Town youngsters pick up runners-up medals in European tournament
A selection of the Hatters’ Under-13 and 14s academy players narrowly missed out on being crowned champions in the Parkvogel Under-14 Cup in Germany last weekend.
The Town went down 1-0 in the final against Swedish side Hammarby in the final of the competition in Dusseldorf.
Having picked up four points from three group stage games, the Hatters progressed to the second qualifying round and three victories – over Germany’s Rot Weiss Essen, Latvia’s Ventspils and Aarhus from Denmark – was enough to earn a quarter-final place.
A 2-0 win over German side Osnabruck set up a semi-final meeting with Reutlingen, also of Germany. After the game finished goalless the Town triumphed 4-3 on penalties to book their place in the final.
Despite a tremendous effort in the final, Swedish Premier League side Hammarby ran out 1-0 winners, but the young Town players and staff can be proud of their efforts to finish runners-up in a competition packed with some of Europe’s top clubs.
Group Stage
Game 1 v BJK Koln (German) Drew 0-0
Game 2 v Fortuna Dusseldorf (German) Lost 1-2
Game 3 v Hammarby IF (Swedish) Won 1-0
Second Qualifying Round
Game 4 v Rot Weiss Essen (German) Won 1-0
Game 5 v FC Ventspils (Lativan) Won 1-0
Game 6 v Aarhus (Denmark) Won 2-0
Quarter-Finals
Game 7 v VfL Osnabruck (German) Won 2-0
Semi-Finals
Game 8 v Reutlingen (German) Drew 0-0 (Won 4-3 on penalties)
Final
Game 9 v Hammarby IF (Sweden) Lost 0-1
Squad: Jones, Foster, Kateley, Peck, Alderson, Shilton, Jones, Panter, Phelan, Mead, Panesar, Daley, Gibson and James. Staff: Jordan McCann, Andy Zeller and Sam Palmer.