By Bill Martin LONGTOWN JUNIORS UNDER-7 FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT FINALS GROUP A STANWIX HORNETS A 5 LO

Last updated 12:07, Wednesday, 16 July 2008

Longtown Juniors held their Under-7s Football Tournament on Saturday at the Primary school grounds. They were favoured by the weather and a hundred kids took part

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Upperby Park, front, from left: Joe Koelle, Tayler Hurst, Nikki Walker, Dylan Farish, Cameron Handley. Back: Lauren Crosby, Matthew Rose, Rohan Spence, Matt Crosby, Keeton McCluskey, Grant Lockhart, Robbie Cowley

They were watched by, in the region of, three hundred parents, relatives and helpers.

The club has only been in existence for three years but in that time it has come on in leaps and bounds.

The competition was comprised of two groups and after playing each other once the top two teams, in each group, played each other in a final.

Stanwix teams dominated with the A team beating Longtown Juniors in the Group A final and the B team beating Upperby Park in Group B.

All the players, taking part, received a medal whilst there were trophies for the cup winners and runners-up.

The organisers also chose a player of the tournament for each group and the winning players were Lewis Pearce of Stanwix A and Tayler Hurst of Upperby Park B.

The final presentations were to Longtown Juniors Players of the Tournament and they went to: Liam Rayson, Longtown A, Harry Johnston, Longtown B and Callum Joyce, Longtown C.

STANWIX started the game at a high tempo and they took an early lead when Matthew Muldoon slipped the ball through for Kieran Reynolds to score. Lewis Pearce then added a second with a well struck free kick just before the interval.

Longtown pulled a goal back, through Liam Gibson, early in the second half but the goal only spurred the Stanwix players to greater efforts and they took an unassailable five-one lead with further goals from Pearce, Muldoon and Jay Langhorn.

Longtown hit back with goals from Gibson and Thomas Jenkinson but the final whistle came too soon for them.

STANWIX went into the final having won all their group games. Their four games had produced eighteen goals with only one in reply and that was from Upperby Park B whom they beat three-one.

Stanwix took an early lead with a goal from Cameron Thomas but Upperby fought back with a terrific run from Robbie Cowley following a Tayler Hurst throw in.

The move ended with Stanwix goalkeeper, Ed Lucas, making a good save by turning Cowley’s shot for a corner.

Stanwix were dominant throughout the second half but determined tackling from Tayler Hurst, Rowan Spence and Cameron Handley repeatedly broke up their attacks. Nicki Walker also made a good save to deny Thomas before Harvey Tiffen beat him with a shot which rebounded from the crossbar.

Connor Slater was first to the ball but he headed over from close range.

Tiffen was not to be denied and he made it two-nil when he burst through and finished with a clever shot with the outside of his right boot.