The opening round of the U13 Small Schools Cup saw a quite amazing back and forth game in the suburbs of Wolverhampton as Wrekin College hit the net 9 times in a 16 goal thriller at Wolverhampton Grammar School.
Despite having the best of the opening exchanges the hosts soon found themselves on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline with the visitors taking advantage of space behind the WGS defence.
The game, and scoring, was far from over though as in the blink of an eye the home side had drawn level as they fired in two quick goals of their own including one from the penalty spot.
If we thought we were in for a close game after that we were right – although nobody expected the half-time interval to arrive with Wrekin ahead 4-3 in what was quickly turning into an exhibition of wide open football that was sure to test how well secured the goal nets were!
The goals continued to flow in the second half and, remarkably, the visitors even had a goal chalked off as both teams went back and forth almost scoring at will.
On reflection we should have used the cricket scoreboard behind one goal to keep score as the details of a mind blowing selection of goals faded with every couple of goals but, eventually, despite being pegged back to 6-6 at one point, the visitors finally put the game to bed late on to head into round 2 on the back of a 9-7 win.
Credit to both teams, this almost was a ‘next goal the winner’ kind of game with Hurford leading the way for Wrekin with 5 goals and a man of the match performance from Smith while all the supporters in attendance certainly got value for money!
Congratulations to both teams involved! If you would like us to feature your ESFA schools’ cup fixture, Please send your match report alongside pictures of the game to [email protected] – alternatively, please feel free to contact 353 Photography to request his presence at your upcoming match.
The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.