SEARCH
A dream come true
Posted in: News & Updates, United FC by Kate Weersink on August 17, 2010
Hamilton, ON—United FC arrived home to Canada on August 9, 2010 with big smiles on their faces. After a long, difficult journey to get there, they were reunited in England and had three final games to play as a full team.
With the support Canada gave them in the back of their minds, the team played with everything they had. The first game, on Friday August 6 was against Maidenhead United. As hard as they played, a lot of their starters, who had just arrived at the tournament, were exhausted and they ended up losing 2-0.
The following day United FC played the semi-final match against Haringey Bourough. The boys were much more mentally prepared for this game and came out on top with a score of 1-0.
The plate final was played against Woking FC. This game was a hard fight. Manual Gonzalez, the team’s goalkeeper was injured with a dislocated shoulder. He played on with the injury but this put the team in a difficult situation. One of the team’s star players Ephraim Cirillo also was injured and had to be taken out of the game. These injuries hindered the team’s performance but they still played hard and dominated possession of the ball throughout the whole match. In the end, Woking FC scored 3 goals to win the match 3-1. Sokiri Kenedy, one of the team’s forwards, scored United FC’s final goal.
The team was happy with their performance and grateful for the opportunity to play abroad. “We are proud that we played hard in the matches knowing that we were playing against semi-professional English teams who get paid to play,” said Awer Wel, a forward on the team. “We play because it’s our passion.”
United FC will be playing in the A division, winter league in Hamilton this coming year. Empowerment Squared will be adopting United FC officially come September 1 as a project under DRIVEN: Beyond Boundaries which is made up of a collection of programs run for under-privileged youth in the city of Hamilton. This will mean continued support and development for the current United FC team as well as gradual growth for the program in hopes of offering more kids the chance to be part of United FC.
Comments
This team of young men (and their coached) is a true inspiration — true heroes every one! Thanks guys! So happy that you are in Canada, too.
Comment by Canadian Fan on August 20, 2010 at 8:58 am
Articles like this really grease the shafts of kwnoledge.
Comment by Buff on July 9, 2011 at 3:38 am