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| The Wild Academy U12 team were runners up in the Sheffield Tournament (Photo by Widnes Wild Academy) |
The Widnes Wild Academy Under 12 team had a successful weekend where they finished runners up in a national tournament held in Sheffield.
They competed in a 6 team group with the opposition coming from Milton Keynes, Solent, Sutton and Sheffield as well as a Scottish team from Fife (Kirkcaldy).
The Wild youngsters went unbeaten in all 5 of their group games, beating Solent 3-0, Sutton 3-0, Sheffield 5-2 and Milton Keynes 6-0, only dropping points against Fife in a closely matched 1-1 draw.
At the end of the group stage, Widnes finished top of the pile on goal difference ahead of Fife who had a similar results record and finished on the same number of points.
The top two teams met again in the final, on Sunday evening – which was just as closely fought as the first encounter had been. Fife scored early on and then went 2-0 up. Widnes pulled a goal back, which made for a tense last 10 minutes, during which time they put the Scottish net under intense pressure but were unable to force a later equaliser.
The defeat means that Widnes come home with the runners up trophy – like their Under 14 counterparts the week before - but they can take heart from their performance over the weekend, which was another great advertisement for the Widnes Wild Academy development programme.
The Wild Academy are looking to recruit new players for the 2024/2025 season across all age groups from Under 10 to Under 18 and have been holding a series of welcome sessions at the Planet Ice rink during May and June.
Separate “Learn To Play” sessions are also available for anybody new who would like to take up the sport. For more information, contact Academy Head Coach mike.gilbert@wildacademy.co.uk
