U16 Girls Sign Off as

District Cup Champions

With the majority of the U16 girls Football team being made up of Year 11 students, the District Cup Final on Tuesday 7th May 2019 was to be their last ever game for the School… and they did not disappoint!

The Laithwaite Stadium, home of Woking FC, played host to the Final against a strong Robert Mays side who boasted a 100% record this season having already claimed the League Title and had cruised to the final with comfortable wins against lower league opposition. With a 4pm kick off scheduled it was a race against time for the staff and students at School to get to Woking for the start but dozens managed to do so and packed out one section of the stand, right behind the dugouts.

Wavell stormed into a 3-0 lead, with Ellie Head opening the scoring with a surging run and left foot shot. This was followed by two long range efforts- Ellie grabbing her second of the game and Maddie McCoy curling a beautiful shot in from distance which left the keeper with no chance. It was her third effort on goal having edged closer to getting her name of the scoresheet with each attempt. Each RMS attack was swept up by Freya, Nic, Cally and Hayley- the latter of the four putting in an outstanding performance throughout- but the last action of the second half saw goalkeeper Amber Weston called upon to brilliantly turn the ball onto the foot of the post with a diving save. It was a warning sign of things to come!

Robert Mays started the second half brightly and within ten minutes had clawed two goals back, with identical long range efforts. A couple of tactical changes from the bench and a slight change of system saw Wavell slowly regain control of the game with Lucy Lewis working tirelessly in midfield alongside Chloe Armsworth, whose robust approach unsettled her opponents… and often left them in a heap on the floor!

Wavell were finally rewarded for their efforts when Saffiya Rahman-Clarke pounced on a loose ball in the RMS area before expertly stroking it into the net with the outside of her boot. Cue pandemonium in the stands, as the Yellow Army celebrated restoring a two-goal cushion!

Sadly, it didn’t last long, as a third long range effort from the RMS midfield trio flew into the roof of the net to once again cut the deficit to one goal. Within minutes of the restart Wavell won a free kick in the centre circle which Ellie Head rifled towards goal. A deflection off an RMS defender's head wrong footed the goalkeeper and victory was sealed, with Wavell playing out the last few minutes in complete control of the game.

Mr Panons was delighted with the girls' effort and thought they were fully deserving of the victory:

They showed great character to compose themselves at 3-2, with RMS very much on top for 10 minutes either side of half time. This team's greatest asset is their ability to listen and follow instructions and with a little guidance from the touchline they were able to regain control and go on and win the game. The Year 11 girls in the squad have been amazing over the last five seasons and have deserved every piece of success and silverware that they’ve won. Today was a fitting end to their Wavell careers and I was delighted that they were all able to come on and play a part in helping us claim the win. They will be hard to replace next year but we’ll try our best!

Final Score: Robert Mays 3-5 Wavell

Scorers: Ellie Head (3), Maddie McCoy, Safiyya Rahman-Clarke

Player of the Match: Hayley-Jade Lynam (Wavell)