The men’s first football team from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE), Darlington, are celebrating after having been crowned champions of the North East Colleges Championship. This fantastic title victory caps off an impressive unbeaten run of 11 games with nine wins and two draws with one match remaining after the Easter break. The North East Colleges league features seven teams from across the region and this season has seen all 20 of QE’s players secure time on the pitch and play their own part in the College’s success.
Looking back on a thrilling season, men’s first team coach, Paul Carroll, comments: ‘The team have been a pleasure to work with and they have all approached matches and training afternoons with a great attitude and commitment to succeed. They have played some brilliant football against teams of a very high standard. The key performances for me were our come back from 3-1 to draw 3-3 against Middlesbrough College and our 1-0 win against Gateshead College which sealed the title. We scored early and managed to defend well despite the team being ravaged by injuries. This match in particular really showed our togetherness and team spirit. I am so proud of all of the players and coaching staff, and this success is for everyone at QE’.
Team Captain, Matthew Dummett, adds: ‘We’ve been successful this season as we worked well together as a group from the very first game until the last and we still have one to play! All of the players have been committed to playing and improving their skills and we all wanted to do well for both ourselves and the College’.