Under 14s LNER Tournament Winners
27 Jun 2010

On the day England went out of the World Cup, Pinner Albion Under 14s showed them how it should be done with their second tournament victory of the summer at LNER - what's more, they achieved victory with penalty shoot-outs in the semi-final and the final.

The group consisted of five teams, but it looked as if only four teams would play a part as Princes Park had insufficient players to fulfil their early matches. It is always important to get off to a winning start in these tournaments, but with potentially only four teams in the group, it became even more important.

Pinner Albion did exactly what they needed to do in their first game against LNER Red, playing with urgency from the start. Adam found space on 5 minutes to finish coolly and secure a 1-0 victory.

The second game was against Wealdstone. Pinner Albion went into the game confidently, but they under-estimated the opposition, and having conceded a goal, were unable to rescue a draw from the game.

That put a major dent in Pinner Albion's aim to reach the semi-finals. It was essential that they beat a strong Greenford Celtic 2 side in their next game. Anything less was certain to result in elimination from the tournament. This was essentially the same opposition that had knocked Pinner Albion out of the St Josephs tournament with a very late and very fortunate penalty the week before.

Again, Pinner Albion strated strongly and in the very first minute, Thomas played the ball to Ben along the left, Ben found Horacio, and he gave Pinner Albion the lead. However, Greenford Celtic 2 struck back half way through the match, leaving Pinner Albion to find another goal if they were to avoid an early elimination. They pressed forward but as the clock went into the last minute, it looked as if their efforts would be in vain. With just 10 seconds left, one last corner gave Pinner Albion a chance, and Javid chose the perfect moment to drive the ball home and score his first goal for the club.

With Princes Park unable to field a team, that should have been enough for Pinner Albion to qualify, but Princes Park now had a fifth player and that enabled them to take the field against Pinner Albion, having already defaulted in their two games against Wealdstone and Greenford Celtic 2. Princes Park attempted to take the field with six players, but a quick check of the registration sheets showed that they only had five players registered. Nevertheless, Pinner Albion could not afford any slip ups. They knew that they had to record a win of any description to finish second in the group, but equally a four goal win would see them top the group.

Pinner Albion started the game meaning business, and in the second minute, Horacio played the ball to Javid who drove the ball in from distance for his second goal of the tournament. On 4 minutes, Horacio found the net from wide on the right, and on 6 minutes, Horacio flicked the ball into the corner of the net for Pinner Albion's third. That left Pinner Albion tied at the top of the group, but they could not find a fourth goal, and when they conceded a deflected goal in the last minute, it meant that Pinner Albion would qualify in second place.

The semi-final was against Grrenford Celtic 1. This was a very tight affair, with Pinner Albion strong at the back but unable to create the clear-cut chances needed to win the game outright. When the game finished goalless after extra-time, it meant that the match would be settled on penalties.

Cool heads were needed and that's exactly what Pinner Albion showed. First, Tom stepped up to coolly place his penalty into the corner of the net. Hardy saved the first Greenford Celtic penalty to give Pinner Albion an early advantage. Up stepped Javid to score, and the pressure was really turned up on Greenford Celtic when Hardy saved their second penalty. Horacio gave Pinner Albion a 3-0 lead before Greenford Celtic finally scored. However, Thomas knew that if he scored Pinner Albion's fourth penalty, he would send the team through to the final. Up he stepped to tuck the ball into the corner for an emphatic 4-1 penalty victory.

So, Pinner Albion were in another final, and there, yet again, they would face Greenford Celtic 2. The final was very similar to the semi-final, with a strong, committed and disciplined performance from Pinner Albion limiting the chances for Greenford Celtic, but equally few chances being created for Pinner Albion to score. Once again, the game finished goalless after extra time, and it meant that the tournament winners would be decided on penalties.

Could Pinner Albion's nerve hold? Could they repeat the performance in the semi-final shoot-out? Up stepped Tom to take the first penalty. He placed it firmly towards the corner of the net, but the Greenford Celtic goalkeeper flew across the goal to make a fine save. Greenford Celtic scored their first penalty, putting a very different complexion on this penalty shoot-out. It was essential that Ben scored the next penalty and he drove the ball firmly into the net. Hardy then stopped a piledriver that was struck down the middle of the goal to pull Pinner Albion level. Horacio stepped up next and he scored with a firm strike into the corner. Hardy then blocked the next Greenford Celtic penalty to put Pinner Albion into a 2-1 lead after three penalties each. Thomas struck the next penalty coolly into the corner, but Greenford Celtic kept themselves in it by scoring their fourth penalty. That left Adam with the chance to win it and he was coolness personified as he stroked the ball into the corner to give Pinner Albion a 4-2 victory on penalties. Cue pandemonium as the Pinner Albion players descended on Adam to celebrate a well-deserved victory, their second tournament win of the summer. A few moments later, Thomas proudly lifted the trophy.

The Pinner Albion team should be very proud of their performance and in particular they should be proud of the calm way that they handled the pressure of the penalty shoot-outs, when they scored eight of the nine penalties they took.

Hardy was typically resolute in goal and made four crucial saves in the penalty shoot-outs. Thomas, Tom and Hasan were tight at the back. Horacio was full of running and worked hard up front. Both Javid and Ben were strong both in midfield and supporting the attack, with Javid scoring two goals, including the crucial winner against Greenford Celtic 2 in the group stages. Man of the tournament was Adam for a commanding performance throughout the tournament at the centre of midfield.

Well done to all the boys on a great victory!

Results:
Group:
v LNER Red - won 1-0 (Adam)
v Wealdstone - lost 0-1
v Greenford Celtic 2 - won 2-1 (Horacio, Javid)
v Princes Park 2 - won 3-1 (Javid, Horacio 2)
Semi-Final:
v Greenford Celtic 1 - drew 0-0 after extra time - won 4-1 on penalties (Tom, Javid, Horacio, Thomas)
Final:
v Greenford Celtic 2 - drew 0-0 after extra time - won 4-2 on penalties (Ben, Horacio, Thomas, Adam)

Squad:
Hardy, Thomas, Tom, Hasan, Adam, Javid, Ben, Horacio