THE second edition of the Brewers Cup was held at St George’s Park yesterday, with Crewe Alexandra coming away with both the under 9s and under 11s trophy.
The competition was split between games being played on the indoor 3G pitch and the Futsal Hall at the National Football Centre, with Crewe, Peterborough, Middlesbrough AFC Bournemouth competing across the two age groups, along with the Young Brewers.
Crewe staved off strong competition from Peterborough for the under 9s trophy, while the Railwaymen led the under 11s table for most of the tournament before eventually claiming the title.
The Young Brewers also got the chance to meet current first-team players, and Academy graduates, Joe Sbarra, Ben Fox, Marcus Harness, Reece Hutchinson and Callum Hawkins. The players dropped in after training to watch some of the action and answer questions for the players.
Academy Head of Coaching Hannah Dingley said: "The Brewers Cup was a fantastic opportunity for the boys to play different game formats (futsal, 6v6 and 9v9) and play teams they don’t normally play. It was fantastic that Middlesborough, Crewe Peterborough and Bournemouth joined us for the festival. We really appreciate the commitment from the staff and parents bringing the boys to Burton for the day.
"It was also a great to have our U15s and U16s running the event. We want to develop better people as well as better players and the responsibility of refereeing and organising the Brewers Cup was a chance to push the boys out of their comfort zone and overall, I was very pleased with how they dealt with the challenge.
"Finally, I must give massive thanks to the staff at St George’s Park who, as ever, were fantastic. We are so lucky to use the world class facilities at the National Football Centre and without their staff the Brewers Cup wouldn’t have happened."
Academy player Jaylan Wildbore, who helped coach players during the event, thinks the Brewers Cup was a good experience for everybody involved.
He said: “I was with the under 9s doing a bit of coaching and helping them through the tournament. It was interesting to see how the players have been coming along, how they move and adapt to different styles of play.
“It was looking really good, there are obviously things that the younger players can improve on, but given their age it has been a really good experience.”