Goals herald Angel Islington’s wins

Published: 5 February 2010
by STEVE BARNETT

FORGET about Arsenal’s goalscoring record attempts, the team you really want to go to see this season is Angel Islington. The trophy-chasing side (pictured) have already scored more than 100 goals this term as they chase glory in the under-11s age group. 

Strikers Frankie Chandler and Brandon Sandiford have established a formidable partnership in attack, scoring 25 and 21 goals respectively. Versatile captain Paul Benstead has also been in good form, putting in commanding displays in both midfield and defence. 

Angel are currently six points clear in the Waltham Forest District Youth League, where they have netted 10 wins out of 10 and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. The talented side is also still in with a chance of winning the title in the Camden and Islington Youth League, where they are four points behind leaders Crown and Manor with seven games to go. 

Managed by Danny Cruise and John Tumbridge, Angel Islington are hoping to go one step further than they did last season when they finished as runners-up in both leagues and were beaten on penalties in the final of the Challenge Cup at Market Road. 

Danny, who formed the club seven years ago, is thrilled with how the team is progressing so far. “The boys have been fantastic, they have such a great team spirit,” he said. “Hopefully we can continue to play well and maybe get our hands on some silverware.” 

But it’s not all about the trophies for Angel, who take pride in putting the morale and progress of their players first. 

“We have a squad of 14 players so we chop and change the team for every game,” said Danny. “We have a club policy to make sure that all the boys get a chance to play. I know that some clubs only select their strongest side for every game, but we don’t think that it’s fair to do that because we want everyone to have the chance to take part. It’s really helped the boys to bond as a team, and become good friends both on and off the pitch. Because of that the whole squad has improved, and we’re getting positive results.”