Published: Thursday, 22nd May, 2008 13:00
Hermitage boys at the double
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VICTORIOUS: The champions on the Ibrox pitch.
HERMITAGE Academy U15s are in a class of their own after they retained the league championship title at Ibrox.
A 300-plus crowd watched on as goals from Kieran Miller and Jamie Steeples helped the team to a 2-0 win against Eastbank Academy.
Rangers’ legend Mark Hateley was on hand to present the medals to the boys and the shield to a very happy captain David Wilkie before the Ibrox experience was completed with post match hospitality kindly laid on by the club.
The road to the final had been a tough one, with every team desperate for the scalp of the champions.
After a long and hard fought league campaign, the team qualified top of their league section having lost only one game.
A resounding 9-1 quarter-final victory over Rosshall Academy led to a semi-final against Jordanhill School.
By this time, the squad knew they were just one win from a trip to Ibrox.
Despite falling 2-1 behind, the Academy pupils showed great determination to haul back the deficit and win 5-2.
After a scramble for family and friends to get one of the 100 tickets allocated, the boys headed for Ibrox in quiet, tense fashion.
Following a frantic start in which the Eastbank keeper was twice called into action to deny Andrew Cunningham, there were no goals at the interval.
But Hermitage took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and Miller thundered home after Gary McKell squared to him.
Then sub Steeples took just two minutes from entering the fray to score the second.
He slotted in after a goalmouth scramble to ensure Hermitage were champions for the second year in a row.
Coach Douglas Morgan said: “This is a truly awesome achievement and to clinch it at a stadium like Ibrox is something I am sure that the boys and I will remember for the rest of our lives.
“They are a brilliant bunch of lads to work with.”
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