Westbrook Hay sides storm through to the national finals
A total of 20 teams entered the U11 ISFA Herts & Essex Championship at Chigwell, with Westbrook Hay retaining the title they won last year and securing their place in the national final.
The boys topped their group – playing some beautiful passing football in the process – and then beat Duncombe 3-1 in the quarter-final with Freddie Moriarty, captain and top scorer, leading the way.
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Hide AdThe semi-final saw them beat FKS 5-0; a beautifully-struck shot by Max Bustamante gave Westbrook a first half lead and they then ran away with the game in the second half.
Moriarty calmly finished for the second soon after the restart, before Joshua Odegbami’s 30-yard effort made it 3-0.
Max Delyfer struck a hard shot through a mass of bodies for the fourth and Ibrahim Busari hit the fifth.
The final was decided by two superb goals, one in each half. First, Ibrahim Busari brushed off a series of challenges from a succession of defenders before poking the ball home.
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Hide AdThen, in the second half, a goal fit to clinch any final came when Moriarty finished off some intricate footwork by Delyfer to give Westbrook Hay victory for the second year in succession.
Meanwhile, Westbrook Hay’s U13 side also qualified for the national finals by winning the Eastern Region event the day after the U11s’ victory.
The team went through the event conceding only one goal in their seven matches.
Unbeaten through the group stages, the team faced Bishop’s Stortford in the semi-final and, although going a goal down, scored three times in the second half to move comfortably in to the final where they faced Belmont.
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Hide AdWestbrook controlled the game, scoring early through Harry Mchugh, and the icing on the cake came in the second half when a lovely team goal, started by the goalkeeper, was finished off by Freddie Redfern.
Captain David Burnell combined his goalkeeping duties with some great forays up front in the latter part of the day, where his pace and power was prominent.
Mchugh was outstanding in midfield where Josh Rembalski and Scott Rolfe also showed some lovely touches. The team are now looking forward to the nationals next month