HEATH LIFT CUP TO ERASE TROPHY DESPAIR!

It was Short Heath’s joy in the evening sunshine at Yardley 5’s on Wednesday as they avenged last November’s Trophy final defeat by edging out Paget in a tense, nerve-wracking penalty shoot-out to lift the ESPSFA Cup.

And akin to the Trophy event, the Cup had twelve entrants with all of the schools enjoying competing in the glorious early summer sunshine.

Group A saw Hillstone impressively through to the quarter finals as winners, with Short Heath runners-up and Abbey in third place. Credit to the other team in the group, Lea Forest, who, following a mix-up, brought along a team solely of girls – we are sure the girls will fare better at the Girls Tournament next Wednesday.

In Group B, Paget were the outstanding team and took first place comfortably, but it was a surprise to see Rosary taking the runners-up spot after a disappointing league campaign. And more surprisingly, neither Yardley or Timberley made the quarter finals – Timberley had a good excuse as most of their team had only just returned from a three-day residential an hour before kick off!

And finally to Group C which turned out to be the proverbial ‘Group pf Death’. St Bernadette’s won the group but in an incredibly tight table, Mapledene just edged second place on goal difference from Abbey – Heathlands were the unlucky to miss out.

Quarter Finals

There were comfortable wins for both Short Heath and Paget who beat Rosary (5-0) and Corpus Christi (4-0) respectively. Hillstone continued their fine form with a 2-0 win over Mapledene, whilst Abbey edged out St Bernadette’s, 2-1.

Semi-Finals

Paget took on an ever-improving Hillstone side, who had brought along their excellent end of season league form with them (having won four out of their last five games) but this was a step too far as Paget earned a place in the final courtesy of a 3-1 win.

Meanwhile, Short Heath saw off a battling Abbey side, 2-0 in an end-to-end and highly entertaining game.

Final

Short Heath 2 – 2 Paget
Short Heath won 5-4 on penalties.

In a repeat of November’s Trophy showpiece, those two great rivals, Short Heath and Paget locked horns once again and they didn’t disappoint. The pace was unrelenting in a frantic and fiercely competitive game with both sides at full pelt. It was Short Heath who took the lead early on though. An unlucky Paget defender touched the ball just inside his own penalty area and from the resulting spot kick Heath were ahead. As the tackles flew in and the temperature rose, Paget hit back to level following a smart, snap-shot finish. There was still no let up and Heath retook the lead after a cool close-range finish following a swift counter-attack. With just under a minute to go, there was more drama as Paget levelled – Heath thought they was an infringement prior to the equalising strike, but the referee’s view was hindered by a player from each side so play continued. With only thirty seconds left to play there was no more time for any further chances, so the destiny of the ESPSFA Cup would be decided by penalty kicks. The initial first three for either side were all cooly converted as were the first two in sudden death, but then Paget saw their next kick roll wide leaving Heath with a kick to win the cup – which they duly did.

Another terrific tournament, high in quality, passion and endeavour, enjoyed by almost one hundred children – it’s what makes the ESPSFA so special!