Years 5 & 6 Football Tournament
Maccabi GB Primary School Football Tournament
Mill Hill Power League Wednesday 12th November 2008
Once again hundreds of young Jewish children descended on the Power League site in Mill Hill for the Maccabi GB five-a-side football tournament held in partnership with UJIA. This event is for Years 5 and 6 and is split into a boy's competition and a girl's competition. This time round we had our largest amount of teams in the girls section and a record twenty nine teams in total. This made the tournament the largest Maccabi GB tournament to date with around 250 children taking part in matches throughout the afternoon.
The Boys' tournament was made up of four groups with five teams in each group. Each team played against each other within the group and the top two teams from each group would progress through to the quarter finals. In group one it was Hertsmere A who won the group without losing a match, followed by Mathilda Marks Kennedy A who scrapped through on goal difference. They would face Menorah A and Sinai B respectively in the next round. Menorah coasted through the group stages winning all four of their matches without conceding a single goal.
The other half of the quarter finals was made up by winners of group two Naima A playing runners up of group four Hertsmere B and the winners of that group Wolfson Hillel playing against Moriah.
Three of the quarter finals finished with the same result of 2 -0. Wolfson Hillel looked strong as they cast aside a spirited Moriah team in the first game, Menorah continued their good work as they once again kept a clean sheet against MMK A and Naima A always had the upper hand against Hertsmere B. The final game however was a much closer affair. Hertsmere A and Sinai B both created good chances in their game but neither side could finish off their chances and eventually it came down to penalties. Both teams looked nervous during the shootout, but it was Sinai B who won by the thinnest of margins, the final kick by Hertsmere rebounding off the inside of the post, proving the old cliché about a very thin line between winning and losing. That set up two intriguing semi final games between Sinai B and Naima A and Menorah A playing Wolfson Hillel.
Meanwhile in the Girls' tournament the group stages were followed straight away by the semi finals. There were four teams that had stood out in the group stages and these teams progressed with ease to the semi finals. Simon Marks faced a strong Independent team and Sinai came up against Naima. The first game was dominated by two very good defences that did not allow the attacking players any space to create chances. The game went to penalties where again the attacking players were up against it, faced with two good keepers and even when they were beaten, the post and bar still managed to keep out some of the penalties. Eventually Simon Marks managed to beat both the keeper, the post and the bar to strike the ball home and earn a place in the final.
The other semi final produced four goals. Sinai took an early two goal lead over Naima, but the Naima girls did not give up and reduced the deficit to one with only a few minutes remaining. But in their pursuit of an equaliser Naima left space at the back and Sinai were quick to exploit it scoring a third and decisive goal to put the game beyond doubt.
The boys' semi final games were both very close. Menorah and Wolfson Hillel had both looked tough to beat throughout the tournament and cancelled each other out for the majority of their match. Chances were few and far between but the individual quality on show from both teams made for a very entertaining game. It was almost a disappointment when the final whistle blew and one of the teams would go out of the tournament by virtue of a penalty shootout. Despite some excellent finishing from both teams it was Wolfson Hillel who, thanks to a great save from their keeper, progressed through to the final.
The other semi final was just as exciting and did produce a vital winning goal. It was Sinai who got it and despite constant pressure from Naima they held on to make it through to the final for the second successive time in a Maccabi GB tournament.
It was pleasing to see so much support for both teams in each final and made for an exciting climax to the afternoon. In the Girls' final it was a classic game of end to end football. There were some brilliant examples of keep ball and creating space to shoot however it was Simon Marks who were the more clinical in their finishing and this saw them run out winners and lift the trophy at the end of a really enjoyable afternoon.
The boys' final was just as exciting and by the end of the game a large crowd of neutrals had joined the supporters around the pitch to join in the zeal of the occasion. Sinai struck first to take the lead, but Wolfson Hillel came back strongly and levelled the scores midway through the match. As the game headed towards the final whistle, and both managers were contemplating a penalty shootout, an individual piece of brilliance from the Sinai front man created a chance to settle the match. His finish was calm and collected and the ball rippling the back of the net sent the Sinai supporters into a frenzy of joy. Sinai closed out the final few moments of the match to win the trophy for the second time in row.
The afternoon was finished off with the traditional medal presentation and all teams were sporting as they cheered on their opposition. Matt Travers, Maccabi GB Sports Coordinator, was extremely pleased with the afternoon, "These tournaments provide the young players with a chance to show their abilities in front of their class mates and teachers. It is a more relaxed environment compared to the pressures of a Sunday morning and you can see the enjoyment and excitement on the faces of both the players and their parents".
The next Maccabi GB event is the Year 5 Netball tournament that is taking place on Wednesday 19th November.
To view photos from the day click here