St Mary’s progress through to represent West Sussex West at the county finals in January. Well done lads!
St Mary’s triumph as County Final beckons
After coming in the top four teams in the Felpham & Bognor area, St. Mary’s qualified to compete in the Area Finals against schools in the FAB and Chichester area. There would be no easy games, as competition to represent the West Sussex West area in the county finals was up for grabs.
The opening game was against deanery rivals, St Richards. St Mary’s started the game confidently and maintained possession well in the midfield. After a number of chances, Anghel was in the right place at the right time to slot his shot past the goalkeeper to put St Mary’s in the lead. It could have ended up more had the St Richards goalkeeper not pulled off some terrific saves. A winning start for the blues!
Game 2 was against a very strong looking Walberton side who passed the ball around brilliantly. A mistake at the back allowed the Walberton forwards to beat Oliver Banach in goal to put them 1-0 up. Almost straight from kick-off, George Bowles played a piercing ball through the defence to put Anghel in on goal who confidently tucked it away past the goalkeeper. With 3 minutes left on the clock, a lapse in concentration allowed Walberton in once more to put them in the lead. A game that could have been won, finished 2-1 to Walberton.
Having played them twice in the past two weeks, St Mary’s knew what kind of outfit Bishop Tufnell would be. After an end to end first half of the game, a nice bit of play from George Burles and Anghel Madzharov put Tom Morreale through on goal. Tom struck the ball past the outstretched goalkeeper to put St Mary’s in the lead. A great defensive display from Romeo Zuoza and Leo Francis-McGregor ensured that the 3 points went their way.
A hard-fought contest with Parklands ended in a 0-0 draw with a number of good saves from Oliver Banach in goal.
The best was yet to come, as Downview proved to be a great contest. An end to end game with scrappy moments transpired and St Mary’s had to dig deep to not go behind. The defence remained strong and cleared their lines up the pitch towards the Downview goal. With the last kick of the game, Lucas law had found just enough space to poke the ball past the Downview goalkeeper. You can’t beat a last minute winner!
With one last game to play, St Mary’s needed to win or draw to give themselves a chance at the top of the table. Barnham, with strong and intimidating players, tested but couldn’t pierce St Mary’s line of defence. A 0-0 draw to finish.
With the points totalled and goal-difference accounted for, the winning team was announced… ST MARY’S!!! The team will travel to Lancing on the 17th January to represent West Sussex West in the County Finals. A huge congratulations to the winners!
| St Mary’s | 1 | 0 | St Richards |
| Walberton | 2 | 1 | St Mary’s |
| Bishop Tufnell | 0 | 1 | St Mary’s |
| St Mary’s | 0 | 0 | Parklands |
| St Mary’s | 1 | 0 | Downview |
| St Mary’s | 0 | 0 | Barnham |
| Team | W | D | L | Points |
| St Mary’s | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Barnham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Parklands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Walberton | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Downview | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| Bishop Tufnell | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| St Richards | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
Goalkeeper: Oliver Banach
Defenders: Romeo Zuoza, Leo Francis-McGregor
Midfielders: George Bowles (c), Anghel Madzharov, George Burles, Tom Morreale
Forwards: Lucas Law
