Students crowned champions

Barnsley College’s Sports Academy male footballers are celebrating winning the South Yorkshire Schools and Colleges FA Cup after beating Maltby College 5-3.

The final was held at Houghton Main FC ground and a goal each from Harley Holt, Charlie Gill, Carter Fairclough, Joe Mercer and Calum Smith put the game to bed. An impressive individual performance from Charlie Gill also played a vital part in the team’s success, winning him player of the match.

“More important than the result is the experience for their development, the opportunity to play at a nice local ground, play in a pressured game and flip the score from 2-1 down to win 5-3.”

Luke Forgione, Performance and Athlete Development Coach at the College, said: “It is always nice to win in a final and this is the first final for the majority of the group. The trophy is a reward for all the hard work on the training field, in the classroom and in the gym since September.

“This group has improved massively since the beginning of the academic year and will continue to do so next year. More important than the result is the experience for their development, the opportunity to play at a nice local ground, play in a pressured game and flip the score from 2-1 down to win 5-3. All these factors contribute to their long term development. Essentially, our Football Academy is about providing a learning environment to achieve academic and sporting excellence.”