It was a fantastic start to Mother’s Day as our U18 Black side, coached by Kevin Rennie, set the tone with a 5-0 win over Junior Reds to get their hands on the league cup. This would be followed just a short while later by Stephen Sampson’s U16 White side, who won 3-1 against South Darenth to also lift a trophy.

The U18s are currently sat top place in the league, with their opposition in the final placed second. The U18 Blacks stormed into the half-time break with a 3-0 lead and full control of the contest, with 2 more goals in the second half to run away with the league cup.

Our U16s played well also, with Raffi scoring to make it 1-0 from a low cross. In the second half, Junior doubled the lead before South Darenth started to dominate, producing too many shots for the liking of coach Stephen. Archie did a great job in net with some good saves. South Darenth did eventually pull one back from a free kick, but the boys held on and won a penalty, scored by captain Ben.

Words from our U18 Coach, Kevin Rennie
Kevin has had a wonderful journey coaching with Dulwich Village FC for 10 years, starting with the U8s and now coaching the U18s. Here is what he had to say about the match.

“After 3 years of shield finals in a row where we have lost on penalties, the U18 Blacks were up against it … Today we took on the league cup final.”

“They went one better and put all past demons behind them to beat second place in our league 5-0 in the final.”

“From the start the boys controlled the tempo and game and I am fortunate enough to be able to rotate my players every 20 to 25 minutes so we can keep the tempo up against other teams.”

“Junior Reds are a solid side only conceding 21 goals in 17 games and over the years we have always had some good games. Today DVFC U18s were clinical and solid in all they did. The whole team deserved Man of the Match but 2 outstanding performances came from Rocco and Zayn with their goals and assists proving worthy winners of it.”

“I am so proud of this group of players and what they have achieved over time, our season isn’t over yet as we look to win the league as well.”

“Thank you to all the parents for the support over the years and to my players who put up with me and my mad ways as a coach. Together we are a whole team and proud to fly the colours of DVFC.”

Words from U16 Coach, Stephen Sampson
Like Kevin, Stephen was also not short of praise, saying this after the match.

“A good day for DVFC. U18 set a high bar winning 5-0 and congratulations to Kev for leading that team so well.”

“The U16 played the better football in the first half and the front three linked well for Raffi to finish from a low cross for 1-0. We also started the second half well with Junior running on to a good through ball and producing his usual cool finish to go 2-0 up. South Darenth are a strong team and they began to dominate with too many shots for my liking, with Archie making some good saves. With 25 minutes to go they pulled one back from a lovely free kick, but the boys dug in, and in an open end-to-end game secured a penalty with three minutes to go. Captain Ben rolled it into the bottom corner and we played out.”

“I am proud of all the boys of course. They played good football in the first half and showed character in the second when South Darenth came at them. We’d like to congratulate South Darenth for coming back into it and giving us a very nervous second half”.

It was a successful Mother’s Day to say the least. We want to congratulate the players, coaches Kevin and Stephen, and the parents for helping the teams achieve a successful season so far. Good luck to both teams for the remainder of the season, we can’t wait to see what’s next.