Peterborough United Deaf Teams bring home a trophy from National Deaf Youth Football Tournament

The whole squad as mascot celebrate at the end of the tournament

Players, coaches, parents and administrators of the Peterborough United Deaf Youth teams returned from the NDCS National tournament on Sunday with smiles on their faces after impressive performances from all the Posh teams involved.

The two under-12 teams, White and Blue, dominated their respective groups and met in the semi-final. White progressed from that match to the final and won the tournament after beating Brentford 6-0.

The under-16 teams also got to the semi-final where they also lost to the eventual winners, Hamilton Lodge School 6-3.

All the teams performed very well and received praise from the tournament organisers who heralded the Peterborough teams as among the most technically able they had seen in years. Tom Lyons of NDCS said:

"I am incredibly impressed with how quickly you have grown and established the Peterborough team in little over a year. I didn’t get to watch too much of the tournament, but I must say I think the standard of the U12’s and U16’s teams generally was higher than I have seen before.

"The Peterborough U12 team was almost certainly the strongest team I’ve seen over the past few years in terms of technical ability. The attitude and endeavour also appeared fantastic!"

Peterborough United Chairman Darragh McAnthony retweeted news of the teams reaching the semi-final stages and sent this tweet once the final whistle had blown in the under-12's final.

@PDDCS @theposhdotcom @nickysheppy Wow what an incredible effort. Well done & congrats
— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) March 2, 2014

Andy Palmer, PDDCS committee member who oversees the deaf football project, said: "The main thing about playing football is having fun and it was good to see all the players and their families enjoying the day."

Under 12 White Celebrate

"It is a real bonus and quite an achievement for us to have come this far in only a year. That year has seen us become part of the Peterborough United family, hold weekly sessions and help many players develop their football and social skills. To have three teams and 40 people on the coach to Reading was also very encouraging for the future of deaf football in our area."

"I would like to thank our coaches; Qadeer Hussain, Tash Applegate and Rob Neal for all their input and the knowledge of the game that they have imparted to our players."

"I would also like to thank Jack Hunt School for their continued and valuable support in allowing us to use their facilities. Finally I want to thank both the players for their effort, the fun and pride they bring into our lives and their parents for their fantastic support."

Anyone 18-years-old or under is welcome to come to the deaf friendly football sessions which are held every Monday in term-time at Jack Hunt School (please check first).  Below are the tournament results:

Under 16 Team

Group B matches

Blanche Neville 3-1 Posh
Charlton B 0-4 Posh
Posh 10-0 Maidstone United 

Posh 1-1 Bedfordshire
Cardiff City 1-8 Posh

Group B Table
1st Blanche Neville 12 points
2nd Posh 10 points 24 goals 

3rd Bedfordshire 10 points 23 goals

Through to semi-final on goal difference
Semi Final: Hamilton Lodge 6-3 Posh

Hamilton Lodge won 3-0 in the final against Blanche Neville School

Overall Goals

Michael 14

Josh 6

Joe 4

Vitor 2

Husnayn 1

Under 12 Blue

Group A matches

Peterborough 7 v Derby 1
Alfie 7

Bristol 2 v Peterborough 7
Alfie 5 Jack, Ryan

Blanche Neville 3 v Peterborough 3
Alfie 3

Brentford 0 v Peterborough 4
Alfie 2, Ava 2 

Finished second in their group and through to semi-final

Semi Final
Posh White 9 v Posh Blue 1
Alfie

Under 12 White

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