Orrest Charity Football Tournament Results & Photos

The Orrest Charity Challege Cup – Saturday 14^th April 2012

A nice relaxed atmosphere surrounded the tournament with representatives from FareShare, Orrest and Bury-Playfootball extremely grateful for the wonderful spirit which participants played in.

The charity event had been organised in support of the work FareShare North West do to battle food poverty and waste throughout the region. Orrest, the organising company, have chosen FareShare as their sponsored charity for 2012 and arranged the fundraiser as the next leg of their quest to raise a total of £5000. Participants from all different ages, areas and skill level entered the competition with the primary fcus of raising funds and awareness but the competitive juices started flowing from the first whistle.

All teams entered an initial group stage after which, those who qualified would immediately enter the Quarter Finals.

Once the highly competitive group stages concluded, the Quarter Final draw was made which saw the following teams matched up:

Quarter Final 1 Stephen Hawkings Football Boots (S.H.F.C.) vs The White Room

Quarter Final 2 Rifle FC vs Prisma DT

Quarter Final 3 Orrest vs Barnseys Wanderers

Quarter Final 4 Inter Middy vs Bury Old Boys

The Quarters saw a continuation of the fast-paced battles with all teams facing tough competition to qualify for the next stage. Goals galore were scored making the games an amazing spectacle but playing at 100mph, 100% of the time took its toll on the squads. For S.H.F.C., Rifle FC, Orrest and Bury Old Boys the Quarter Finals ended with delight. They now knew one more win would take them to within touching distance of the trophy so concentration was a key element.

For the losing Quarter Finalists the challenge was not over. They entered a secondary Plate competition which maintained everybody’s interest and enjoyment throughout the day.

Back to the main event, the two Semi Finals were drawn as follows:

Semi Final 1 Rifle FC vs Bury Old Boys

Semi Final 2 S.H.F.C. vs Orrest

Two terrific games of football! In a controversial game it was Bury Old Boys who were victorious benefitting from their larger squad. An unlucky Rifle FC gave a great account of itself despite showing weary legs after the squad of five had played over an hour of almost completely non-stop football.

The second Semi Final was a purist’s game of football. Wonderful passing and counter attacking moves saw worthy winners Orrest defeat the understandably disappointed S.H.F.C.

Whilst this was going on, the Plate competition had reached its final consisting of Inter Middy and Barnseys Wanderers. With almost a goal a minute the two teams could not be separated as the match finished 7-7. In a tense penalty shot-out it was the Wanderers who held their nerve in front of goal and were crowned Winners of the Plate competition.

The final event was about to take place with two pumped up teams taking their place on the “Wembley” of Bury. Both teams were potentially 15 minutes away from lifting the inaugural Orrest Cup. The game began as a cagey affair with neither team wanting to make the first mistake. They were conscious it could be a crucial one in the grand scheme of things. Bury Old Boys probed the Orrest defence and forced a mistake from the unfortunate Orrest goalkeeper who had performed immaculately until this point in the competition. Now the first goal had been scored the game opened up and spectators were treated to an end-to-end contest which was a befitting culmination of the whole competition. A fiercely contested match proved the winning mentality both teams possess but as it did in the last round, Bury Old Boys’ squad of seven demonstrated superior stamina against the five of Orrest to be crowned the 2012 Winners of The Orrest Charity Challenge Cup.

A wonderful day of football and fundraising was complete and Bury Old Boys will return to defend their title in 2013.

Player of the Tournament: Michael Lees (Captain/Goalkeeper - Orrest)

A tremendous display of cat-like agility in the Orrest goals saw his team conquered at the final post. Would have made a deserving winner but was instead a gallant runner-up.

- Rakesh Vaja, Chief Tournament Organizer

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