Holland Tour 2008 review part two

Under-12s

Boston United Centre of Excellence journeyed to Holland last week for the Amsterdam Cup. Under-12s coach Richard Houghton details how his side fared during the tournament…

SQUAD: Steven Kettle (gk), Louie Allen, Jack Blackbird, Aston Capes, Aaron Eyett, Charlie Garrick, Darren Glanville, Louis Holland, Curtis Jackson, Joe Leftley, Alex Nichols.

The under-12s team were allocated a group comprising four other teams, all of which were from the Netherlands. The other teams in the group were De Germaan, Hvv Dsk, Fc Abcoude, RCL. The games were played in Zsgowms, a junior football club which is in Amsterdam.

Boston United won the first game again De Germaan 3-0 and continued their winning streak through their second game against Hvv Dsk, which finished 1-0, a score which was replicated in the next game against Fc Abcoude.

The final game against RCL ended as a draw after neither team conceded a goal. These scores meant that the Boston United under-12s topped the league with 10 points, after scoring five goals and conceding no goals throughout the games.

The A group final was made up of the teams which finished first and second, and the B group final was the teams which finished third, fourth and fifth in the competition. The A group final was further subdivided into two groups AA and AB, with the team that finished first in each group going straight into the final, while the team which finished second went into the third/fourth play-off final.

As Boston United won their initial group, they progressed straight to the final group AA, with their first match seeing their winning streak continuing, 1-0 against RSKV HBC.

However, in the second game, Boston United played RSKV DCG and lost 2-1, with the heavy rain and bad playing conditions impacting largely on the game. The next game against Rusthall FC saw United lose 1-0, largely due to the depleted confidence levels following the previous tough game. The final game saw Boston return to their previous winning form and beat Wortley Juniors 1-0.

These scores in the final group AA meant that United finished second, meaning that we played in the third/fourth play-off final against Avv Zeeburgia 3, who finished second in final group AB. This game finished 1–0 to Boston, which meant we finished third overall out of 25 teams, enabling us to bring home a trophy. The games lasted 20 minutes and were 11-a-side.

A special mention must go to the 11 boys who played for Boston United throughout this tournament. Having no substitutes, the team showed great strength and commitment, playing through injuries and other developments, which in an ideal situation would have resulted in a player being given a break.

Aaron Eyett finished the top goalscorer for Boston United, scoring four goals throughout the tournament, with both Aaron and Ashton Capes scoring two outstanding goals apiece.

The feedback from the players following the tournament was positive, stating it was a great tour and they hoped to do it again, and that they were ecstatic to win a cup.

All the boys enjoyed the tour and from a coach’s aspect, they showed great levels of professionalism and determination, remaining positive and were a credit to Boston United as a whole.

Boston United would like to thank Bakkavor Pizzeria, East Coast Culverts, Allseas Cargo, Castle Mouldings, Anglian Water Kesteven Sports and Social Club and Tesco Boston for their support of Holland Tour 2008.