BARCELONA 2008
A squad of 15 players from the RHC Football Academy headed off to sunny Spain to defend the trophy they had wont he
previous year. In their first game they narrowly won 1 – 0 with a goal from Dingle against Basingstoke Town. Their second game saw Huish play some slick passing football and ‘3G’ pitch to beat Stephensons 7 – 0 with goals from Hayfield (3) Dingle (2) Westlake and Porter. Their third game against Basingstoke Town saw again a very cagey affair with one goal from Cater for Huish separating the teams. A second encounter against Stephensons in their fourth game saw Huish again romp home 7 – 0 with goals from Murray, Hayfield, Dingle (2), Porter, Rowe and Toft. This ensured Huish’s passage to the final to play the winners of Basingstoke Town and Stephensons who had drawn 0 – 0 in their first encounter, against the form book Stephensons won 1 – 0 against a very good Basingstoke side to earn a place in the final.
With the form book thrown out of the window (after all Huish had beaten Stephensons 14 – 0 on aggregate) the final game was set. With a combination of very good tactics from Stephensons playing a drop off defensive game and a lot of nerves from Huish the game ended 0 – 0 after extra time. Huish went on to win 4 – 2 on penalties in quite an amazing final with goals from Porter, Westlake, Dingle and Flatley with a great penalty save from Anson.
The nerves had really got to some players in the final and Stephensons really did a number on Huish – they used on their resources on us dropping off and working extremely hard, making it difficult for Huish to break them down.
The tour was a massive success, with a steep learning curve. It was great to give every player equal playing opportunities to make each individual a real part of the sides success. For the coaching team, Gavin Whitworth, Andy Eisentrager and Ian Tinknell, this was the goal they wanted to achieve – an opportunity for ALL to play a part. For the players, they achieved their goal in retaining their trophy – well done!
Andy Eisentrager
Head Football Coach – Richard Huish College