It’s not just Crystal Palace who are winning football trophies every time they reach a final. Last week, the under-15 boys’ team from Riddlesdown Collegiate won two English Schools cups, in finals played just 14 hours apart.
Celebrations: the Riddlesdown players celebrate the decisive goal that clinched their first final win last Thursday
Riddlesdown is where Kate Moss went to school. Now, the Croydon secondary is producing model footballers.
With the finals of two competitions both played at Stoke City’s Bet365 Stadium, Riddlesdown won the first, the English Schools’ FA EA Sports FC Futures Boys’ Under-15 Elite Schools’ Cup, by beating St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Academy from South Tyneside, 1-0.
That game, played in sweltering heat, finished around 7.30pm last Thursday, May 21.
Less than 14 hours later, bright and early at 9am on Friday, May 22, Riddlesdown’s footballers were back on the pitch to face St Peter’s Catholic High School, Gloucester, in the English Schools’ FA’s EA Sports FC Futures Boys’ Under-15 Schools’ Cup.
Riddlesdown won emphatically 7-0 – the biggest margin of victory in a final in the history of the competition for a magnificent double.
Concerns had been raised before the games about the “bizarre” scheduling. Worries about player welfare were increased by the unseasonably hot weather.
Trophy one: Thursday night in Stoke, and Riddlesdown’s under-15s won 1-0
The first game, on Thursday evening, looked to be heading for penalties. Riddlesdown had dominated proceedings but hadn’t been able to find a breakthrough.
Then, deep into added time, a lovely move saw captain Emilio Brazier thread a pass through to Cody Cole who slotted a left-foot finish into the bottom corner. Chaotic scenes of celebration ensued with summersault celebrations from the goal scorer.
The game barely had time to restart before the referee blew the final whistle. Riddlesdown players leapt over the advertising hoardings into the crowd to join their travelling supporter school mates who had been a 12th player for the team with drums, flags and non-stop chanting.
But with another final to come the following morning, the celebrations could not last too long, as it was back to the team hotel for pizza and ice baths.
Riddlesdown’s history-makers
Here’s the schoolboy footballers who won an historic double
1 Freddie Sturges
2 Jacob Kamalagharan
3 Shayne Anderson
4 Emmanuel Isangi
5 Filip Markowicz
6 Sidney Sonnex
7 Reuben Addison
8 Emilio Brazier (c)
9 Cody Cole
10 Ethan Agyen
11 Elijah Burke
12 Jack Pinter
14 Joshua Loxston
15 Harrison Mackaskill
16 Taejahn Valentine
17 Bobby Locke
24 Jake Faux
26 Nathan Antwi
After eight hours’ sleep, the team were back at the Bet365 at 8am to warm up for the second final.
The early exchanges against St Peter’s gave no indication of the goal-glut to come. St Peter’s even hit the bar early on, but Riddlesdown settled into the game and were awarded a penalty in the 19th minute, after Jack Pinter was fouled. Cole duly scored from the spot..
Trophy two: after barely 14 hours to rest and recuperate, Riddlesdown Collegiate’s under-15s came back to the Bet365 Stadium to register a record 7-0 win
Riddlesdown doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time as player of the match Josh Loxston found space and drilled a shot to the far side of the net beyond the keeper’s reach.
Loxston netted his second a minute after the restart, calmly diverting the ball home after a pass from Harrison Macaskill. Half-time: 3-0.
In the 51st minute, Loxston completed a sensational 10-minute hat-trick by lashing the ball inside the near post to make it 4-0.
Bobby Locke made it 5-0 after some ping-pong in the area, sending the ball into the roof of the net.
Ruben Addison fired home the sixth from just inside the area in the 76th minute after latching on to a poor clearance.
Jack Pinter completed the rout to make it 7-0 in the 79th minute after more good work from Cole.
“It’s unbelievable,” Riddlesdown Collegiate’s director of sport, Paul Langan, said after the second match.
“We set out at the start of the year just to reach one final. Today, we knew would be a challenge. For 25 minutes I was very nervous. We looked really tired. And then they found this second energy and did what we’ve done all year.
“And that’s coming together as a team and they deserve to be double national champions. It’s amazing!
“I’m very lucky to have such a versatile team. Many of the boys can play in different positions, which is why they have been so successful.
“They came to do the double. With two games so close to each other we had to prepare well. They’re so dedicated and that’s why I am so glad that they get this moment.
“The boys have come close in the past, with quarter-final and semi-final appearances in these competitions. But this year they’ve really gelled. The commitment, dedication and progression they’ve shown over the last four years together as a team has been rewarded with this unbelievable achievement.
“I’m so pleased for them and their parents who have been so supportive.”
In the ESFA EA Sports FC Futures Boys’ Under-15 Schools’ Cup, which attracted entries from 663 schools nationwide, schools may field a maximum of three players who are registered with a professional club academy. In the Elite Schools’ Cup, there is no restrictions on the calibre of players used in the teams.
Whoever replaces Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park could do worse than send a scout down to Riddlesdown over the summer, or give Mr Langan a call.
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An amazing achievement. It would appear that Riddlesdown’s opponents didn’t have a prayer.
Riddlesdown actually won a treble as the U15 girls also won the Sisters in Sport football national Cup on the same day!