Rainham School for Girls win southern regional finals in U13 Girls Cup
Last Friday saw the girls from Rainham School for Girls travel to MK Dons FC to represent the Gills in the Southern England Regional Finals of the npower Football League U13 Girls Cup.After their impressive display at the Area Finals where they didn’t lose a game and convincingly beat Charlton in the final, they were within a couple of hours of booking a place at Wembley, all they had to do was overcome teams from Bristol Rovers, Ipswich and Bournemouth.
The tournament was held at MK Dons indoor training facility and home to the first team. The four teams would play each other twice in a round-robin format; the two teams topping the group at the end would then play each other in the final.
The girls were feeling the nerves as they stepped up for their first game but these were soon subdued as they took an early lead against Bristol Rovers and followed it up shortly after with another well worked goal.
Next up to face the Gills were Ipswich, who looked ready for a battle. The girls again took an early lead and were brimming with confidence against tough opposition and at the final whistle the girls had secured a well deserved 2-1 win.
In the Bournemouth game the girls again scored first, but an error at the back saw Bournemouth bring it back to 1-1. Hearts were in mouths when Bournemouth scored a second but it was disallowed and the game finished a draw.
After a short break the games continued and saw the girls beat Bristol Rovers 3-0 and Bournemouth 2-0.
They lost to Ipswich 2-0 , however this still meant that the girls topped the group and would face Ipswich in the final.
With the chance of playing at Wembley at stake, the girls started of strong against Ipswich, scoring in the first few seconds. The girls continued to dominate and quickly doubled the lead and were now in full flow, scoring another two before the final whistle sounded and the dream of playing at Wembley became a reality.
Before this could sink in the girls were presented with their medals and winners plaque to a massive round of applause. The girls will now be off to Wembley to play before the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final on Sunday 7th April and will face the Northern winners who are representing Derby County FC.
Congratulations to Millie Waud, Keasha Lemar, Miriel Taylor, Hollie Chapell, Eryn Killian, Hannah Tyler and Charlie Hudson and their teachers who were an absolute credit to their school, the girls never stopped smiling and played with great spirit and determination and thoroughly deserved to win on the day.
We wish them the very best of luck at Wembley and we will let you know how they get on.