Sunday marked the end of Fulham U18s' stay in Göttingen, with the REWE Junior Cup reaching its climax. Here's a rundown of how our Young Whites got on in Germany.
Day One
The first day was spent adapting to the five-a-side format as Ali Melloul’s side played out two entertaining affairs with local teams.
JFV 37 Göttingen proved tough opponents, as we fought back from 2-1 and 3-2 down to snatch a draw in our first game of the group.
It was another tight contest in game two, but a couple of smart Tom Wingate finishes and a thunderous strike from Macaulay Zepa handed us our first win over SVG Einbeck.
Day Two
Our youngsters learned their lessons from the opening day, recording two comfortable victories on day two.
The lads had plenty of control and grew into both games, starting the day with a 4-0 win over JSG Eintracht HöhBernSee. Luca Picotto and Wingate were at the double, with Wingate taking his goals total for the tournament to five.
We suffered an early setback against JFV Eichsfeld-Mitte, going behind early to the local German side. Dylan De-Gale, arguably Fulham’s best player on day two, got us back on level terms, while Wingate added another double and Alfie White scored his first goal of the tournament.
Day Three
Hertha BSC and Schalke 04 awaited our young lads on Saturday as we looked to finish the group stage in style. Our place in the next round had already been secured with our previous results, with the top four sides from each group going through.
Another goal for White put us a goal ahead against Hertha but three goals for the German side in quick succession saw them race into the lead, eventually winning the match 4-2.
Schalke, who had won two games 8-0, one 6-0 and another 4-0 before our meeting, were in fine form. However, Melloul’s side kept the free-scoring Die Königsblauen at arm's length.
We were denied by a number of smart stops from the Schalke ‘keeper before Wingate won the game with a late brace. Schalke scored a last-gasp goal but we held out for a 2-1 triumph.
Day Four
It was an early start on Sunday, with our opening match of the day against Austria Wien getting under way at 9:30am. After finishing third in our initial group, we went into a three-team group with Austria Wien and Borussia Mönchengladbach, with the winner and runner-up qualifying for the Quarter-Finals.
Five-time winners Austria Wien proved too strong, running out 9-2 winners.
With Mönchengladbach also losing to Austria Wien, it was a winner takes all clash against the German side. Wingate bagged his 12th goal of the tournament to cancel out an early Mönchengladbach opener - but it was Die Fohlen who found the winning goal, ending our stay at the REWE Junior Cup.
