throwback thursday – Page 4 – English Schools' Football Association

With the 2019 England squads’ international journeys cut short and ahead of the 20/21 squad selections, we’re going on our travels with ESFA photographer, Garry Griffiths (353 Photography), to recount some of the International action he managed to capture back in 2016

Today’s “˜Throwback Thursday’ sees us jump into the time machine and back to 2016 when we tasted international success with both the Girls U15 and Boys U18 squads etching their name on silverware.

England U15 Girls 1 – 0 ROI U15 Girls
Bob Docherty Cup Final 2016

The Bob Docherty Cup was held in South Wales and England’s girls went into the final game against the Republic of Ireland having claimed their place in the title decider with 2-0 wins over Wales, with goals from Katie Robinson and Sophie Quirk, and then Scotland as Ellie Hack and Jodie Hutton hit the target.

In a close and tense final there would be just one goal that settled it and that came from Holly Manders in the second half as the England girls held on to lift the trophy in front of a large travelling army of England supporters – even a torrential downpour seconds after the presentation could not dampen the spirits after a tough 3 days of competition in Newport.

England U18 Boys 2 – 2 Republic of Ireland
Centenary Shield Final 2016

Just 3 days earlier, at Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium, the Under 18 Boys had put themselves in pole position for the Centenary Shield title with their third win of the competition, a 2-1 win over Scotland thanks to a brace from Aaron Smith.

The late winner at Fleetwood ensured the lads went into the final game with the Republic of Ireland on the back of three successive 2-1 wins having beaten Northern Ireland (scorers Joe Thomas and Zak Lilley) and Wales (scorers George Lamb and Aaron Smith) before the win over the Auld Enemy.

It proved not to be the latest goal of the international season though, the following week saw the Republic take a 2-0 lead before Smith was again on target to halve the deficit before substitute Sam Grouse bundled home a dramatic equaliser in injury time to break Irish hearts and hand England the shield.

A selection of photos from the U18 Boys’ Centenaray Shield campaign | Photos: 353 Photography

Two dramatic and successful campaigns that will live in the memory for a long time to come!

The English Schools' FA

The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.

With positivity in the air, the ESFA is looking forward to kicking off the 21/22 Schools’ Football season in September – before then, we’re going on our travels with ESFA photographer, Garry Griffiths (353 Photography), to recount some of the action he managed to capture back in 2020

This week’s throwback looks back on our final week of national competition coverage before the Covid lockdown just over a year ago with plenty of drama on show.

By now we would normally be focusing on later round coverage and back in March 2020 we kicked off the week with a trip to Shropshire for a double header of quarter final action as the home side saw their U18 Girls and U12 Boys in action. Covering two games side by side is tricky with the chances of being in the wrong place at the wrong time magnified. However, today we got lucky as both games were tight contests and ended in penalty kicks on both pitches.

Match 1: ESFA Under 18 Girls Super League Quarter Final
Thomas Telford School 1 – 1 Hartpury College (TTS win 5-3 on penalties)

Thomas Telford School v Hartpury College in a English Schools Football Association Under 18 Girls Super League Quarter Final match on Wednesday 11th March 2020 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

The U18 Girls’ match was as competitive as we suspected it would be with two strong sides in Thomas Telford and Hartpury going toe to toe from the start. Despite plenty of effort and skill, it was scoreless until Hartpury took the lead with a long range effort from the corner of the penalty area before the home side drew level late on with a 25 yard effort of their own. With no further scoring, the game went to penalties and it was the home side who claimed their last four spot in a tense shoot-out by bagging all 5 of their kicks.

Match 2: ESFA Under 12 Boys Cup Quarter Final
Thomas Telford School 0 – 0 St Francis Xavier’s College (SFX win 4-3 on penalties)

Thomas Telford School v St Francis Xaviers College in a English Schools Football Association Under 12 Boys Cup Quarter Final match on Wednesday 11th March 2020 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

On the 3G pitch next door it was St Francis Xavier’s College from Liverpool who made the trip down and this was just as close and as tense as the girls fixture. Both sides showed flashes of quality that could have won the tie but, despite some tense and nervy moments at both ends late on, the game went to spot kicks to decide who would progress. It was SFX who won through 4-3 on spot kicks with their squad celebrating keeping their dream alive although, sadly, this was to end with a shared title with The Toynbee School after the Liverpool lockdown prevented the team travelling to the Lilleshall final in October.

Match 1: ESFA Under 13 Boys Cup Semi Final
St Peters Catholic School 3 – 2 Cardinal Langley RC School

St Peters Catholic School v Cardinal Langley RC High School in a English Schools Football Association Boys Under 13 Schools Cup Semi Final match on Thursday 12th March 2020 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

The following day we travelled across the Midlands to Coleshill Town’s Pack Meadow Ground as St Peter’s Catholic School hosted Cardinal Langley RC High School from Rochdale for a place in the U13 final. The visitors took a 1-0 lead into the break and were looking good for a final spot in a tense second half but a Luke Enright “˜goal of the month’ winner took the game to extra-time where two further goals put the home side in touching distance of the final. Despite a late goal for Cardinal Langley it was St Peter’s who held on for a dramatic 3-2 win and a place in a final that proved just as dramatic as they lifted the crown with a 5-4 win over Emerson Park.

Match 2: ESFA Under 13 Elite Boys Cup Semi Final
Sandwell Academy 12 – 2 Dyke House Technology College

Sandwell Academy v Dyke House Sports & Technology College in a English Schools Football Association Boys Under 13 Elite Schools Cup Semi Final match on Friday 13th March 2020 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

Finally, and in our last game before Covid halted our adventures in schools’ football for a while, we made the short journey to Sandwell Academy as they hosted Dyke House Sports & Technology College who had made the long journey from the North East. The visitors were no match for the home side, although there is no shame in that, as we believe Sandwell to have one of the most talented sides at that age group and were reigning champions from the previous season.

It was goals galore with half a dozen in each half spread throughout the team although full credit must go to Dyke House who never gave up battling and they could easily have bagged a few more than the two goals they scored. After a team photo in the shadow of the Hawthorns, it was time for Dyke House to make the long journey home and for me to pack away my ESFA jacket for a few months.

Sandwell were to fall one spot-kick short in the final, a titanic re-match with Shenfield ended in a 0-0 draw and the Essex school avenged their defeat from the season before with a 11-10 victory on penalties.

Hopefully we can get back to the drama that these national competitions always seem to throw up – fingers crossed we are all back out on the school field soon!

The English Schools' FA

The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.

Tag: throwback thursday

Throwback Thursday – 2016’s International Success

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