The Ballinamallard under 13 squad have just returned from a successful trip to Germany where they took part in the Finow Cup.
The competition was held over two days and involved 48 teams from Germany, Poland, Italy and Belgium. Departing early on Friday morning, the squad were met in Berlin Airport by teachers and pupils from the local school in Finow and taken on a sightseeing trip to the Brandenburg Gates and historic site of the Berlin Wall. Once settled into the local school which was their base for the three days, the squad were entertained at a barbeque on Friday evening and then caught up on some much needed sleep before the tournament began.
The group stages on Saturday afternoon saw them play five games against some very strong German opposition and following a shaky 3 - 0 defeat against the eventual group winners, FC Erzgebirge, and two unlucky 1 - 0 defeats to Eintracht Braunschweig and Turkiyemspor Berlin, they recorded convincing 2 - 0 and 4 - 0 wins against GW Langenberg and FV Stahl Finow to finish a very creditable 4th in their group.
On Saturday evening there was more entertainment provided at the tournament venue with a live band, barbeque and a fireworks display before heading back to the school to prepare for the finals.
Rising early on Sunday morning the squad had time for a quick breakfast before their first match against Tasmania Gropiusstadt which was a close game that finished 0 - 0.
PENALTIES
Penalties were required to find a winner and a great save from the Tasmania keeper from the Mallards last penalty saw them go out 3 - 2.
As the squad could not now win their section in the tournament they were now playing for final tournament places and lost their next two games before ending the weekend on a high with a good win against Eintracht Schwerin.
Commenting on the weekend, team manager Mark Palmer said; " The boys have had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the whole experience. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to be able to play against boys their own age from other countries and they equipped themselves well.
The standard of football was very high and hopefully they have learned from this and will develop as a result. Our hosts were absolutely superb and we can't thank them enough for the warm hospitality and kindness they showed the squad and all the parents who travelled with us.
"We had a very tough travel schedule and the extremely warm weather did take a lot out of the boys but the parents were wonderful and made sure everything ran smoothly. We hope some of the boys will keep in touch with the friends they made in Finow and look forward to the club being invited back next year."
