The Sunday of the 19^th of May saw a 5 a side tournament held at Helsby High School. The event was for ages under 8’s through to under 17’s and was run as mini leagues through quarter and semi-finals to a final. Congratulations go to the organisers for making it very enjoyable for all concerned.

Westend United entered two teams in the under 12’s age group these teams were Westend Blues and Westend Reds. The games on pitch 2 started at 10.15 with Westend Blues first game at 10.45 which was against Macclesfield Saints B and the Blues won this 2-0 with two goals from Alex Mason. Their second game was twenty five minutes later against Cuddington and this time they won 2-1 with Mason getting both goals. This gave them the most points at this stage and confidence was high after Westend had played some delightful football. Their next game was about an hour and a half later against Davenham Dynamo’s and probably because of this long break they had gone slightly off the boil and were narrowly beaten 1-0. The Blues were back on later against Frodsham and their winning form had returned with Harry Higate scoring the only goal in this 1-0 result. Westend Blues last game was a must win game if they were to get automatic advancement onto the quarterfinals and it was against Inter Tarporley who were a big side and ultimately too strong for the Blues to beat with the final score being 2-0. This put the Blues in third place in the league but they had enough points to qualify as best third placed team from the three leagues on the day. This was of little consolation when they found their opponents to be Inter Tarporley who went about their business very efficiently not allowing the Blues to play, no matter how hard they tried, and again Tarporley went through with a 2-0 win.

Blue Team: - Ambage (Midfield / Defence), Evans (1^st half keeper), Gifford (Midfield), Higate (Midfield), Mason (Striker), Roney (Defence) and Sapsford (2^nd half keeper).

Westend Reds played their matches on pitch 1 with their first game not starting until later in the morning and this was a nervous game against another big side from Cuddington who came away with a 2-0 win. The Reds second game against Boys Club City was a hard fought battle with both sides sharing the points after a 0-0 draw. Their third game was against Macclesfield Saints A who narrowly won by 1-0. The Reds next game was against Frodsham and it appeared luck was not on their side and they were defeated by only one goal. Westend Reds last game was against Beechwood United and they were playing to regain some pride and this they did by winning 2-1 with fine goals from Sam Marshall and Darren Roberts. All of this meant that Westend Reds finished outside the qualifying positions and despite playing very well were destined for the proverbial early bath.

Red Team: - Blood (Keeper), Carroll (Defence), Cowburn (Defence / Midfield), Crossley (Midfield), Marshall (Striker), Morgan (Midfield) and Roberts (Midfield).

The lads did themselves proud with some great football and even though they may be a little disappointed they can build on this experience for when they play their next Tournament which is on Saturday 25^th May (1:00 p.m. arrival time) at Moss Farm in Northwich.

Thanks are given to all the parents who gave their time and enthusiastic support to all the players.

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