Academy boys - Iber Cup

[Saint-Armstrong]

Was looking at Saints-related news online and found one of the academy guys posting pictures of the trophy etc.

 

Anyway. Saints U15s went to compete in the Iber Cup in Portugal, a 6 day tournament that started on July the 1st.

 

They won their age group, which included:

 

 

 

Congratulations to them, some great result in there.

 

If you want to read more or see scores etc, here is the website: http://www.ibercup.com/en/

[VectisSaint]

Not convinced that Saints actually won. It looks to me like we came 3rd in the group stage and went into the B Play-offs for the teams that came 3rd/4th in their groups, and we won that. Still well done to the boys.

[Gorgiesaint]

They won the plate competition in their age group - not the main competition. They finished 3rd in their group, having lost 2 and drawn of the group games. Good experience though.

[Saint Without a Halo]

Unless I am reading this wrong they won the under 15's Group B final for teams that did not qualify for the Group A's (we came 3rd in a Group of 4) still a good result but not really the age group winners.

[VectisSaint]

Unless I am reading this wrong they won the under 15's Group B final for teams that did not qualify for the Group A's (we came 3rd in a Group of 4) still a good result but not really the age group winners.

Right that's 3 of us seeing the same.

[Ludwig]

Great result,beating some major teams there. Well done lads and well done to whoever got us invited there with the big guns. The signs look for the future, with a trophy winning mentality starting young.

[St Chalet]

Title edited.

[DuncanRG]

Congrats boys.

[sambosa75]

Just arrived back from Portugal now. My nephew is part of the squad. Despite being an under 15 tournament it was actually our under 14s that played with a couple of additions from the 15s. We started off quite slow and lost the first game 2-0 to a talented Portuguese side who finished top of the group. They went 2-0 up early on and perhaps took their foot off the pedal a little, allowing us more time on the ball but unfortunately we weren't able to break their stubborn defence down.

 

The next game was against a Spanish side called Brave Astondoa. Typical Spanish side in that they kept the ball and pressed extremely well when they didn't have it. Have to say we didn't get a look in in this game and lost 3-0. By no means a disgrace as they actually went on to win the tournament proper earlier today. It turns out that they are an invitational side comprised of the best players from the academies of Valencia, Villareal, Elche and Hercules.

 

The last group game was against a side from Norway. We drew 2-2 after starting well and gaining an early lead but letting them get their noses in front after we had a lad (harshly) sent off. Managed to grab an equaliser through a great solo effort from a lad called Dan who I think has a promising future. Finished 3rd in group by virtue of conceding less goals than the Norwegian side.

 

The plate tournament was certainly a lower standard, sides letting us impose ourselves a bit more and in the end our superior fitness won through. The lads played 3 games in total yesterday. The better fitness levels were evident as by the time we got to the final, our Italian opponents were dead on their feet and we ran out comfortable 5-1 winners.

 

There were some real positives for the lads to come away with but also a little sobering as to how far they are behind the Portuguese and in particular Spanish side we played in the group stages.

 

Stayed in a town called Cascais which is a lovely town about 30 minutes from Lisbon. If anyone gets a chance to go, they definitely should.

[tpbury]

nice summary and interesting read sambosa. Each year stills makes a massive difference at that age, so to get that far was a big achievement.