Chester School's Football Tournament

After the success of the Chester City tournament, we had high hopes going in to this competition. Like in any tournament, we knew we would need a little bit of luck and we certainly didn't get any of that with the draw for the group we were in; we had some tough high quality teams and our first game was against a very strong Kings side. 

In the first game, we just didn't get going. Kings had some quality players and they pressed higher and faster and played the ball round at pace. It led to several unforced errors, stray passses and at time we totally lost our shape. A 3 - 0 defeat but we knew we could play so much better than that and with some wins against other teams in the group, we knew we could sneak a best runner up spot to make the semi-final. 

Mickle Trafford were our next opponents and we were back to our best! Ollie-Jae and Harley were running the show with strong runs deep into their half. The ball was played out wide to Toby, who beat his marker and played a lovely ball across into the box. Keagan raced onto it and placed it in the corner. We were totally dominent but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. That was until Toby got the ball on the left and with time running out, he smashed in to make it a 2 - 0 win. 

Our third game was agaisnt a very strong Saughall side. But with renwed confidence, we looked the more likely to score. We struck the post and Keagan had a great chance in front of goal after some good work from Toby, but hit is straight at the keeper. More chances were missed and Saughall looked dangerous on the break. We didn't need to worry as Logan pulled off some fine saves and Sergio was on top form. Not only did he break up the attacks, but his balls out were well executed. A 0 - 0 draw, but we still could make the semi-finals with a win against Cherry Grove.

It was clear soon after the kick off that we were the better team. Harley raced through but his shot went high. Ollie-Jae owned the centre of the pitch but just couldn't apply the finish. In one attack, the ball bounced kindly for Farrah, but her shot went narrowly wide. Wave after wave of attacks sadly came to nothing. Another 0 - 0 draw, meaning with only 5 points we didn't make the semi-finals stage this time. 

Other than Kings, we were the stronger side, but we couldn't turn that dominance into goals. We just need to work on moving the ball quicker and keeping calm in and around the box. Several players made their debuts - Barlcay and Henry - and they did well. Player of the tournament this time goes to Harley. He struggled in the first game, but great players bounce back and in the following 3 matches he was brilliant!