After months of preparation it’s all over!
Eleven teams progressed from the CYP Regional competition to compete in the Ambition 5-a-side National Championships.
Teams from Holy Family Youth Club, Glen Parent Youth Club, Lisburn Ladies FC, Willowbank Youth Club and New Mossley Youth Club traveled over to play at the Powerleague Soccer Dome in Manchester.
With over 60 teams entered across all the age groups it was always going to be a long day and tough competition. Despite having no winners from the CYP Northern Ireland clubs we did have some good results and excellent performances from the young people involved.
In the U12 Boys, Willowbank YC and Holy Family YC met each other in the semi-final, with Willowbank progressing to the final, where they lost out 1-0 in a very close, competitive game. The U12 girls also saw Lisburn Ladies make the semi-final, where they narrowly lost to the eventual winners.
The U14 Girls saw Glen Parent YC make the semi-final, where due to fatigue and injuries they had to withdraw. This was the girls first year playing together, and with many of them still eligible for the U14 competition next year the team can still take a lot of positives from their performance. While the Glen Parent and New Mossley U14 Boys failed to make it out of what were very tough groups.
The U16 Girls event saw Lisburn Ladies finishing runners-up, after some very tight and competitive games. Willowbank, Holy Family and New Mossley all had teams entered in the U16 Boys.
Well done to everyone who traveled over for the event, and thanks to Ambition for hosting the competition and to all the other teams for making it such a good weekend. We’ll be back next year!