Kinder +Sport Futsal Cup double for the Gills at the Area Finals.
This week Gillingham FC Community Trust were invited to take part in the Area Finals of the Kinder +Sports Futsal Cup hosted at Leyton Orient FC’s sports centre.
The Kinder +Sport Futsal Cup is a new schools competition for Under 16 Boys and Girls run by the Football League Trust, which kicked off this season seeing thousands of Year 10 and 11 students battle it out to represent their local club at the National Final.
Leyton Orient, QPR, Southend United, Dagenham and Redbridge, Charlton Athletic and Gillingham FC were the teams competing in the Area Finals with a large amount of footballing talent on offer for the day.
The Howard School and the Rainham School for Girls were the two schools representing Gillingham FC at the competition, both eager to impress on the day and book their spot in the Regional Finals of the competition.
After a short briefing and a last minute run through of the rules and regulations, Gillingham’s fixtures were drawn and up first the boys from The Howard School were to face Leyton Orient in the first fixture of the day.
With the fixtures running for 10 minutes and with only a short break in-between, each player needed to be focused throughout to ensure maximum results were gained for a spot in the final.
Gillingham dominated their opening fixture against Leyton Orient from the start and managed to cruise to a 2-0 win, pressing the team early on and winning the ball in crucial positions of the pitch whilst combining with some expert finishing. As the competition continued, so did Gillingham’s impressive results, securing a 3-1 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge in the second fixture and a 3-2 win in the rematch with Leyton Orient.
With 3 wins under their belt, and only one defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge in the replay fixture, Gillingham secured their spot in the final where they conquered Charlton in impressive fashion, making the boys from Medway champions on the day.
Upon the completion of the boys tournament, the girls from Rainham School arrived sporting the white Gillingham away kit and eager to get involved and impress in the first fixture.
After warming up and stepping on to the pitch, Gillingham girls faced Dagenham & Redbridge girls in the opening fixture which resulted in a comfortable 2-0 victory. To many officials amazement, Gillingham girls were performing in a similar fashion to the boys, finding wins in every fixture, home and away, over QPR and Southend, with Dagenham & Redbridge, the exception being an away defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge, again mirroring the boys.
As the day came to a close, Gillingham girls fate was to be sealed in a final between Dagenham & Redbridge to secure a spot in the next stages of the competition. With a combination of skilful play, high pressing and important tackles, and some powerful shooting, Gillingham were able to come out 2-0 winners making them the champions of the girls tournament.
We would like to congratulate the teams from The Howard School and Rainham School for Girls for their incredible triumph in the Football League Trust Area Finals of the competition, and we look forward to watching them compete in the Regional Finals of the Kinder +Sports Futsal Cup.