Charlton Rovers U14s side celebrate “season of their lives” after treble success
The 2023/24 season was a memorable one for a number of teams, but none more so than for Charlton Rovers Reds U14s Boys – who clinched a thrilling treble, winning their league, cup and local tournament.
Guided by their dedicated coaching team – Trevor Grant, Ross Constantine, and Rob Jones –
the 19-strong squad started their campaign back in September in the competitive Severn Valley
Youth Division A league.
Defending champions of the last two seasons, Heart of Gloucester, had an inconsisten campaign which allowed Charlton Rovers, Rodborough Lions and Eastcombe Polar Bears to battle out a closely run title race.
And with Rodborough looking set to win the league, Rovers produced a 9-game unbeaten run to put themselves back in contention for the title – scoring 30 and conceding just 5 in that run.
On the final day of the season, Eastcombe’s 3-2 win over Rodborough saw Rovers named Champions, winning 10 of the 14 matches along the way – with Lennon Walker scoring 30 goals to claim the Golden Boot and Neo Allsopp also finding the net 16 times.
The league success was made sweeter by the fact Grand and Constantine had been with the boys since some of the squad were playing U8s football – so the title win shows how far the boys have come as it was the first major trophy they had won.
And if winning the league wasn’t enough, the boys went on to lift the Remi Davis Memorial Cup at Gloucester City.
Competing against 37 other sides, Rovers won 4-0, 8-0 and 8-0, before beating Eastcombe 2-1 in the Semi Final.
Then, at the TigerTurf Stadium, Rovers raced to a 3-0 lead, before eventually coming out 4-2 winners over Brockworth Badgers.
During the end of the season, Rovers split into two sides, the Rapids and the Rockets, in Tuffley Rovers’ annual tournament at Glevum Park.
Incredibly, both teams beat all opponents they played without conceding a single goal and ended up playing each other in the final! In the end the Rapids beat the Rockets 4-2 to take the title, but regardless of the final result, a Charlton Rovers 1-2 was the most pleasing aspect.
The togetherness of the squad was helped by a weekend trip to the Netherlands, just before Easter. The squad, coaches and parents went to visit PSV Eindhoven, having a training session with First Team Staff, as well as private tour and attending a game at the Philips Stadium.
The bonding trip allowed the squad to spend time together and have fun, whilst enjoying football and it was following that trip when the unbeaten run began.
After their successful season, the squad went out for a celebratory meal at their sponsor, Trattoria Settebello, in the Gloucester Docks and now look ahead to another, hopefully, successful campaign.
A number of the players have attracted interest elsewhere, including Academy football, but the coaches will look to try and replicate a history making season – although the most important thing, as it should be, is that the boys have fun along the way!
