Euro 2005

East defeat foreign teams in tournament

DURING the Easter break St Albans City Youth Under 18’s East made the trip to Belgium to take part in the Sirene Cup.

Saints faced the Dutch outfit RKSV Mierlo early on the first day but were not caught cold and they dominated the first half. The score was 0-0 at the break but utter more good play in the second half they won a penalty. From a Ben Conrad free kick skipper Cohn Wilson was held and pushed to the ground in the box. He then easily converted the spot kick to make the final score 1-0.

Welsh Dragons, Hendy FC, stood next in the Saints’ path. Joe Mejia fired in the opening goal in the second half Karl Lucas then made it two with a powerful effort. The City defence remained in con­trol and was not breached for the second game as Saints won 2-0.

In their final game of the opening day City met another Dutch side SV HTC. Karl Lucas headed the dominant Saints ahead before half time. Lucus was then caught on the edge of the box and the referee favored the Saints with his penalty decision. Lucas hit the post with the kick but City held out at the back again for another clean sheet and a 1-0 win. This guaranteed them a semi final spot as group winners.

On day two, US Dohem from France were the next victims of the Saints. It was business as usual despite a rotated squad and Jason Slough bagged the only goal of the game.

Saints clashed with old adversaries Dulwich Hamlet in the semi final. Goalkeeper Daryl White was finally beaten when he had no chance of stop­ping a superb shot into the top corner from 25 yards out. This left Saints rattled and they conceded two more. Joe Mejia pounced to reduce the deficit but the final score was 3-1.

City approached the third place play off in the right manner as they met RKSV Mierlo for the second time. Karl Lucas fired in the open­ing goal as Saints settled well despite tiredness and Mark Savory made it two from the spot. They then controlled the rest of the play for a superb 2-0 win.

The Saints team can be proud of their achievements in what is for most of them their final year on tour with the club. The management, Andy ‘I can’t speak English’ Goodchild, Brian Pyke and Gill ‘Red Bull’ Savory all deserved praise for their