ISFA Under-15 Knock-Out Cup

Date: Tuesday 13 November 2007

A month ago the St Edmund's Under-15 team trudged from the pitch at St Bede's, utterly ashamed by a performance which had left them on the wrong end of a 0 - 6 thrashing.

Today, in the round of the last 16 of the Rensburg-Sheppard sponsored ISFA Cup, the tables were turned after an afternoon of high drama in which St Edmund's reached an unprecedented quarter-final stage of a nationwide competition, thanks to a 4 - 3 win on penalties, after the tie remained level at 0 - 0 after extra time had been played.

St Edmund's were outstanding for 25 minutes, not allowing St Bede's to settle into any rhythm, and dominating the game. As legs tired, the pace of the game inevitably slowed, and the visitors worked their way back into an increasingly scrappy second-half and extra time. Only an amazing save by William Marsh, in the last minute of that extra time prevented St Bede's from sneaking in at the 'death'.

In the shoot-out, we missed penalty 3, and they missed 4 and 5, and so St Edmund's were through to the quarter-finals, the draw for which will take place on Thursday. Man of the Match, singled out by justifiably proud coach Leigh Millard, was Rafi Stone, whose increasing maturity, combined with commitment and skill, produced an outstanding performance in both attack and defence.

Not bad for a small school, with a reputation built on Music, the Arts, and Drama - up to now!