This time they were playing under the guise of Stretton Royals and a full squad travelled, with the exception of Tom Lewis who was unavailable for selection. There were 16 teams contesting the tournament with stage 1 being in the morning and stage 2 being in the afternoon. Games were to be of 7 minutes each way duration. The conditions were different from the blisteringly hot day of last year - this year it being cloudy and cold.

The tournament could not have got off to a worse start in the first phase of matches, when a very slick and polished Leominster Minors defeated the Royals 3-0. However with the top two teams going through, two wins would be sufficient to qualify for the second stage.

The second game was against Orleton and slowly the Royals found their feet and started to play some football. Goals from Carless-Turland (2) and Smith saw them home.

This meant that the Royals just had to avoid defeat against Coreley to be guaranteed a place in stage 2. They did better than that though, and two more goals from
Carless-Turland made sure they were through, giving them sweet revenge for the defeat in the League Cup three weeks earlier.

1st Stage Results
Stretton Royals 0-3 Leominster Minors
Stretton Royals 3-0 Orleton (Carless-Turland 2, Smith)
Stretton Royals 2-0 Coreley (Carless-Turland 2)

Stage two commenced after the lunch break and this time it was only the top team from each group going through to the final.

The Royals first game was against stable mates Stretton Panthers. A 3-0 victory was the eventual result, despite the Panthers putting up a good fight. Onny Tigers could only manage a 0-0 draw with local rivals Onny U8s which left the the Royals with the early advantage.

The next game was against Onny U8s, and although a tight match ensued, a wonderful headed goal by Carless-Turland from a Joe Hearle corner was enough to give the desired result. Onny Tigers defeated Stretton Panthers in the other game which left the Royals just needing to avoid defeat in their final match, against Onny Tigers, to go through to the final.

They did more than that though and another Carless-Turland goal made sure that the Royals were through to the final for the second successive year, after an excellent spirited performance by all the team. This was the first time that they had ever defeated Onny Tigers and the Tigers team was clearly distraught after this defeat.

2nd Stage Results
Stretton Royals 3-0 Stretton Panthers (Hearle 2, Carless-Turland)
Stretton Royals 1-0 Onny U8 (Carless-Turland)
Stretton Royals 1-0 Onny Tigers (Carless-Turland)

The final was against Leominster Minors, the team that had defeated the Royals 3-0 in the first game of the tournament. However this was a different game altogether and throughout the day the lads were playing better and better football. A large crowd of around 200 people were watching the game, certainly the biggest crowd that the team have played in front of.
There was nothing between the teams during normal time and despite both teams going close, neither could break the deadlock. Five minutes each way of extra time was started and still the two teams could not be separated. Just when it seemed as though penalties would be needed to decide the tie, Leominster managed to score with a strong left footed shot that went through the Royals' defence.

So for the second successive season the Royals were runners up in the tournament. A great performance nonetheless.

Final
Stretton Royals 0-1 Leominster Minors (AET)

Squad
Cameron Holtz, Simon Riley, Michael Brayne, Dominic Robinson, Joe Hearle, Rory Smith, Jack Case, Ed Groom, Harvey Carless-Turland.

Carless-Turland slots home his second, and the Royals third against Orleton U9s