St Joseph's through to Northern Final
Six children from St Joseph’s Primary School are all set to represent Oldham Athletic in March, as they travel to Crewe Alexandra to take part in the Northern Finals of the Football League Kids Cup. The team is now only one round away from playing on the pitch at Wembley Stadium, prior to the League One Playoff Final in May.
St Joseph’s journey began in November, as they entered the Oldham Athletic qualifying round of the tournament, finishing top of their group and earning a place at the finals day, which was held last night at Chapel Road.
The finals day consisted of the eight best teams from this year’s competition who had progressed from their groups. The eight schools who qualified were: Hodgeclough, St Chad's, Greenfield St Mary’s, South Failsworth, St Paul’s, Richmond and St Joseph's. The evening contained plenty of goals and some fantastic individual and team performances from the youngsters.
St Josephs finished second in their finals day group, which meant a semi-final against St Chads. It was a close affair, with St Joseph’s coming out eventual winners to play against Hodgeclough in the final. Both teams had excelled over the evening and produced a high quality final which either team could have won. St Josephs in the end ran out 4-1 winners to win the competition and progress into the northern final of the competition.
Martin Vose, Trust Participation Manager commented: “It`s a fantastic opportunity for the boys to go to Crewe and represent their school, their town and also Oldham Athletic Football Club. They have beaten off competition from 35 other schools to reach this stage, so we wish them the best of luck. I look forward to watching them take on the other northern finalists in March.”
The Football League Kids Cup is a national tournament, with representatives from every football league club taking part, with individual clubs holding qualifying heats.
Also in the northern finals are schools from: Bradford City, Carlisle United, Crewe Alexandra, Notts County, Port Vale, PNE, Rotherham United, Sheffield United, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Pictured is the triumphant team:
Back row L-R - Joe Hewson Tom Bailey Kade Wrigley
Front row L-R - Tom Smith Bailey Marsden Patrick Killeen