Rainham School for Girls to contest npower Girls Cup Final at Wembley Stadium
This weekend the team from Rainham School for Girls will step out on to the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium to play in the National Final of The npower Football League Girls Cup against Woodlands School, who are representing Derby County.The team will be treated to back stage access when they are given a tour of the stadium on Saturday, they will then have an overnight stay before embarking on the opportunity of a lifetime on Sunday when they play before the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy between Crewe Alexandra and Southend Utd.
The team have progressed from the local stages of the competition, which the Community Trust held back in November, when they put on an impressive performance, winning all their games and beating Westlands School 3-1 in the final.
Prior to the Area Finals the team took part in a training session at PlayFootball in Gillingham with Gills very own Assistant Manager, John Schofield. John put the girls through their paces and gave some last minute words of advice for the Area Finals.
At the Area Finals the team faced other winning schools representing AFC Wimbledon, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Dagenham and Redbridge, Leyton Orient, Millwall and Southend.
The team again showed their quality, drawing their first game against Leyton Orient before beating Millwall and Southend to set up a semi-final against Dagenham, which they won 1-0.
The final saw the girls face the team from Charlton, the Gills came out strong and scored two early goals, they then continued to dominate and were unlucky not to score more. As the seconds ticked down the girls remained focused and disciplined to see out their victory and win the finals and a place at the Regional Finals.
In preparation for the Regional Finals the girls again received some extra training when they attended our Girls Centre of Excellence to train with our squads and England International Steph Houghton surprised them with a visit at their school.
The Regional Finals took place at MK Dons indoor training facilities and home to their first team. Here the team faced schools representing Bristol Rovers, Ipswich and Bournemouth and had to play each team twice with the top two teams playing in the final.
Again the girls showed their class winning four and drawing one, meaning their topped the league and would face Ipswich in the final, which the girls dominated, winning 4-0 and securing there place at Wembley.
Congratulations to Millie Waud, Keasha Lemar, Miriel Taylor, Hollie Chapell, Eryn Killian, Hannah Tyler and Charlie Hudson and their teachers who have been an absolute credit to their school and I’m sure you join us all in wishing them the very best of luck at the National Finals.