Tournament sponsored by:
Following a damp Friday afternoon setting up “The Triangle Field” for this year’s Wickham Wanderers 6-a-side Tournament, the first volunteers to the ground were met with windy but dry conditions. As gazebos, tents and marquees went up the wind strength increased and rain started to fall. Before the U8’s and U13’s kicked off there was a heavy shower but this only sped up the surface and the games started.
In the U13’s competition Kingsclere A progressed to the final with a 1 – 0 win over Wimbledon Park and St Josephs A got past Ballers by the same score line but this time on penalties. In a pulsating final both sides had their chances in both normal and extra time however it was to be decided on penalties. Having won both their quarter final and semi finals in this way St Josephs completed the “treble” again winning on penalties 2-1.
For the afternoon the weather improved with no more rain with the U10’s and the U16’s providing the afternoon's entertainment. The first final of the afternoon saw Hatch Warren U16’s take on Shaw B who had beaten their A team in the semi final on penalties, Sweatbox B being the other beaten semi finalist. The final was a tough physical game, as would be expected from this age group with Shaw B taking the lead only to be pegged back. However the North Wilts side scored late in the second half to giver them the 2-1 victory.
Hatch Warren however had another chance to reach the finals, this time in the U10 age group. In their semi final against Greenmeadow, neither side could find the net, so it was down to penalties, which Hatch Warren won 2-0. In the other semi, Wickham A played Swindon Soccer Skills in an all North Wilts Div 1 clash, with Wickham running out 1-0 winners. This therefore set up a rematch of last years under 9 final with Hatch Warren looking for revenge. However, this was not to be the case, as Wickham ran out 1-0 winners.
As “The Triangle” was reopened on Sunday morning the skies again looked threatening and sure enough at 9.15, just prior to kick off, the heavens opened. Just to add to the problems for the organizers four U14 sides failed to turn up, so the start of this group was delayed whilst the fixtures were reworked, but the U7’s and U9’s started on time.
The U9’s had a Berkshire feel to the semi finals as Kingsclere A took on Wokingham, but the local side were beaten 1-0. Wickham A faced Ardington A, who had not yet conceded a goal in the tournament. However, Wickham ran out 2-1 winners to set up a repeat of the group match as the final. Just like the group game, which ended 1-1, this again was a close match, but Wickham scored the vital goal late in the second half to join the clubs U10 side at Tournament winners.
The revamped under 14’s competition eventually saw Ferndale beat Wealdstone 1-0 in the first semi final with Woodley beating Winklebury B 2-0 in the other. A very closely fought final saw neither able to score thanks mainly to some superb goal keeper displays. However come the penalty shoot out and the outfielder could not miss until the 8th penalty taken by the Woodley keeper hit the outside of the post giving Ferndale a 4-3 victory.
Rain was again threatening at the start of the afternoon session and finally came down in a very heavy shower after 3 rounds of group matches had been played. Some of the pitches were now very heavy but everyone was keen to carry on playing and that was the end of the rain as the sun came out.
Just after 5 o’clock the U15’s were at the semi final stage. Throughout this age group two teams had stood out playing lovely passing football and it was no surprise to see Croydon Athletic B beat Feltham Youth A 2-0 in the first semi and Croydon Athletic A beat Winklebury by the same score line. The final just seemed like a training match, just as you would expect with two sides from the same club playing each other and it was Croydon A who won 3-1.
The Under 12’s final followed straight after the under 15’s. Young Guns from North East London had beaten Basingstoke 2-0 in the first semi final and Southside Athletic, from Cheltenham, beat Lydiard Youth 1-0 in the other to set up the tournaments long distance final. This final was a very skilful one as both sides played the ball around. Southside took the lead but only after their keeper had made a fantastic save to keep Young Guns out; however the Londoners pulled a goal back in the second half to set up extra time. This was very even until early in the second half Southside were able to force the ball home to win probably the best final of the weekend.
Click here for photos of the winners and runners up
Complete results:
Under 9 Sponsored by ITQ
Wickham 1 – 0 Wokingham
Under 10’s – Sponsored by Wilds Sports
Wickham 1 – 0 Hatch Warren
Under 12’s - Sponsored by Express Vending
Young Guns 1 - 2 Southside Athletic (After extra time)
Under 13’s – Sponsored by Bells Engineering
Kingclere A 0 – 0 St Josephs A
1 – 2 on penalties
Under 14’s - Sponsored by Hanson
Ferndale 0 – 0 Woodley
4 – 3 on penalties
Under 15’s – Sponsored by H S Pipequipment
Croydon A 3 – 1 Croydon B
Under 16’s - Sponsored by Eagle Press
Hatch Warren 1- 2 Shaw B
If you took part in the tournament and have any comments or suggestions for next year's tournament, please leave a comment here or send an email to admin@wickhamwanderers.co.uk.
