45 – The Clegg Shield

In the final year of secondary school – Y11 – Sheffield schools compete for the Clegg Shield, the oldest School Football Tournament in the World, still being competed for on an annual basis. It was first played for in 1889.

Partly because of Pat’s school games kicking off straight after school finishes around 3pm and partly due to all his other football commitments, either playing or training (that I’m involved in as his taxi driver), I’ve not had many opportunities to watch him play for Westfield, although Pat’s never been left wanting in the supporters department.

Whilst I’ve found it difficult to get to school games, my dad has been an almost ever present, apart from his recent health issues keeping him away.

When Pat first went to Westfield, he trialled for the school team. When he came home from school that day, he said he’d not been picked. To be honest, he’s always given a good account of himself at trials or when scouts have been watching but anybody can have an off day. And that’s what I told him.

His reply was that he’d played really well – in his view, better than the other keeper – and that a lot of the other lads had said the same to him.

Although Pat went to Westfield, he wasn’t at one of the feeder schools, so before he started there, he literally only knew one other lad, Charlie, who he went to Primary School with. Because of this, I wondered what had happened at the trials – if it had just been his mates he’d known for years that had said he’d done well and should have been picked, I’d have taken it with a pinch of salt. But these lads hadn’t known him long.

Just to add a bit of spice to the goalkeeper situation, the keeper who had been selected over Pat was the same keeper Pat had replaced when he moved from Charnock Ridgeway to Greenhill a year earlier. I didn’t find out until a few weeks after Pat had signed for Greenhill that it had gone down particularly badly with the lad’s Mum, who’d made her feelings known to some of the other parents.

Initially there was shock that another keeper had the nerve to go to the trials. This apparently turned to anger when the coaches at Greenhill decided they were signing Pat and not him.

I just reasoned with Pat that at some point, something would change – either the other lad would get injured or be unavailable for a game, or the PE teacher would give the second choice lads a game here and there. I told him to be patient and not get mardy – his time would come.

As it turned out, in the first year (Y7) Pat played a couple of times for the school team. As I said before, opportunities were few for me to watch him play but by his own account he’d done ok.

At the start of Y8, trials were once again arranged and Pat attended as before but this time he was in the team. Not only was he in the team though. Mr Francis, the PE teacher had put his faith in Pat by also making him the team captain. The enormity of this will never be lost on Pat, as he was told it was not only a decision made on his footballing ability but also because of his attitude, both on the pitch and in class.

He was extremely honoured to be the captain of the school team as well as immensely proud.

As the school years passed, I managed to get to just a handful of his school games, usually when they played home matches because of my work being close to Westfield.

My Dad would go whenever he could make it (home and away) and would always give me the edited highlights afterwards. One thing about Pat’s Grandad is that he doesn’t sugar coat Pat’s performances – he’s very honest, which is good because as Pat’s coach we’ve been able to discuss particular moments of matches even if I’ve not been there – which means we’ve been able to work on these areas.

Throughout the last few years, Westfield have given a good account of themselves in both the Sheffield and National cup competitions.

In Y11 though, the Sheffield schools are in the Clegg Shield, which dates back over 130 years. Through grassroots football and his brief flirtations with some of the local academies, Pat’s come to know quite a few lads who go to different schools, so in a lot of school games there’s the added incentive of trying to get one over some lads that you know.

In the quarter final, Westfield met Ecclesfield school. This game is no exception to the familiar faces. One of their lads played in the u16’s with Pat for Sheffield FC, a couple of lads played against Pat in grassroots (as well as together for Sheffield Schoolboys) and last but by no means least, the keeper. Their keeper also played for Sheffield Schoolboys in the same squad as Pat and as mentioned elsewhere in these pages, his Dad’s firm sponsored the team shirts.

Either by pure chance, or most likely in a thinly veiled attempt to show who was the “number 1”, his lad had the number 1 shirt for the schoolboys, whereas Pat was number 12. An incentive if ever there was one. Pat always saw it that way – his Dad too.

The Ecclesfield game was at home but again, it was one I was unable to attend. The season ticket holder filled me in on the details afterwards. It was a convincing 7-1 win but at 2-0 Pat had made a couple of saves – one being excellent, apparently.

What pleased me more than the win, or the excellent save, or even the number 1 schoolboy keeper picking the ball out of the net seven times, was Pat’s reaction to the goal he conceded. A defensive mistake – the kind that often goes unpunished, was this time punished. The lad whose mistake had led to the goal was distraught. Pat, whose clean sheet was no longer in tact, showed his captain’s qualities. He walked up to the lad, put an arm round his shoulder, said a couple of words to him and patted him on the back.

Pat’s opposite number had a game to forget, so I’m told.

The semi-finals were drawn. Silverdale v Westfield and Meadowhead v Bradfield. Silverdale are part of the same trust as Westfield, so there was an added incentive, at least for the teachers on this one.

The Meadowhead team are almost all known to Pat, either through Greenhill, Evo Soccer or as friends of friends. Because of that, I was glad Westfield weren’t playing them. I thought it was another element that Pat was probably better off without.

Before a ball was kicked though, there was the disappointing news that if they were to reach the final, it wouldn’t be played at Bramall Lane as is usually the case. The 2022 Women’s Euros involved games being played there and Sheffield United were in the Championship Play Offs, so an alternative host needed to be arranged. As a Blade, Pat was gutted. There was some work to be done before then though.

Meadowhead v Bradfield was to be played on the Tuesday evening and Silverdale v Westfield the following evening.

On the Tuesday night there was an Evo Soccer meeting, so Pat saw some of the Meadowhead lads after their semi-final. They’d been beaten by Bradfield and in the words of one of them, “we’d have won that if we’d had Pat in the net.” Disappointing for his mates but I have to admit I was a bit relieved, just in case Westfield did the job the following day.

Silverdale were the exception to the rule regarding knowing players from opposition teams and Westfield hadn’t played them before so they were an unknown quantity. Once again I couldn’t be there, so my spy kept me in touch as best he could.

Westfield went 1-0 up but then a defensive lapse let Silverdale in. Pat came out and as the forward knocked the ball round him, he dived at his feet. He just missed the ball but caught the lad’s foot. Penalty. 1-1. Half time.

My Dad said he expected it to be a tough second half for Pat and the team with the penalty being just before half time but apparently they withheld some early pressure and were the better side in the second half. Westfield scored again and that’s how it stayed. So Westfield would play Bradfield in the 2022 Clegg Shield Final.

A decision had been made on the venue for the final – it would be played at Handsworth’s Olivers Mount ground. If you believe in omens this was a good choice for Pat. He’d played there four times for Greenhill/Sheffield FC and never lost.

In the run up to the final, Pat had told me he was nervous. His main worry was the number of people expected to be there. I told him that as captain, he might need to help some of his team mates out with their nerves, as they might be even more up tight than him. Sometimes grassroots attendances can be very low, especially as the lads get older. I said he’d be able to use his experience of playing in the FA Youth Cup, particularly the game at Ossett where there was a crowd of 100 or so, with the youths directing their abuse at him.

The final was to be played on Tuesday 3rd May, so the lads would be at school as normal during the day. Mr Francis had arranged for the team to go for a pre-match meal and they were asked to wear smart clothes, such as a shirt and tie or suit for the meal and then the arrival at Handsworth.

When we got to the ground there were already quite a few people there and one or two familiar faces. I’ll be honest, I was surprised at just how many people were there. As you walk down from the car park towards the new artificial pitch there’s a path and a gateway, which is where you had to pay to get in. When you handed your money over, you were given a match programme. Looking at the programme with Pat’s name on it and the little © at the side, along with the number of people there, the nerves kicked in for me.

Pat was being warmed up in the goal at the far end, so we made our way down. He made a few good stops and he was laughing with his team mates, so if he had any nerves, they weren’t showing just yet. A couple of my mates had also come to support Pat, so I was talking to them as the lads went back inside after the warm up.

According to the Meadowhead lads after their semi-final with Bradfield, the main thing for Westfield was to keep the opposition captain quiet. They said he was their best player and a big part of why they’d been beaten.

The first 10-15 minutes were fairly uneventful with both teams seeming quite defensive, not wanting to let their opponents in. Westfield started to push on a little bit more and made a few half chances. Soon they made it 1-0. Only a matter of minutes later, they scored again.

There were only 10 minutes to go to half time and with Pat only having to make a couple of saves so far, it was looking good for Westfield. Then, as predicted by the Meadowhead lads, the Bradfield captain put his mark on the game. A pass was played between the centre halves and he was through 1v1 with Pat. Pat came out quickly and dived to his left, at the lad’s feet. He got there a fraction of a second after the lad and the ball was past his outstretched left arm. In that split second, I think Pat realised what was happening and managed not to make contact with the lad’s foot but the lad’s next touch was knocking the ball into the empty net.

Only a couple of minutes later, an almost carbon copy of a pass and he was in again. This time though, he took his shot early before Pat had set himself and slotted it in the bottom corner. 2-2. From being on top and two goals in front, almost out of nowhere it was all square. The ref blew for half time. I hoped Pat and his mates came out strong in the second half and reproduced the performance against Silverdale, after being pegged back by them.

Thankfully, Westfield did just that. Half time had suited them more than Bradfield. Westfield were the stronger team in the early stages of the second half and created a few decent chances, scoring from one of them to make it 3-2. Any hopes of Bradfield throwing the towel in looked slim as they came back into the game.

This was when Pat played his part. As did the crowd.

It was announced over the tannoy during the game that there were over 300 people there – most of them supporting Westfield.

On one of their attacks, Bradfield broke into the area. The ball found its way to one of their strikers who slipped his marker and hit a hard, rising shot. Pat’s reactions were equal to it. He got his right hand to the ball and turned it onto the bar. Not long after, a similar move to Bradfield’s first goal saw the captain through once again, one on one with Pat. This time though, Pat had read it well and sprinted out towards the right corner of his box. As he dived at the lad’s feet, he got there just before him. The ball ran square towards the right side of the box. Pat was up and after it. He dived on it and took a second or two to catch his breath. The Westfield element of the crowd went wild.

You often hear about certain moments of play being turning points in games. That was one of them. Within a couple of minutes it was 4-2. Bradfield looked totally deflated.

With about 10 minutes of the game left, Mr Francis made a few changes, Pat being one of them. He’d promised the lads he’d get as many of them on for at least part of the final, depending on the score.

I didn’t take much notice of the rest of the game. I was watching Pat, sat with the other subs. They were buzzing. You could see the anticipation and excitement on their faces. Westfield scored another two goals before the end to put a flattering gloss on the final score. 6-2 winners.

When the final whistle blew all the subs were straight onto the pitch to celebrate. A few minutes later, Pat was shaking hands with the Bradfield lads. One thing I’d said to him before the game was, win or lose, shake hands and do it graciously. Make sure you behave like a proper captain.

After the celebrations and the presentation of the medals and the actual Clegg Shield itself, he came and found his Dad for a hug. I don’t get too many of those these days.

It’s moments like these that make it easy to keep the faith.