The day had arrived. Six months on from their first round fixture at Clayesmore, the mighty 1s had reached their date with destiny and were one match from entering the QEH history books for eternity. Beaconsfield Town FC was the venue for this most epic of occasions, with the glorious sunshine only adding to the positive atmosphere that was tangible amongst the players on the journey to the venue.

Arriving over two hours before kick-off, the squad had the opportunity to soak up the surroundings and prepare as meticulously as they needed to. Their opponents, Ackworth, had the exact same strategy, and both sides stood tantalisingly close to each other in a near face-off as they watched the conclusion of the U15 Bowl that preceded their final. Question marks were raised over the attire of the Ackworth players – indeed, they were all kitted out in Harrogate Town gear, and it became apparent that QEH were essentially up against a League Two U18 side in this final. A daunting prospect, maybe, but after the journey and ecstasy that the semi-final brought to all, who would bet against the 1s producing another massive result?

The coaches were in high spirits too. Manager Simon Albon was quoted as ‘feeling really calm and chilled’ in a pre-match interview on Tuesday night, whilst Assistant Manager / Confidence Coach Harris was threatened by one QEH pupil when discussing updates about the match: ‘If you lose, I don’t want to hear from you’. Harris’ response of ‘You’ll be hearing from us’ demonstrated the confidence and belief throughout the whole squad.

Out on the pitch an hour before kick-off, the players got sharp with some excellently-prepared warm-up drills by Deji, whilst the arrival of the Fan Bus, full of Year 12s, sports scholars and staff, added to the party-like atmosphere within the ground. Despite the distractions on the sidelines, the message to the players was clear – channel the adrenaline, play your normal one or two-touch game, move the ball fast and impose our football on the opposition. The quicker you settle and achieve that, the better the chance of being victorious. And with that, the players exited the dressing room, walked down the tunnel and lined up for what was the biggest game of most of their lives to this point.

It was Ackworth who got the game underway and for two minutes, QEH fans could have been forgiven for thinking this could be a long afternoon. The 1s had barely had a kick as the side from Leeds applied early pressure with a couple of corners, but both were defended well, with Leo winning a crucial header from the second. The first time QEH won the ball, they sent it down the right wing to Theo, and suddenly the dynamic of the game completely shifted. Cruising past the Ackworth left-back with his skill and searing pace, it became clear that this avenue could reap significant rewards.

As the possession stats started to turn in QEH’s favour, it was not long before the first shots on goal arrived. Back in the side after missing the semi-final through injury, Charlie drove out of defence and into midfield. Interchanging passes first with Wilf and then Portchy, Charlie found himself in space and drove the ball towards goal. The keeper parried the ball out for a corner, but this moment signalled the intent from the 1s, with the fans raising the volume in tandem.

A series of corners followed, with the second only being half-cleared to Deji, who at the far post unleashed a sizzling half-volley that the keeper tipped wide again. The pressure was building on the Ackworth goal, and from the next corner, the deadlock was broken. Deji took a short corner quickly to Ishy, who swung a delivery first-time into the box. Wilf was unmarked, but far enough from the goal for it to take a miraculous effort to test the Ackworth keeper, but Wilf is a player of genuine class. He adjusted his body quickly and cushioned a quite sumptuous volley beyond the stretch of the keeper and into the net to cue mad celebrations in the corner, with many of the QEH fans sprinting down the pitch to join them. It was a genuinely marvellous strike from the ex-2nd XI superstar.

Suddenly, Ackworth were looking rattled, with their possession and directionless attacks thus far easily being snuffed out by the impressive QEH backline. The 1s probably did not have as much of the ball, but when they did win it, they were far more dynamic and quick at moving it. Every time the ball found its way to Portchy on the right side, the audible murmurs of excitement from the QEH crowd only added to the panic amongst the Ackworth players, and it was he who tested the keeper again with a drive from the right-hand side.

The 1s needed to take advantage of this spell in the game, and midway through the half, they did just that. Charlie again was the instigator, carrying the ball up the pitch and continuing his run towards the box as he exchanged passes with others. With the Ackworth defenders scrambling to make a tackle, Charlie received the ball again and somehow managed to wriggle away from them to manufacture room for a shot from the edge of the box. It was no surprise to see Charlie’s effort nestle into the bottom corner, leading to more delirium in the corner. At 2-0, the dream was very much becoming reality.

Ackworth had to respond and tried to up their intensity. Having struggled to cut through the QEH backline, they tried their luck from range, with Louis relieved to see the ball clip the top of the crossbar on its way over. They also attempted a more direct approach, but the only time one of their players got free in the box was when he had drifted a few yards offside, so despite the excellent volleyed finish that the winger then produced, there was never any anxiety about it counting. As they continued to be repelled by the QEH wall in front of them, Ackworth began to turn on each other and the referee, whilst also putting in a few niggly challenges. It was evident that QEH were winning the footballing battle and the mental battle.

Their frustration only grew as the 1s seemed to cut through them with far greater success and ease than they were experiencing down the other end. Another fast QEH attack led to a free-kick being given on the right, which Ishy took control of. Having smashed in some wonder strikes in the warm-up, he went for goal with an audacious effort, and was only denied by another fine save by their keeper.

Ackworth desperately needed to get in at the break with no further damage, but they were about to be undone by a goal of the utmost quality. Playing it out from the back, Lewis fed the ball into Aubrey feet, who turned and found Deji in the centre. He sprayed the play excellently to the wing to the biggest threat on the pitch in the form of Theo. As he had done all game thus far, he terrorised the left-back with another piece of direct running, this time beating him on the outside, before cutting back in and trying to work room for a shot. With other defenders coming out to stop him, he rolled the ball to Wilf, who had steamed forward to join the attack. Showing unbelievable awareness, Wilf declined the shot and instead Cruyff-flicked the ball behind him, somehow seeing that Aubrey was better-placed. With the defenders bamboozled by Wilf’s skill, Aubrey had time to pick his spot and curled delightfully past the keeper to put real daylight between the two sides.

With little time left in the first half, the 1s protected their lead, with the only notable incidents involving some foul-mouthed comments from Ackworth towards the referee. Their frustration at the scoreline and at the ruthlessness that QEH had shown in attack was beginning to boil, with the half-time whistle coming at a good time to try to calm proceedings.

The 1s needed a bit of calming down in the dressing room at the break, with excitement levels understandably high. A superb performance to this point had put QEH in a position that they could barely have dreamed of being in before kick-off, but calm heads were now essential in this second period. Ackworth were going to come flying out of the blocks and QEH would need to stay disciplined both defensively and with their temperaments to maintain control of the match. Despite his mesmerising performance out on the wing, Portchy was brought into the middle of the park to strengthen that area of the pitch, with the energetic Max entering the field on the right, whilst Joe came on at left-back.

The pattern of play at the start of the second half was entirely predictable, with Ackworth chasing the game and looking to make a fast start. Trying a direct approach, they launched several balls into the QEH box, but were largely repelled by a well-organised defence. However, probability states that eventually the ball will fall kindly to an attacker, and after one ricochet did just that, the Ackworth forward curled towards goal. Leo tried to get in the way, but could only flick the ball onwards with his head towards the corner. With hearts in mouths on the sidelines, Louis leapt across goal to superbly tip the ball wide. A goal at that stage would have created some serious momentum in Ackworth’s favour, but Louis had denied them that for now.

This moment was perhaps the wake-up call that the 1s needed to try to retain possession a little better when they did win it, and to not defend quite so deeply. Omar had had a really tough afternoon thus far, being shut out by their defence and having to do the ugly work that strikers do not particularly like doing – performing shuttle-runs across the pitch to try to close their defence down, without having many chances to showcase their own talents. Omar did this tirelessly all afternoon and managed to bring QEH up the pitch on a few crucial occasions. It was not going to be one of his traditional goal-ridden afternoons, but he was battling for the team today as all good Kings too, so he comfortably retains his regal status.

Further back, Jacob was producing a masterclass in the CDM role. Doing much of the work that many will not notice, he covered so much ground and acted as the protector of the back four, positioning himself well to break up Ackworth attacks and harrying them into making mistakes. With QEH now shutting the game down, Ackworth began to lose their heads again, with the referee booking a couple of their players for dissent (although in truth they were lucky to avoid more). With verbal pressure continuing to be applied, there were fears of the official losing control as he bizarrely booked Ishy for a tiny foul, with coaches Albon and Harris immediately subbing the right-back to ensure that there was no risk of anyone being sent off.

Despite this move, Louis nearly undid the coaches’ thinking as he came out to meet a long-ball and opted to try to kick it, even though it was at head-height. It was only in the FA Cup recently that we saw a Millwall keeper get this all wrong and be sent from the field, and once Louis missed the ball, all were relieved to see his foot avoid contact with anyone – he would have surely been in trouble. Thankfully, Charlie and Leo were on hand to sweep away the resulting danger.

And so, time began to fizzle away for Ackworth, with QEH having withstood the mini-barrage with relative ease. It was in fact the men from Bristol who had the best chance to add to the scoreline in the second period, as Max did well on the right to keep the ball in play and hook the ball into the middle. Arriving late was Portchy, who unfortunately blazed over in what was the only blemish of an otherwise sensational performance.

With no goalmouth action down the other end, it was clear now that the cup was coming home with the 1s. Frustration sadly boiled over again late on, as a foul awarded for a high foot on Hugh was met by furious complaints by not only the Ackworth players, but also the coaching staff. Thankfully, the game was buried enough for the atmosphere to not get anything more than tetchy, with the QEH players showing remarkable composure and discipline throughout, doing the school badge proud. Eventually, the final whistle was blown and the celebrations could begin.

After a quick de-brief where Manager Albon tried to award Man of the Match to two players (ludicrous, eh?), the players were sent to the hordes of fans on the sidelines and the emotion could finally be released. This outstanding football side had achieved what no other QEH side has managed in winning a national football trophy, and this was their moment to enjoy it. Some piled into a huddle with the fans, some went straight to the Marketing staff to conduct post-match interviews, others just stood with disbelief and pride, taking everything in. The closing ceremony arrived, with the players and coaches picking up their medals, before Aubrey and Omar lifted the trophy, creating pictures that will live forever in QEH folklore.

Man of the Match: Of course, this was another mammoth team effort, but a few individuals deserve a mention. Charlie makes such a difference to this side, with the calmness that he provides at the back and his excellent reading of the game. In the first half, he displayed his attacking side too and was instrumental in gaining our three-goal advantage. In the second half, it was the excellent work rate of Jacob which kept Ackworth at bay, and he was once again a giant in the centre of the park. At right-back, Ishy had his best game for the 1s. He was a mentality monster today, showing a steely grit and focus from the moment we stepped onto the minibus, channelling all of his energy into positivity and quality on the pitch. However, the Man of the Match quite simply has to be Theo. He carried the ball further than any player on the pitch, terrorised the Ackworth defence, glided past players with apparent ease and showed remarkable skill on the biggest stage of all. It was no surprise to hear his name at the focus of the passionate post-match chants in the dressing room as the players celebrated amongst themselves.

The journey is over; the dream is reality. This football team really is something quite special. Filled with a gluttony of talent, many fancied this side to go far in the competition, but what the side has developed into is something much more than simply a bunch of top footballers. The bond and spirit in this side is remarkable, with all players willing to fight for each other and do what it takes to win a football match. They work together on the pitch, whilst they ooze with confidence and belief off it. There is a genuine love and friendship between the whole squad that only aids the performance on the field, and it has been a real privilege to have witnessed it.

It was King Omar who got us up and running with the opening goal in the 11-0 win at Clayesmore, with he and Aubrey getting hat-tricks in that match. A 6-0 win at home to the Oratory followed, before the 1s were met by a determined London Freemen’s side, where Aubrey popped up with a last-minute winner to put us into the quarters. A 6-0 win over Wycliffe laid down another marker, but it was the semi-final at St Columba’s College that defined the cup run. Lest we forget, we were one kick away from being dumped out of the competition, only for Louis to make a huge penalty save that set up the most dramatic of victories and kept the dream alive. This all led to the big stage today, where we produced perhaps the most professional performance of the lot – a ruthless first-half attacking display, followed by a brilliant demonstration of defensive shape in the second half. Add in the remarkable temperament and behaviour that we have displayed at all times in this cup run, even under the most intense of environments with other sides moaning and losing their cool, and it really is hard to argue against this team being one of the greatest QEH sporting sides of all time.

It was a cup run with 31 goals for the 1s, and only 4 against. It was a cup run that sealed another unbeaten season and a cup run that helped QEH sit on top of the Performance Leagues as the best 1st XI in the country for a second year running. It is hard to keep finding the superlatives for this wonderful side and they really do deserve the success and all of the acclaim that will now go with it. For Louis, Lewis, Joe, Hugh, Jacob, Aubrey and Omar, it surely is the perfect way to close their QEH football careers, and a special thank you must go to them for their incredible service in their time at the school.

Being a part of this journey has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my teaching career – it has been such a pleasure. A huge congratulations to all of the players and to Mr Albon, who has worked absolutely tirelessly to promote football and give opportunities like these. Winning this trophy feels like the perfect way to say thanks. I cannot convey in words the pride that I have for this school and this football team, but far more important than that is the fact that, regardless of whatever happens in the future, you were all part of this fantastic, history-making side and will always remember this incredible experience. You are the U18 ISFA Bowl Champions. You are the mighty 1s.

Up the 1s

Written by Si Harris (OE 2001 - 2008, staff 2011 - present)

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