ST ALBANS CITY YOUTH F.C.

EASTER TOUR 2002

This Easter saw City Youth travel across to Europe with their largest group ever,  7 teams in total,  The Under 18's North and South, and the Under 17's playing in the Tulip Trophy at DCG Amsterdam.  The Under 16's playing in the 9th Jeka International Tournament in Breda.  The Under 15's East, Under 13's South and Under 12's North playing in the North Sea Cup hosted by RKVV Westlandia in Naaldwijk.

TULIP TROPHY The Under 18's South played their first game against F.C. Kloten from Switzerland and despite having numerous chances the Saints had to settle for a goalless draw.  In their next match they played host club DCG and after taking a 1-0 lead when Ryan Hughes tapped the ball home following  a low cross from Adam Wallace.  they then gave two easy goals away to lose the match 2-1.  Their third group game was against Rhenania Bottrop from Germany and Ollie Franks scored two great goals to give them a 2-0 victory. In their final group match which proved to be a non event against Dalmore Boys club from Scotland the settled for a 0-0 draw. The Under 18's North also had mixed fortunes in their group matches, with a 2-1 defeat against Strathendrick from Scotland, after they had been 1-0 up with a goal from Graham Brougham.  In their second game they lost 3-0 to VPV Purmerstejn from Holland.  But in their third group match they hit back to defeat TSV Morsdorf from Germany with goals from Ben Griffin, Ollie Clegg, Alex Free and Ian Parsons.  They also had to settle for a goalless draw in their final group match against FC Rotmonten from Switzerland. Both Under 18's then had to play one another for 9th and 10th place with the South team beating Rhenania Bottrop for the second time for the right to play the North.  The result was a 3-1 victory with goals from Jamie Parsons, Greg Deacon and Ollie Franks. In the match between the North and South teams both sides were guilty of missing easy chances and the match was then decided by penalty kicks.  The South side missed three penalties to leave the North winning the match 3-2.

The Under 17's Tour did not start well after their coach broke down (Not Clarky) at Dover at 7.am Good Friday morning,  then having to wait until 5.pm for it to be repaired and not arriving at their destination in Holland until 2.45 Saturday morning.  But back to the football,  in their first game they played SC Regensburg from Germany and after a slow start they eventually won the match 4-0 with goals from Nathan Maycock, Chris Bergin, David Hill and Iain Turkentine.In their second group match they were against FC Rotmonten from Switzerland,  they also scored four goals to win the match 4-1.  Chris Seeby hit two goals, one in each half. Nathan maycock scored another near post header, then Allister Collins scored the fourth after being setup by Jermaine Davey and Chris Seeby.  Their final group match on day one saw them beat EDO from Holland 3-0 with Chris Bergin scoring just before half time.  the second was a penalty after Allister Collins was brought down inside the box,  he then took the kick himself.  The third and final goal was a fine downward header from Jermaine Davey.  On the second day, having already qualified for the semi final they played Alphense Boys from Holland in their fourth and final group match with the game finishing 0-0. In the Semi Final, the Under 17's played Dalmore Boys from Scotland and although Attwood and Seeby both went close, at half time the saints went in 1-0 down.  Allister Collins headed home the equaliser early in the second half but hten things went wrong.  Firstly a defensive mistake let Dalmore in to make it 2-1 and then a well taken free kick made it 3-1. This left the Under 17's to play their last match for 3rd and 4th place against host team DCG, the match ended goalless leaving the Saints to win the match 4-2 from spot kicks and thus finish in 3rd place.

9th JEKA INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT The Under 16's, unbeaten in European Competition for the past two seasons represented St Albans City Youth in the 9th Jeka Tournament in Breda, a small town close to Eindhoven. In their first game the Under 16's played the hosts club second team Jeka 2,  in a competitive match the young saints scored the only goal through Jason Blythe to win the match 1-0. Their second group game was against English club Broadstone FC from Bournmouth,  in a first half dominated by the Under 16's James Harvey scored the only goal of the match for the Saints.  next up was Danish side Frem,  Jack Welsh scored within the first minute to again win the match 1-0 for the Saints. The last match on day one was against the hosts clubs first team Jeka 1.  Despite being on top the Young Saints found themselves 2-0 down following two defensive mistakes.  The saints then pulled one goal back just before half time through Troye Pienaar.  In the second half the Saints finally equalised with a goal from Kevin Hearne to make the final score 2-2.  On day two the saints played another danish side, Midjjur and won the game 4-0 thanks to goals from Kevin Hearne 2, James Harvey and Matt Hanson. In the semi finals the Saints played the fourth placed team, Broadstone for a place in the final.  The young Saints finally winning the game 1-0 following a well crafted goal late in the second half by Jack Welsh. The Saints were then declared joint winners of the tournament, along with Danish team Frem. The Under 16's unbeaten run in European competition now spans three seasons, well done to the two Alans and the players.

NORTH SEA CUP In their first trip to Holland the Under 15's East started and finished with total commitment playing in the Under 16's age group of the North Sea Cup. Their first match, against Naaldwijk ended as a 1-1 draw with Danny McCafferty scoring the only goal for the Young Saints.  This result boosted the Young Saints and the went into their next match against Nederhorst full of confidence, winning the game 2-0 with goals from Stephen Pyke and Danny McCafferty.  Their final group game, and a match then needed to win to get into the Semi Finals was against Lynge Broby IF,  again the Young Saints proved too strong and won the match 3-0 with goals from Stephen Pyke, Mark Savory and Danny McCafferty. And so to the semi final,  against Verburch, St Albans were the only Under 15 team left in the tournament.  however semi final glory on the first trip to Holland was not to be as they went down 2-0.  This left the Young saints with a playoff match against Naaldwijk, who they drew with in the group matches.  In the end they had to settle for fourth place in the tournament after going down 1.0.  However this was an excellent performance from the Young Saints.

The Under 13's South, playing in Europe for the first time found the going tough but still came out of the tournament with a lot of credit.  Drawing 0-0 in their first match against Lancon, they then went down 3-0 to GDA from Holland in their second group game. They then played the eventual winners of the tournament Donningborg from Denmark losing the match 2-0.  The final group match was against Kingston Juniors which the Young Saints lost 2-0 (Both goals coming late in the first half). The Under 13's Souths final game was the play off match for 7th/8th place against Vinding from Denmark.  This they won 1-0 with an Edward Ridge strike at the second attempt after he outpaced the defenders.  Well done boys.

The Under 12's North played their first group game against Vinding SF from Denmark and lost 2-1 with Jack irish scoring the only goal for the Young Saints.  In their second group game they lost 5-0 to Cherry orchard FC from Ireland, who are a feeder team for Manchester City.  The scoreline could have been more if not for an outstanding performance in goal from Jack irish, who was named man of the match. The Under 12's then lost 3-0 to Verburch and 2-0 to GDA, both teams from Holland. In their final match, against Naaldwijk, the Young Saints won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Joe Citrano to finish the tournament in 9th Place.  Well done boys.