Heyhouses Endowed Church of England Primary School Under 11s were crowned Champions of The National League Trust (NLT) Cup at Wembley.
In case you missed it, AFC Fylde Community Foundation’s representatives, Heyhouses U11s girls, after winning their three previous tournaments, were presented with the chance to travel to Wembley and compete in The NLT Cup Final.
They were already the Regional and North West Champions, but they now had their eyes set on the biggest prize.
The girls made the weekend of it as they travelled down Saturday lunch time and spent the weekend in London ahead of their big lunch time kick off on Sunday.
Both the girls and their families soaked up every moment of it as Heyhouses started their journey by getting off the tube and walking down Wembley Way – eager to get straight onto the pitch.
After preparing for kick off in Wembley’s changing rooms it was time to walk out onto the famous Wembley turf to face Slough Town’s representatives.
Heyhouses set the tone immediately and continued to dominate, hitting the woodwork several times and forcing a couple of tough saves out of Slough’s goalkeeper.
A stroke of luck broke the deadlock as our throw in was deflected into the back of the net off a Slough body, but when you’re in a final at Wembley, it doesn’t matter how they go in – they all count the same.
Heyhouses brilliantly managed to see the game out and at the moment of the final whistle they released all their emotions – and so did their families watching on.
After celebrating, they had to gather themselves to walk up those famous steps to go and lift their trophy in the Royal box.
It really was a once in a lifetime experience for the girls, even if they’re already talking about retaining their title next year.
Our Schools Services Manager, Dan Monckton, was one of the coaches on the touchline and he said: “The girls did themselves, all of their families and everyone at AFC Fylde proud.”
Dan was with Heyhouses at every tournament and had nothing but the highest of praise for the team: “The way they conducted themselves on and off the pitch, not just at Wembley, but at AKS, Oldham and Chesterfield was exemplary and a credit to both their parents and Heyhouses.
“For them to even win one tournament was fantastic, but to win three and then win the National final at Wembley is something they rightly will remember for the rest of their lives.
“Some professional footballers go all of their career wanting to play at Wembley, let alone win a trophy and these girls have already done that at such a young age, it’s genuinely what dreams are made of.
“We see this as a great advert not just for girls football but for all the brilliant work the Community Foundation does for our schools in the Fylde Borough.”
The girls wore the AFC Fylde shirts sponsored by Norbreck Self Storage and Kepak, customised with their names on the back, with immense pride.
We would once again like to wish a massive congratulations to our Champions, you made everyone so proud of you, what an achievement!
