England legend Kevin Keegan softens defeat
BUDDING footballers from Hinckley got to meet a footballing legend when they travelled to Skegness for an Under-9s tournament.
Greentowers Swords Under-9s football team travelled across the East Midlands to take part in the ESF Festival of Football competition which featured 30 teams from all over the country.
Their success in the championship saw them coming second and receiving trophies from former England player and coach and Newcastle United player and coach Kevin Keegan.
The nine boys led by their manager Carl Nicolson, battled hard, playing some amazing football in their first five matches and managed to reach the quarter finals.
They won the quarter final by 3-0 showing superb skills.
The semi-final ended in a draw resulting in a nail-biting penalty shoot out.
After some amazing saves and accurate shooting The Swords won leading them to the final.
A very close and exciting final followed but unfortunately for the swords their opposi- tion scored a goal in the last few minutes of play meaning they had to settle for tournament runners up.
The former England striker and Newcastle coach gave his words of wisdom to the young boys.
He told them to “listen carefully to your coaches, thank your parents for taking you to training and matches” and he said they had made a “great achievement” in the competition.
Manager Mr Nicolson said afterwards that he was “incredibly proud” of the boys achievment.