Futsal action swarmed SE16 today, as a tournament was held in the Sports Hall in the Lions Centre.
Four teams would take centrestage, Newhaven Lions, Newhaven Tigers, North West Kent and Millwall All stars.
One group of four and 1st vs 2nd. The first game would be a thriller between the Newhaven Lions and the North West Kent, with the former going 3-0 up and dominate proceedings, before North West Kent almost completed a spirited comeback before blue would solidify the win in the dying seconds. 4-2 and the tournament was up and running.
Millwall All Stars would take the stage for the next game, they started their tournament against Newhaven Tigers, in short a dominant display. The young Lions started early, and in no time a gap was being created. In the end the All Stars prevailed with a dominating display, winning 4-0. The Lions were in town.
Millwall All Stars would host the next match against New Haven Lions. Both started the game in good fashion taking the lead early. However Millwall would overcome this early deficit to lead 2-1 before Newhaven Lions made it 2-2. From this point Millwall turned on the burners, a dominant few minutes would pull the game away from Newhaven Lions, and it would end up 5-2 to Millwall. Huge wins in both games for The Lions.
Newhaven Tigers and North West Kent both started with a loss, this was an opportunity to bounce back and build momentum for their last games. Newhaven Tigers took the lead right from the off, admits all the pressure North West Kent put on them. It eventually paid off, as North West Kent put the pressure to good use to win 2-1. Newhaven Tigers would have one last chance to salvage something from the tournament, as they face Newhaven Tigers. This game felt eerily similar to Newhaven Tigers last game, as they took the lead once more.
In the same fashion, Newhaven Tigers pressure eventually paid off as they came back to win 2-1. Not the tournament Newhaven Tigers wanted, but they can take positives from the experience. The last game of the group stage would be Millwall All Stars vs North West Kent. A bit of a stalemate this one, North West Kent took the lead before Millwall equalised with not that long left.
The first draw of the competition and ultimately our two finalists.The final would commence, two teams who have been excellent. Millwall blew their opposition away however, going 3-0 up with no reply from the North West Kent. They would pull back one to make it a 2 goal deficit, but Millwall held on for the win. Champions in their own backyard. A brilliant tournament showing the arts of futsal, hopefully more like this to come in the future.
Patricio Fenick-Sanchez, Millwall Community Trust's Football and Sports Development Officer said: "I'm delighted with how the tournament went, there was lots of skills and talent on show throughout the afternoon.
"Thank you to all schools who participated and it was great to see them all having fun while playing in good spirits and showing great sportsmanship."
To find out more about Millwall Community Trust's Football and Sports Development department, visit: https://millwall.charityhive.dev/f-player-development-centre
Written by Reece Endicott
