First X1 Team: Left to right top row. James Taylor, Lewis Saunders, Lee Barnes  (Captain), Tom Manley, Musab Lafi, Anthony Bennett, Adam Caffrey,

Front row:  Oscar Fearns, Kieran Orme, James Bibby, Oliver Gallagher, Tom Vandermeer, Michael Bennett.

St. Mary's College made the six hour trip to Kent to play the in the Independent Schools Boodles Cup second round match against Tonbridge School. The squad travelled the night before in order to give themselves the best possible chance on the day.  Playing with the conditions in the first half, St. Mary's started brightly and took a deserved lead in the 22^nd minute through a fine James Taylor strike from the edge of the box. St. Mary's then squandered some chances to put the game out of reach.

After totally controlling the first half Tonbridge came back strong in the second period with a deserved equalizer in the 52 minute. With a strong wind in their faces the St Mary's defence held tight and the game headed into extra time. Extra-time took a similar shape to the first 80 minutes with St. Mary's using the conditions well in the first period. Oliver Gallagher finished off a superb move with a delicate chip over the goal-keeper to put the away side 2-1 up. This lifted the spirits of the boys and they dominated the game till the final whistle.  This was a remarkable result given that Tonbridge have 800 boys to pick from and enjoy state of the art facilities at the £26,000 per year school. Congratulations to all the boy's this is a real David and Goliath story and one that will last long in the memories of every one involved.

Below, St Mary's enjoy the headlines on the ISFA website the Independent Schools website. Please click to see full story

www.isfa.org.uk/boys/news.php?go=fullnews&id=78

BOODLES ISFA CUP LATEST NEWS

  
SECOND ROUND HIGHLIGHTS - EXTRA TIME WIN FOR ST. MARY'S

Tonbridge, making their debut in the tournament, faced an intriguing tie at home to St. Mary's College, Crosby. St. Mary's took the lead but Hugh Bushell scored an equaliser for Tonbridge to take the tie to extra-time. 5 minutes into the extra period, St. Mary's scored the winner to make their long journey back to Merseyside an enjoyable one.

| More...