Millom School Y10 3 Kirkby Stephen School Y10 2

MILLOM School won a five-goal thriller to land the under-15s County Cup in Penrith, writes Elliot Burrow.

Heavy rain could not put a dampener on the celebrations as the South Cumbrian Year 10 side beat Kirkby Stephen School to land the trophy.

Millom, who overcame Richard Rose Central 2-0 in the semi-finals thanks to goals from Joseph Lomas and Luke Coulson, were ready for a battle in the middle of the park, with the weather making it unlikely to be a game of clever passing moves.

They dominated the opening encounters, looking to take an early lead and they did so when Aaron Giles tried a speculative effort from long range, which looped over the Kirkby Stephen keeper’s head and found the back of the net.

The Eden side created chances as they pushed back, with shots going wide or being blocked.

The pressure continued to mount as Millom looked to kick on and find that all-important second goal to settle their nerves.

The teams traded chances and half-chances, but neither could put the ball in the back of the net.

Towards the end of the first half, Millom finally doubled the advantage as a Theo Dreghorn free-kick from around halfway somehow found its way into the back of the net. Dreghorn was credited with the goal, although Joe Dobson tried to help the ball on its way, but he could not get the touch.

The rest of the half played itself out, and Millom went in at the break with a two-goal lead.

After the break, Millom were back on the front foot and they added to their lead when Giles managed to bag his second of the game from a well-worked move.

It started with Luke Ivison at right-back, and play worked its way up to the opposition penalty box, where Giles took his chance to make it 3-0.

However, despite the three-goal lead, the game was not finished.

The Millom team took their foot off the pedal and allowed pressure to mount, which resulted in a corner from which Kirkby Stephen finished from close range.

If that might have been the wake-up call that was needed for Millom, it was not taken, as only minutes later Kirkby Stephen scored again when the ball was not cleared and one of their midfielders was on hand to slot home from outside the area.

The game now stood at 3-2, and Millom had somehow managed to throw away a three-goal cushion. With 20 minutes to go, it was game on.

Both teams looked to score, but this time it was Kirkby who looked the likelier as they pressed with everything they had.

They could not break Millom down and the Copeland school held on for the 3-2 victory.

Millom School: Kian Mcpherson, Luke Ivison, Elliot Burrow, Joe Dobson, Jordan Crawford, Luke Coulson, Theo Dreghorn, Joseph Lomas, Kyle Jones, Will Phillip, Aaron Giles.

Substitutes: Matthew Fell and Todd Mallon.