It proved to be a half-term break to remember for Hornchurch and Romford-based Finta Futsal Club players after featuring in tournaments in Barcelona and Madrid.
The under-12s were invited by the prestigious Barcelona FC Futsal Club to attend their famous La Masia training ground and took part in one warm-up match before facing the hosts.
The warm-up game against CATGAS ended in a 5-3 loss despite it being a close contest throughout, with Harrison McMahon scoring twice and Oliver Jones also getting on the scoresheet.
Then came the big game with McMahon, Fletcher Hubbard and Archie Kieran all on target with the scores at 3-3 going into the final few minutes.
Frankie Franz and McMahon went close, both hitting the post, but Barcelona just had too much in the end and came away with a 5-3 win. Following on from that, they made the trip to Madrid to take part in a tournament and the Barcelona experience had stood them in good stead as they picked up 7-0 and 9-0 group stage wins over Ciudad de Guadalajara and Moprisala respectively, before coming up against a tough Equipe Sport side from Zaragoza where they lost out by 5-2. The under-eights also made the journey to Madrid to test their credentials and continue their learning process, with this being many youngsters first experience of international futsal.
The opener against Equipe Sport ended with a 3-1 loss with a creditable showing before facing eventual finalists Ciudad de Toledo the following day.
Finta continued to show promising signs and put in an improved performance, but were edged out 4-2.
They saved the best until last producing their best showing but were pipped 3-2.
On the trip, head coach Diego Pagliuso, said: “All our games were competitive and it could have gone a different way. Everyone was extremely proud of their efforts, and we look to return next year.”
Under-12s: Ollie Jones, Alfie Osbourne, Jack Barnes, Henry Lynch, Harrison McMahon, Fletcher Hubbard, Archie Kieran, Frankie Franz, Harry Gibbons.
Under-eights: Freddie Strang, Harrison Palmer, Reggie Franz, Bobby Stevens, Max Strang, Enrico Pagliuso, Fenton Everingham, Zachary McMahon, Thomas Keller.
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