AIMS U9 and U11 Football Tournament

The Under 11 Boys football team did themselves and BSKL proud at the weekend when they took part in their first football competition in over 2 years.  They have been building up to this competition for a few weeks and the boys had been working really hard in training, perfecting their skills, developing their tactics and building a team spirit.  The boys were feeling confident going into the tournament as the results from the friendly matches that they had taken part in had been impressive. 

 They were placed in group 2 with GIS, Taylors and Alice Smith B and Tenby. Our first match was against one of arch rivals GIS.  The boys started off well and were soon 2 nil up but a slip in concentration let GIS back into the game but they managed to hold on and achieve their first win.  The next game was against Taylors and the boys continued with their strong start and came out winning 2-1.  The boys were looking strong to go straight through to the final. Next came Tenby and the boys started well and were three goals up within 5 mins, the game finished up with a 4 nil win for  BSKL.  So it all came down to the last game, win it and BSKL would go through to the final. The opponents were Alice Smith B, another solid performance and some spectacular football was showcased with BSKL coming out as 3 -1 winner. 

So it was off to the final which was against Alice Smith A.  The boys were a little nervous as they had previously lost to them in a friendly.  It was a good final, with some excellent football on display, especially from Alice Smith's goalkeeper who was keeping them in the game. Unfortunately, it was not their day and despite having the vast majority of possession and chances the ball would not go in and lost 2 - 0.   Naturally, the boys were upset and disappointed, but they will come out stronger from this experience and they can hold their heads up high knowing they played some outstanding football, worked well as a teen and demonstrated fantastic sportsmanship. Well done to all the players and thanks to the parents for the your support. 

The U11 Girls were eager to put their training and preparation into action in their first game against GIS. Despite having a few scoring opportunities, in what was a close fought game, the girls were unable to get the ball into the back of the net. At the final whistle the game ended 1 - 0 to GIS. 

Shaking off their disappointing start, the girls went into their second game against Taylor’s International School eager to score their first goal. Despite dominating possession they were unable to convert their chances into goals and the game finished 0 - 0. 

A similar story continued into game three against Tenby International School where they lost 1 - 0, but then… things began to change in their fourth game against Alice Smith. After a storming run down the middle of the park Garance slotted the first BSKL goal of the day into the back of the net. This resulted in an increase in confidence for the whole team and they went on to win the game 3 - 0. A fantastic result!

The final game of the day ended in a 1 - 0 loss to Help International School and the U11 girls finishing in 8th place overall. 

The U9 boys showed fearlessness and hunger for action throughout the whole competition. Even though it wasn’t the first time that these boys had played together, it was their first time representing BSKL in a tournament outside of home soil!

The first match against GIS was a hard fought win. With new faces on the opposing team, a wonderful half way line freekick by the masterclass Sulaiman, sealed GIS’s fate having earned that freekick with a boot to the face! Even through a challenging morning, the U9 boys dug deep to secure a 1-0 win against the team threy thought would be the toughest opponents.

With a slight shift of attitude, the team started focusing on the offensive against our next opponents Tenby International School. Kicking off with ruthless pressure, and exciting determination, the boys started strong with runners on the left and right side of the pitch taking space and executing precise crossing and shooting. Blinding speeds from Ahmed, Noah, Zander and Mikhail proved to be too much for Tenby International School and the match ended with a comfortable 3-0 win. 

Filled with determination and a hunger for more, the boys were ready to get the next game on the road. Next up were Taylor’s International School. This match had everything, from spectacular finishing from Zander and Ahmed to cool but collected poaching from Akshane. Solidly at the back, John, Pedro and Mikhail were keeping the back line in check ensuring that Adam had as little to do as possible. But in a moment of excitement, after scoring our 3rd goal, TISKL wiggled through BSKL's defense, getting past a little too easily and scoring 1 goal ending the match 3-1.

There they were, onto the finale! Our opponents The International School Park City. With energy levels running low and the heat blazing, the next match kicked off. Tensions were high, and both sides were feeling the pressure adopting defensive strategies, much to the coaches displeasure! Evenly matched on all areas of the pitch, the match ended 0-0 at the final whistle. They were in extra time. An additional 4 minutes! None of them were keen on a penalty shootout and thankfully, with a little bit of luck! A tap in from Zander closed off the pages of the tournament, wrapping it up with BSKL U9 Boys finishing as Champions! 

The BSKL U9 girls managed to win every single match of their tournament without a loss, a draw or even conceding a goal. This is an incredible achievement for a newly formed team, but not a surprise as all the girls have been working hard and training.  

At both ends of the pitch, the team showed incredible organisation and teamwork. At the back, defending the goal, there were Issy, Hannah, Yu Tyng and Yuso. They managed to stop even the strongest teams getting a sniff of the goal. Many people commented on how impressed they were with the girls’ decision making skills: they know when to clear the ball and when to take possession and place a neatly timed ball to the forward players. 

Further up the pitch were BSKL's midfielders and attackers: Angel, Sienna, Iris, Gwen and Leighton. Again, through their intelligence, speed and teamwork they managed to breakdown every defence they encountered. The girls have been working on using space on the pitch and using their pace to run onto passes and score. It was impressive to see how well they worked together to move the ball around the pitch before picking their moment and making a run towards goal. 

They began the morning playing the group games against some very strong teams from Garden International School, Tenby International School and Taylors International school. The girls beat them 3-0, 2-0 and 3-0, respectively. 

That left the team with a final match against another team that had dominated their group stages: Alice Smith International School. It was a hard fought match at the end of a tough tournament, but the BSKL girls managed to break the deadlock half way through the first half. After that, the girls took control of the game and ended up winning 4-0. 

It was a great day and a great result, with every team member playing their role. The majority of the team managed to get assists and Leighton and Iris did an outstanding job of making sure their chances ended up in the back of the net. 

Well done to everyone!