extra-time.
Sirius’ energy levels were now high and they pushed Toll Bar back into their own half. A neat through ball from Fenton saw Palmer clean through and as he was about to shoot, he was pushed in the back by the defender. Unbelievably the referee gave a free-kick on the edge of the box, even though Palmer was inside the penalty area however Wallis ensured this did not matter as he fired the free-kick into the top corner for a 2-1 lead.
Half-time of extra-time came and went as with only five minutes left to play, it seemed like Sirius were through into the next round. Time again ticked away and five minutes came and passed, with calls for the referee to put an end to the game. Nearly two minutes into extra-time, the unthinkable happened as Toll Bar scrambled the ball into the net past the unlucky Petty to level at 2-2 and mean penalties.
The lottery of penalties saw Sirius match their opponents with Wallis, Fenton, Morgan, Overton, Sutton and Walker all dispatching calmly, and with a Toll Bar miss in sudden-death, up-stepped the excellent Palmer who blasted the ball into the bottom corner to give Sirius a 7-6 penalty victory!!
Special thanks to Martin Smith her his assistance with the team and to Cosi Basile for again his assistance and driving the boys.
Please congratulate the following boys on their excellent success, attitude and behaviour:
George Petty, Mason Palmer, Tom Overton ©, Oliver Walker, Lewis Sutton, Harry Wallis, Callum Tadman, Carrington Walker, Harry Fenton, Josh Smith, Alfie Morgan.
