AFC Hiltingbury Champion Of Champions

“On the weekend of the 19th & 20th May 2018 the AFC Hiltingbury U12 Hawks entered into the Southern ESF Championship held at Butlins in Bognor Regis, 1 of 4 of these events held around the country. The tournament which attracted teams from all over England and further afield including Wales & Northern Ireland was played in group format all day Saturday and Sunday morning and then semi-finals & finals for the group winners and runners up on Sunday afternoon. 

After the group games the U12 Hawks finished top of their group on 16pts winning 5, drawing 1 and losing 0 games, conceding only 1 goal. In the semi-finals the Hawks fought hard and occasionally rode their luck for a 0-0 draw to take the game to a penalty shoot out which they won 5-4 with the keeper saving the final penalty. Hiltingbury then raised their game for the final and outplayed their opponents, but were unable to find the net so the game again finished 0-0 and went to another penalty shoot out. The Hawks missed their 1st penalty and looked like finishing runners-up until their opponents hit the bar with their final effort, after 5 penalties each it was 4-4 and it went to sudden death, The Hawks keeper again made a crucial save before picking up the ball to take the next the penalty himself which to the relief of all Hiltingbury fans he scored to win the championship. The day was topped off with an awards ceremony where the U12 Hawks were presented with their trophies by England legend Teddy Sheringham. 

In addition to this, along with the winners of the other 4 ESF Championships the U12 Hawks have been invited to play in a ‘Grande Finale – Champion Of Champions’ Event at St Georges Park, England National Team Training Centre, which they will be competing in on Saturday 7th July.”