Marlborough Youth Barbarians U12s have won their league title, with a 6-4 win against Wanborough on April 30 putting them five points clear at the top of the North Wiltshire Youth Football League Division 4 table.
Even a 4-3 defeat to Royal Wootton Bassett Town Yellow U12s on May 1 – which reduced their lead to two points – was not enough to dampen their spirits, especially as Bassett scored their first goal while Marlborough were playing a man down, as some players were stuck in traffic when the kick-off whistle blew.
There were also some tired legs, as Marlborough had played three matches in seven days, including one against league title rivals Wanborough, which they won 4-1.
During the season, the boys played 16 games and won all but two of them. There were no ties. Their 42 points put them firmly at the top of the table, over Lambourn Sports with 40. There was a wide gap between the top two and third place Bassett, at 27 points.
Keith Marshall, coach and team manager, said: “I am immensely proud of the whole team. We have players of mixed ability, but they train as a team and play as a team, which is why they have maintained top spot in the league, although they play to win they also have great fun.
“One of the most satisfying parts of this successful season is that the entire team (including our goalkeeper) have scored at least one goal in all matches that we have played in, something that we would like to achieve again next season, it re-emphasises the whole team ethos.”
The team were again in action on 7th May taking part in the annual RAMMAR Cup competition between Ramsbury FC and Marlborough Youth FC, in glorious weather players of all age groups up to U12 and the girls Angels team took part in a thrilling morning of soccer, which MYFC won for the first time in three years.
The Barbarians round off the season with a six-a-side tournament at Swindon Town’s County Ground this weekend.