U11 Boys excel in 19-2 defeat!

Sun 18 October witnessed the Under 11 Boys playing in their first ever cup match. Lady Luck saw us drawn against Shadwell Utd, who are second in Division 1 and have only lost 1 game all season. As if that wasn’t tough enough, we were without key players (including our excellent keeper, George Ioannou, who was away on a school trip) and by the time kick-off arrived we had 9 players to line-up. What followed was a display of courage, committment, teamwork and heart that typifies what Tingley Athletic is about. With 4 players from the Leeds City team in their squad, Shadwell still put out a team of 11, and were 3 goals up within fewer minutes. However the Tingley lads didn’t let their heads drop and at 3-0 down still managed to hit the Shadwell post. At 11-0 down we grabbed a goal back courtesy of Matty Bilton and went into half-time looking to win the game 12-11! Despite the Shadwell manager agreeing that if the scoreline at half-time was so high he would reduce his squad for the second half, he was clearly worried about our fightback and put 11 players out again for the restart. However the Tingley lads still played with great spirit and hearts like lions and at 17-1 down managed to grab a fantastic second when Lochlan Robinson took the ball round their keeper and almost walked it into the net. How sweet that moment was and we all celebrated it as though it was the match winner! It was made even sweeter by the fact that it was Lochlan’s birthday the next day. The final whistle saw the final score at 19-2 but the lads were still smiling at the end, and received many plaudits from the league referee and the visiting manager and parents. I was extremely proud of every one of them and if they can take the same spirit into their remaining league games they will enjoy many successes. Another local club recently conceded a league game against us because they only had 10 players – we showed that we are made of sterner stuff than that and that you can grow stronger if you face up to adversity rather than hiding from it. So well done to the courageous 9 – Jamie Sunderland (for having the bottle to volunteer to go in goal for the first time and deservedly taking the man of the match award), Luke Chapman, Jack Harvey, Jordan Rose, Thomas Acheson, Jacob Foggin, Callum Harvey, Lochlan Robinson and Matthew Bilton. Every one of them a hero.