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30th May 2004

U9s at Camberley Boys 5-a-side Tournament

Carshalton U9s returned from the Camberley Boys 5-a-side Tournament with the runners up trophies after reaching the Plate Final.  Not a bad return from a competition with 34 teams and in our first venture into 5-a-side football.

The frantic 5 minutes each way format caught us cold and the boys made an indifferent start with a 0-0 draw against the home side, a 1-1 draw with East Lodge from Portsmouth (Jordan scoring) and a very disappointing 0-1 defeat at the hands of Whitton Town Colts.  Then, after a few words of encouragement, they turned in an excellent display to beat Staines Town 2-1 who had previously won all their games.  Our goals came from Ben - an unstoppable volley from the halfway line - and Arran, who finished coolly when put through.  This gave us 3rd place in the group and took us through to the Plate competition.

In the last 16 we were drawn against Whitton Town Colts again.  The game finished 0-0 and went to extra time and penalties.  Jordan, Arran, Ruaridh and Lewis held their nerve, before in sudden death Whitton missed the target.  Not an experience the coaches or parents want to go through again!  In the quarter final a Lewis strike into the far corner gave us a 1-0 win over Mytchett Athletic.  The semi final was action packed against Crookham Rovers.  Their keeper made an acrobatic save from Arran's free kick, but in doing so injured his wrist.  After a lengthy stoppage, Carshalton resumed with a corner which from which Arran opened the scoring with a fierce shot.  The keeper had to go off soon after and was replaced.  Any thoughts that the game was won were banished when Crookham equalised.  With time running out, Carshalton finally made their pressure tell with a late strike from Ben to book their place in the final.

The Plate Final, against Yateley Juniors, was a much closer game than the 3-0 scoreline suggests, but the better team won on the day.

It was a fantastic day for the boys and a fitting end to the season.  More wonderful support for the boys from the families.  The tournament was extremely well organised and we'd like to send on our thanks to Camberley Boys FC and all the volunteers who made the day run so smoothly.  

 Buzz