Young Leeds football stars kick away their Euro 2016 blues

Junior players from four primary schools in the Seacroft and Manston areas of east Leeds showed off their skills at the inaugural Manston Cup contest yesterday.

Manston Primary School staged the seven-a-side contest and fielded a team alongside opposition from Grimes Dyke Primary School, Parklands Primary School and Seacroft Grange Primary School.

Manston Primary School deputy headteacher Suzanne Roxby, said: “Because of the Euro 2016 competition there’s even more excitement around and the children wanted to do better than England did against Iceland.

“They were very disappointed in England’s performance on Monday night.

“Our school is not in a formal league for football and the children don’t get regular games, so we came up with an idea of a cup competition to enable them to play against other schools and put in to practice what they have been learning during the year in football club.
“They just love playing football and like the competition of playing against other schools and not just against each other.
“It’s a really good opportunity to enable them to mix with children from other schools and it builds a sense of community among schools in our area.

Mrs Roxby added: “This football competition might seem like a small event to us, but it is really empowering for the children to be part of a team.

“It really builds a sense of self esteem and they are hoping the Manston Cup will become a regular event.”

Manston Primary School ‘A’ team faced Grimes Dyke Primary School ‘A’ Team in the final of the contest.

The match finished 1-1 after full time before Manston sealed victory 3-0 on in a penalty shoot out.