The Prep II football squad were extremely excited about the tournament at the Etihad on Friday. They climbed on the bus full of questions about their forthcoming adventure which, as you can imagine, Mr. Rooney thoroughly enjoyed on the journey there.
We arrived in good time and saw the main stadium as Mr. Rooney parked the mini bus at the indoor training centre next door. We saw some young City players training adjacent to the car park and passed a shed full of mannequins that are used for free kick routines by the City teams.
Our first game was against Rushbrook School. Bridgewater kicked off with Robyn surging past the stationery defence to score in the corner. This pattern continued with Ralphie continuing the procession of goals. The mannequins we walked past in the shed showed more movement than the Rushbrook defence so the score was a triumphant 6-0 victory with Vincent showing well in his first game with some incisive tackles and surges with the ball to set up the Bridgewater attackers.
Our second game was against Gawsworth School who put up a much sterner challenge. Ahmed was called upon several times to make important saves and the defensive partnership of Jaden and Arthur J. was tested over and over again as the opposition surged forward. Bridgewater stood firm with Jai making some incisive runs at centre forward. In the end Bridgewater were pleased with their draw to remain unbeaten.
Our game against Broadfield was a disappointing defeat but special mention has to be made of Neel who saved countless shots in goal showing skill and bravery to keep the score down to a 2-0 defeat. Harrison continued to evolve as an effective defensive midfielder with some strong tackles and clearances. Milo and Alfie also impressed in midfield with their strong desire to win.
Bridgewater finished third after winning their play-off. Arthur W. had an excellent game in goal making some impressive saves and the forward partnership of Robyn and Ralphie flourished again.
Our tournament was over and we will now have to wait twelve months for our next invitation. It will be interesting to see how much the boys have improved when they return to the Etihad.