Junior inter-area tournament – London Under 19s report
London’s U19 squad took part in the Youth Inter Area in Harrow, competing against 4 counties: North West
London, Norfolk, Kent and Cambridge. Their coach was Nomads player Ben Rivers.
The squad included: Blake Palfreyman, Tom Lake, Marcus Tighe, Billy Ashby, Billy Simmons, Nathan Berry, Sid
Walters, Amy Swain, Chloe Swain, Caitlin Fitzgerald and Carensa Knights.
The first game saw London up against Norfolk. After a shaky start and going 1-0 down, London soon got into
the rhythm of the game, with great movement and passing allowing many shots to be taken and chances
converted. Along with good defensive play and great team spirit London won 9-6. Goal scorers: Amy 1, Blake 1,
Chloe 1, Caitlin 2, Carensa 2 and Tom 2.
Next up was North West London. This time London started as they meant to go to on, with each section
working well together to score their chances, and to limit North West London’s shooting opportunity in their
attack. With first 4 goals come from the girls, the boys stepped up in the second half with a runner from Billy,
long shot from Nathan and Sid and 2 goals from Billy. The final score was 12-0. Goal scorers: Billy Ashby 3, Amy
2, Chloe 1, Nathan 1, Sid 1, Carensa 1, Caitlin 3.
The biggest game of the day was against Kent. A long history of games with London always falling at the last
hurdle of beating Kent, the team were determined to put an end to this tradition. The first attack was Amy,
Tom, Marcus and Chloe, and the first defence was Blake, Billy, Caitlin and Carensa. To begin with, Kent took
their chances better than us and scored the first 2 goals of the match. But London was soon to show that they
wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and with good attacking play and recycling of the ball the next four
goals were for London, from Blake, Billy, Amy and Tom. Kent quickly answered to this run of goals with a
converted penalty and a well-taken distance shot. Half time 4-4. Kent started the second half well, and scored
soon after whistle. Goals were then exchanged by both teams keeping the score even, with goals from
Carensa, Blake, Marcus and Tom. The final score was 9-9. Goal scorers: Blake 3, Billy A 1, Carensa 1, Marcus 1,
Tom 2, Amy 1.
Because of this draw, the champions of the tournament would be decided by goal difference, if both London
and Kent were to win their last games. With Kent’s goal difference being higher than London’s, the pressure
was on for us to not only win but score as many goals as possible.
Going into the final game against Cambridge, who earlier in the day had beaten Norfolk, London knew it
wasn’t going to be easy but felt confident that they could do what was needed. The plan started well and
London were soon 5-0 up with goals from Billy Simmons, Blake, Amy and Carensa. Although Cambridge
converted some of their chances, goals from London continued to flow and increased to lead to 9-1 at half
time. The half-time team talk was simple: London had to continue to increase their lead to make it even harder
for Kent. The team talk was clearly understood with further goals from Tom, Carensa, Blake, Amy and Billy
Ashby making the final score 15-2. London were hopeful of bringing home the gold. Goal scorers: Blake 5,
Carensa 3, Billy S 1, Billy A 1, Tom 2, Amy 2, Nathan 1.
The game following this was Kent against Norfolk, and London watched every minute to see the final result,
which saw Kent fall short of the goals they needed, and London were champions. What a fantastic result for
their coach's debut!
Total goals of the tournament:
Blake 9, Nathan 2, Marcus 1, Billy S 1, Billy A 5, Tom 6, Sid 1, Amy 6, Carensa 7, Chloe 2, Caitlin 5.