STRATFORD School has continued its strong tradition of triumph on the football pitch with another hat-trick of successes.
Last Wednesday the school’s under 16 boys’ football team played in the Coventry Telegraph Cup final against Cardinal Wiseman School at the Ricoh Arena and, despite their opponents being on familiar Coventry turf having made the final in previous years, the Stratford School boys raced into an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Benjamin Couki header and a calamitous own goal.
Cardinal Wiseman pulled one back not long afterwards, but a thunderous strike from Kai Ferguson restored Stratford’s two-goal advantage five minutes before the break.
Stratford keeper Nathan Taylor had to be at his very best just moments before half time when he superbly tipped a goalbound effort over the bar with his fingertips.
The boys defended resolutely against Cardinal Wiseman pressure before sealing a 5-1 victory through Ferguson’s thumping 25-yard strike and a sumptuous lob by Sam Jalowiecki.
Joyous scenes followed as Stratford skipper Dylan Parker hoisted the prestigious Coventry Telegraph Cup aloft.
To reach the final the Stratford lads had to see off some talented opposition but they were up to the task, most notably in the quarter-final when they defeated Sidney Stringer Academy 12-1 and in the semi-final when they beat Myton School 5-1.
The Stratford team was Nathan Taylor, Joseph Barnish, Harry Carter, Isaac Herring, Daniel Boyd, Josh Moss, Benjamin Couki, Dylan Parker, Kai Ferguson, Jordan Allen, James Dyson, Luke Gladwell, Harry Spencer, Tom Bromley and Sam Jalowiecki.
THERE was also glory for Stratford School’s under 16 girls’ team which won the County Cup final for the fourth time in a row when they beat Ashlawn School at Leamington FC.
The Stratford team featured Wiktoria Rutkowska, Lucy Williams, Shannon O’Donnell, Evie Barons, Ellen Bladon-Williams, Charlotte Leedham, Hana Adler, Anya Hermolle, Lauren Jones, Andrada Georgescu, Chloe Kennard, Hollie Bunn, Naomi Morgan and Megan Hadley and on the scoresheet were Leedham, Jones, Bladon-Williams and Hermolle.
The team have had considerable success during their time at the school having reached the English Schools’ Football Association finals twice – winning once – as well as winning the Stratford District Sports Awards Junior team prize on three occasions.
ONE of the school’s younger girls’ teams has also had success in the Under 14 Futsal finals held in Birmingham as they finished second against a strong contingent of regional schools.
The team of Fran Birbeck-Sanders, Olivia Bailey, Naomi Morgan, Kiera Kennedy, Charlie O’Sullivan and Ella French showed they will be ones to watch in the coming years.
Sam Calcott, Stratford School’s PE curriculum leader, said: “It has been a wonderful time for our teams, they have worked so hard and are so deserving of the success.
“It was particularly gratifying for the two under 16 teams as this is their final year of school football so to have won in such a commanding style will be a memory they can keep forever.
“We have got a lot of students with potential in the younger years ready to follow in their footsteps so there is a lot to look forward to.”
