Exeter School finish third in Kids' Cup Regional Final

Exeter Junior School played for the first time in the regional finals of the U11 Kids' Cup Regional Final on Friday 13 March.

After their magnificent achievement of winning the Kids Cup Club Final, hosted by Exeter City FC, in January, the boys had been eagerly awaiting the regional finals in Portsmouth.

Fourteen schools, representing local Sky Bet League Two clubs were divided into two groups of seven. The two winners would then go through to contest a final, with the winner going through to play the winner of the northern sides at Wembley Stadium before the League Two Play-off final in May.

All the teams played in the kit of their local club and competed for the ultimate prize, namely a trip to the home of football! Our results (as Exeter City FC) were as follows:

U11 v Newport County - won 4 – 1 (Joe Cole 2, Joe Farmer, Toby Richards)
U11 v AFC Wimbledon - lost 1 – 6 (Ben Sims)
U11 v Southend United - drew 2 – 2 (Ben Sims 2)
U11 v Northampton Town - lost 1 – 3 (Ben Sims)
U11 v Wycombe Wanderers - won 4 – 1 (Joe Cole 2, Ben Sims, Matthew Rutter)
U11 v Cambridge United - won 6 – 1 (Ben Sims 3, Joe Cole 2, Toby Richards)

The final league table was as follows: Northampton Town 16 points, AFC Wimbledon 14, Exeter City 10.

Head of Junior School Football, Giles Ashman, said the boys deserved every credit for giving absolutely everything for the cause and finishing third in the group and that they were quite magnificent!

"To put things into context, our only defeats came against the eventual runners –up (Northampton), and AFC Wimbledon, who finished third overall, after a 5 -3 victory against Luton Town.

"The final was won 3 – 1 by the hosts, Portsmouth FC.

"The overall standard of the competition was extremely high and way above anything which the boys had already experienced in this all-conquering season; this was particularly apparent against AFC Wimbledon!

"However, the response from our boys was superb, as they ‘dusted themselves down’ and got on with the next match.

"I was also very pleased that they were determined to keep playing the patient passing game, which has been the hallmark of the season, in spite of the fact that the quality of the opposition made this difficult at times."

It had been a fantastic day and will remain in the memory for years to come. Thanks go to Kevin Hack from Exeter City FC, who accompanied us on the day. He pointed out to the boys that we had performed as well as any team from Exeter City for some time in this most prestigious competition. That really says it all!

They all deserve a mention, so well done to Mathew Rutter (captain), Ben Sims, Joe Cole, Lewis Hussey, Toby Richards, Max Parsons, Joe Farmer and Jack Parry. A fantastic effort, lads!