College soccer stars claim title hat-trick
IN a first for Hopwood Hall College’s Football Academy, their first team retained the FA Cat 2A Premier League title for the third consecutive year.
The team beat other colleges such as Burnley College, Lancaster and Morcambe College and Salford City College to clinch the title in the last game of the season away at the Welsh college, Coleg Menai.
Elsewhere, Hopwood Hall’s third team claimed their own league title too, despite competing in a league made up of other colleges’ first and second teams.
Hopwood Hall travelled to Coleg Menai knowing that a loss would mean leaving the title in the hands of their Welsh rivals and the two games they had in hand.
The pressure to succeed was evident in the dominant play by Hopwood, Menai’s keeper being forced into save after save.
The score stayed at 0-0 until Hopwood Hall’s Reece Axon turned his defender in the opposition area and slotted away on the stroke of half-time.
Hopwood Hall started the second half with the same attacking intensity, that was rewarded two minutes in as Adam Knott made it 2-0, quickly followed by a headed goal from captain Ben Matthews.
It was then the turn of Hopwood Hall’s top scorer, Jake Frost, in his final league game for the College. Frost received the ball, spun off his marker, dribbled past two defenders and placed the ball in the bottom corner to spark wild celebrations from his teammates and make it 4-0 to Hopwood Hall.
Coleg Menai refused to give in, scoring the 60th minute and again in the 75th.
This gave the Welsh side belief, six minutes from time they scored again to make it 4-3 and setting up a tense final five minutes.
But Hopwood Hall regained their composure, seeing out the game to become champions once again and maintain a title run stretching back to 2015.
Football Academy head coach Rob Johnson, said: “I can’t emphasise how great an achievement this was. With players missing through injury over the final few weeks, the second team players that had to step up to the first team did an amazing job.
“This really was a team effort and a win for the whole Hopwood Hall College Academy, not just the first team. I am so proud of the boys.”