The St. Mary's under 13 boys team beat Royal Russell School from Croydon 4-1 in a thrilling final.
TALENTED young footballers at St. Mary’s College in Crosby have crowned a season of soccer success at the school by winning three national cup finals on the same day.
4 of the school’s football teams reached the finals of the English Schools' FA Small Schools Cup which were played at Stoke City’s bet365 Stadium on:- Tuesday, 19 May 2026, with 3 of the St. Mary’s teams winning their finals.
The under 13 girls team beat Lambrook School from Berkshire 4-3 on penalties after a closely contested match which saw the scores level at 1-1 at the end of normal time.
St. Mary’s goalkeeper Rosie Hughes, aged 12, was the school’s shoot-out hero after a second half goal from Matilda Gray had drawn the girls level. Penalties scored by Meara McBride, Matilda Gray, Aoibheann Pugh and Eloise Townsley ensured captain Sailor Howard lifted the cup moments later.
The girls’ victory was followed by 2 more final wins:- the under 13 boys team beat Royal Russell School from Croydon 4-1 in their final and the under 14 boys team then rounded off a remarkable day with a 3-0 victory over Lingfield College from Surrey.
Goals from Theo Freeman, Caden Walker, Joel Wood and player of the match Harry Hanlon sealed the win for the under 13 boys team whilst Oscar Townsley, Ethan Mann and Terence Etim scored for the under 14 boys. Jacob Woods was voted player of the match for the 2nd year in a row for his performance in the under 14 final, having achieved the same accolade in last year’s under 13 final victory.
A large number of St. Mary’s pupils, parents and staff had travelled to Stoke to cheer on the teams whilst those remaining at school back in Crosby watched the matches live online.
It’s been another remarkably successful year for football at St. Mary’s, with the under 12 boys team finishing runners up in the English Schools' FA Small Schools Cup and reaching the semi-final of the Sefton Small Schools Cup, and the under 13 girls team warming up for their national final by finishing runners up in the Merseyside Cup.
Meanwhile, the under 18 boys team were joint winners of the Sefton Cup, the under 13 boys reached the final of the Sefton Small Schools Cup, and the under 14 boys reached the last 16 of the National Cup for Elite Schools and are still to play in the Sefton Cup and Sefton Small Schools Cup semi-finals.
St. Mary’s Principal, Mike Kennedy, commented:- “Everyone at the school has been thrilled with the success of our girls and boys football teams who have gone from strength to strength as the season has progressed. For a relatively small school like St. Mary’s College to have 4 of its football teams reach the finals of this prestigious national competition is a great achievement and we are immensely proud of our players, who have been fantastic ambassadors for their school and the great football City of Liverpool. I would like to pay tribute to the talent and also the commitment of all the players - teams cannot achieve this level of success without putting a huge amount of effort into training and preparation. I would also like to congratulate staff members Sally Townsley (Girls’ Football Coach), Tom Manley (Boys’ Football Coach) and Derek Williams (Head of Boys’ PE), who have played such an important role in nurturing the talent of these young players and helping them become national champions.”