Read a match report as the Year 8 boys football team from Macmillan lined up against Trinity Catholic College in the first round of The National Cup.



On a warm October afternoon, Macmillan lined up against Trinity Catholic College in the first round of The National Cup. Initially Macmillan started well with the new central midfield partnership of Owen Ford and Connor Harris breaking up the opposition attacks and centre back Jake Coleman showing authority in commanding his defensive line.

However against the run of play, Trinity took the lead. The tall and powerful centre forward for Trinity found some space for a shot. He struck it well and it sailed over goalkeeper Sam Hurst into the net leaving the keeper with no chance. Minutes later, history repeated itself. Another Trinity player struck a shot from a similar distance with the same result. Clearly Macmillan hadn't learned their lesson. Before 15 minutes had gone, Macmillan found themselves 3-0 down. The aforementioned centre forward capitalised on a weak clearance to again land a long range shot into the net with precision.

Behind by 3 goals, it would have been easy for the Macmillan heads to go down. Maybe one or two did...but not for long.

A key turning point in the game occurred when Trinity were about to take another shot at goal. Connor Harris jumped across to intercept the shot and then set Robert Clark free down the right wing. Rob's speed and skill took him past two defenders to allow a shooting opportunity. His crisply struck drive across the keeper put Macmillan on the scoresheet.

This inspired the Macmillan revival.

Soon after, Macmillan's players were throwing themselves into every tackle and block - determined not to allow Trinity's key players any space to have any more shots at goal. Connor Harris and Owen Ford started to control the midfield. It was the latter who scored Macmillan's second goal. Owen collected Taylor Boyd Stephenson's throw in on the left and – thirty yards from goal - had the vision to hit an unstoppable chip over the opposition keeper.

Perhaps overexcited that they were back in the game, Macmillan made an error in concentration. A careless error in midfield allowed Trinity in to easily score a fourth seconds before the half term whistle.

Half Time: Trinity 4 Macmillan 2

The fourth Trinity goal had dented Macmillan's hopes so soon after they had been lifted. During the interval, the vital importance of scoring the next goal was made clear.

The second half started with Macmillan Academy controlling possession but unable to reduce the deficit. Sam Hurst made some important saves and was helped out by the cross bar to stop Macmillan going even further behind.

Like in the first half, the catalyst for a Macmillan resurgence was a goal from Robert Clark. Running on to a Liam Carling through ball, he jinked inside from the right to finish in the bottom left corner. A Macmillan equaliser followed when Trinity failed to clear a corner and Jake Symmonds reacted first to scramble the ball home from 5 yards.

With the game tied at 4-4 the winner would be the team who wanted it more. As the Trinity players pushed forward for the winner the game became stretched. After Jake Symmonds missed a gilt-edged chance, it seemed the game was heading towards extra time and possibly even penalty kicks.

After having an uncharacteristically quiet game, team captain Charlie O Hara stepped forward to take on responsibility for putting Macmillan in front. Jake Symmonds laid the ball off to him on the edge of the area and his shot looped over the keeper into the net. Ahead for the first time, Macmillan made sure of their advantage and continued to press forward. A superb solo goal from Joe Rouse made it 6 before substitute Adam Campbell provided a cool finish to make it 7 and book Macmillan's place in the next round of the National Cup.

In his post match interview, team manager Mr Reed commented: "I was highly impressed with the resilience and team spirit shown by the players today to come back from 3 goals down. Even when they were trailing, they kept their shape, communicated effectively and encouraged each other. It was a great team performance that demonstrates that the team has potential to have a successful season."

Final Score: Trinity 4 Macmillan 7

Macmillan team: Sam Hurst, Liam Carling, Taylor Boyd Stephenson, Jake Coleman, Jake Smith, Owen Ford, Connor Harris, Rob Clark, Charlie O Hara, Jake Symmonds, Joe Rouse, Adam Campbell, Lewis Baker, Harry Fishlock, Rohan Mortlock.