The Year 10 boys have had a wonderful football season, culminating with the final against Ramsey Grammar School on Tuesday 19th March. Here is a brief outline of their results this season. In game one, the lads beat local rivals Ballakermeen convincingly, 10-0, with goals from Callum Yates (3), Alfie Price (3), Aaron Chadwick (2), Charlie Alstead and Aaron Vincent. A similar scoreline followed the next week against King William’s with an 8-0 win and another hat-trick for Yates. The other scorers were Price, Vincent, Chadwick, Alstead and Max Smith. The third game was a tough trip up north to Ramsey, and although the Saints were behind at the break, they came back to win 4-1 with goals from Jonah Kenny, Preston Anderson, Lucas Corran and Yates from the spot.
The B Team also had two fixtures, the first against Ramsey with a 4-1 win and goals from Leon Martin, Courage Omoh, Vinnie Wood and Corben Kewley and the second against QEII with a 4-2 win and goals from Mason Cooke (2), Kewley and Wood.
The A team’s forth match was another win, this time a close one, coming from behind twice to beat QEII 5-3. Goals from Anderson (2), Smith, Kenny and Mackenzie Matthews. The final league game was against Castle Rushen in the deep south, with the boys coming out 2-0 winners to top the league ahead of the semi-finals. Scorers were Corran and Yates. The semi-final saw the Y10s play at home against a tricky QEII team. The saints were both 1-0 and 2-1 down during the game, but goals from Anderson and Kenny brought us level, with Aaron Chadwick getting the winner with only a minute to play. Yates then added a 4th in time added on to seal a place in the final with a 4-2 win.
The final would be against a strong Ramsey team who played really well at The Bowl, and although Charlie Alstead had given the Saints a lead, Ramey hit back just before half time. The second half saw both teams create chances, but no more goals and the game ended 1-1 and went to extra time. Ramsey took the early initiative and scored to go 2-1 up. The St. Ninian’s boys kept going right to the end, and although fatigue had set in, in the dying seconds of extra time, Alfie Price popped up with an equaliser to send the crowds into hysterics! The game now went to penalty kicks, and with all the Saint’s Y10s scoring theirs (Bo Coulter, Vincent, Yates and Anderson), captain and goal-keeper Aiden Pickering saved the all-important penalty to seal the victory in the most dramatic of circumstances!
Well done boys on a fantastic season.
