Taylor Maxwell Football Tournament

The annual Taylor Maxwell 5 a side football tournament took place on Friday 17 November at the Power League in Manchester.

Seven teams were in attendance to do battle in the format of a round robin. The four teams with the highest points total would then progress to play off in the semi-finals and do battle in the FINAL.

In some lively and competitive group games there were some surprise scores, some nailed on cert scores and even a scoreless draw between the South and Bristol.

Perennial whipping boys Bristol turned out with a stronger team this year and at last registered their first ever win in the tournament. In fact, they won two games, drew two and lost two, which unfortunately wasn’t enough to take them to the semi-final, but with the blend of youth and experience they will be looking to go one better next year.

The semi-finals were keenly contested between Scotland (2016 winners), South, Midlands and Wienerberger (who kindly sponsored the tournament).

After a lot of effort, puffing and panting the victorious semi-finalists, South and Midlands, took centre stage to see who would claim the crown of Taylor Maxwell 5 A Side Champions 2017.

Midlands went 1 – 0 up to take charge of the match and further increased their lead with a deflected shot from Martin Rudge.

South then scored a hotly disputed goal with some doubt whether it actually crossed the line, shades of 1966. The referee deemed it did and that was that. Not too long after the final whistle went and Midlands were victorious.

The photograph shows the winners, CONGRATULATIONS MIDLANDS!