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DOUBLE WINNERS: Barry Athletic, Under 15s. Back row (l-r): Lewis Latner,

IT'S not easy for any football team to achieve a league and cup double - and this proved the case for Barry Athletic U15s this season.

The boys managed to do so however in a remarkable run, remaining unbeaten in the league, drawing three games and winning the rest - accumulating 54 points from a possible 60.

In a very hard fought season, Athletic faced some very tough games and were pushed all the way, notably in very close matches against Cowbridge, Barry FC, Cogan and Dinas Powys who all had excellent seasons and the rest of the teams in the league who all played very well.

The standard of football is definitely increasing for this age group and the league is a much tighter affair, a tribute to all players and their coaches.

The U15 Cup Final, held at Jenner Park on Sunday, April 27, was also a hard fought match, with little separating the finalists, Barry FC and Athletic.

The first half in particular seemed to swing on a pendulum, with end to end football of a very high standard which must have made the coaches (Haydn Stait of Barry FC and Rob Newman/Paul Briscombe of Athletic) very proud indeed.

The deadlock was broken on the 26th minute with Sion Shakespeare of Barry Athletic, neatly heading in from a well placed free kick.This solitary goal separated the teams at half time.

After the break, Athletic took the initiative, and Chad Clarke scored early on to make it 2-0. With a cushion established, Athletic relaxed a little and FC were left an uphill struggle but to their credit, never crumbled.

The third and final goal of the game came from a penalty scored by Sion Shakespeare for his second after he had been brought down in the box. The final score 3-0 to Athletic, in a reversal of the 2-0 defeat to Barry FC in last seasons final.

Athletic's defence of Lewis Latner, Sam Adamson, Chad Clarke, Michael Lazarou and goalkeeper Ellis Spear were resolute and provided some quality passing with Clarke and Lazarou strong on the left and in the centre and Latner virtually unbeatable in the air freeing up Adamson to attack up the right wing and provide some quality passes into the danger area. Rhys Davies and Ryan Newman in midfield were hungry for the game and battled tenaciously for possession. This was mirrored by the seemingly tireless Josh Hurley. Up front, Jordan Prosser once again ran his socks off (70 goals this season) Sion Shakespeare proved deadly and David Bryant always posed a threat with his pace. Subs on the day who have been a valuable part of the team all season, Onka Hayer, Joe Briscombe (coming back from a nasty injury earlier on) and Luke spear also Elliott Ball who was cup-tied for the final.

Notably the team has lost just twice in league games and one cup final in the last four seasons, an amazing achievement. (They'll be as good as their dads one day).

Congratulations also to Barry FC players for providing some tough opposition in league and cup matches: Ethan Dicks, Adam Bowsher, Luke Walsh, Matthew Gregg, Aaron Fewin, Nick Bruce, Aiden Lewis, Ben Stait, Josh Manning, Dan Lawlor, Tom Moffat, Scott Salter, Jordan Sheekey and Rhys West.

Thanks also to the match officials on the day and to both sets of parents and fans for supporting all the boys at the final and during the season.

8:00am Thursday 8th May 2008

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