Morecambe and St Peter’s C of E Primary have been crowned EFL Kids Cup champions for League Two, beating Colchester United’s St John Fisher School 1-0 at Wembley Stadium.
An evenly matched first period sprang into life on the stroke of half-time, when a brilliant piece of skill from Adam Fairclough left his marker bamboozled. He then provided the finish to match, firing home a fierce left-footed effort beyond the Colchester goalkeeper.
Colchester pushed for an equaliser in the second half but failed to make a breakthrough against a stubborn defence, and so it was the youngsters of St Peters who lifted the EFL Kids Cup up in the Royal Box at Wembley.
"They've trained so hard, and worked so hard in every single game since getting together as a new group in September, and they've done absolutely amazingly," said teacher Natalie Knowles.
"It's been massive both in the school and in the community, everyone has been talking about it. We've been striving towards this since September and we've not only got here, but been able to win."
Colchester United (St John Fisher School): 9. Harry Amass ©, 1. Riley Doherty (GK), 6. Joshua Popoola, 7. Eden McNicholas, 10. Charlie Jiggins, 11. Harvey North, 12. Harry Falzon, 17. Evan Bastow.
Morecambe (St. Peter’s C of E Primary School): 8. Oliver Whatmuff ©, 1. Dominic Holden (GK), 3. Noah Jones, 4. Harley Illingworth, 6. Josh Robinson, 7. Adam Fairclough, 9. Scott James Freeman, 10. Alfie Buckley.
About the EFL Kids Cup
Nearly 15,000 youngsters and over 1,800 schools have taken part in six-a-side tournaments organised on behalf of the EFL and EFL Trust, with the 72 EFL clubs firstly split into three divisions, in line with the club’s divisional status, before being again split into two groups, north and south.
The six winners of the northern and southern finals in each respective division are then given the opportunity to be crowned Kids Cup champions at Wembley before their represented division’s Play-Off Final.