Wednesday 2nd August, 2017 at 10:25am
With the season not even started Partick Thistle Football Club is already celebrating its first silverware of the season as a Thistle Weir Academy Under 17 side returned victorious from the Rey Cup tournament in Iceland.
This year was the first time the Academy had participated in the tournament which was celebrating its 15th anniversary. A total of 12 teams competed in the boys section for 2001/02 age group. The participating teams included Sunderland, Burnley, Brighton and Norwich as well as a host of Scandinavian sides.
The format was two groups of six teams at each age group, with the winners of each group qualifying for the final. Thistle were drawn in a tough group alongside Sunderland, Burnley and Icelandic sides Prottur, Stjarnan and FH.
Wins against Burnley, local side, Prottur, Sunderland and Stjarnan saw the Jags face Norwich in the final which played in Laugardalsvöllur Iceland’s national stadium.
Thistle raced to a 3-0 lead but things got nervy in the later stages as Norwich scored twice in the last 10 minutes. Ultimately though, Thistle would hold out to round off a very impressive week by lifting the trophy.
The Thistle Weir academy celebrates a 3-2 final win over Norwich
With six games, five wins, one draw and no defeats it was very much a case of a job well done by the Academy Jags.
Squad coach, Scott Allison, was keen to highlight the professionalism of the players both on and off the park:
“It’s been a fantastic week that will live long in the memory of all players who travelled to the tournament. The boys completely dominated the five games that they won by playing some great football.
“Hopefully the week sets an example to all the younger players we have in our system that preparing in the right way and believing in yourself regardless of who you play will lead to positive outcomes.
“The lads have all worked really hard during pre-season in order to be ready for this competition and their hard work has definitely paid off. Everyone at the Academy is very proud of all the players not just for their performances on the park but also their conduct off it.
“We leave Iceland with a trophy, but more importantly we leave with a group of players who will have learned so much from the fantastic developmental experiences gained on this trip.”
