On Thursday 24th April, Stephenson Way’s two football teams travelled to the Alun Armstrong Soccer Centre in Shildon to compete in a cup competition organised by the Sedgefield School Sports Partnership.
After finishing their outdoor, 7-a-side competitions, both the A and B teams merited a place in this indoor, 6-a-side competition. This provided a different set of challenges for the players. They no longer had to deal with any weather conditions, but were now required to adapt to the much faster pace of indoor football, where the ball is constantly in play due to walls surrounding the pitch.
The “A” team seemed unfazed by the change and won all three of their group matches to book their place in the semi-finals. The “B” team had a larger and tougher group and dealt admirably with the challenge, competing well and earning entry into a 9th/10th place playoff; a very respectable result for their first time playing indoor football.
In the knockout stage, the “A” team managed to break down a resilient Thorn Hill defence to win 1-0 and a place in the final, where they would have a chance to avenge their second place finish in the football league, as they would face the only side to finish above them: Coxhoe. Meanwhile the “B” team were unfortunate to lose 1-0 to Vane Road, meaning they finished 10th overall.
The final was predicted to be a tight, competitive affair and this proved to be the case. Twice Stephenson Way took the lead only to be pegged back by a resilient Coxhoe, before finally scoring the decisive goals to win the match 4-2 and win the cup.
Following the event, the sponsor, Vision for Education, sent a representative into the school to present the trophy, which has taken its place amongst a growing collection outside the headteacher’s office. Vision for Education’s sponsorship of the event also meant that each member of the team received an individual trophy as a memento of their success.
A busy footballing schedule continues throughout the term, with the school being delighted to be able to enter 2 teams in the current girl’s football league at Greenfield. This is a glowing testament to the levels of sporting involvement and inclusion at the school.
Meanwhile, the “A” team has already tasted further success, winning all three games they participated in the Spennymoor and District School’s Football League last week, without conceding a goal.
This stretches their winning streak to 4 games in that competition and keeps them in contention for even more silverware.
