Academy’s footballers get a real kick out of dream Italian trip

SPORTING students undertook their own Italian job this summer - with the support of a Government educational scheme.

Chester-le-street-based Park View Academy’s Under-18/under-19 Football Academy, which also makes up Chester-le-street United’s first team, enjoyed an 11-day trip to Milan.

They played three fixtures against Serie C side Pro Vercelli FC’S Under-19 side, FC Lugano of Switzerland in Switzerland and Italy’s under-19 team.

The youngsters acquitted themselves superbly.

They lost narrowly to Pro Vercelli 3- 2, Chester United regulars Jay Gibson and Ryan Muldoon both scoring before the Italians sealed victory in the last minute.

In the second game United/ Park

View beat the Youth side of FC Lugano 2-0 with goals from Joe Malone and Ben Milburn.

Both goalscorers were regulars in the United side in its inaugural year of senior football in the Wearside League in 2020/21 and have since moved to a higher step of the FA structure.

On returning to base camp in Novarello, the travelling party was told it had been offered an unbelievable opportunity to play a friendly game against the Italian under-19 team.

The Italians were also training and preparing at the same facility as their English counterparts finalising their squad for the Under-19

European Championships. The Italian coaching staff and officials had been watching United/park View go through theirtraining and been impressed by what they saw.

The Italians ncluded several players attached to Serie A giants Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.

The Academy lads put in a tremendous performance to earn a 1-1 draw against a team of players who had already started their professional footballing journey.

United/park View’s starting XI faetured ten players who are still at The Academy and one who only left the Academy in March to move to Cheshunt United of the Isthmian League - a Premier a Step Four club which won promotion to step three, The Vanarama National League South, this summer.

That player was Ebenezer Addo, who scored the United/park View goal with a tremendous 25-yard drive which flew into the top corner of the Italian net.

The trip to Italy was made possible thanks to a generous grant from The Turing Scheme.

The scheme is a Government’s programme which provides funding for international opportunities in education and training across the world.