UNDER 11's CUP REPORT

LEFC U11’s @ the SHEPSHED TOURNAMENT

LEFC U11

Group Matches: Played 4 Lost 4 Goal Difference –6 Points 0

Squad: William, Tom B, Adam, Nass, James, Sajid ©, Anupam, Aboud, Robbie

Player of the Tournament: Nass

Four narrow defeats only tells half the story. Against good quality opposition LEFC put up some spirited displays and with stronger finishing would have come away with the points that their efforts deserved. Nass won praise from opposition teams for some eye catching saves. I hope that you enjoyed it lads. Special thanks to Dan and Ali for your management of the team - your medals are in the post.

LE UNITED U11

Group Matches: Played 4 Won 3 Drew 1 Lost 0 Goal Difference +4 Points 10

Semi Final: Shepshed Blacks 1 v 0 LE United

The Awesome Eightsome: Tom S, Matthew D, Kirk, Matthew H, Ahmed ©, Cedrick, Ryan, Kieron

Goals: Ryan, Kieron, Matthew H, Cedrick

Assists: Ahmed (2), Kirk (2) (I think!)

Player of the Tournament: Kirk

There are some days that you wish you could put into a bottle and then get out whenever you need a lift. This was one of them. As the sun poured down on the grassy fields of Shepshed I watched in growing amazement as our team of heroes passed, tackled, shot and scored their way to the semi final of the Shepshed Sevens. We’ve had some highs and lows in the 5 years that we’ve been together but nothing surpasses what I witnessed yesterday. In 5 years I have never been more proud of a group of players.

Make no mistake, we didn’t squeeze our way into the semis – we played our way in with a game to spare. We stood toe to toe with teams from Leicestershire’s top 3 divisions and generally outplayed them. One of the Quorn players put it very simply “you battered us”. The passing and movement was a joy to behold. All 4 goals came from passing moves with top drawer finishing. The responsibility that the lads took for tracking opposition runs and organising themselves reduced Alan and me to mere spectators.

When Matthew D and Kirk had tackles to make at the back they stood up tall and I lost count of how many moves started with Kirk’s controlled counter attacking. When Cedrick got into full flight in his yellow top I thought for one wonderful moment that I’d woken up in the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Even when exhaustion set in during the semi the lads kept going, driven on by adrenalin, spirit and sheer desire. The manner of the losing goal (2 minutes from full time) felt cruel but nothing can detract from an outstanding achievement by players who lost their first league match of the season 17-0 and let in 59 goals in their first 5 matches.

Never mind the tournament winners, every player in the awesome eightsome deserved a medal. They put in performances that they, their families and their club should be proud of. Well done lads.