Longfield Academy of Sport represented Darlington in a European Football Tournament in Opole Poland. The team flew out on Wednesady the 19th of June and competed against teams from across Europe. Darlington were placed in group B with teams from Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Czech Republic.
In the first game against Opole B Darlington got of to a great start winning the match 4-0. In the second match they faced Mulheim an der Ruhr a strong German outfit. Darlington cruised to victory demonstrating a fine display of football.
In the final game of the day they played Potsdam, last years winnners. A draw would have been enough to put the Germans out and place Darlington in pole postion to progress to the semi-finals. The Germans were tactically sound and dominated the first halve. At half time Darlington regained composure and started to play some purposeful football. Unfortunately with minutes left of the game a free kick was awarded to Potsdam on the edge of the Darlington penalty area. The free kick was superbly executed by the Germans and they went on to win one nil. This left Darlington with 6 point from day 1. The reality now was that Darlington had now to win both of their remaining games to progress through as group winners.
On day two the boys got of to a great start beating Bruntal comfortably. This meant that victory in the last game against Invano Frankivisk would put Darlington through as group winners. The boys were fast out of the blocks and dominated the game. Unfortunately, the team missed some glorious changes and as the clock ticked by the pressure grew. The team went to three at the back and pushed bodies forward in an attempt to score the vital goal. This did't happen and the opposition broke on the counter and scored to put Darlington out.
On day three Darlington beat Ingolstadt to finsh 5th. The final was contested by Opole and Invano Frankivisk. The match went to penalities and Oplole finished as Tournamnet winners.
The pupils all fully enjoyed the tournament and blended well into the Polish Culture. On a Evening the boys enjoyed meals out at the market square, outdoor swimming and many other fantastic activities. The polish people were very warm and welcoming and made the viit a massive success.
Photos to follow.
Report by J Raw of Longfield Academy of Sport