With all the rain we’d had, this game looked in doubt—but fair play to Stretton! It should’ve been our home fixture, yet we switched it so they could host, and they did a brilliant job getting the pitch playable. The grass was long, the ground was wet, but none of that mattered—the lads went out and delivered a fantastic performance.

The opening 10 minutes were tight, with Stretton enjoying plenty of possession and testing our back four, who stood firm against their strong forward line. We managed to get in behind them a couple of times, showing real intent, but couldn’t quite make those early chances count.

Then came the breakthrough in the 13th minute! Tom burst forward from midfield with trademark determination, battling past challenges before slipping a great ball into George, who flicked it perfectly into Theo’s path. And Theo—like a proper striker—took a brilliant first touch, checked the keeper’s position, and passed it calmly into the far corner. A superb finish. 0–1!

Our defence and Harry stayed rock solid, and as we made some early subs—Jake joining Lewis at the back, pushing Hugo into midfield, and Toby replacing George on the right—the team kept their shape and intensity.

Just four minutes later, we struck again! A lively attack created a scramble in the box. Theo reacted fastest and nudged the ball to Oli on the edge. From a tough angle, Oli absolutely smashed it into the top corner. A stunning finish! 0–2.

Then, right at the end of the half, Hugo powered into the final third on one of his trademark runs and was brought down inside the box. No hesitation from the ref—penalty! Hugo stepped up and coolly rolled the ball past the diving keeper. Calm as you like. 0–3!

Half-Time: 0–3

At the break, the message was simple: more of the same. There were no negatives—just encouragement to keep going.

And straight away, we did! George picked up the ball near halfway and threaded a gorgeous through ball to Theo. He twisted one way, then the other, and slotted home with total composure. 0–4!

At the back, we were outstanding. Lewis was his usual powerhouse. Jake tidied up absolutely everything. Max charged up and down the left with endless energy. Kian was a wall at right-back—nothing passed him all match. Harry stayed alert and dealt with everything confidently.

In the 46th minute, goal number five arrived! Another lovely move, another assist from George—his third of the game—sliding the ball through to Theo, who finished with class to complete a brilliant hat-trick. 0–5!

From there, we kept pouring forward. Finn and Toby combined brilliantly down the right, creating chance after chance. Charlie caused chaos on the left and up top with his weaving runs. In midfield, Tom, Hugo, and Oli controlled everything—strong, composed, and always looking to launch another attack with clever passes over the top or through the middle.

A dominant, professional, and hugely impressive performance from the whole squad.

Well done, lads. On to the semi-final!

Man of the Match: Oli Bayley