Brent Schools’ FA U11 Girls 5-3 LSS
The long-awaited 2021-22 Regents Park Youth League Girls U11 Cup Final was finally played at Capital City Academy on May 14th and it did not disappoint. The match featured Brent Schools’ FA and LSS, with both teams packed full of quality, athleticism, and physicality.
The opening 10 minutes were frenetic, with both teams mounting wave after wave of attacks. Both teams were going for the early goal, but were repeatedly denied by excellent defending and outstanding goalkeeping on both sides. The first breakthrough came halfway through the first half, when Brent’s majestic central midfielder, Charlotte Fraser, danced around two LSS players and then slipped through an exquisite through-ball to Deena El Hashimi. The number 9 controlled the ball perfectly and smashed it into the net. The teams then traded chances, with the game continuing to be played at a remarkable pace. In the final seconds of the first half, LSS’s outstanding winger tiptoed around the Brent defence and superbly smashed the ball into the bottom corner. At half time, the scores were tied at 1-1, with everything to play for.
The match was finely balanced, and the crowd anticipated yet another pulsating half of football, with nothing separating the teams. But they were wrong! Brent’s outstanding left midfielder, Nancy Wales, had other plans. Taking the game by the scruff of the neck, she picked the ball up just inside her own half, and in a dribble Diego Maradona would have been proud of, then drove down the right. Wales skipped past LSS’s tremendous left back and captain, before unleashing a thunderbolt into the top corner to put Brent back in front.
Wales was not finished; a few minutes later, she picked up the ball again, this time down the left. Wales pirouetted around LSS’s right back, and then unleashed a second laser beam into the top corer.
Brent sensed victory, and only a minute later, Charlotte Fraser picked up the ball inside her own half, drove forward, dropped a left shoulder, that left both defenders for dead, and smashed a right-footed shot into the bottom corner to put her team 4-1 ahead.
Brent continued to apply pressure, as Evie Piller came close only to be stopped by a fingertip save by the LSS goalkeeper. The resultant corner, superbly floated in by Piller, saw Fraser beat all the LSS players to the ball, and after a delicate first touch, with her second touch she smashed the ball home, making the score 5-1.
LSS as they never stopped trying and although they committed players forward, they were kept at bay by two outstanding Brent defenders, Myla Villegas-Lewis and Minnie Palmer who time and time again broke up LSS’s attacking play and calmly played the ball forward to Brent’s midfielders. A late rally by LSS in the dying minutes saw them claw the score back to 5-3. An outstanding save by the young Brent ‘keeper Lois prevented a fourth LSS goal and helped Brent to lift the Cup.
The Brent coaches, Andrew Pillar and Justin Morgan, said afterwards: “We are so proud of this team, from day one they have committed themselves to getting better and working hard in practise, and today’s result is a reflection of that dedication”.
Squad: Sienna Varsani, Myla Villegas Lewis, Minnie Palmer, Nancy Wales, Lois Ampofo , Charlotte Fraser, Eva Armit, Deena El Hashimi, Evie Piller, Olivia Swettenham, Romy Lawson, Georgia Margetson, Bibiana Thomas, Bella Frase, Edie Morgan, Sheeeya Gustave-Patel, Freda Kelly