Kepier march on to quarter finals

Kepier entertained St John Fisher RC School of Harrogate in the last 16 of The  English Schools Football Association Danone Nations Cup on an overcast but dry day in Houghton-le-Spring.

In a tight and competitive first half, Kepier just edged the possession, but created few chances due to some excellent defensive work from the visitors. The breakthrough didn't come until the final minute of the half, when after some neat build up play Sam Robinson latched onto a through ball and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner of the St John Fisher goal.

The second half saw Kepier begin to dominate the centre of the park, controlling possession for large periods and forcing the visitors onto the back foot. However St John Fisher continued to defend bravely, and it was ten minutes in until Alex Johnson launched a speculative shot from well outside the box, which found its way into the bottom corner.

Kepier's confidence continued to grow, and the third goal wasn't long in arriving. Sam Robinson again showed his prowess in front of goal, shrugging off several challenges and again finding the bottom corner of the net. St John Fisher, to their credit, refused to let their heads drop and in a rare second half attack immediately afterwards forced Alex Johnson into some excellent defensive work to prevent a chance on the Kepier goal.

Kepier's fourth came from Luke Ridley a few minutes from the end of the match when he picked up the ball just inside the St John Fisher box and looped his shot over the keeper and into the far corner of the goal.

Kepier are now through to the quarter finals of the competition.

Manager Martin Scott of Improtech Soccer said "Once again the boys have proved themselves a credit to their families and the school - I'm looking forward to the quarter finals of the competition and if the boys continue to play like they have today believe we can make it all the way to the final".

Kepier Academy are currently recruiting year 6 learners to join their Elite Football Academy from September 2013.

KEPIER MARCH INTO LAST 16

Kepier's Elite Football Academy are now through to the last 16 of the Danone English Schools Football Association National Cup after a hard fought 1 - 0 win at Nunthorpe Academy in Middlesbrough on Wednesday January 30th 2013.

The recent poor weather had left the pitch extremely wet, with standing water in places, and this combined with a very strong wind made for far from ideal playing conditions.

Despite playing with the wind in the first half, Kepier failed to press home their superior possession and very few chances were created, with the Nunthorpe goal rarely threatened thanks to excellent and spirited defending from the home team. In the second half, despite playing into the wind, Kepier continued to play the better football and made the breakthrough after 10 minutes when Ryan Leonard slid an inch perfect pass through for Sam Robinson, who took the ball past the defender and kept his nerve to slot the ball home into the bottom left hand corner of the goal, giving the Nunthorpe keeper no chance.

Kepier continued to largely control the game, although the final 10 minutes of the match saw Nunthorpe begin to press more and create several chances, the best of which in the dying seconds saw a fantastic save from Owen Warren in the Kepier goal.

Every player put in a fantastic performance, but a particular mention is made of Kieran Charlton who marshalled the defence superbly in the frantic last few minutes of the game. Also, huge credit goes to the boys from Nunthorpe Academy who gave Kepier by far and away their hardest game of the competition so far.

Kepier are now through to the final 16 of the competition, where they will represent the northern region against St. John Fisher Catholic School in Harrogate for a place in the quarter finals.

Manager Martin Scott of Improtech Soccer said "This is a fantastic achievement from a group of players who are a credit to themselves, their families and the school. We are now recruiting current year 6 boys from across the north east to join the Elite Football Academy at Kepier in September 2013."