AFC Sudbury Academy director Danny Laws hails national cup progress of girls' and boys' sides

AFC Sudbury Academy’s boys and girls sides have both reached the latter stages of national competitions.

The girls are waiting to see who they will face in the quarter-finals of the English Schools’ FA (ESFA) Super League following a highly memorable 2-1 victory at Barking Abbey last Friday.

Ruby Sealey and Ruby Kilden were on both on target to cause a big upset.

Academy director Danny Laws said: “It was an unbelievable win when you think Barking Abbey have been the measure of girls academies in our region for years and won national competitions.”

The girls are also through to the England Colleges FA (ECFA) Knockout Cup semi-finals where they will host South Gloucestershire on February 2.

The boys, meanwhile, are in the last 32 of that equivalent competition, away to Bisham Abbey-based FAB Academy on the same date.

In the ESFA Super League they booked their last 32 spot with a 7-0 victory at Hitchin last Friday.

Brad Byrne (2), Oli Lonton, Colby Hillyard, Charlie Batten, Dylan Gee and Meshach O’Connor also scored. They will travel to Barking Abbey on Monday, January 24.

Laws, who was pleased to see graduate Liam Bennett named in the squad for Cambridge United in their big FA Cup win at Newcastle United, said: "That is going to be a tough one as well and we have some tough games coming up but the boys have been doing great."

He added: “Hopefully we can get another team into a national final."

The boys lost to Boreham Wood in the AoC ECFA Sport Under-19 National Knockout Trophy at Walsall FC in April 2019.