Year 9 Boys Claim County Football Title

There were scenes of celebration on Tuesday evening as Penrice Academy’s Year 9 Boys produced a memorable second-half turnaround to clinch the Football County Cup.

Hosted at Sticker Football Club, the boys faced a showdown against a talented Redruth School team.

The ability of the Redruth team was clear to see in the first half where they were arguably the better team, going into the break with a deserved 1-0 advantage.

However, an inspired second-half performance saw Penrice turn the tie on its head, hitting the woodwork twice and scoring an equaliser just 15 minutes before full time.

With the game evenly poised in the closing stages, it was team captain Callum who took a great chance to put Penrice in the lead with 5 minutes left to play, sending the supporting Penrice community into euphoria on the sidelines.

After a nervous final 5 minutes, the referee blew the final whistle to jubilant scenes from those in black and gold, the match finishing 2-1.

Mr Jenkin
Head of PE at Penrice Academy

“I’m really proud of the students’ achievement. The level of commitment they have shown to training and representing Penrice is outstanding. They’ve done the school proud and they deserve this recognition.

The atmosphere created by the Penrice Community was one I’ll never forget. I must thank the parents, grandparents, carers, students and teachers, all of whom attended in their numbers at the match. It gave our players a huge boost; we are so grateful for the support. Throughout the year we have had parents offering to run the line, arranging kit, and offering to help in so many other ways. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this success.”

Never Giving Up

Tuesday night’s victory was even sweeter given that the team were knocked out in the semi-finals in the previous two years, on both occasions against Newquay Tretherras.

Given the past history, it was seemingly inevitable that Penrice would once again be drawn against Newquay Tretherras in the semi-finals this year, only to secure victory on this occasion.

Mr Jenkin said:

“Finally getting the ‘monkey off our back’ with victory in this year’s semi-final was a really motivating factor for the players. It proved to every player that they can do it and they should never give up. I think this was a huge psychological factor in this comeback performance against Redruth in the final. The boys just refuse to give up; they show incredible resilience and determination.”

Words from Captain Callum

Callum
Year 9 Boys’ Football Team Captain

“Thank you so much to all those who came along to support. Well done to Redruth because they also played really well; it was fine margins.

We had nothing to lose at half-time, we simply had to stick together, keep believing and keep going at them. We really had to boost ourselves and get our heads up, and everyone in the team did so fantastically.

I must take this opportunity to thank Mr Jenkin for putting the time in after school for training over the past three years. Thank you also to the supporters – they really made a difference. I was running down the wing a few times, and hearing the support gives you that momentum, that boost. Hearing the cheers when we scored and at the full-time whistle was just amazing.”

The team will next play together again in Year 10 when they enter the National Cup in September 2024.