Foundation of Light’s Women’s Scholars lifted the National Football Youth Women’s League Cup on Thursday with a 2-1 extra time victory over Barking Abbey at the University of Bolton Stadium.
Ellie White put the lasses ahead on the hour mark before Barking Abbey levelled just two minutes later.
With the game finally poised and penalties looming, Sunderland were awarded a penalty deep into the end of the first half of extra time after White was brought down inside the box.
Leanna Giles stepped up and made no mistake from the spot as the lasses brought the trophy back to Wearside.
Head Coach, Steven McClarence said: “Considering it’s a cup final at a professional stadium, on a pitch like that, we’ve done really well and we worked really hard throughout the game.”
McClarence also highlighted just how far the women’s scholarship programme has come in a short space of time.
“It goes to show what our programme is about and what we’ve done in the five years that the programme has been in existence.
“We’ve always had girls come into the programme who work hard and want to get better, both in the classroom and on the football pitch.
“The fact we’ve won something every season shows how much they’ve progressed year-on-year and we’ve kind of brought the players in who we think want to improve.”
Route to the Final
Round 2: SAFC 2-1 Northampton
Quarter Final: SAFC 6-1 Everton
Semi Final: SAFC 1-0 Huddersfield
A group of students from the Foundation of Light’s scholarship and study programmes were given a unique opportunity to visit Japan thanks to funding from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
Foundation of Light PFA Player Ambassador, Aji Alese, and teammate Jenson Seelt marked EFL Week of Action with a visit to the Beacon of Light.
Foundation of Light, Sunderland AFC’s official charity, is thrilled to announce defender Aji Alese as official PFA Player Ambassador.