St Albans City Youth F.C.

Annual Six 'A' Side Tournament 2000

Sunday's action was more of a success off the pitch as far as the host club, City Youth, were concerned. The Annual event organised by John Seeby raised nearly £2000 for City Youth. Over 2,000 people turned up to either watch or play for 94 different teams representing 37 clubs from across the region at Sandringham School. The only disappointment was that all 11 of their sides missed out on silverware.

Under 9's  -  The Ben Lacey Trophy

There was something to celebrate in the Under 9 age group as City Youth's A team eased into the semi-finals with three wins from their five games.

The semi-final saw them inflict a first defeat of the day on Whetstone A as Sam Youngs brace gave them a 2-0 win and a place in the final against Michenden A. There was little to choose between the sides and once Nathan Sandiford's goal had been disallowed, the tie went to penalties, where sadly, the young Saints were beaten 5-3. Goalscorers in the A team's successful round robin games were Youngs (2), Sandiford and Barnaby Mayles.

The Under 9 B team fought out goalless draws with Birchwood Rangers B, EDRS Stonegrove and Potters Bar A, but managed to sign off in style with a 2-0 victory over Nascot Wood B, with goals from Harry Fountain and Nick Glasgow.

Under 10's  -  The Gavin Pendred Trophy

Harvesters Under 10's picked up their second trophy of the season as they were the only local side to taste success at St Albans City's annual six-a-side tournament. The A team lifted the Gavin Pendred Trophy after a single strike from Jack Constable gave them a 1-0 win over final opponents Bedmond Echoes. Harvesters have already won the Bushey Friendly League Cup this season and their whole squad played its part as they topped their qualifying group. The semi-finals pitted them against Cuffley Youth A and they needed two fine stops from keeper Daniel Beswick to go through 4-2 after a penalty shoot-out. The scorers for Harvesters were Constable, Callum Chittenden, Harry Cunningham and Andrew Johns. The successful squad was Daniel Beswick, Callum Chittenden, Liam Donovan, Jaymin Perry, Andrew John, Jack Constable, Max Bentley and Harry Cunningham.

While Harvesters swept to success in the Under 10 age group, City Youth's three sides failed to make it past the group phase as the A team picked up only two draws from their four matches and the B team came home third. The B team went down 1-0 to Cassiobury Rangers, drew 0-0 with Herons B and Cuffley A, but did enjoy single-goal successes over Birchwood Rangers A and Newport Pagnell Town, with Andrew Belt and Lee Gibbon grabbing the goals.

Alex Almond gave the C team the perfect start as his goal was enough to beat Harvesters B, but two draws and a defeat sealed their fate. Harvesters B finished one place below them in fifth with one win in five games.

Under 11's  -  The Richard Thomas Trophy

The Under 11 age group provided a stiff test for both St Albans sides, who ended up with only one win between them, the B team beating Brimsdown Rovers B thanks to Jim Byrne's goal. The A team had one of the tightest defences in the tournament, but failed to find the net as they picked up four 0-0 draws before finishing second from bottom in their group.

Under 12's  -  The Joe Horgan Cup

The Under 12's tournament, saw City's C team breeze through their group with four wins and a draw, their first four goals coming from Sam Hatton.

Max Gray, Matt Withers, Phil Adams and Jake Woodley were also on target as they eased into the knockout stages with 2-0 victories over Herons and Boreham Wood Youth. Their opponents in the semi-finals were Boreham Wood A, who they had already beaten in the round robin phase, but a goal two minutes from the end saw Wood turn the tables and take their place in the final. The other three City Youth Under 12 sides failed to make it past the group phase, with the A team finishing fourth, despite beating eventual champions Flitwick Dynamos 1-0. The B team started off well as Tom Clarke scored goal in a 1-1 draw with Potters Bar and Scott Moore's strike beat Caddington B.But two defeats in their last two games left them fourth in the group. Rob Fasani's goal saw the D team start with a win over Potters Bar Green, only for two defeats to seal their fate and eliminate them from the competition.