St Catherine's crowned U19 National Schools champions
St Catherine’s School, Bramley were crowned National Schools U19A Championship winners following a stunning 3-2 comeback victory against Moreton Hall in the final.
The Surrey school claimed top honours after recovering from a two-goal deficit early on to win the tie in the dying seconds.
St Cat’s had lost earlier in the day in the pool stages to Westonbirt, but regrouped to put together a fine string of performances in the knockouts to take the crown.
A tight 2-1 victory over Godolphin was followed up with an impressive 4-1 win against reigning champions Putney High and put themselves into a semi-final against local neighbours Guildford High.
It took just a single goal to settle the tie and St Cat’s advanced to the final against Moreton Hall.
Moreton Hall’s progress, meanwhile, was perhaps the story of the day up until the final, going under the radar before delivering a series of professional performances to upset the odds and make the final two.
While they went unbeaten on Day 1, the Shropshire side only posted a 1-1-1 record at the start of Day 2 to finish 3rd in their pool.
They faced a strong Bolton side in the Last 16 who themselves had defeated last year’s finalists Putney High earlier in the day.
It was a cagey affair, but they secured the 2-1 win and followed that up with a win over Shrewsbury in a Shropshire derby 3-1 to make the final four.
Facing Caterham, who had just knocked out fancied Berkhamsted, it was another nip and tuck semi-final with a 1-0 win being enough to secure the victory.
Come the final, it was Moreton Hall who made by far the brighter start, going 2-0 up into half-tine and looking favourites for a famous win.
However, St Cat’s, and in particular, Midfield MVP Bonnie, were far from finished and set about a rousing comeback to in front of a packed final crowd.
Bonnie scored twice to tie the game up, dictating the play for her side and orchestrating a growing number of St Cat’s attacks.
Indeed it was then Bonnie who claimed a self-win from the draw with less than a minute to go, driving to goal before passing off to teammate Johnson to deliver the decisive blow and give Moreton Hall no time to respond, handing St Catherine’s the win and sparking ecstatic celebrations on the final whistle.
Despite being regular winners of the various age group competitions, it was St Catherine’s first win in the blue riband event since 2014 and a sweet moment for their players, coaches, and supporters.
WATCH: Watch the full Under 19A Championship final on YouTube now
Full Winners from Day 2 at National Schools
U19A Division 1 Winners: Wycombe Abbey 5-2 Monmouth
U19A Division 2 Winners: Bedford 4-1 Malvern St James
U19A Division 3 Winners: North London Collegiate 3-2 Loreto (OT)
U19B Division 1 Winners: St Catherine’s 3-2 Putney High
U19B Division 2 Winners: Bedford 3-0 Wycombe Abbey
MVP Awards
Goalie: Alice Cox (Guildford High)
Defender: Lois Crilly (Putney High)
Midfielder: Bonnie (St Catherine’s)
Attacker: Genevieve Alcock (Caterham)
Vivien Jones Memorial Award: Honor (St Catherine’s)
The top eight schools from the Under 19A Championship have also qualified for the 2023 School Challenge Cup in November.
Qualified teams
St Catherine’s, Moreton Hall, Guildford High, Caterham, Putney High, Shrewsbury, Haberdashers’ Girls, Berkhamsted