Under 15's Win Prestatyn Trophy

It may have been a while ago but the Under 15's went to Prestatyn, North wales to compete in an international tournament a few weeks ago and came back with the biggest trophy that the club has ever seen.

Before the tournament the only thing I knew about Prestatyn was it's long golden sand dunes and it being the butt of an old Eric Morcambe joke but apparently it is also the venue for one of those bank holiday football tournaments run by SCI.

The Belles went into the tournament on the back of a long hard season which had seen them finish a very creditable 3rd in the league and also as losing cup finalists.  The trip was a substitute for the intended trip to the David Beckham Academy which had unfortunately closed its doors by the time the fundraising had been completed.

The other teams taking part were Bancffosfelen (Wales) Cupar Violet Girls (Scotland) Banbury United Ladies & Girls FC (Oxfordshire) Greystones (Republic of Ireland) and Worksop Girls (just South of here).  The forecast for the weekend was wet with rainy spells and the occasional downpour, but in true fashion the Met Office managed to get things completely wrong and the sun came out in spectacular fashion.

The Belles were to play 5 matches on each of the 2 tournament days, playing each opponent twice.  Saturday got off to a smashing start with Bancffosfelen as the opening opponents and the belles won that encounter 3-0.  The next match was against Banbury United which proved to be a stiffer test as the teams fought out a goal-less draw.  Match 3 was against Greystones United, who hail from just outside Dublin; they proved to be the tournament stalking horse as the belles won a narrow victory 1-0 to inflict the only defeat of the weekend for Greystones United.  Worksop were next up for the Belles and were duly despatched 1-0 before Cupar Violet Girls became the Belles last opponents of the day fighting out another 0-0 draw.  Day 1 was now complete and the Belles had won 3 and drawn 2 matches to head the table at the half-way point.

Saturday evening saw the obligatory tactics meeting and Dale, Simon and Neil discussed the merits of 4-4-2 or playing a diamond formation... unfortunately Dale didn't have any of those magnetic markers and a tactics board so they had to empty some pint pots and use them (apparently Emma walker was represented by an empty John Smiths glass!) The drinking only stopped when the guys had managed to empty enough glasses to represent the Belles, their opponents and the subs bench, match officials and score tent!

Sunday morning saw the girls take to the field knowing that 5 wins from the day's matches would ensure that they won the trophy and in fact 5 wins may actually be required because Greystones were breathing down their necks and had been beating the teams that the Belles had drawn against the previous day.  The matches were played in exactly the same order and so Bancffoselen stepped up as first opponents again and shipped another 3 goals without scoring.  Banbury got beat 2-0, Greystones managed to fight out a goal-less draw and suddenly the Belles could see a trophy glinting somewhere in the distance... the last 2 matches were Worksop (2-0 win to the Belles) and then the final match for the Belles was against Cupar Violet Girls. With Greystones playing at the same time and the teams only being separated by a single point it's fair to say that nails were being chewed!  Half-time saw the Belles drawing 0-0 whilst Greystones were winning 1-0; scores which if they stayed the same at full time would see the trophy going across the Irish Sea.

Half-time team talk! lots about pride, lots about passion and the girls came out of the blocks flying... the team talk must have done the trick because the final score was 4-0 with 2 goals apiece for Emily Weatherstone (an empty glass of Fosters) and Emma Walker.  This ensured that the trophy was coming to Doncaster.

A thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable weekends football for the Belles with endless opportunities over the next few weeks for Dale to show off his big silver trophy (awarded by Mark Lawrenson who apparently used to be a bit handy at football).

Squad: Emily Weatherstone (4 goals) Emma Walker (6 goals) Jess Walker, Pippa Utley (1 goal) Jess Davis, Amy Rowson (1 goal), Abbie Nightingale, Hayla Stanworth, Charlotte Cork (2 goals) Sophie Foxon-Wise (2 goals) Caitlin Dooley (no goals conceded) Hannah Down.

The final placings in the tournament:

Team Name:       Played:   Won:  Drawn:  Lost:   For:   Against:  GD:   Points:

Belles U15's           10******7*****3*****0***16******0****16****24

Greystone Utd        10******7*****2*****1****8******3*****5****23

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