Stamford Park Primary School represented Altrincham FC at Wembley Stadium and became National League Trust U11’s National Champions!
The boys earned the right to play on the hallowed turf at Wembley Stadium after victory in the regional rounds at Marine FC led them to the North finals hosted by York City, here they defeated Scunthorpe to book their place at Wembley.
The boys, along with family and friends made their way to Wembley on Sunday 1st June, some of them even jetting in from holidays just to be there. On arrival, they received the full Wembley treatment; a trip to the dressing rooms and a walk down the famous tunnel onto the pitch, which was met with gasps of excitement.
Time for kick off and after a tricky start to the match which included two great saves from our goalkeeper Roy, we settled and began to play. We concentrated on building from the back with Theo and Jack, allowing Jacob, Elliot and Harry to work their magic further up the pitch which resulted in Harry being denied a 1 on 1 by the St Albans goalkeeper. Momentum was swinging in our favour and Elliot won a free kick in his own half, the result of which smashed off the crossbar. With Altrincham knocking on the door, we made some changes; Issac came onto the pitch immediately showing his authority in net as he claimed a long throw and Asser, replacing Jack at the back, began casually taking on opponents in tight spaces.
With three minutes to go, the game looked destined for penalties until Harry received the ball on the halfway line with his back to goal, he took on two players and managed to lay the ball off to our Captain Jacob. Jacob set himself up beautifully with a great first touch and with cries of ‘shoot’ echoing around Wembley, he unleashed a thunderous strike into the top corner of the St Albans net. Jacob enjoyed every minute of celebrating in front of the elated crowd but quickly, with minutes to go, attentions turned to defending our lead. We changed tactics and made some substitutions with Jack slotting in at the back, leaving Harry and Elliot with the task of non-stop pressing for the final three minutes. With blocks from Jack and clever balls forward from Theo time was ticking away, the boys even managed to carve out one last chance to score before the referee blew the final whistle. Celebrations commenced, the Altrincham section of the crowd erupted and the boys to made their way up the famous steps to the Royal box to lift their trophy.
“We are extremely proud of the boys who have represented their school and Altrincham Football Club magnificently throughout every stage of this tournament. This occasion is particularly special for our staff as six of the eight players involved started their footballing journey with us at the age of 3 when they took part in our Mini Kicker programme, so it was amazing to see them develop and compete in a National Final.” – Simon Dow, Head Of Community