Young players bid for glory in Shropshire's own 'World Cup'

Scores of young footballers from across the county will be taking part in the Shropshire Schools & Colleges FA World Cup finals night tomorrow, all aiming to pick up the top trophy.

The event, at Shrewsbury Sports Village, is the culmination of the association's season and will see schools playing in the guise of various countries of the world.

Manchester City and England goalkeeper Hart is just one of 25 former county players now plying their trade in professional football, proving to the youngsters who take part in the association's competitions and who represent their district and county that it is possible to succeed at the highest level.

Hart, a former pupil of Meole Brace School, is a patron of the association. Among the others now earning a living from football are Billy Jones (Belvidere and Sunderland), Dave Edwards (Mary Webb and Wolves), Jack Price (Sundorne and Wolves) and Boaz Myhill (Marches and West Bromwich Albion). They all act as ambassadors to support the development of youth football within Shropshire.

Sponsored by the Shropshire Star, the SSCFA World Cup finals night will be held at Shrewsbury Sports Village starting at 4.15pm.

Spokesman Alan Jones said: "It is a fitting end to a wonderful season; a season which has once again showcased the depth of talent within Shropshire.

"As we all focus upon the main event in Brazil it is fantastic for everyone in Shropshire that Joe Hart, our own Shropshire Lad, will be undertaking the biggest challenge of his career to date."

The finals will see some of the best school teams in Shropshire battling it out for silverware.

Baschurch School had been on course to make the finals – until the school found that the date clashed with a trip to Cornwall so had to withdraw.

The beneficiaries are now St Lawrence from Church Stretton, who will be representing Costa Rica.

But Baschurch had plenty of success to celebrate on the national stage after reaching the final of the English Schools FA under-11 Danone Nations Small Schools Cup at Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath training ground. Representing Shropshire, Baschurch played in torrential rain and won two of their group games 3-0 to reach the semi-finals and then had to go to extra time to win 3-1 to reach the final.

The final was a great game and, while they lost 1-0 to an excellent Newcastle Boys School, it was a great effort.

Coach Phil Wicks said his team was magnificent and being the second best small school team in England was a great achievement for the players, the school and Shropshire.

There will be a new name on the trophy after reigning boys' champions Priorslee Primary Academy suffered a shock knockout in the qualifers last month. Priorslee had won the competition in 2006, representing Portugal, and in 2010, representing Switzerland, but their hat trick bid was thwarted.

Instead, the boys' finalists will be Oxon (Switzerland), St George's (Iran), Meole Brace (USA), St Lawrence (Costa Rica), Greenfields (Ghana), Redhill (Honduras), Oakmeadow (Germany) and Coleham (Brazil).

The girls' semi finals will be contested by Trinity School from Ford (Holland), St George's Shrewsbury (Portugal), Greenfields (Russia) and Belvidere (Chile). All the results from the qualifying rounds can be found on the SSCFA website www.sscfa.co.uk

It was a case of win some, lose some for Thomas Telford School in the finals of the senior age group competitions played at AFC Telford United's Bucks Head ground. The Telford school came out on top in a high quality under-16s final 2-0 against the Grange School from Shrewsbury.

The holders took the lead after 10 minutes through Wayne Spalding, who hit a fine half volley from the edge of the area to put his side in a dominant position. The second half saw Grange on the back foot while still managing to contain TTS's advances.

But the result was sealed late into the second half when TTS's Declan Green hit an excellent cross-field ball from the left which curled into the top right hand corner, evading the outstretched hands of the Grange keeper. It was a very entertaining and enjoyable final with TTS deserving their victory and Grange being able to hold their heads high.

The eagerly-awaited under-18 final saw the reigning ESFA national champions TTS take on Walford and North Shropshire College. In a hard fought final, on the stroke of half-time Ryan Kershaw, WNS's man of the match, broke the deadlock with a free kick that curled around the defensive wall to beat Mitchelll Hoof's outstretched hand.

The second half was just as pacey, but WNS's more aggressive and determined approach was evident, and they went further ahead when Kershaw coolly curled his strike under the crossbar into the far corner.

The rest of the game was mostly controlled by the North Shropshire team who seemed to out run and out muscle a gallant TTS team and lift the trophy for the second time in three years.