THE Slough Schools Under-11 District Team has been crowned County Champions for the first time in their history, writes Rob Stevens.

The team will now represent Berkshire Schools County in the South West England Regional Finals.

The boys played the beautiful game with speed, strength and integrity. They were a credit to each other, their families, schools and themselves.

Wokingham were the dominant district last year but were swept aside comfortably by Slough in a 2-0 win.

Tyler Haruvisi (Dedworth) scored the first goal with an assist from Royus Buterlevicius (Paurlant Park). As Slough continued to press, Thomas Roberts (Trevelyan) struck decisively to secure the victory.

Newbury are a well-established district team and it was the closet game of the tournament with Slough running out 1-0 winners.

The match ebbed and flowed but it was captain Sam Yabani (Dedworth) who scored the winning goal.

The defensive fortress of Archie McHugh (St Peters), Luca Isernia (Lynch Hill), and Archie Seeburg (Trevelyan) kept another clean sheet.

It was a very tense affair in the last game but a 0-0 draw against Reading was enough to see Slough crowned County Champions.

Slough keeper Leo Murrell (Trevelyan) had yet another fine performance by making two excellent saves to ensure his third clean sheet, meaning the team had not conceded a single goal in the whole tournament.

Scouts from professional clubs were present at the tournament and the Slough District is awaiting a call for a number of their boys.

The team received medals from Berkshire County representatives and certificates are being delivered to schools.