Domestic double winners North U16s ready for St Paul’s
North Under-16s have the chance to complete the treble tomorrow afternoon as they play Jersey champions St Paul’s in the John Leatt Trophy.
The chocolate-and-blues pipped Sylvans to the Ravenscroft U16 League title by a single point and secured their second trophy of the season on Monday evening with a 2-0 victory over Grand Fort Road rivals Vale Rec in the Normandie Cup final.
North’s squad features four players that were involved in this year’s U16 Muratti – Sam Cooley, Seb Mourant, Charlie Van Katwyk and Tyrese Kelly – while St Paul’s could feature as many as seven that were involved in Jersey’s comfortable triumph in the inter-island fixture.
‘The team have been absolutely fantastic this year, they’re a great group of lads that gel really well together,’ said coach and North vice-president Darren Cooley, who takes the side along with Jason and Cayden Tardif.
‘Last year we coached the lads at U15 level and they were just beaten to the title by Sylvans, so to do the double is a superb achievement.
‘The club has a small group of U18s, so many of the U16s also play at U18 level, and a handful have also been involved in the senior set-up, which has really helped their development.
‘On the back of all that, we’re confident for the game on Saturday.
‘One of the things that’s done us a favour is that the game is at Northfield, so hopefully having home advantage will stand us in good stead and we’ll get some good support.’
Northerners had a light training session on Wednesday when they discussed their game plan for tomorrow.
‘The boys have worked hard all year so we think we have done all the right prep,’ Cooley said.
‘Jason and Cayden have also done so well this year coaching the group.
‘The defence is mean, our midfielders are technical and we have pace up front, so the team is very balanced.
‘We know that St Paul's will be a good side – it is always really difficult playing the Jersey teams.
‘It would be superb to win it. The club have not had the best year at senior level, so it would be massive if the U16 team could do the treble.’
Tomorrow’s John Leatt Trophy U16 Upton kicks off at 1pm at Northfield.
