Westfield finish third in tournament at Charlton Athletic

The Westies won the third place play-off in The Valley Cup, a seven-a-side tournament which was contested by 20 teams.

Westfield chairman Jack Stapley said: “It was a brilliant day. Being a Charlton fan, it was nice to being able to play on the pitch a day after winning the (League One) play-offs.

See also: * Hastings United prospect makes brilliant recovery from major injury* Club legend to continue to lead Hastings United next season* Influential defender set to stay at Hastings United“The pitch was unbelievable, and it was nice to go in the changing rooms, the boardroom and everything like that. It was just a good day out and we had a good laugh.”

With each match 15 minutes long, Westfield came through their initial five-team group impressively with 10 points from a possible 12.

They achieved a pair of 2-0 wins, a 1-0 victory and a 0-0 draw. Liam Foster - a late replacement for the unwell Josh Carey - scored all four goals and Westfield kept four clean sheets at the other end.

Westfield then scraped through their quarter-final against Catford United 3-2 on penalties following a 0-0 draw.

Their progress was halted by a 2-0 loss against a very good Peninsula side in the semi-finals. Greenwich-based Peninsula fielded two men who played for Hastings United during the 2018/19 season in Youssouf Bamba and Dayshonne Golding.

But Westfield, who play in Southern Combination League Division Two, recovered to beat Artois United 2-0 in the third place play-off.

“There were some decent sides there, especially in our group, and we beat some decent sides,” added Stapley. “If we had been in the other side of the draw, we probably would’ve made the final.”

The Westfield team was made up of Harry Stapley, Joe Dicken, Jack Stapley, Sam Winter, Perry McNamee, George King, Dom McGurk, Foster and Jacob Shelton.

In other club news, Westfield have put together a four-team pre-season tournament also involving Sussex Intermediate Challenge Cup winners Hollington United, East Sussex League champions Sidley United and National Christian Cup winners Battle Baptists.

The two semi-finals will be played on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July, with the third/fourth place match and final on Sunday August 4.

Westfield have resurrected their second team and it has been accepted into East Sussex Football League Division Two for next season.

The club has also entered an under-18 team into the Southern Combination League for the 2019/20 campaign and is hoping to attract a few more players.

The second team will be run by Andy Lee and Harry Stapley, while Andy Bull will take charge of the under-18s.

Westfield will start pre-season training on the last Tuesday in June and their first friendly is pencilled in for Saturday July 6.