St Wulstan’s & St Edmund’s Catholic Academy Triumph at PLPS U11 Girls Football National Tournament
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Prior to the national tournament, the girls of St Wulstans & St Edmunds Catholic Academy who represented Fleetwood Town Community Trust, competed at the regional finals held at Wigan Athletic Community Trust in March after being successful at the local competition against other primary schools across Wyre & Fylde.
The day at Wigan would see the girls go unbeaten in the regional finals (W9, D2) which confirmed them as champions, and they would go on to represent Fleetwood Town Community Trust at the nationals in Brentford! You can find below the results where they managed to score a massive 39 goals and only concede 3!
Regional Results at Wigan Athletic Community Trust:
Fleetwood Town 3-1 Morecambe
Fleetwood Town 6-0 Stockport County
Fleetwood Town 4-0 Tranmere Rovers
Fleetwood Town 4-0 Wrexham
Fleetwood Town 3-0 Altrincham
Fleetwood Town 4-0 Blackpool
Fleetwood Town 5-0 Bolton Wanderers
Fleetwood Town 1-1 Crewe Alexandra
Fleetwood Town 4-0 Everton
Fleetwood Town 1-1 Wigan Athletic
Fleetwood Town 2-0 Liverpool
Fast forward 3 months later, the day the girls have been waiting for finally arrived. It was all aboard the coach and off we went for our trip down to Brentford for the girls to hopefully bring back the PLPS Girls Football trophy! The girls were waved off by the whole school who cheered them good luck whilst waving purple flags in recognition of their school uniform.
The tournament which consisted of 20 teams, was split into 4 groups of 5 teams. The girls group consisted of Manchester United, Derby County, Stockport County & Middlesborough. The girls were unplayable on the day and went UNBEATEN once again to lift the trophy and be crowned champions! Find below more details on the games and their journey on becoming champions:
Group Stage:
Game 1: Fleetwood Town 2-0 Stockport County
Our first game saw us come up against Stockport County who we played in the regional finals. This was 1stv 2nd so we knew this was going to be a tough game. The girls came out fighting from the first whistle and saw them cruise to a 2-0 win! We knew from here that this was a sign of good things to come! Goals came from
AI and OW
Game 2: Fleetwood Town 2-0 Manchester United
Every game from now we didn’t know what to expect unlike Stockport who we had played prior to the Nationals. This was added motivation to the girls who didn’t let the unknown stop them from cruising to a successive 2-0 win! The girls were immense everywhere on the pitch and cancelled out any opportunities for the opposition! Goals scored from
VF and SB
Game 3: Fleetwood Town 4–0 Derby County
After early pressure from the opposition, the girls didn’t let this phase them! The first goal came after the 5-minute mark and from there, it was all Fleetwood Town which saw them score another 3 leading to a comfortable 4-0 win! A truly magnificent attacking performance with the girls being so clinical with their chances in front of goal. Goals scored from:
OW (2), AI and VF
Game 4: Fleetwood Town 1-1 Middlesborough
Fleetwood Town continued their great football into their final group game but received their first scare of the tournament by going 1-0 down. The first goal they conceded of the tournament which by all means is still very impressive! Chances came one after the other and with 1 minute to spare, we managed to finally convert one and salvage a point! Goal scored from:
SB
From the group stage the girls were going into the semi finals in great form scoring 9 and only conceding the 1. Next up for the girls was Cheltenham…
Semi Final
With only four teams remaining, the girls knew they had to give it their all playing against another team who finished top of their group! That’s exactly what the girls did with instant early pressure. It was all Fleetwood from the first whistle and within 3 minutes, Fleetwood took an early lead.
This settled any nerves if there was any, and we were given a performance just like the one against Derby which ended up with the girls scoring 2 more and coming out with a comfortable 3-0 win! This was just the performance needed going into the final.
Fleetwood Town v Norwich was the confirmed final!
Goals scored from:
AI x2 and MF
Final
The moment finally arrived! The girls were pumped up and ready to walk out of the tunnel of Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, proudly waving the Fleetwood flag in their hopes to make history by achieving something that has never been accomplished by a Fleetwood primary school!
In the final we were given a very even and open game which was always going to be the case as the best two teams of the day were competing against each other for the trophy. It was no surprise in the end that both teams failed to convert chances which took us into extra time. Both sets of teams only had 3 minutes to avoid going into a penalty shootout! Fleetwood Town managed to seal the trophy by getting a second goal with just 20 seconds remaining after great pressure from OW who stole the ball from Norwich’s defender and slotted it away nicely into the bottom left corner!
FLEETWOOD TOWN WERE CROWNED AS PLPS U11 GIRLS FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!
This was truly a day to remember not only for us a Community Trust, but more importantly for the girls at St Wulstans & St Edmunds Catholic Academy. Their hard work has paid off and they deserved nothing less. Find below a selection of quotes from staff, parents, and children on their experience of the day:
Corey Patterson, PLPS Co-ordinator at Fleetwood Town Community Trust:
“Supporting the girls of St Wulstans and St Edmunds Catholic Academy has been an experience I will never forget. After just falling short last year to them becoming champions this year truly is remarkable! I have never seen a team play football the way that they do. The chemistry and the way they read the game at such a young age is very impressive and it evident when I watch them play. They truly are a joy to watch, and they deserve nothing less! They are a credit to their school and should be extremely proud of themselves for making history in Fleetwood. I know they will go on to achieve big things in life, whether it being in football or not. I would like to give a shoutout to the PL team and everyone involved at Brentford FC. The tournament was organised perfectly with all the girls enjoying playing football aswell as the activities put on throughout the day. I would also like to shout out Simon Clough who is the PE Lead/ Coach at the school. He has been working with these girls for years and their hard work has finally been rewarded! You are an amazing teacher and well respected by the girls. My final shoutout is to the parents. You have raised incredible children, and the trip wouldn’t have been so easy to organise on my behalf if it weren’t for your amazing fundraising. Finally, I would just like to finish by saying congratulations from myself and everyone here at Fleetwood Town Community Trust. We will never forget this! Good luck in your next adventures and most importantly high school! Go smash it!
Simon Clough, PE Lead/ Sports Coach at St Wulstans & St Edmunds Catholic Academy:
“There is no higher accolade a Primary School Team can achieve, and we are so lucky to have had this fantastic group of year 6 girls. The girls play total football, it cannot be described any other way! They pass the ball in such a way that they dominate games, and every single player is involved. Over the regional and national finals, they scored 53 goals and conceded 4. They truly are a team!
On a personal level as their teacher and coach, It has been a pleasure to help nurture their talents over the last 5 years, obviously with a massive input from their external clubs (Mainly Fylde Coast Soccer who they all play for), and it is the highlight of my career so far! I am so proud of them and to put the icing on the cake they are genuinely lovely group of girls who show incredible sportsmanship on and off the pitch!”
SB, Player for St Wulstans & St Edmunds Catholic Academy:
“I didn’t think I would ever get the opportunity to play at a premier league ground at such a young age, it was always my dream from the start of my football journey. It was amazing and a dream come true.”
Kelly B, Parent of SB:
“We cannot express how incredibly proud we are of Sienna and the team. They had the belief and talent to win the tournament. Not to forget the crazy gang of parents, siblings, teachers, and a special mention to Corey from FTFC, that was all there to support them. This was an amazing experience and one we will NEVER forget. Just wish we could do it all again!”
Emma McElhinney, Parent:
“From start to finish the whole experience was incredible, the kids at school forming a guard of honour and chanting for the girls as they boarded the coach, sending them on their way bursting with positive vibes. The long journey there with all the fun along the way and our night’s stay too!
We were blown away when we arrived at the stadium the next morning, the atmosphere was totally uplifting and exciting and the girls absolutely relished in it, the 7 of them cool as cucumbers, played their calm, tactful and technical games. The final was immense! To win the regional finals was amazing and then travel to London and see her play her part in the team, for the team to become NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! I’m still struggling to find words – so proud to see my girl and all her teammates on that pitch.
Said it before and I will say it again, I will never, ever, ever, EVER forget this experience.”
Below you can find a gallery of some snapshots taken on the day of the girls in action!
