West Sussex school footballers battle for regional honours

Some of the many youngsters who took part in the West Sussex West schools tournaments

The first was the Year 5/6 girls’ tournament involving 11 schools from across the Bognor and Chichester area.

A high standard of football was seen and it was Downview Primary School who prevailed as champions to progress to the county final in Lancing.

To ensure all schools had the opportunity to compete, the SSP ran a B team mixed tournament – won by Bishop Tufnell – and a small school tournament (for schools with less than 100 children), which saw West Wittering progress to the county final.

Separate Bognor and Chichester-area A team tournaments were held, with the top three from each coming together in a competitive final.

The Bognor tournament took place first with eight teams competing. It was hosted at The Regis School and Arena Sports Centre.

The high-quality 3G pitches hosted some intense matches. The referees were sports leaders from The Regis School who did a fantastic job, confident and in control throughout.

The top three reaching the final were Bishop Tufnell, Southway and Rose Green. All three beating each other, but Bishop Tufnell finished on top with bragging rights for the Bognor area.

The Chichester tournament took place at Chichester University and was refereed by their sports coaching students, who also did an exceptional job.

This tournament had ten teams and there was a clear winner, with Walberton and Binsted not losing a game. Thorney Island were a close second and Parklands narrowly beat Southbourne to third.

The overall final featured Bishop Tufnell, Southway, Rose Green, Walberton and Binsted, Thorney Island and Parklands. Some fantastic football was played.

Parklands hugely improved their standards to take second spot, closely followed by Bishop Tufnell. The glory went to Walberton & Binsted, who won four out of five games.

Deputy headteacher and team manager Adrian McGreevy said: “The teamwork, sportsmanship and standards from all the teams in the SSP final was fantastic. All the matches we played were extremely tight, but I was very proud of the determination of our players who defended resolutely and scored some brilliant goals to take us over the winning line.”

School Sport Partnership manager: Sean O’Connor said: “Good luck to all three winners in the next round – Downview for the girls, West Wittering for the small schools and Walberton & Binsted for mixed competition.

“It is great to see so many children representing us at county level, as well as the large number of children that have competed in these tournaments – more than 250 competitors.”

Schools can access all kind of sports via the WSWSSP throughout the academic year – see www.westsussexwestssp.co.uk for details

Teams involved: Girls: Aldingbourne Bishop Tufnell, Downview, Edward Bryant, North Mundham, Southbourne, Southway, South Bersted, St Mary’s, Walberton & Binsted, Westbourne. Small Schools & B teams: Aldingbourne, Bishop Tufnell, Boxgrove, Chichester Free School, Nyewood, Slindon, Southway & West Wittering. Bognor A teams: Aldingbourne, Bishop Tufnell, Edward Bryant, Nyewood, North Mundham, Rose Green, Southway, South Bersted. Chichester: Eastergate, Fishbourne, Jessie Younghusband, Kingsham, Parklands, Southbourne, St Richards, Thorney Island, Walberton & Binsted, Westbourne.

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