The Young Seasiders: Under 12's Tournament 2nd May 2009

What a day!! We were invited to take part in Felixstowe & Walton Under 12's tournament, which forms part of the Dutch exchange weekend. The under 11's are always asked to submit one team to give the boys some experience of playing lads a year older and in some cases several feet taller!!

Before I go into the details on how the day panned out I'd like to say a big hello to Harry in Sidney Australia. For those who don't know, Harry is a relative of Dash's and forms the core of our international fanbase!! We truly have gone global!!

The games are 6 a side with a squad of up to 8 players. The squad for the day was-

Ollie S, Connor S, Freddie, Jack, Will, Charlie B, Matty & Dash. Sam Bilton came along to support the team and assumed the role of team mascot for the day. He did rename himself the team "sexy mascot"!! We'll leave that one to public opinion. He did a superb job of keeping spirits up and somehow got himself involved in all of the goal celebrations!!

The teams were split into two groups of 4. The top two in the group went through to the semi finals. All the other teams were under 12's

Game 1- Felixstowe & Walton B

After our disasterous start to the Martlesham Tournament we needed to get off to a flier. As we were up against older teams our first priority was to put up a good show and not let ourselves get muscled out of the games.

The game kicked off and we immediately stormed forward, four passes later Dash blasted the ball low into the corner and we were 1-0 up. There were 6 seconds on the clock!! The under 12's were stunned.

The group games were only 10 minutes long and I was expecting to spend the rest of the game defending our lead. Instead we continued to play our passing game and made several chances to increase the lead. The 12's tried to press us but we matched them all over the pitch physically. They almost equalised near the end in their only real chance of the game. Luckily the striker shot wide.

The game ended with us winning 1-0. A well deserved victory.

Game 2- Whitton Utd

Whitton had just beaten the Dutch 2-1 with a last second winner. they looked assured and passed the ball around very well. We knew we were in for a tough test. With less than a minute on the clock it was our turn to lose an early goal. 0-1

We continued to play our own game and didn't let our heads go down. We gradually got more into the game. Connor was holding them off at the back and got the ball to Charlie, he switched the play to the left where Freddie split the defence and sent Dash on his way into the box, he cut the ball across to the edge of the box where Will controlled it and banged in over the diving keeper. 1-1! A superb move which stunned a lot of people watching for the quality of the play.

The rest of the game was pretty even and it finished 1-1. suddenly we found ourselves on the verge of making the semis!!

Game 3- VV Quintus A

This was a tough one. The dutch A team were full of tall, skillful players and played very well. our little lads were starting to look tired as the heat of the day was catching up with them. We were defending incredibly well and it was great to see every boy battling for the team. The Dutch found it hard to break us down, when they got past one player they had another scrambling to help out. We managed to push forward and almost pinched it but hung on for a 0-0 draw and a place in the semi finals!!

Semi Final- Felixstowe & Walton Utd A

The remaining games were 15 minutes long, with 5 minutes extra time for a golden goal, then penalties.

The A team were stronger and more organised than the B's but we matched them all over the pitch. The game was incredibly even and we kept our discipline and workrate very high, frustrating the older boys. The game ended 0-0 and went to extra time. We pressed forward and pressured them in their box. Matty was sheilding the ball when the defender lost patience and bundled him to the ground. A clear cut foul and we were awarded a penalty. Charlie took the responsibility and blasted the ball with power, the keeper managed to save it but was unable to hold it, only to see Matty react quicker than anyone else and blast the rebound over him into the net. At this point me and Steve were privy to the most incredible goal celebration of the season. Every player just turned and ran towards us screaming and grimacing all the way to the final. Where was the camera when we needed it!!! A fantastic moment.

The Final- Whitton Utd

We drew 1-1 in our last encounter against the only team to score against us so far. The worry was that fatigue would play a part but the boys were in fantastic spirits. Sam was working overtime and doing a great job!!

This time it was our turn to score in the first minute as we started very brightly, pushed forward and caused them problems. Once again the build up involved several players and it was Dash who fired low into the corner to give us a 1-0 lead. We now had to hold on for 14 minutes!!!

Whitton were fired up and came back at us very strongly. We defended brilliantly but it was now clear that there were a lot of very tired legs out there. Almost all of them belonging to us!! Whitton were creating openings and we were unable to close them down as we had done earlier in the day. Thankfully Ollie, who hasn't had a mention so far, was up to the job. With the midfield and defence working so hard Ollie was rarely troubled up until now. He pulled off three incredible saves in the space of a few minutes to keep us in the game and still in the lead.

Then came the most bizarre moment of the day. The Whitton striker took the ball up the right side of the pitch. Charlie, now clearly exhausted lunged in with a last gasp tackle and missed and was left in a crumpled heap on the ground. The striker strode forward and fired his shot over the advancing Ollie and watched it dip towards the top corner. It had goal written all over it until one of our players somehow got his head to it and headed it over the bar. Nothing too bizarre there until I realised that the player on the goal line was Charlie who had been lying flat on the floor two second earlier!! How he got there I'll never know but the roar from our parents behind the goal told me how close we were to losing our lead.

We still managed to get forward and after 9 long minutes Dash got his second to give us a bit of breathing space. 2-0.

The second goal took a bit of the wind out of Whittons sails as the game settled down. Our boys were collapsing all over the pitch but somehow got up and played on. Eventually the final whistle was blown and we had done it. Only the second Under 11 team in the history of the cup to win it. A fantastic acheivement.

We played 5 games, scored 5 goals, conceded 1 and were undefeated!!