Godwin Glory

THE ESSEX COUNTY 7-a-side finals for London Boroughs saw schools from Barking & Dagenham dominate the top positions. Pride of place went to Godwin who won the girls' title for the first time to qualify for the county play-off later in the season.

Godwin began sluggishly, but were still able to overpower Selwyn Primary from Waltham Forest thanks to skipper Cara Harris's tap-in midway through the game. A 1-0 scoreline was also enough to defeat St Bede's of Redbridge, this time Jodie Moore popped up unmarked to end a flowing move and secure the three points.

Confidence

As confidence grew, William Torbitt (Redbridge) were brushed aside with ease. Chanel Sinclair and Amber Wallace were dominant in defence as Briony Hagger and Harris both netted in a comfortable 2-0 win.

With all to play for, Godwin then faced a showdown with league rivals St Joseph's as both teams challenged for top spot. In a pulsating game, Harris, Hagger and Olamide Odanye all went close but it was St Joseph's who came out on top. Alicia Wells' thunderbolt was parried superbly by keeper Sarah-Louise Sach, but as the Godwin defence hesistated, the St Joseph's taliswoman pounced on the loose ball to steal a 1-0 victory.

Going into the final games, either Barking & Dagenham team could have taken the title. Godwin faced Hallsville of Newham and peppered their goal from start to finish. Hollie Ross enjoyed her best game in a Godwin shirt, but try as they might, the Finnymore Road side were unable to provide a breakthrough as the game ended in deadlock.

Meanwhile, after draws with William Torbit and Selwyn, and a win against Hallsville, St Joseph's fell behind to a well-crafted St Bede's goal. This was enough to leave them stranded on eight points, with Godwin topping the table on ten.

Missed Chances

In the equivalent boys' competition, Evans-Moore Cup winners Hunters Hall opened up against Selwyn and they had to come from behind after a slow start. Daniel Boyce finished off a neat passing move but missed chances meant they had to settle for a point.

Manford were the next opponents as Hall continued to waste a number of goal scoring opportunities and were punished by their opponents' first and only attack. History repeated itself in the next match against a physical North Beckton side. With the borough champions desperate for three points, they pushed bodies forward and were stung on he counter attack to fall to a second 1-0 defeat.

The next game saw a re-run of the Evans-Moore Cup final against St Margaret's. The latter went into the lead with a well worked goal. Hunters Hall leveled things up when Louis Phillips fired home from outside the box. With the game in the balance, an unfortunate ricochet off the referee saw St Margaret's take the lead and they held on despite intense Hunters Hall pressure.

With qualification impossible, Hall finished off their campaign with a outstanding 6-1 win against Our Lady of Lourdes. Daniel Boyce led the way with a superbly taken hat trick, Jesse Amoh and Sam Springall both added individual goals and Louis Phillips rounded things off. It was a fantastic performance tinged with a hint of disappointment at their earlier performances.

However St Margaret's continued to carry the flag for the borough's boys, with three wins, one loss and a draw to finish as runners-up to Manford of Redbridge.

Qualifiers

The overall standings meant that Godwin and St Joseph's progress to the overall county finals, against the qualifiers from the east of Essex in the girls' competition. St Margaret's will join them in the boys tournament, held at the Arsenal Academy Dome in February.

Godwin: Sach, Sinclair, Wallace, Ross, Harris (capt), Moore, Odanye, Hagger