Boots on other Fut as squads do battle
INAUGURAL FINALS ARE A CLASS ACT WITH PUPILS
DURHAM County Schools FA staged the inaugural County Futsal Finals at Sport Central, Northumbria University.
Throughout the 2017-18 season Chester-le-Street SFA, Bishop Auckland SFA, East Durham SFA and Gateshead SFA staged intra-association competitions at under-12, under-14 and under-16 level to provide representatives for the finals.
In the under-12 competition Tanfield School and Cardinal Hume School met in the decider after respective semi-final wins over Durham Johnston and Shotton Hall.
When Cardinal Hume met Tanfield in the quarter-finals of the Crompton and Harrison Cup earlier in the season the Gateshead school ran out 9-3 winners and went into this final as favourites.
However, Tanfield performed extremely well and were clinical in front of goal as they cruised to a 7-1 win to become the first under-12 county futsal champions.
In the under-14 competition Whickham School and North Durham Academy reached the final with last-four victories over Staindrop and Shotton Hall Academy.
The finalists were evenly matched with very little between the two sides - but it was Whickham who managed to see out the closing minutes and edge the game 5-4.
The under-16 matches were very competitive with lots of technical ability on display.
It was North Durham Academy who triumphed with an 8-4 success against Staindrop and a 7-4 verdict against runners-up Heworth Grange School.
Both North Durham Academy and Heworth Grange have been working with FA National League club Durham Futsal Club over the last 12-18 months to develop the game in their curricular and extracurricular programmes.
Organiser Bruce Vause said: “Across all three age groups there were impressive performances, some fantastic goals and a lot of outstanding goalkeeping.
“The games were played at a fast pace and players displayed a lot of technical quality to deal with the ball under pressure in tight areas of the court.
“This all bodes well for the future of the sport in a schools setting.”
Tanfield, Whickham and North Durham Academy will all progress to the regional round of the FA Youth Futsal Festival in May, where they will represent Durham FA.
DCSFA would like to thank the competition sponsors The Education Network for providing the finalists with medals and to Inspiro Futsal for donating the match balls.
Thanks also go to Laura Pye at Durham FA for helping to provide the match officials and to Phil Hunter and the staff at Northumbria University Sport for providing a world-class facility for the Finals.
Futsal is a five-a-side game normally played on a flat indoor pitch with hockey-sized goals and a size four futsal ball with a reduced bounce.
It is played to touchlines and all players are free to enter the penalty area and play the ball over head height.
Games are of 20 minutes per half with time-outs permitted.
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