Lois Russell Tournament

2010

The Lois Russell Tournament was once again a huge success. Teams from six different counties took part in the event which consisted of  240 matches, including 24 quarter finals, 14 semi finals and seven thrilling finals, all packed into the two days. A number of teams have participated in the tournament since day one, but it was exciting to see so many newcomers from Kent, Dagenham, Rochester to name but a few. 
The weather was once again kind to us and our under 10's opened the tournament with matches kicking off at 9.30. A much improved Christ the King College returned having competed in 2009 and made it all the way to the final, but it was Chinnor Youth who were triumphant beating the Isle of Wight side 1-0.
 
The under 11's competition was won by a jubilant Ascot United Diamonds. Ascot competed last year in our under 10's competition, and showed real character on the field beating Barnes Eagles 3-2 to lift the cup.
Saturday's football came to a close with a very strong under 12's competition. Reading Girls  have entered the Lois Russell Tournament since day one and have always fielded a very strong squad. They didn't dissapoint in the 2010 competition by beating Caversham Pink Swans 1-0 in a closely fought final.        
Sunday morning started slightly earlier, with the weather still in our favour and out under 14's and 16's kicking off simultaneously. Penn Panthers and Sandhurst stormed their way through the knockouts having both finished 4th in their groups and it was Sandhurst who emerged triumphant with a 1 -0 win in the final. 
At the same time the under 16's were entertaining the crowd on pitch 2 with teams from Chelsea and Southampton to name but a few. In very strong category, Aldershot and Reading made it to the final with scores remainig level at full time. In a nail biting penalty shoot out Aldershot pulled it off beating Reading 2-1. 
And finally our largest competition of the weekend saw 28 ladies teams from all over the south of England battle it out to become our first ever Lois Russell open age champions. We were pleased to present two tropies in this category In addition to our main trophy, teams were able to compete for the Lois Cup if they didn't quite make it to the main knock out stages. As the day progressed we were left with some exceptional teams. Both finals were played simultaneously. Ebbsfleet United pulled it off to lift the Lois Cup beating Rising Stars in a tense penalty shoot out, and our Ladies Champions 2010, The Wall, beat home side Reading Town Ladies again on penalties as the game was goalless at full time.
 
The day was a huge success and the organisers are still totting up the figures. Full details will be posted on our website in the next few days. Thank you to all who competed and see you all next year. 
To see photos from the day please visit

For Saturday

www.sports-alive.com
and for Sunday visit
www.occurphotography.co.uk