Tytherington win Cheshire Schools Cup
Year 10 claimed Tytherington’s second Cheshire Cup title since 1993 by defeating Hazel Grove High School 1-0 in a tense final at Middlewich Town FC. A first-half penalty from Zach Knight was enough to seal a famous victory.
Expecting a tough challenge, we adopted our usual 4-5-1 formation with the same tactics and lineup as the semi-final against The Heath. As always, the pregame message to the team was a pragmatic one: to ensure we were better than the opposition at the aspects of the game that require no ability. This included discipline – not giving away silly free kicks in key areas of the pitch, work rate – not allowing anyone to run past us, particularly in the midfield areas, along with closing the opposition down quickly when they are in possession. Very rarely do our opponents beat or even match us in these key but unglamorous fundamentals of the game.
This season, more than others, we have been particularly solid at the back. It is a scenario borrowed from fiction, but Barton and Cowey are the Life On Mars centre-back duo, seemingly plucked from the 1970s, when defenders were defenders, rugged, ruthless stoppers who cared not for footballing niceties. ‘Thou shalt not pass’ seems their motto. They are not playmakers at the back; crucially, they are not expected to be. In goal behind them is Faruk, who is a no-nonsense Peter Schmeichel-like figure, who has an imposing presence to match his lightning-fast reflexes and steely demeanour. Throughout the final, Hazel Grove did not get a clear-cut chance such was our quality at the back.
In the middle of the pitch, inspired by the gliding menace of Adrian Grzeluszka and the deft touch and explosiveness of Ellis Naden, we had a strong goal threat from midfield. We were full value for our 1-0 lead at half-time, Zach Knight scoring his 7th Cheshire Cup goal of the season from the penalty spot. On the balance of play, it was a minor miracle that Hazel Grove reached the interval only one goal down. Most observers thought we should have been two or three goals to the good.
As the game progressed, we made good use of our bench as injuries and fatigue came into play. Fell and Goodwin showed their versatility covering in unfamiliar positions. In the second half, Hazel Grove had more possession but could not create anything of note. On the counterattack, we looked dangerous with Wadsworth’s pace and Tresson’s guile causing our opposition problems. The sands of time ran out for Hazel Grove as the referee blew for full-time while they were launching a final attack. Tytherington were worthy winners of the famous Emberton Trophy.
This year, 61 teams from schools all over Cheshire entered the competition. Our route to the final has not all been plain sailing. See below for our results:
Round 1: Middlewich High School (a) won 7-0 (Grzeluszka 3, Thorne 2, Knight 1, Wadsworth 1)
Round 2: Stockport School (h) won 4-0 (Knight 2, Grzeluszka 1, Goodwin 1)
Round 3: Hartford High School (a) won 3-1 (Thorne 3)
Round 4: Altrincham Grammar School for Boys (a) won 5-2 (Knight, Tresson, Grzeluszka, Naden, Wadsworth)
Semi-final: The Heath (h) won 5-0 (Knight 2, Grzeluszka 2, Tresson)
The squad selected: Freddie Goodwin, Euan Hackney, Finlay Tresson, Jack Rubin, William Bridgett, Zach Knight, Charlie Barton, Joseph Fell, Ollie Cowey, Harry Barr, Faruk Veladzic, Myles Wadsworth, Adrian Grzeluszka, and Ellis Naden.
For more pictures and videos, please see the Tytherington PE Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJr95IWClwT/?igsh=MWt3c3Qwa3dvM2pwdQ==
