1st XI Boys' team through to ESFA Final for second year running

Our 1st XI Boys’ football team are celebrating a tremendous 3-0 win on Wednesday that sees them go through to the English Schools’ Football Association Final for the second year running.  

Salopians were out in force for the semi-final played at home against Wilmslow High School, which saw great goals coming from Benj S (S, UVI), Isaac E (Rt, V) and Louis C (I, UVI) that sent them straight through to the ESFA Final. The final is set to take place at Stoke City’s ground, the Bet365 Stadium.

Captain Oscar C (O, UVI) said: “As a squad of players, we are absolutely delighted to reach back-to-back ESFA finals. After such a battling performance in Torquay we wanted to make sure we backed that game up with a great performance on Senior in the semi-final. We knew that if it became a physical contest, we would struggle against a strong Wilmslow side, but we always backed our technical ability and we were confident we could be the better team. 

“As captain I was so pleased with how we controlled possession of the ball as well as competing out of possession. We created a large number of chances and on another day, we could have won by a bigger score line. We scored 3 quality goals through Benj, Isaac and Louis and defended our penalty area with a great desire to keep a clean sheet.   

“We want to thank everyone who came out to support and it was great to play well in front of so many Salopians, who were an amazing crowd on the day. We can’t wait to play a second final at Stoke City and hope to use last year's experience and go one step further to win the first ESFA U18 title for the school.” 

Director of Football, Steve Wilderspin, added: “We are so pleased for this group of players that they have reached the final after another terrific run in this competition.  

“As a team we have played some of our best football in this competition and the semi-final was an example of this. We dominated possession generally and created numerous chances throughout the game. The result is always the most important thing in a semi-final, but to be able to play in such commanding and composed fashion way was satisfying for us as a coaching staff. The lads executed the game plan brilliantly and can now look forward to another day out at Stoke City.  

“As always it will be about enjoying the experience, as these opportunities don’t come around very often. That said, we hope to use the experience and disappointment of last year to make us that much better prepared this year.” 

Watch highlights of the winning semi-final game below.