Football: Hopwood Hall 3 - 0 Notre Dame de Sanilha

Hopwood Hall College’s football academy

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Hopwood Hall College’s football academy edged a tight friendly in a 3-0 win over French side SAS Football Notre Dame de Sanilhac (U17).

Notre Dame made the 840 mile journey from south-western France for a tour of Greater Manchester’s football heritage, visiting old Trafford and holding friendlies with Hopwood Hall College and Blackburn College.

After drawing 4-4 with Blackburn College, they proved to be some of the toughest opponents Hopwood Hall College had faced this season.

In a very even first half, both sides cancelled each other out with few clear chances being carved out by either team. Each team hit the woodwork, Notre Dame with a low, hard strike in the 28th minute and Hopwood Hall with a headed effort in the 35th.

Shortly before half time, Hopwood Hall had a goal disallowed for a foul on the Notre Dame keeper, but the half ended a very even contest between the two youth teams.

The second half saw an increase in chances for tNotre Dame as they began to carve openings in the Hopwood defence, but their finishing let them down on more than a few occasions.

Come the 55th minute, Hopwood fired a warning shot. The in-form Jake Frost poked just wide of the goal after running one on one with the keeper.

Whilst Notre Dame continued to spurn chances, Hopwood Academy Manager, Rob Johnson, brought on the college’s talismanic substitute Oumar Camara.

The substitute had scored four in his last two appearances off of the bench, form he stayed true to when he slotted away the first goal of the game on the 65th minute.

Just five minutes later he skipped through Notre Dame’s defence to give his side a two goal cushion.

Camara’s efforts took away the Notre Dame momentum, and his persistent running at the defence paid dividend in the 75th minute when the 18-year-old completed his hat trick. After working himself some space on the left hand edge of the area with an array of quick footwork, the man of the match drilled low into the bottom corner to end any French hopes of a win.

Although Notre Dame managed to starve Hopwood Hall of any more chances, they were still unable to grab a conciliation goal before making the trip back to Notre-Dame-de-Sanilhac.

Steve Jones, one of the key organisers behind SAS Football Notre Dame de Sanilhac football tour, described his team’s exciting England experience:

“We had read on Hopwood Hall’s website about the success of their team and we knew that it would be an interesting match.

“For some of our players, this was the first time playing a team from outside France. It was not just about playing a foreign team, but also an opportunity to experience a different culture and broaden their horizons.

“We would sincerely like to thank the staff and players at Hopwood Hall for organising the match and for their hospitality. We look forward to playing again sometime in either Middleton or France.”

Hopwood Hall’s football academy Manager, Rob Johnson, gave a similarly glowing appraisal of Notre Dame: “They were definitely one of the top teams we played this season. 3-0 was the final score but football was the winner, both teams playing this friendly fixture in the right spirit and with good play throughout. It was a great opportunity for some of our first, second and third team lads to play in the same team together. I was especially pleased with the third team players who didn't look out of place against the very good Notre Dame team.”