On Sunday 13th June, at the University of York, Bootham Futsal Club U12s qualified for the National FA Futsal Youth Cup finals in Birmingham.

The U12s played two matches against Hebburn Town Honey’s from the North East, with the winner being decided by the aggregate score.  The first match was a very tense affair with both sides going close, Molly hit the post for Bootham, and Hebburn struck the bar with a fierce free kick.  It finished 0-0, so all to play for in the last game!

Coach Chris spoke to the players and reminded them to just enjoy the day, forget the event and its outcome, play with a smile!  Well, his words seemed to make the difference, within a minute Bootham should have been in front when Ruby’s shot was brilliantly saved by the Hebburn goalkeeper.  It looked as if the goalkeepers were going to stay unbeaten as both produced save after save to keep the score 0-0.  Just as the coaches were starting to plan for penalties, Ruby got played through and finished expertly to put Bootham 1 up.  Two minutes later Elisabeth somehow managed to hold off 3 defenders and slide the ball under the goalkeeper from the goal line, amazing finish.

Hebburn piled on the pressure and with 2 minutes to go scored a deserved goal, making it 2-1 to Bootham.  The last 2 minutes were played in the Bootham penalty area with Naomi in the Bootham goal making some remarkable stops.  The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough for Bootham as they held on to win 2-1 and book their place in Birmingham!

Coach Chris said afterwards, ‘Wow, what a game, that was tense.  Huge credit to Hebburn for the way they played, the game could have gone either way, it really was that close.  The last 2 minutes seemed to last about an hour, credit to Naomi for the way she played, some fantastic saves today.’

When asked about the finals he said, ‘I don’t expect anything from the finals, being there is enough for me.  We will be playing against 7 of the best teams in the UK, and that’s going to be very hard.  I just want the girls to enjoy the experience.  As a club, we only started in November last year, so to have 2 team at the finals is simply amazing, I am hugely proud of each and everyone one of them.’

The U16s had previously qualified for the National Finals without kicking a ball, when all the opposition either withdrew or were removed from the regional qualifiers by the FA.

So, both teams will play in Birmingham on Saturday 23rd June.  Everyone at the club is buzzing about the results are they really can’t wait to see what happens!

Can the U14s make it a magnificent 3 when they play their qualifier on Sunday 20th at the University of York?  Why not go and offer them your support? Check back here to find out how they got on!

See below for images from a very tense day: