It is not often that Ross Juniors are mentioned in the same breath as some of London’s finest football clubs but this weekend they were. After qualifying from the Herefordshire district the Ross Juniors Under 10 girls progressed through the hard West Midlands Regional Finals to earn themselves a place last Saturday at the FA Futsal National Finals in Birmingham. Just 8 teams representing the geographical areas of England qualified for the finals, which was played at the Play Arena in Birmingham.

To get to the finals was a massive achievement and anything after that in the coaches and parents minds was a bonus. The girls though had other thoughts. They were places in a group of 4 with the top two guaranteed a semi final place. First up for Ross was Harvesters Girls FC from St Albans, Ross started brilliantly and won 4-0. The second group match saw the girls pitted against Newhaven Girls FC, again the girls kept possession brilliantly and dominated the play with the score finished 3-0 The final group game saw the girls against Melksham Town FC of Wiltshire,  3-0 win followed and top of the group place secured.

Semi-Finals

Up next for the girls was a semi final against West Ham Girls, Champions of London Futsal. The semi final was very different to the other games, Ross had less possession, the game was feisty and the atmosphere tense. In games like this the goalie and defence came into their own. Penalties looked likely as both teams were a goal apiece until a smart finish with seconds remaining saw Ross win 2-1.

The Final

The final saw Ross play Melksham Town again as they had beaten Boldon CA Girls from South Shields on penalties to qualify. In another tense game Ross controlled the ball and  took a 2-0 lead. Melksham replied with a fine finish with minutes to go. As the clock wound down, the whistle after an entirety went and Ross were FA national champions of England. To put this in achievement the Under 12 girls winners were Tottenham Hotspur, Under 14 AFC Wimbledon and Under 16 Crystal Palace, not bad company to keep!

Carl Roberts coach of the team reflected afterwards, “to qualify for the nationals was a dream but to come here win 5 out of 5 games, play teams from all over England, to beat West Ham and to win the Nationals seems unthinkable. The girls have been quality all year and are such a great friendly bunch to work with and coach, they deserve this.”

Herefordshire FA would like to give Ross Juniors a massive congratulations for their amazing achievement. If you are interested in girls football or futsal please email Joe.Mathias@HerefordshireFA.com

Thanks to Paul Flitney for the write up