High praise paid to U14 football finalists (From Barry And District News)

High praise paid to U14 football finalists

THE UNDER 14s boys football team of Barry Comprehensive School reached the final of the Welsh Schools Football Association's HSBC Champ-ionships.

Even though they demonstrated excellent ball skills, they lost on the day, with Hawarden High School, Flintshire, winning 2 - 0.

The game was played at Bridgend Town FC and a strong crowd turned up to support the teams in this, the final title battle of the championships, which started last September. The players were presented with runners-up medals by current Wales and Cardiff City star striker Robert Earnshaw.

Following the presentation, Robert said: "It was a tough match, and very encouraging to see high-quality football being played.

"Both teams battled hard, with Hawarden scoring two good goals - both of which I would've been happy to have scored myself. Barry were unlucky at the end, having their goal disallowed.

"This competition has run for many years and has been a fantastic asset to the development of grass-roots football in Wales. It gives schoolchildren the opportunity to develop their skills by participating on a regular basis, which is vital for nurturing the bright stars of future Welsh football."

Marc Hutton, a PE teacher at Barry Comprehensive School, said: "Hawarden were a strong team, but I'm proud of how we played. I'm disappointed for the boys, as they battled hard during the game. We looked strong in the first half, but in the end they took their chances and we didn't. With that in mind, Hawarden deserved the win."

The tournament, formally known as the WSFA Inter-Schools Championships, is organised by the Welsh Schools Football Association and sponsored by HSBC Bank. £15,000 has also been secured for the championships through match funding via Sportsmatch, the government's business sponsorship initiative scheme for sport.

This age group competition is played from under 12s to under 19s and this year, 176 schools took part.

Presenting the cup and medals on behalf of the sponsors, John Lloyd Jones, of HSBC, said: "Congratulations to Hawarden High School on their tremendous success in this year's tournament.

"Thanks also to Barry Comprehensive School for being very worthy opponents in the final. It's an achievement to reach the finals and I hope all the participants have enjoyed competing for the championship. We are delighted to be supporting football at grassroots level in schools throughout Wales. An important aspect of our sponsorship is that it enables the WSFA to subsidise travel costs for schools and we hope that this will encourage even more schools to take part in future years."