Arrival and Preparation
St Edmund’s Prep U11A Football Team travelled to Millfield Prep on Saturday 22nd November for the IAPS National Football Finals. The players and their parents stayed locally ahead of an early start on Sunday. Everyone was ready for what promised to be a competitive day of football.
We arrived at Millfield Prep just after 9:30am. There was a huge buzz of anticipation around the grounds. The St Edmund’s Prep squad, parents, coaches and Mr Cartwright prepared for the opening fixtures. Every team had already progressed through tough regional qualifiers across the country.
Group Stage Matches
Our first match at 10:50am was against Bishopsgate School from Egham. The game ended 0-0. Our boys defended superbly and were unlucky not to score.
The second match was a rematch with Brentwood Prep, who had beaten us in the South-East Regional semi-final and later won the round. This time our U11A team showed great determination. They secured a well-deserved 2-0 victory.
Our third group game was against St Thomas’ in Fulham. It finished 0-0 after another strong defensive display.
The final group fixture was against Beechwood Park School from St Albans. They scored late in the match, and we lost 0-1 in what was a thrilling encounter.
Quarter-Final Battle
These results earned St Edmund’s Prep five points and second place in Group D. This was enough to progress to the cup-stage quarter-final against Ewell Castle School from Epsom.
The boys were lifted by fantastic support from the sidelines. The atmosphere was electric on and off the pitch. The match ended goalless and moved into golden goal extra time. With the last kick of the game, Ewell Castle scored a powerful long-range strike to win the tie.
A Proud Achievement
St Edmund’s Prep ended their journey in the quarter-finals. Finishing in the top eight independent schools nationwide is an outstanding achievement. Well done to our U11A football team. What an incredible performance.