THE efforts of budding young footballers have been recognised by a former Scotland international who played more than 250 games in England’s Premier League.
A dozen members of Longniddry Villa’s 2013 team made the trip south for the Alton Towers May Day Football Festival. Pitted against five other under-11 teams, this was the first time the youngsters had competed in a tournament in their new nine-a-side line-up.
The opening match was an all-Scottish affair as they came up against Ayr Boswell.
Despite creating a number of good opportunities, the game finished goalless and Villa then faced off against Winshill Vikings.
Striker Mason Brown weaved his way through their defence to deliver the first goal for Villa. Minutes later, midfielder Demir Vural delivered an outstanding strike out of nowhere to take the lead but the opposition fought back to edge a five-goal thriller.
Longniddry Villa's new strips feature the logos of both STAND and East Lothian Foodbank
The final match of the day proved another entertaining affair as Villa shared eight goals with Oundle Town. Longniddry took an early lead through strikes from Brown and Oliver King but the scores were level at the break. Birthday boy Finlay Brash celebrated in style. providing Villa with another two fabulous goals. But their opposition fought back and a last-minute penalty saw the game finish 4-4.
The following day saw Villa in fine form against Anglesey Rec Tigers as Brown delivered a hat-trick before 10-year-old John Shields and Alexander Innes found the net. It also marked a clean sheet for goalkeeper Ellis Innes and the defensive line-up of Cameron Souness and James Jarvis.
Following their 5-0 win, Villa were in high spirits for their next match against unbeaten Repton Casuals. The Scottish side took hold of the game going 2-0 up, with more goals from Brown and King. However, Repton fought back to claim a draw before medals were presented by former Liverpool, Leeds United and Scotland defender Dominic Matteo.
Months of planning went into the weekend, with countless bake sales, bi-weekly training sessions, sponsored runs, pre-season games and raffles raising more than £2,000.
Longniddry Villa's new strips feature the logos of both STAND and East Lothian Foodbank
This was further supported by a £2,000 donation to Team Villa’s fundraising from Persimmon Homes and £1,000 from Individually Designed Homes. In the weeks running up to the event, a further £2,500 was donated by a benefactor who wished to remain anonymous.
Mark King, coach, said: “I couldn’t be prouder of what the boys have accomplished this weekend. They have shown incredible resilience, determination, stamina, energy, an enviable team spirit and have an outstanding loyalty and bond with each other.
“We knew this tournament would be a challenge, but they have exceeded all expectations and gone above and beyond this weekend.”
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