WHAT started with preliminary rounds on the playing fields of Woodroffe School in September culminated in Charmouth Primary School coming joint-third in the national finals for small schools at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

The school represented Dorset at the south west finals in Bristol four weeks ago and after having beaten Wiltshire 2-0 with goals from Mattie Loader, who is school captain, and Alex Campion, Charmouth then went on to beat Oxfordshire 1-0 with Spike Tilley-Wyatt showing great energy in midfield.

Charmouth are blessed with two very strong goalkeepers in Adam Rowe and Fred Morel who are rotated in every match and each were called to make good saves in a 2-2 draw against Devon in a closely-fought contest. This meant that Dorset and Hampshire were the two chosen representatives for the south west.

And so Charmouth had the privilege of playing at the 34,000 capacity Ricoh Arena.

There were eight teams, split into two leagues of four, with Charmouth’s first match against the south east culminating in a 2-0 win, including goals from Mattie Loader and George Chapman, possibly Charmouth’s fittest player, along with a strong performance from our vice-captain, Ollie Wren.

The games were very tight and Charmouth next drew 1-1 against the Midlands. This meant that in our final league match against the North, Charmouth needed a draw to qualify.

With two minutes to go, the North were winning 1-0 but Charmouth were rescued with a well-taken goal from Theo Whitely to secure top spot in the group.

In the semi-finals, Charmouth played Hampshire, the other representative from the south west. Charmouth conceded early and, despite hitting the post and Hampshire’s keeper making one very fine save, Charmouth went out of the competition 1-0 to the eventual winners.

This was Charmouth’s first defeat in 37 matches.

Lemoni Gouldstone and Holly Perryment competed in the Charmouth side in what was a mixed tournament and yet, only came up against one girl across all of the other teams.

Both played every match and were brilliant. The referee took them aside after the South Wests and said he wanted to see them playing for England one day.

Many thanks to Charmouth’s joint managers, Rich Tilley and Ross Travill, and to Joe Stewart for helping the team on the day.