Joy Lane Primary School have won the local finals of the Football League U11 Kids Cup
Yesterday our Community Trust team hosted the Local Finals of The Football League U11 Kids Cup. The competition gives schools in Kent the opportunity to compete in a Nationwide Tournament which culminates in the final being played at Wembley before the League Play-off finals in May.
We had huge interest in the tournament with 36 schools from across Kent taking part and many had been in training since last year’s tournament, with the hope of emulating last year’s winners.
The event was held at Kicks Soccer Centre in Strood and a huge thank you goes to them for their help and hospitality throughout the day. Gillingham FC Girls Academy students had volunteered to be the officials for the day, and were assisted by our Community Coaches throughout.
The morning consisted of a league type format with the top schools from each group, plus the top two runners-up progressing to the Quarter Finals. During the group we saw some fantastic matches with a lot of goals being scored.
The last eight saw Joy Lane Primary School v Palace Wood Primary School, Delce Academy v Featherby Junior School, Park Wood Junior School v Allington Primary School and Pickhurst Junior School v Lady Boswells Primary School.
As expected the quarter-finals were very competitive and saw Joy Lane win 2-0, Park Wood win 2-1, Lady Boswell winning 2-0, with Featherby the only team to win by three goals in a 3-0 victory.
The semi-finals were entertaining with some great goals being scored. Joy Lane dominated the semi-finals with a 5-1 victory against Featherby Junior School, and Park Wood winning 3-0 against Lady Boswells.
The final proved to be a very close game with both teams starting quickly and making both goalkeepers pull off some fantastic saves. The match was played at a fast pace with both teams playing some good football and creating some great opportunities to score. As the minutes ticked by Joy Lane did get their noses in front, their late goal proving to be the winner.
Joy Lane Primary School now go on to represent Gillingham Football Club at the Regional Finals to be hosted by Swindon Town the week commencing March 7, with the chance to win themselves a return trip to Wembley, so good luck!
A huge thank you to all the teams, players, countless teachers, staff members, parents and supporters, Gillingham FC Girls Academy students and Kicks Soccer Centre who all helped to make the day a great success. Congratulations again to Joy Lane Primary School!