The 31st January saw the John Radford Trophy finals take place at the RH Academy. After two qualifying rounds, the four teams which made the finals were Abbey Primary School, Peafield Lane Academy, Berry Hill Primary School and Croft Primary School. All four schools were very deserving of their place, after delivering some fantastic football in the previous qualifying rounds. Each team played each other twice in a round robin format, the team with the most points taking the trophy. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.
After the first 3 rounds of fixtures, Peafield and Croft were tied at the top with 6 points each, Berry Hill with 4 and Abbey with 1. Peafield began the finals with a strong 4-0 victory against Abbey but became stuck against Berry Hill in a highly competitive game, with Berry Hill picking up 3 points winning 2-1. Croft started strong with 2 victories out of 3, remaining the only team undefeated in the tournament. In the end, Peafield Lane ran out as the winners and champions of the John Radford Trophy, as they marched on with another 2 wins and a draw, defeating Croft in the final game. They edged out winners on 13 points, with Berry Hill close behind with 11 points who defeated Abbey in the final game but unfortunately saw them fall just short. Finishing the table, Croft finished on 9 points and Abbey with 1.
Community Manager Gary Shaw shared his thoughts on the Finals. “This was the most competitive this tournament has ever been since we started it 8 years ago, that is a huge credit to all teams involved today” He added “It really could have gone either way and it was an exciting watch, Peafield, Berry hill and Croft all could have won it in the last fixture, which you love to see. Congratulations go to Peafield who get to take our trophy home this year.”
Peafield Lane Class Teacher Corey Nightingale stated how much it meant for the players, after the tournament had been called off for the past few years due to Covid-19. “They have been looking forward to it. They’ve been getting ready and talking about it all day so they’ve been absolutely buzzing and are really pleased to win it.”