All the Latest from Our Young Gulls
It’s been another productive period in Torquay United’s Youth Department recently, and here we take a look at some of the key headlines in the past seven days.
Under 8s Qualify For National Tournament
It’s been a fantastic season for Sam Heath’s U8 side, who have qualified for the national tournament in Warwick having won their JPL league at the first attempt!
“From winning the winter and spring competitive leagues, we have now been invited to the JPL national championship finals,” confirmed Sam.
“We’re very proud of everything the team has achieved this year, and it’s shown by being invited to this tournament through their hard work!”
Our Young Gulls will now compete against clubs from all over the country in the national tournament.
Well played, lads!
Plainmoor Parade For Under 10s Following Winter League Success
Meanwhile, with our U10s’ league campaign coming to an end, our glorious Gulls were presented with their winter league winners medals.
Moving from the DJM League to the JPL league was always going to be a tough assignment for the lads, but the Mark’s Davenport’s side took it all in their stride.
After establishing themselves in the league and with all the hard work the team did in training, United’s stars of the future managed to not only match, but surpass the other teams in the league, ending the winter league as winners with an undefeated record!
Although the team couldn’t quite reach those levels, Torquay’s U10s will head into summer training determined to be ready for next season.
“I couldn’t be prouder of this group,” said Mark.
“Stepping up into a harder league was always going to be difficult, but they have all grown individually and as a team, and we couldn’t be happier with what they have achieved.
“We will be proudly be parading our trophy at half time around the pitch on Saturday, so it would be great if the Yellow Army could get behind the boys, as it was a really big achievement for our first season.”
College Side Suffer Final Heartbreak In Accrington
Despite a strong showing in their Premier Cup Final at Accrington Stanley FC, there was disappointment for Torquay United’s South Devon College side, as they were narrowly defeated by their Milton Keynes College counterparts 3-2.
United started the game brightly and played the early exchanges largely in the opposition half. Milton Keynes defended resolutely though, and it was against the run of play when Milton Keynes took the lead.
This setback initially rocked our lads, but it wasn’t long before they were back on level terms.
A free kick wide on the left of the Milton Keyes box was worked across to Albie Baker, with his cross picking out the prolific Jonah Shaw to level things up at 1-1.
Milton Keynes responded with another goal before the change of ends to gain a 2-1 half-time advantage, and when that lead was extended to 3-1 in the second half, the side from South Devon College looked down and out.
However, The Gulls would not lie down and surged forward in pursuit of a lifeline, and to their credit, they found one.
An excellent corner from Fin Herbert – fresh from his recent first team call-up at Dagenham – was met by Stevie Cole at the back post, and with Cole’s ball across the face of goal falling kindly into the path of Ethan Ratcliffe, Torquay’s hopes of forcing extra-time were back on.
United thought they had found a late leveller through Toby Hard, only to see an offside flag spoil the celebrations, and although that ultimately condemned our lads to defeat, getting to the final remains an incredible achievement for all involved.
Photo Credit For SDC v MKC Images: www.alexdoddphotography.co.uk / Epic Action Imagery
