Loughborough University performed well at the FA National Futsal Grand Finals in Swindon last weekend (24-25 October). Loughborough had qualified for the National Finals by finishing runners up in their National League, sealing their place in the top 6 teams in the country.
Loughborough where drawn along with tournament favourites Helvecia, current national champions and FA Futsal Cup winners. With only the group winner qualifying for the final Loughborough had a daunting task ahead of them to qualify from the group and have a chance to be crowned as national champions.
The group started with Loughborough taking on Helvecia – a repeat of the FA Futsal Cup final in July. Loughborough put in a great performance and were unlucky to be defeated 7-5. The students were left to regret a host of missed chances including 4 missed 10 metre penalties after persistent infringements from Helvecia.
Next up was the match between the student sides (Loughborough and Hartpury). With a rivalry going back to the 2008 university Futsal championship final the sides were keen to defeat each other to retain their title hopes. Loughborough managed to maintain the good form they had shown against Helvecia to win 7-5, despite a good performance from Hartpury.
Loughborough coach Tom Curtis commented, “The lads put in an outstanding performance against favourites Helvecia and came so close to beating them. We were unlucky to be drawn in the same group as them but the performances over the weekend have given the team confidence which they will carry over to next season.”
Results:
Loughborough 5 – 7 Helvecia
Loughborough 7 – 5 Hartpury
Hartpury 4 – 8 Helvecia
Final:
Helvecia 7 – 2 Tranmere Victoria
Loughborough put in an excellent performance at the grand finals to highlight the strength of university Futsal on the national stage. With the regional heats of the BUCS Futsal Championships beginning on 7-8 November the future of university Futsal is extremely bright. 57 men’s teams and 28 women’s teams have entered the BUCS Futsal Championships. With only 16 men’s and 8 women’s teams qualifying for the National Finals the competition will be tougher than ever before.
George Carney, BUCS Football Development manager commented, “The recent achievements of Loughborough indicate the potential for university futsal clubs to succeed at national level. To be competitive against the national champions highlights that university Futsal is going from strength to strength. The increase in team entries for the BUCS Futsal Championships further symbolises the growing popularity of Futsal in the HE sector.”