On Monday, 18th November, the Under 11 As travelled to Aberdour School for the re-arranged London/Surrey ISFA regional competition. Having been rained off in September, the competition took on added meaning as it was the last tournament of the term. With only two qualification places available, the boys understood the only way to extend the season was to reach the final. The group stage matches started well with a confident 3-0 victory over Claremont Fan Court. An impressive display against Shrewsbury House (who had beaten us earlier in the season in the SIS Cup) secured a 0-0 draw. The boys then demonstrated resilience against the hosts Aberdour to win 2-1, despite going a goal down. Completing the group matches with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Greenfield saw us finish 2nd in the group. We only lost out on the top spot due to a one-goal inferior goal difference compared to Shrewsbury House. The top 8 teams progressed through to the quarter-finals. Rokeby took on Downsend and played superbly to win 2-1. In the semi-final, we were paired against Trinity. The conditions were incredibly challenging. The boys showed remarkable character to force an equaliser, with seconds left of the 16-minute match. We went straight to penalties! All three penalties were struck with conviction, sadly for Trinity their second penalty skewed wide. Our 3-1 win on penalties ensured we qualified for the Nationals for the second consecutive year. The regional final saw an excellent game between Rokeby and Parkside with the latter just coming out on top. We’re looking forward to (perhaps) meeting them again at the Nationals at St George’s Park National Football Centre in May 2025.
Many congratulations to the following boys: Sam A, Charlie C (Vice Capt.), Charlie D, Devan J, Joshua L, Oli M (Vice Capt.), Jack R, Max R (Capt.), and Jack White.