Children from St Marys RC 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 Marys 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 this morning week 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: Stoneleigh, OASIS, Mills Hill, Hulme, St Josephs, Greenfield St Marys, South Failsworth and St Mary’s. The day contained plenty of goals and some fantastic individual and team performances from the youngsters.
The morning saw the teams split into two groups, with only the top team from each group progressing through to a final which was all to be played on the same day. After a close finish Mills Hill progressed through to the final from group one with a nail biting victory over Greenfield St Marys. Group two was a more one sided group with St Mary’s RC progressing through with maximum points.
In the final the teams had to be separated by extra time after the initial game finished 1-1. A cruel piece of fortune for Mills Hill saw St Mary’s score two goals after the Mills Hill goalkeeper picked up an injury. Both teams were a credit to their school and won plaudits from the OACT staff running the competition.
Martin Vose, OACT Community 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.
Oldham Athletic Community Trust would like to thank all of the schools for taking part in this year’s competition.
Pictured is the triumphant team:
Top left to to right – Sonny Aljofree, Alex Bradshaw, Frank Bottomley, Ben Tierney
Bottom left to right – Noah Rubio, Kieran Bagueley, Luca Silvestre, Finlay Farrell.