On Saturday 25th June Sturminster U12’s entered into the Henstridge 5 a-side Tournament. Although there were only 4 clubs entered, we were all very evenly matched and each game was won or lost by the smallest of margins. We ended up playing eachother twice and won 4 games, lost one and drew the other, a fine result considering we didn’t have our regular goalkeeper so had a rolling keeper, with none of them overly keen to get between the posts!
The results put us in the final against our long term nemesis, Shaftesbury Rockies, but we had scraped wins in the heats so our confidence was high. The Rockies however had stepped it up a gear and the play was full-on. The Cherries played some excellent football, it was a proper team effort and we had a number of strikes on target, but their keeper was simply too quick. The full-time result was goal-less, so extra time was played, still without a goal. Penalties ended with us level at a 4 goals each so we moved into sudden death penalties. Tension was electric as the 2 goalies faced eachother to take the first shots. Our stand-in goalie confidently hit the net, and they changed positions. The Rockies goalie got a good foot behind the ball, sending it whistling to the right, but our keeper dived the same way, got both hands to the ball and punched it clear for overall victory. The players, manager and parents were over the moon and the boys were presented with individual awards and a wonderful trophy which will
soon be on display in the Clubhouse.
