On Thursday 14^th October, nine students from The Harefield Academy were selected to play in the 4^th Academy Cup, hosted by Haberdasher Aske’s Knights Academy in Bromley. The team, made up of Ben Frailing, Kyle Watson, Connor Stevens, Tom Rosenthal, Dennon Lewis, Harry Kyprianou, Jake Knight, Carl Stewart and Alfie Young represented The Harefield Academy.

 

The cup is open to all 27 Academies in the South East of England and is designed to bring all the Academies together in one competition. The Harefield Academy team were placed in a group with Eltham Green Sports College, Harris Academy, Hatcham College, Globe Academy and Isle of Sheppey Academy.

The tournament began with a match against Eltham Green Sports College. The boys began well and won the match 3-0, showing that they were main competitors in the challenge for the cup.

 

 

The second match saw the boys face Isle of Sheppey Academy. The match became an interesting battle with both teams having a number of chances but eventually the game ended 2-1 to Harefield. In the third match against Globe Academy, the Harefield boys were dwarfed by the opposition but managed to maintain their composure and played exceptionally well to win the match 3-0.

 

The penultimate game was against one of the weaker sides in the group, giving the opportunity for the boys to try out different positions and tactics. It ended in another comfortable 3-0 win.  The fifth and final league game saw the boys face Hatcham College. The boys continued their winning streak and, knowing that they were through to the quarter finals, settled for a 2-0 win.

 

The Harefield Academy went through to the quarter finals undefeated as group winners.

 

In the quarter finals, the competition became tougher and the boys needed to step up their game. The match against Maltings Academy successfully ended with a 3-1 victory, granting the boys a place in the semi-finals.

 

The semi-final saw us face the giants from the Globe Academy once more. The boys had confidence from their previous victory against their opposition, and managed to progress through with a 3-1 win. The Harefield boys were now through to the final of the competition.

 

The Harefield boys met with Eltham Green for the final match. They had already had experience with this opposition in the beginning rounds so each team were aware of the challenge ahead of them. Harefield took the lead, but Eltham Green equalised shortly after, taking the match into extra time. Within extra time, both teams had numerous opportunities to no avail. This meant that the game went to penalties, with the final result standing at 3-2 to Harefield. A tense end to a successful day.

 

Congratulations to the boys that took part who played brilliant football and were perfectly behaved.