The 2011 London Cup

I may have left school but that did not stop me going on what has become one of my best high school memories!

My best friend, Ana and I got the opportunity to go to watch the London cup in Chiswick with our old school. Watching 4 teams, 2 games and high spirited fans made it a day that we shall never forget! As soon as we got to the tournament the excitement and energy hit us, the players and fans alike were smiling and chatting on their way to the pitch. Having not been before I found it rather overwhelming!

The first match of the day was New Zealand vs Korea. Now being a girl there was one thing I noticed straight away - New Zealand were drop dead gorgeous! As well as being the most attractive team it turned out they were rather good as they beat Korea 2-0. Simon Child scored a great goal, sneaking past two Korean defence men in the first half to give New Zealand an early lead. Korea tried hard to equalize but New Zealand were two strong and scored again with 53 seconds left of the game!

  

New Zealand defending their net. (photo by me)



After the game I became a groupie (so to speak) of the New Zealand team as I was determined to get autographs and have a photo taken with Stephen Jenness (see below)



Me and Stephen Jenness (Photo by Ana)



The second game was the one we had all been waiting for; England vs Belgium. This was Ana's time to shine as she knew the squad off by heart so she couls cheer them on at the top of her voice! The first half showed a very strong start from the England lads as they were soon 2-0 up with stunning goals from Richard Alexander and Glenn Kirkham. Belgium soon fought back and seconds before half time made it 2-1.

The second half showed a whole new game come to life as Belgium got another 3 goals past England's goal keeper James Fair to win the game 4-2. This was an unexpected result but its fair to say I am very proud of the England squad and so were everyone else as a huge cheer erupted from the crowd at the end of the match.


England defending against the Belgium player Thomas Briels (photo by me)





Once again we became groupies after the game as we hung around with the England players getting autographs. Ana even managed to get a photo with her favourite player Simon Mantell (see below), I don't think I had ever seen her so quiet when she made her way back to me!

 


Ana and Simon Mantell (photo by Ana)

  If anyone is thinking about going to the London cup in the future I highly recommend it as you meet so many people; players and fans! So hopefully I will see you all there next year! thank you!