Kentish Town Under-9s beat Atlantic Allstars in a dramatic penalty shootout

SCORES of talented young footballers from across Camden and Islington showcased their skills in a bid to scoop silverware on Saturday as cup final fever gripped the Regent’s Park Youth League.

Among the big winners were Kentish Town FC’s energetic Under-9s squad who had plenty of reasons to cheer as they captured their first-ever trophy.

Town dominated the early exchanges against Atlantic Allstars and were unlucky not to take a deserved lead with Korey Donovan hitting the post and the crossbar.

They did eventually make the breakthrough in the first half, however, when top scorer Ellis Gallagher-Burke raced clear, one-on-one with the keeper, and coolly slotted home.

Allstars played their part in a topsy-turvy final as they bounced back to take a 2-1 lead with two quick-fire goals in the second half.

With just minutes to go, Town were awarded a penalty. And it looked like they had been denied a last-gasp equaliser when Donovan saw his effort well saved.

But the ball broke all the way back to Gallagher-Burke, who was now playing in goal. He launched the ball forward to a teary-eyed Donovan, who smashed home a half-volley to make it 2-2 in the dying seconds of the match and send the final to penalties.

Gallagher-Burke, Basile Boucher and Arthur Souster-Murphy all successfully converted their spot-kicks to give Town the edge, before Gallagher-Burke capped an eye-catching all-round performance by saving Allstars’ third penalty to earn his side a memorable 3-2 win.

“This group of players have developed so much over the season,” said Kentish Town head coach Thomas Looney.

“They have gone from not being able to win a game to winning a whole competition.

“Their progress has been some of the best in my 20 years of coaching youth football and this group of kids is such a pleasure to work with. They definitely deserved the win in the end.”

• Kentish Town are always on the lookout for new players. For more information, find the club on Instagram or visit www.kentishtownfootballacademy.com