St Aloysius’ RC College’s Year 7 team were crowned English Schools five-a-side champions after beating Sandwell Academy 4-2 at Derby County’s iPro Stadium.

The Islington school won all three of their group matches to finish top of the table, seeing off St Birinius, Oxford, 5-2, Priory City of Lincoln Academy, 6-1 and Broughton High School, Preston 5-0.

A tight semi-final followed against Queens Schools, Watford, but the St Aloysius boys did enough to edge the game 2-1 and book their place in the final.

Sandwell took the lead almost immediately, but the Londoners fought back and captain Samuel Iling Ngwan scored twice to give his side a 2-1 advantage at the break.

However, the Birmingham school equalised soon after the restart and it needed a good save by Aloysius goalkeeper Manuel Marques to ensure that the scores remained level.

A decisive strike from Elijah Anthony put Aloysius back in front and Arron Keto then grabbed a fourth to seal his side’s success.

St Aloysius manager Tom Ratcliffe said: “I am delighted that the boys performed so well – being crowned national champions is a great achievement. They have been a credit to us all, as always.”