Jason Ngandu reports as Robert Clack School win the Barking & Dagenham Year 11 Schools Cup after a 2-0 victory over next-door neighbours All Saints School at the LBBD Stadium…
Last week, I attended a very exciting cup final between two schools separated by only a couple of hundred yards.
It was the first ever Barking & Dagenham schools cup final played at a professional football ground. As a result, I was not surprised with the impressive turn-out of over 400 spectators.
Families, school teachers, and students came from all over the borough to witness and enjoy a fantastic game of football between the next-door neighbours Robert Clack School and All Saints Catholic School.
It was the Year 11 final – the first of five age-group finals to be played at Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club’s LLBD Stadium this spring.
After the final school bell rang, school kids flooded the 103 bus, from the bottom to the top deck, to make the short 1.4 mile journey to the ground. The Robert Clack kids crept into the ground first as their school bell rings 15 minutes earlier than the All Saints bell.
By 16.30, the Carling Stand was filled and the referee was ready to blow the whistle for kick-off.
At 17:15, All Saints were fortunate to enter the half-time interval without conceding a goal although they had a few decent chances in the first half themselves. Fine saves from the two opposing goalkeepers kept the ball out of the back of both nets in the first 45 minutes of play.
The very lively crowd roared both teams into the second period which turned out to be the most entertaining. The game became more ‘end-to-end’ with more tackles, shots, crowd noise, and everything else expected from a derby cup final.
We were all sat down in the Carling Stand and I could hear schoolkids discussing their upcoming exam timetables. The game was to be their final ever school sports game before entering the daunting GCSE exam period – and in addition to the fact they were up against their biggest rivals, the importance of winning the game was undoubted.
After a frantic restart of play, Robert Clack School took the lead with a well-executed direct free-kick from their central midfielder just twelve minutes into the second period – to the delight of one half of the Carling Stand.
Robert Clack School doubled their lead with fifteen minutes left on the clock when their impressive centre forward finished off his mazy run with a twenty-yard strike nestling into the bottom left corner of the goal. The final whistle blew with the Robert Clack supporters going wild and cheering their team who had conquered Dagenham Park, Eastbury, Barking Abbey, and finally All Saints to become the inaugural winners of the competition.
It was a fantastic final with a fantastic atmosphere. The players and the crowd were brilliant and I already can’t wait for the next finals in May for the Year 10s and Year 9s. It was very good to see everyone enjoy the day and I’m sure it will be up there with their best ever school memories.