Sheffield football: Elite youth team brings football home after winning every game during French tournament

Qualitas Sport’s under-14 squad won all five of their games during the tournament, scoring nine and not conceding a single goal, leaving their coaches very proud.

Nathan Lovitt, scholarship lead coach at Qualitas Sport, said: “It was like a proud father moment.

“We work with these boys in training three times a week and I was really proud.”

The U14s opened the tournament well with a fantastic 4-0 victory over ES Lambres-Lez-Douai, from France, thanks to a brace from Toby Butler, who ended up scoring four in the tournament.

He was followed by Cian Wright, who scored twice, James Hetherington, Jacob Roy and Fin McCann, who scored one goal a piece, including one in the final for Fin, as the team beat France’s FC Bondoues 2-0.

But the tournament win was also built on the rock solid defence backed up by goalkeeper Adam Broad.

Nathan said: “They were a team united under pressure and did very well.

“It was very good to see them pull together how they did.”

The U12s also performed very well, finishing in the top 10 during their tournament.

They finished second in the qualifying group, with two wins from three, including a stunning 4-0 against FC Perreux.

James Woolhouse and Oscar Marsh both scored twice during the group stage.

The team were knocked out by a very strong French side in the quarter-finals, and lost a nail-biting penalty shootout 3-2 in the fifth/sixth play-off and bumped down to the seventh/eighth play-off, where they secured their top 10 place with a 3-0 win against Ol Grande Sythe FC.

“We are all about giving the kids experiences to create memories which will last a lifetime,” Nathan said.

“The boys loved it and they can’t wait to go again next year.”