Year 9 Boys Football Smash Up at Open Academy

Two Year 9 football teams took part in a 'Smash Up' tournament at Open Academy on Tuesday 9 November.

The tournament is designed to encourage students to 'play as much football in just over an hour as possible'. The Hellesdon Hammers and the Hellesdon Hotspurs managed to achieve this by cramming eleven games between them, against teams from five other schools.

**The Hellesdon Hammers** beat Sprowston Buccaneers 3-0 in their first game, with goals from Harley S, Reece B (goalkeeper) and Thomas M before following that up with a 2-0 victory against Thorpe Rovers, Max S getting both goals. They then won 2-0 against Ormiston Victory A, thanks to a brace from Thomas M. The final two group games were a lot closer, with Thomas M scoring again to seal a 1-0 win against Jane Austen Powers followed by a 0-0 draw against the Sprowston Patriots.

**The Hellesdon Hotspurs** also had a 0-0 draw with the Sprowston Patriots in the first game they played. They followed up with a 1-1 draw against Ormiston Victory B, with Jack K scoring the goal, and then got their first win by beating the Sprowston Buccaneers 1-0 through a Robbie A goal. They rounded their group games off with another 1-0 win, courtesy of Jack K’s ‘goal of the evening’ against Thorpe Rovers.

Those results meant that Hellesdon Hammers faced off against Ormiston Victory A in the final with the Hellesdon Hotspurs competing against Ormiston Victory B in a 3^rd place play off. The Hellesdon Hotspurs fought bravely but, ultimately, lost 3-0 to finish a commendable fourth place overall. The Hellesdon Hammers took an early lead in their game through Max S but were soon pegged back to 1-1 by their opponents (the only goal Reece B conceded all evening). However, with penalties looming, Max S grabbed his second goal of the game to make the Hellesdon Hammers the overall winners!

Players of the tournament: Max S and Jack K