HMS BIRMINGHAM SHIELD

H.M.S. Birmingham Shield Final 2002
held on Monday 25 March 2002, at Coleshill Town F.C.
This competition is one of the oldest cup competitions in the country, dating back decades, and is still highly regarded among Primary Schools as being the ultimate achievement for their school side in the city. The ship H.M.S. Birmingham has always sponsored the competition, and receives reports on the progress of the competition from us each year.

The competition is run by the Birmingham School Sports Federation - Primary Football Section, which also runs the Birmingham indoor 4-a-side competition, the 7-a-side outdoor competition, and the Birmingham inter-district 11-a-side competition.
All our competitions are run on a purely voluntary basis, with no financial support. We raise money to pay for medals and organising competitions by holding raffles and running quiz competitions, and we would welcome any offers of support or sponsorship.
All donations are gratefully received.
Thanks are due in many quarters... to the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and Mr Brighouse for attending...
to Coleshill Town FC, and its committee, and Mr Des Green in particular for making it possible for us to use this venue... and for refereeing...
to Mr Neil Marsh for organising the competition... to all the teachers who give up their time to support primary schools' football, and especially those who work so hard on the committee of our association.
Chris Smith, Chairman BPSFA

The Teams

Birches Green Junior School
Squad: Aoro Fraser (keeper), Dale Barraclough, Luke O'Reilley, David Lewis, Ryan Davis, Matthew Ahery, Thomas Salmon, Sam Harding, Sean Bridgwood, Luke Greenshields, John Nicholson (captain). Subs: Miles Bricknell, Darrell Bond, Max Oliver.
Manager: Mr M L Gospel.
Colours: Yellow shirts & socks, green shorts.
Birches Green have had a successful season, winning the Aston Villa Cup. Four players have represented Erdington at district level.

Glenmead Junior School
Squad: Luke Forrest (keeper), Ryan Hughes, Luke Golding, Joe Tipper, Andrew Jones, Anthony Price, Anthony Attwood, Ashley Preece, Ryan Ward, Jamie Taylor, Ashley Doveston. Subs: Michael Richards, Greg Watson, Conor Hamilton.
Manager: Mr J Dickinson.
Colours: Black & white shirts.

Officials: Referee: Mr Des Green. Assistant referees: Mr Mark Cross (South Birmingham), Mr Andy Clewer (Aston). Reserve: Mr Neil Marsh (East).

Glenmead have won the Aston District Premier league this season, as well as the 6-a-side and 4-a-side titles. Two players have represented Aston this season, and Anthony Attwood is already playing at WBA.

The Match
Proceedings began with the Lord Mayor being introduced to the teams. Within minutes of the kick-off, it was evident that this was going to be a tightly-contested final, and there was early evidence of much skill from both teams.
Glenmead began to dominate the game, and took the lead through a finely-taken goal by Ryan Ward. But Birches Green were not disheartened by this setback, and forced their way back into the game. There were many good chances at both ends, and the quality of the midfield and defensive play was outstanding. Both goalkeepers made a string of fine saves.
John Nicholson scored the equaliser for Birches Green, and a few minutes later scored his second and the decisive goal, lifting the ball over the stranded goalkeeper. Glenmead battled in vain to get back into the game, and the final whistle saw two teams exhausted by their efforts.
Chris Smith, in thanking the crowd of 150 for attending, expressed the thought that this match had been one of the best HMS Finals for many years, played in an excellent spirit, and the Lord Mayor and Mr Brighouse awarded the trophies and medals to each team.

Final Score Birches Green 2 Glenmead 1.