Richmond Sixth Form College football team have been crowned the Under 18 County Champions, beating Scarborough Sixth Form by a resounding 5-0 in this most-prestigious competition in the county footballing calendar.
Sixth form colleges and independent schools across the whole of North Yorkshire compete in the coveted knock-out competition, which saw Richmond Sixth Form College win five games to gain the trophy. In the semi-final, Richmond defeated Queen Ethelburga’s College, 3-0, before meeting Scarborough at Whitby, with an incredible performance to secure the silverware.
Jonathan Kellett, PE Teacher at Richmond School and Sixth Form College and coach to the U18 team, commented: “Having coached most of the team since Year 7, it was a great way to end their football journey before they head off to universities and football scholarships. They have been the best group of lads I have had the pleasure of coaching and it has been a very successful seven years, having won the County cup at U14, U15 , U16 and now U18 age groups, as well being undefeated in area competitions throughout their Richmond School career. This has been the most-challenging year but they peaked at the right time and produced their best performance when it mattered in the final, in an almost-perfect performance by all the squad. They really did play like it was their last game and the outstanding 5-0 scoreline reflected this.”
The team, led by captain Sean Thompson, were dominant in the first half, although just one goal was scored as Gus Glass whipped in a dangerous corner, which flew into the top corner of the net. Richmond continued their dominance in the second half, quickly doubling the lead when Josh Coburn headed home, from close range after a teasing cross from Gus on the right wing. The game was fully under control when Josh went on to score two more goals to celebrate his hat trick, with Gus scoring the final goal. Ronan Donoghue put in man of the match, keeping the opposition’s best player quiet for the entire game.
Sean concluded: “The majority of the squad has been together since we started at Richmond in Year 7 and to end the our last season together winning the county cup final in our last game for Richmond is a great feeling. All the lads have been top draw this year and I think we really deserved to lift the trophy at the end of it.”