Wellington Cup tour to our sister school in Shanghai

Friday the 14th November saw Wellington Tianjin embark on a journey south to our sister school in Shanghai. Two under-15 girls and boys’ football squads were lucky enough to be invited to contest the Wellington Cup.

On the morning of the game excitement and anxiety levels were very high. After breakfast the 21 players were fortunate enough to take part in an hour long training session from Ex England International Carlton Palmer and former Crystal Palace player and professional coach Wayne Butfoy. This helped to settle the nervous energy and gave the players some new ideas to implement in the challenge match.

The girls match was a high tempo and physical encounter throughout. Both teams were evenly matched and as the game settled the players showed skill and resolve. Mrs Archer, who deputised for Ms Wei, was a commanding and vocal presence on the touch line and kept the players motivated and focused throughout. Sarah, who was one of the youngest players on the pitch, worked tirelessly and formed a powerful core with her elder sister Subin. Chances were few and far between in the opening minutes, and when the Shanghai team did break forward Jane and Ally would propel them with powerful tackling. Katie Kim led the line with purpose and skill and was supported by the all action captain Billie Archer who covered the pitch superbly. As the players tired the game opened up and chances began to immerge for both sides. Wellington Tianjin went agonisingly close on a number of occasions and were desperately unlucky not to score. Wellington Shanghai demonstrated the high level of coaching they receive and counter attacked swiftly. Thankfully goalkeeper Clare was in top form, and she showed cat like reflexes to thwart the attempts at goal. A goal did come about eventually, and it was scored by Wellington Shanghai. After a goal line scramble the ball was worked to an attacker and it deflected into the net. The players from Tianjin did not get deflated and they came back strongly. Despite being a goal down the team played with calmness and assurance, and created numerous chances. Billie Archer kept driving the team forward and the relentless pressure resulted in Katie Kim scoring a trademark goal. With the scores locked at 1-1 Tianjin continued to push forward with Kyujin and Subin showing incredible energy in the final minutes. When the final whistle went the players were delighted with the result, although the girls were disappointed not to secure the victory. It was a close game, and it is a testament to the improvement the players have made in a short space of time. The work Ms Wei has put into to developing these players has been incredible and they should be very pleased with their seasons work.

Over on the boys pitch the atmosphere was electric. The first 20 minute third was an end to end extravaganza. WCIS played some lovely passing football and kept possession for long periods but could not break down the resilient defence of Leo and Stephen. This strong platform was the catalyst for a number of quick counter attacks with Lucas, Alejandro and the impressive Elliot providing the ammunition for Harold, but WCIS stood firm limiting the number of clear cut chances. Unfortunately for WCIT, Shanghai managed to score a great goal after some excellent one touch passing. This third finished 1-0 and the boys can be very proud of the work rate and attitude shown.

With the score reset, the main event kicked off between the boys’ U-15 teams. The opening part of the game was a tense affair and like the previous game WCIS passed the ball round with great confidence but Tianjin kept their shape and defended with ease. Roy and Daewon proved to be excellent outlets and their pace and close control proved almost impossible to defend against. Evan and Jabin were feisty in midfield and stifled any attack. After the initial 10 minute exchange WCIS won a corner and poor defending allowed the Shanghai attacker to stab in at the back post. Despite falling behind, Tianjin responded almost immediately, some slick passing between the outstanding Oscar and Daewon led to a one-two on the edge of the box with Roy who passed the ball into the bottom corner. This was a tremendous response from Tianjin and for the 5 minutes before half time they really should have gone 1 or 2 goals up. A wonderful reaction save from Ryoken brought the half to an end.

The second half was an intense 20 minutes with both teams demonstrating discipline and maximum effort. Sam put in some great tackles in defence and launched numerous attacks for Tianjin. Shanghai created a few half chances but Tianjin always looked dangerous on the break. It was clear with 10 minutes to go that a single goal would win the game. Thankfully for Tianjin a quick break and a quality through ball led to the Shanghai defender putting the ball into his own net. This was unfortunate for the Shanghai player but the Tianjin squad and coaching team were ecstatic. There were 7 minutes remaining and despite pressure from Shanghai, Tianjin defended with phenomenal commitment to win 2-1.

Congratulations to Wellington Tianjin for winning the inaugural Wellington Cup and to Oscar for winning the MVP trophy. It was a magnificent performance from the Tianjin defender.

As coaches and teachers all we can say is how proud we are of the attitude and effort shown from all of the children who took part this weekend. It has been a pleasure to bring you away on this tour!

We would like to say a huge thank you to Carlton and Wayne for the coaching session, Wellington Shanghai for hosting and feeding us. We look forward to a return match at some point in the future.

Ross McGrath, Andy Turner, Faye Archer and Jason Yan