Lytham St Annes YMCA U13 Boys progress to National Football Final
Lytham St Annes YMCA U13 boys Football team were victorious at the Tesco Cup Northern Regional Final in Manchester this weekend. The team, who put in a great performance, will now represent Northern England at the National Final, to be held at Pride Park stadium, Derby on May 9.
Lytham St Annes emerged from their round robin group unbeaten and finished joint top in their age group, alongside Sheffield United Blades. Lytham faced Sheffield in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to see which team would progress and came out as 5-4 winners. The final then saw Liverpool's representatives Netherly Wood FC take on Lytham, and with the scores all tied at full time, it was an extra time winner from Lytham St Annes that saw them crowned as Northern England Tesco Cup Champions.
Team Manager Carl Promfret said, “Its superb to win the Tesco Cup, the boys have really done themselves proud. They played fantastic football all day and we are looking forward to the national finals in Derby”
Former Manchester United player and Wales international Clayton Blackmore, who attended the event chose the following players to win individual awards;
Best Goalkeeper:James Lawrance - Lancashire
Best Defender: Adam Froggatt - Northumberland
Best Midfielder: David Partington - Liverpool
Best Forward: Luke Wall - Liverpool
Player of the Tournament: Dylan Thompsn - Northumberland
Blackmore commented, “The Tesco Cup Northern Final has been a great event. I have been really impressed with the standard of football on show and have seen some exciting talent. The Northern teams will certainly prove tough competition at the English National Final in May. I look forward to hearing how they get on.”
Across the three age groups - U13 boys, U14 girls and U16 girls - 35 teams from 12 County FAs participated in a round robin format in Manchester followed by the final, with teams battling for a place in the England National Final. In the U14 girls Chester le Street Cestria from Durham were victorious with Manchester City Girls winning the U16 girls tournament.
The Tesco Cup is part of a wider commitment from Tesco to encourage children to get involved in sport. Now in its fifth year, Tesco works in conjunction with the FA and local communities to help improve the football skills of young players.
Tesco Cup teams compete at County and then Regional level (area level in Wales) in a bid to become National Champions and ultimately, to represent their country at the UK Final. The National Winners, in each age category, from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will play in the UK Final to be held at the Reebok Stadium, Bolton - the home of Bolton Wanderers – on Sunday May 16, 2010, where they will fight it out to become UK Champions.
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