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Years 5 & 6 Football Tournament Thursday 31st January 2013



The superb new AstroTurf facilities at Cardinal Griffin High School, Cannock played host to the Cannock & Rugeley School Partnership seven a side football tournament for primary school years 5 and 6 on Thursday the 31st of January. A bitterly cold evening with strong winds failed to stop some very skillful football being produced, with both the boys and girls tournaments being fiercely contested right down to the final game.

The boys tournament (which must be noted did include girls, the schools were allowed to select their best sides with mixed sex) saw six sides compete in a mini league format, with the team finishing top after five games crowned the winners. The six competing sides were; St. Josephs & St. Theresa’s , St. Josephs (Hednesford), Hob Hill, The Croft, Longford and John Bamford.

The girl’s tournament featured three very evenly matched sides with St. Josephs (Rugeley), St. Josephs & St. Theresa’s and St. Josephs (Hednesford) all hoping to finish top of their mini league.

The games were 12 minutes in length, with two halves of 6 minutes making sure no team had an advantage with the gale force winds. The newly laid surface encouraged skilful dribbling and the tournament produced some wonderful goals, with every single player working their socks off to try and get points on board for their schools. Four points were awarded for a win, two for a draw and a consolation point for a losing side. High school students from Cardinal Griffin took on refereeing duties, and they were helped by the great sporting spirit shown by all the footballers present.

Focusing on the mixed side’s league first, the first three games showed two tight games and one side displaying their strength early on. St. Jo’s & St. Theresa narrowly lost to St. Josephs (Hed) 1-0, Hob Hill and The Croft could not find the net in a 0-0 draw and John Bamford were comfortable 3-0 winners against Longford.
Round two was once again tight, with all victorious sides only winning by one goal. John Bamford  beat St. Josephs (Hed) 1-0 with star player Ben Elcock netting the only goal of the game with a cool finish with the outside of his favourite right foot. St. Jo’s & St. Theresa’s beat Longford 1-0 and St. Josephs (Hed) lost a very close game to The Croft 1-0.

Round three saw Hob Hill win their first match with a 1-0 victory over Longford, handing them four points. With Connor Godwin pulling the strings in midfield, John Bamford beat St. Josephs (Hed) 3-1, winning their third game in a row. St. Josephs & St. Theresa won again, another 1-0 victory, this time against a strong Croft side lifting them up the table.

A third 1-0 win in a row for St. Josephs & St. Theresa against Hob Hill saw them go joint top with John Bamford. John Bamford then dropped their first points of the night, with magical talent Louis Jowett on top form for the Croft who drew 1-1 with the undefeated John Bamford side. A now tiring Longford battled hard but lost 7-0 to St. Josephs (Hed) with Tom Cope really getting in the goal scoring mood for the Hednesford side.

The final round of matches saw The Croft really click into gear with a 7-0 win over Longford. Hob Hill and St. Josephs (Hed) contested a tight game with Hob Hill just losing 2-0.The final match brought the top two sides together in a thrilling game, with both teams using up all their last drops of energy to try and win the tournament. Despite a very strong display from St. Josephs & St. Theresa’s they lost 1-0 to John Bamford with Ben Elcock and Charlie Gowdin again linking up for a skilful goal.  That win for John Bamford’s meant they were crowned the 7 a side champions for 2013. They now go on to represent the Cannock & Rugeley partnership in February and will hope to again produce the fast, flowing football that won them this tournament.

The Girls tournament was full of hard running, full blooded tackles and some superb goal keeping from all teams. The first match was action packed but somehow finished 0-0 between St. Josephs and St. Theresa’s and St. Josephs (Rugeley). The next game saw St. Josephs and St. Theresa’s scrape a 1-0 victory against St. Josephs (Hednesford). The final game was a battle of the St. Josephs, with the Rugeley School knowing that they had to beat their Hednesford opponents by two goals or more to clinch the title. The Rugeley School were inspired by identical twins Lily and Isabelle Anderson, who both produced skilful attacking displays to try and create goals. Rugeley St. Josephs got the opening goal when Leah Hunt popped up in the box to score just before half time. The second half saw the Rugeley side press hard for the winning goal. With time running out and a penalty shoot-out looming to separate the top two, a mazy run from Isabella Anderson left her one on one with the opposition goal keeper. A calm finish from Miss Anderson was met with a very stylish celebration. The game finished 2-0 and St. Josephs (Rugeley) were crowned the winners.

A massive thanks to all the teams who took part, all the parents and teachers who made it possible and Cardinal Griffin for not only hosting the event on their superb new surface but also providing match officials. Also a huge thank you to Mr Kevin Staples from Staffs FA who oversaw the match officials and presented the winners medals at the tournament presentation.

Congratulations to both sides who won and we wish them well in the next round on Tuesday 12th February at Rowley Park, Stafford.





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The triumphant John Bamfords side with their winners medals and certificates 

​Runners up in the mixed side tournament St. Josephs Hednesford 

St. Josephs Rugeley Girls side celebrate their win

Runners up in the girls tournament were St. Josephs & St. Teresa's