On Wednesday the 8th October ten boys from years 5 and 6 took part in the annual 7-a-side football league group night at Bury Grammar School.

Holcombe Brook had a tricky looking group, drawn against Tottington, Guardian Angels and St Andrew’s Radcliffe. Our first game was against Tottington. Both teams started cautiously, trying to get a feel for the conditions and get to grips with the slippery surface. In a very even game, it was Tottington who scored the only goal, a shot from the edge of the box squirming underneath Josh Braiden in goal. 

Holcombe Brook had plenty of time to try and claw a goal back, but as the minutes ticked away and chances to score came and went, the referee blew the final whistle. The final score in the first game was 1-0 to Tottington.

Our second game was against Guardian Angels. Our boys were clearly looking to make amends for the previous loss. We started extremely well, with lots of lovely one touch passing and movement off the ball. The Holcombe Brook pressure was relentless and we eventually got the goal we deserved. A well worked move down the left wing, involving Liam and Daniel allowed the ball to fall to Oliver on the edge of the box, who calmly stroked his finish into the bottom corner. 1-0 to Holcombe Brook.

Credit to our boys, they were determined to score another, producing wave after wave of attack. Five minutes after the first goal, Oliver was involved again. This time providing the assist, albeit an unintended one. Oliver dribbled past two players and took a shot from the edge of the area, which was destined to nestle into the bottom corner – but Alex had other ideas. Using his poaching instincts, he knew exactly where the ball was going and decided that he would tap the ball into the net and claim the goal for himself! 2-0 to Holcombe Brook, which is how the game finished.

Our final game of the evening was a extremely competitive fixture against St Andrew’s Radcliffe. Holcombe Brook knew that a win would likely see them qualify for the next round. The boys started incredibly well, working hard and showing a willingness to get forward, as well as take shots from distance. With ten minutes played it seemed that it was going to be a frustrating night of ‘if onlys’, with numerous Holcombe Brook chances going begging. However, after a long ball from Albert bounced around in the opposition half, that man Oliver managed to find himself open in the St Andrew’s area. His calmness in front of goal all night had been impressive and lightning struck twice. Oliver slotted the ball into the bottom corner. 1-0 to Holcombe Brook with 10 minutes left to play. 

The game continued to move back and forth and with a few minutes left it seemed that our players didn’t want to defend anymore. St Andrew’s had two or three chances to equalise and if it wasn’t for Josh ‘The Cat’ Braiden making some outstanding saves, it might have been a different result. Eventually, the referee blew the final whistle and Holcombe Brook were 1-0 winners. Phew!

A brilliant evening of football and sportsmanship was capped off by the boys being informed that they were through to the next round, which will take place in the new year. Well done Holcombe Brook!

A huge thank you to Bury Grammar for organising the event and to the parents who gave up their time to support the boys / help with transport to the event.