The Year 8 football team made the long journey to play current Welsh Cup holders Chepstow High School this evening in the regional final of the Welsh Cup.
The boys, without a doubt produced their best performance of the season for the final, however on this occasion it wasn’t quite enough, as for the first time this season they were defeated in what was an absorbing encounter.
Ebbw Fawr set about their task from the first whistle against a Chepstow team, jam packed with Academy players and the first half produced football as good as I have seen at this level in a long time. This was reiterated by supporters of both schools who were witness to a classic encounter between two committed teams.
Both defences were on top throughout and the midfield battle was intriguing to watch develop with neither team giving the other time to settle on the ball. It was nip and tuck for the majority of the first half with chances for attackers few and far between. The score was 0-0 at half time.
The second half continued in the same vein, although as players began to tire on the heavy pitch, more gaps began to appear. Callum Foley hit the crossbar from a free kick, with Rhys Moylon unable to fire home the rebound. This was quickly followed by a shot from Eli King which came back off the post, with the keeper beaten. With ten minutes remaining and just as Ebbw Fawr were beginning to get on top Chepstow took the lead with a speculative shot with took a wicked deflection off an Ebbw Fawr to leave keeper Joseph Hill stranded. It was a cruel on the boys, although their heads didn’t drop and they continued to battle on until the final whistle. They even had a chance to equalise with the last kick of the match.
They left the field with their heads held high and did themselves proud.
The Year 8 team has made huge strides this year and I’m sure will look go one step further in this competition next time around.