The Nash Cup

The day had finally arrived. After the Nash Cup was cancelled due to bad weather twice earlier in the year, we were treated to a scorcher today. The children were excited to finally get on the pitch and play. Here is how both teams faired…

The Boys 

Bincombe 3 – 1 Southill (L)

The team played incredibly well in the first match, however it took the boys time to adjust to the 6-aside format of the contest. Our defenders were caught out a couple of times pushing too high which is how Bincombe ended up scoring three goals. Ashton did however find the back of the net late in the game meaning that whilst the children were disappointed, they knew that they would be better in the next match.

Southill 3 – 0 Beechcroft (W)

In our second game, Southill found their rhythm and started to turn on the style. Oliver, Reed and Corey were solid at the back whilst Samuel, Mason and Eli kept feeding Ashton who bagged a hat-trick in our second game. Spirits were lifted and the children felt optimistic heading into their final two matches of the qualifiers.

Southill 3 – 0 St John’s (W)

Another strong defensive display by the boys in the third game and the children didn’t even face a shot on target due to their pressing and positioning on the pitch. Reed’s dangerous cross into the box resulted in a defensive mix-up and resulted in Southill taking the lead thanks to an own goal. In the second half, a handball in the box prevented Eli from scoring a goal giving Southill the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot. Ashton dispatched the penalty hard and low into the bottom right hand corner with three minutes to go. Yet another chance fell to Ashton before the final whistle and once again it ended up in the back of the net! Another great victory for team blue.

Chickerell 2 – 2 Southill (D)

In our final game, Southill needed a win in order to qualify for the semi-finals. Chickerell beat us in the final in a football tournament earlier in the year and so the boys were determined to put in a good performance in their final match of the group stages. Southill took an early lead from Reed’s great strike and we were dominating possession in the game. A defensive error led to Chickerell bundling the ball into the back of the net, however Southill knew they were playing the better football. Another ball into Ashton’s feet resulted in another goal from our superstar striker! Chickerell proved difficult to defeat however and successfully found an equaliser meaning that Southill just missed out on the semi-finals.

The Girls

Southill 0 – 1 St Nicholas and St Lawrence (L)

The girls were meant to play St Mary’s Middle School in their first match, however they didn’t turn up to the competition meaning that St Nicholas were our first opponent instead. It was an incredibly tight game. The girls were aggressive in the tackle and in the closing stages of the game, a through ball from Lottie to Connie meant that she was through on goal. Unfortunately, it went agonizingly wide just past the left post. With only 1-minute left of the game, a jinxing run by St Nicholas’ best player on the right hand side of the pitch allowed her the freedom to shoot hard and high up into the roof of the net despite Georgia, Lacey and Josie’s best efforts to keep a clean sheet. Undeserved but we felt confident going into our next game.

Southill 1 – 0 Bincombe Valley (W)

After losing to Bincombe a few weeks ago in a friendly, Southill were feeling a little tentative before the match. After some encouraging words, the children went onto the pitch, desperate to pick up their first win of the competition. Despite their best efforts, Bincombe could not break our stern defense down. In fact, in the second half, Southill began to find their passing rhythm. A kick up the pitch by Lacey fell into Lottie’s feet. Another great pass from her fell to Connie who crossed it to the back post where Iyla tapped it into an empty net. A great victory!

St Augustine’s 0 – 0 Southill (D)

In our third game, the children played unbelievably well. Josie was passing it out from the back to Georgia and Skyla who were beginning to feel more comfortable on the ball and supplying the midfield. We dominated possession in the game and had three glorious chances to score, however the ball just wouldn’t go in the back of the net! The team worked incredibly hard in the heat and were very unlucky not to get all three points. Nevertheless, we didn’t concede any goals and knew that it might just be enough to qualify for the semi-finals.

St Augustine’s 0 – 1 Southill (W)

The organisers of the competition informed us that we needed to play one more match to see who would qualify for the semi-finals and this meant that we would be facing St Augustine’s yet again. It was a very tight game and a lot of late challenges were going in from the opposition. However, the children remained resilient and determined to pull together as a team and win! After being fowled in the middle of the pitch, Nancy composed herself and played an incredible ball over the top of the midfield and into the box. A mix-up at the back allowed Lottie to capitalize and play a pass into Iyla who scored her second goal of the day, resulting in Southill picking up a win with the final kick of the game!

Despite their heroic efforts in this final game, the organisers of the competition informed us that they had made a mistake. Rather than allowing the runners up in group one to advance due to more teams being in this particular group, they chose to allow the runners up from another group to through instead because they had obtained more points in the qualifiers. We were bitterly disappointed and the girls didn’t deserve to crash out of the tournament in such bizarre fashion.

I am so proud of both teams. They all had amazing attitudes and showed real enthusiasm and passion throughout the day. They also ran their socks off despite the hot weather. A huge thank you to Lloyd, Emily and Alex for helping to transport the children over to Redlands this morning. Thank you Mr. Frampton for the great pictures. Thank you Lloyd who very kindly looked after and coached the boys team and special thanks to everybody who came and cheered on the mighty Southill.

Mr. Prior

#TheMightySPS