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Norfolk Christian football season finishes on high fives 

No less than 33 teams from the Norfolk Christian Football Youth League took part in the end-of-season five-a-side tournament at Heartsease Towers in Norwich on Saturday (May 21). Alan Barnes reports.

The competition spanned four age groups from Under 10 to Under 16, and there was good support from family members and friends.

In the morning the Under 10s and Under 12s took part in mini-leagues before the semi-finalists emerged.  There were two cracking finals with Stoke United eventually outdoing Sprowston Lads 1-0 in the Under 10s final.  The goal came with just seconds left in the match and saw Stoke add the five-a-side trophy to their Fellowship Trophy and a strong performance in the league this season.  

NCFLFivesU16WinnersENYP600The Under 12s final went even further with the Brooke Adventurers and Heigham Park Rangers teams level at full time.  After five penalties each, the teams could still not be separated and it eventually took a missed penalty to see Brooke Adventurers win 7-6.

In the afternoon, the Under 14s and Under 16s played their competitions.  As always, matches were keenly contested and in the early stages very few goals were scored.

In the Under-14 competition Heartsease Youth, after losing their first match, went on to win all remaining group matches, a semi-final with Surrey Chapel and eventually won a tight final 2-1 against Lighthouse Church.  Lighthouse themselves had won all games up until the final.  

Lighthouse also reached the final of the Under-16s tournament after winning a close semi-final with Bowthorpe 4-2 on penalties.  They were eventually beaten by ENYP 1-0 in the final 1-0.  ENYP were also unbeaten in the competition.

A big thank-you to all involved in setting up the competition and particularly the referees who did an excellent job in keeping the competition running to time. 
 
David Davies was presented with an award by league chairman Mike Culwick as he finally hung up his boots after 21 years at Manager of Bowthorpe St Michaels. “David has been a wonderful ambassador of the league, quietly doing his part with faithfulness and an attitude of grace, being a great example to all,” said Mike. “Thank you David.”

League extends welcome to new teams

This is the final football to be played this season, but the league is always looking out for teams who would like to join.  Competitions run at Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16 and adult level on Saturday mornings across the football season. 

Some teams emanate from churches and others find a church to sponsor them.  If you are a team that is interested in joining, please contact League Secretary Alan Barnes at secretary@norfolkcfl.co.uk or chairman Mike Culwick at chairman@norfolkcfl.co.uk 

If you are an individual looking for a team, please also email one of those addresses and we will seek to link you to a team.

Pictured top are U14 winners Heartsease Youth and, above, U16 winners ENYP. For a full picture gallery see below.
 

NCFL Youth Fives May 16


 


Published: 23/05/2016


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