Nail biting end to Mayor’s Cup

ELS: Hundreds of football fans descended on Mile End Park Stadium to support their team in the nail biting finals of the Mayor’s Cup on May 9. The crowds were treated to not one but three matches played by the cream of Tower Hamlets footballing talent. The tournament was organised by the council’s Sports Development team in partnership with local organisations; The Bangladeshi Football Association, Stepney FC, Newark Youth London, Osmani Trust, Bethnal Green Utd and Vallance FC. More than 500 players took part in the tournament which included heat stages played out on May 7 and 8. In the under 14’s final, Westward Boys beat close rivals Senrab 2-0 in a closely fought match. Both clubs have a rich history of producing soccer stars such as Sol Campbell, Jermaine Defoe and Joe Cole. Westward goal scorers included Nabeel Hashim and Sean Callaghan. Senrab struck a late penalty through Malaki Toussaint but ran out of time as the final whistle was blown. The under 16’s final saw a strong Juva team take on a much fancied Vallance team. Both teams started well and the stalemate was broken by Yacine Teladjati with a great strike. Juva secured the cup with another goal from John Oyenuga leaving Vallance trailing at 2-0. In the seniors final East 7 FC triumphed over Island FC. Despite falling behind to a goal from Island’s Jerry Jairette, East 7 fought back to win with goals from Enrico Smith and Aiden Thomas to become the first winners of the Senior trophy. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman presented the winning teams with their cups whilst representatives of Veolia, J B Riney, Tower Hamlets Homes, One Housing Group were amongst the tournament sponsors who presented trophies and awards on the night too. The Mayor said: “I was extremely impressed with the level of footballing talent on show throughout the tournament and the finals were very exciting. The council is keen to get residents to play sports and get active and I hope this competition will continue to build on the strong footballing tradition we have here.” Cllr Oliur Rahman who attended the final and heat stages added: “I would like to thanks all the teams that took part and the staff who helped to make the tournament such a success. Congratulations to all the winners.” Former Charlton Athletic player Mickey Ambrose was a guest at the match and selected a man of the match from each game. Under  14’s- Yusaf Ali of Westward BoysUnder 16’s – John Oyenuga of JuvaSeniors category         Paul Bennett of Island FC. Ray Gipson who is Chair of Tower Hamlets Sports Council and FA representative presented match officials with awards.