Hackney U11 Girls 1-4 Brent U11 Girls
On Saturday 12 June Brent’s U11 Girls travelled to the the Peter May Sports Centre, Walthamstow, for the inaugural Stuart Feakins Trophy match away to Hackney. The team put together a fantastic team performance to lift the cup.
The Stuart Feakins Trophy will be played annually between the Hackney Schools’ FA and an invited team from another London borough in memory of Stuart Feakins, a man dedicated to sport and the young people of Hackney. It was therfore a great honour that Hackney invited Brent to compete in the first-ever fixture of this kind. The match was always going to be a massive test for the young and developing Brent side, who have had little exposure to the top district teams in London.
Despite their inexperience, Brent showed no fear as they started the game on the front foot, pushing the tempo and pressing Hackney relentlessly. Brent’s first breakthrough came just over five minutes into the game, when Brent’s central midfielder, Charlotte Fraser, slipped an exquisitely weighted ball through to her midfield partner Nancy Wales, who had drifted into a small of pocket of space just to the left of the 18 yard box. Wales jinked inside her marker and rocketed a shot into the far top corner. The sound of the rippling net silenced the Hackney fans, who instantly realised that Brent had come ready to play.
The first half continued at a frenetic pace, with both teams creating chances. The dribbling skills and trickery of Wales were constantly causing Hackney all sorts of problems and helping Brent retain possession. In addition, the long throws of Myla Villegas Lewis also pushed the home team back as Brent began to get the upper hand. Hackney grew into the game, with their size, pace and strength putting Brent under constant pressure. The outstanding defensive Brent trio of Sienna Varsani, Myla Villegas Lewis and Minnie Palmer rose to the challenge, and time and time again, they dealt with the direct and strong attack of Hackney, ensuring Brent ended the first half 1-0 ahead.
The second half continued at the same relentless pace of the first half, with both teams pushing hard to score. Despite the young age of some of Brent’s players, they continued to pass the ball with pace and neat interplay down the right between Evie Piller and Fraser was beginning to cause Hackney problems. Then, a beautiful switch of play from Myla Villegas Lewis to Nancy Wales saw Wales pick the ball up inside her own half, drive forward, and with a dribble Raheem Sterling would have been proud of she surged through the midfield dribbling and unleashed another bullet towards the top corner. However, this time the Hackney goalkeeper, leaping to her left, made a sensational save to keep her team in the game.
The save seemed to inspire Hackney, who almost immediately hit a beautiful, over-the-top through ball into Hackney’s star player and captain. She evaded the Brent defense for a split second and expertly slotted the ball in the net to equalise. Game on!
The momentum had shifted in favour of Hackney and with 15 minutes to go, they seemed the likelier team to break the deadlock. Another through ball sent the Hackney striker in on goal but out of nowhere, Brent’s Player of the Match, Minnie Palmer, found an extra gear, and with a perfectly timed tackle stopped the attack, allowing Brent ‘keeper Lois Ampofo to dive and smother the ball.
Brent found their passing rhythm and they started to string passes around the pitch. This seemed to tire Hackney, and an outstanding passing combination between Shreya Gustave-Pate, Edie Morgan and Charlotte Fraser, saw Fraser unleash a fierce cross shot into the net to put Brent 2-1 ahead.
With fresh legs now on the pitch, Brent’s energy levels went up a gear. Moments later, Bibiana Thomas chased a through-ball down the right and after out-muscling Hackney’s right back, crossed the ball, which was then expertly finished on the volley by Eva Armit to make the score 3-1.
To their credit, Hackney did not give up. They continued to throw everything at Brent and towards the end of the game, Brent’s outstanding Brent goalkeeper, Lois Ampofo, made a number of remarkable saves. One in particular saw her fly to the right to make a fingertip save that crashed against the post before going wide.
The never-say-never attitude of Brent’s substitute left back, Liv Swettenham, saw her win the ball back just outside the 18 year box. Then started a pattern of play that ended with Charlotte Fraser slipping a pass to Deena El Hashimi who showed superb technique, driving the ball into the roof of the net to make it the score 4-1 and ensure that Brent won the 2022 Stuart Feakins Trophy.
Beaming Brent coaches Andrew Piller and Justin Morgan said: “As a team, throughout the season we have often been led by our two outstanding players Charlotte and Nancy, but today, given the enormous challenge of playing Hackney, it had to be a real great team effort and it was. Every single one of the squad contributed and were magnificent. The improvement this team has made throughout the season is remarkable, and we can’t wait to get back on the pitch and continue our football journey!”
Brent Squad: Bibiana Thomas, Charlotte Fraser, Deena El Hashimi, Edie Morgan, Eva Armit, Evie Piller, Lois Ampofo, Minnie Palmer, Myla Villegas Lewis, Nancy Wales, Olivia Swettenham, Sienna Varsani, Shreya Gustave-Patel