MIDDLESBROUGH UNDER-18S FINISH THIRD AT NATIONALS

MIDDLESBROUGH’s newly formed under-18s team competed at the FA Under-18s Futsal Championship finals last weekend, and came away with a respectable 3rd place.

Boro came second in their regional qualifying group in April after losing to Dengo United 7-6 in the opening game, but got their revenge in the third place match with a 10-5 win after losing to a strong Reading team in the semi final 6-4.

The Teessiders slumped to a 2-0 deficit early in the first game but pulled it back through Ryan Todd and a Ryan Harker penalty to go into the interval on level terms. Todd put Boro ahead after the restart before being taken to hospital when he took a knee to his mouth.

Reading then stormed into an unassailable 6-3 lead using their strength and physical presence to get on top of the young Boro side. Glenn Donaldson got one back for Boro but it was too little too late and Boro had to face northern rivals Dengo for 3rd place.

Seething from their defeat in the groups Boro showed their dominance and played an excellent game of futsal winning 10-5 including a hattrick each from James Sutton and Matty Kelsey. Bradley Mills capped a stunning performance with an amazing volley from a corner, which would have been his second, until the whistle blew as the ball had rolled off the corner before it was taken. Still it was a remarkable goal that he will be proud of. Ryan Harker and Glenn Donaldson added their seconds of the day to take Boro into double figures and secure 3rd place.

Damon Shaw, who will hand over the reins of the under-18s next season, is proud of how far they’ve come. “The under-18s is by far the best thing I’ve added to the club and they’ve done me proud finishing 3rd, only narrowly losing to Reading, the eventual winners. All of these boys can, and probably will play in the first team next season and a few have already made an impact at that level,” he said.

Boro under-18s will be looking for new players ahead of next season. If you are interested, head to BoroFutsal.com and sign up for the e-newsletter to find out when trials will take place.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com