Sports Report

Football Round-Up November 2009

Ashmount's stars earn their stripes!

Ashmount Girls' Football Team picked up the first trophy of the year when in torrential rain and blizzard-like conditions they were victorious in the Islington Primary Schools Girls' 8-a-side Cup.

However, after their first qualifying game they looked all but out when they went down to St Mary's 1-0. Things didn't get any better when they drew 1-1 against Sacred Heart Primary, with Captain Emily Turner scoring her first goal of the day. With two games to go the girls needed two wins to have any chance of qualifying, and despite bombarding the Tufnell Park goal a draw seemed unlikely until Captain Fantastic Emily popped up with a last minute goal to earn a precious 1-0 victory. The last game was a decider against Thornhill but turned out to be the most one-sided game of the day, as Ashmount inflicted a five-goal blitz with Emily notching a hat-trick and her twin sister Tess scoring two.

Barring a major disaster, Ashmount by virtue of goals scored had qualified for the Finals Day. This was confirmed as Ashmount finished top of the group, and were returned as one of the six finalists.

With the six schools divided into two groups, Ashmount’s first game saw them take on Yerbury, who were brushed aside quite easily with Jade Mohammed scoring her first goal of the day and Emily two to secure a 3-0 win. Having already qualified for the semi-final it was important to top the group and this was assured when Jade and Emily again found the back of the net in a 2-0 win over Hanover.

In the semis Ashmount were drawn against St Jude's and St Paul's in what turned out to be a titanic tussle. Ashmount dominated the early stages with Gemma Cooper and Tseghaunah Dawit driving the team forward. The pressure paid dividends when a shot from Jade was dropped by the keeper and turned into the net by Emily. St Jude's didn’t sit back but pressed forward and looked to have equalised until Lashai Modest's athleticism and reflexes saved a certain goal with the save of the tournament. In the second half the game was end-to-end but fine defending from Sharnell Cox-Gayle and Muna Sharif ensured a spot in the final for the girls with a hard fought 1-0 win.

Ashmount’s opponents in the final were Hanover, whom we had already defeated in the group game. Despite words of not taking anything for granted, you could sense an air of confidence and professionalism flowing through the team. This was highlighted as two first-half goals from Jade and Emily all but sealed victory. Hanover tried hard but in the end Ashmount were far too strong and justified their success, which was sealed as the final whistle blew.

All the credit must go to the girls who performed admirably in horrible weather conditions. They showed great character, attitude and teamwork to ensure they would return to school victorious, and as the week went on their confidence grew and the team gelled together. A special mention to Ashmount’s Year 5 girls Emily and Tess Turner, who stood out thanks to their skill, fitness and all round footballing ability. Emily finished top scorer for the whole week with nine goals, while Tess was often the creator for her sister.

I‘d like to thank the parents who braved the miserable conditions and also Power Plate for again making our girls the envy of all the other schools, thanks to the wonderful-looking kit.

Squad: Lashai Modest, Muna Sharif, Sharnell Cox-Gayle, Gemma Cooper, Tess Turner, Emily Turner, Tseghahuna Dawit, Jade Mohammed, Lauren Hopson, Anna Sumner, Derya Inkaya and Eleanor Fullan-Smyth.

Boys' News

Ashmount’s boys were unfortunately not able to match the girls’ achievements in the boys’ equivalent, despite qualifying for the finals day as well with 2-1, 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Sacred Heart, Robert Blair and Blessed Sacrament.

On the day the boys were drawn in the toughest group, and were defeated 1-0 by both St John's HV and Pooles Park. A 0-0 draw with Hanover was not enough for the boys to go through - but it was a fine effort considering that the squad contained three Year 5 boys and also that the eventual finalists were St John's HV and Pooles Park.

Islington Primary Schools League

The boys’ first game in the Islington Primary Schools League was a thriller, with Montem providing the opposition. Despite a Joel Hylton hat-trick, we were unable to secure the win and a last-minute equaliser from Montem meant the game ended honours even.

Their next game saw Wilfie White’s goal decide an evenly contested game against Tufnell Park. Both sides could have won the game, but we came out eventual winners thanks to some fine goalkeeping from Archie Weir and excellent defending from Eucane Bezera and Bobby Shillibeer.

Our girls kept up their fine start to the season with a 1-0 victory over Tufnell Park’s girls. Hot-shot Jade Mohammed kept up her fine scoring run with a clinical finish to settle the game and send Ashmount home with all the points. This was followed up with a convincing 4-0 victory over Yerbury. Two goals from Tess Turner and strikes from Jade Mohammed and Emily Turner secured the points for Ashmount’s girls.

Salman Ali