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Eighth XI
Winchmore Hill 4 Kew Association 2
SAL
Junior Novets Cup Final
Saturday 12 April
At Old Parkonians FC
But four weeks previously, Kew 7s had thrashed Winchmore 8s 8-0 in
the semis of the AFA Cup. They had cruised on to an emphatic victory
over HSBC at the Paulin in the final of that competition. It was of
little surprise that the Kew players were spotted wandering to the
Old Parks’ changing rooms clutching bottles of champagne. After all,
it was plain for all to see that Kew hadn’t been beaten in any
competition since 2006.
Nevertheless, it was a strangely confident Paul Cooper who, having
dusted-off his best syrup and poly-gripped his favourite gnashers,
revealed an unexpected 4-5-1 formation at the pre-match press
conference.
Nine of the starting line-up bore the scars of the previous mauling,
with Cooper able to name a full-strength side. True to form, Kew won
the toss and chose ends which saw The Hill facing both the sun and a
near-gale. As expected, most of the first ten minutes was spent in
the Winchmore half as the purples struggled to cope with the
conditions. However, it was Hill who had the first clear sight of
goal as Jason Linton broke down the left and played a delightful
ball to Dharmesh who was unlucky not to open the scoring. Not long
after, Kew rolled-out the first of their fifteen clinically
choreographed goal celebrations. A hopeful hoof from the back was
flicked-on in the centre of the park for their nippy forward to slot
casually past an isolated Dave. 0-1
Players and spectators alike were already wondering whether the
floodgates would now open. But this was a determined Winchmore side.
The young Kew team were suddenly being hassled and harried as
perhaps never before. Given the alarmingly high proportion of
vegetarians they had on the pitch, The Hill were coming up with some
unexpectedly aggressive tackles. This determination finally
paid-off. Jason took a corner from the left which was headed back
across the goal for the poaching Paul Cooper to nod into the corner
from 5 yards out. (We are still awaiting carbon-dating confirmation
that this goal can be attributed to the oldest living footballer.)
1-1
Kew now knew they were in a game. With the elements against them,
Hill relied upon swift counter-attacks through Troy, Dharmesh and
Ed. This tactic appeared to be working as the more clear-cut chances
fell to Hill. Finding themselves on a flat pitch for a change, the
8s put on a fine display of flowing passing football. Even the
defending was remarkably composed for the most part with Neal Keer
deftly directing a header back to Dave in spite of a similarly
constructed own goal the week before. For all their possession, Kew
weren’t creating many clear-cut chances as the back line of Alan,
Ken, Neal and Jim formed a formidable wall. Particularly so when
Alan flung himself across the goal line to block an effort.
Unfortunately the pressure eventually told and some incisive play
saw the ball reach an unmarked Kew player at the far stick who
calmly slotted home to give them the lead. 1-2 at half time.
The Cooper half-time team talk revolved around Kew’s failure to make
the most of the wind and sun. But at 2-1 down, facing a team
unbeaten in approaching 2 years, and little sign that the 8s could
turn this around, the subs began readying themselves on the
sidelines. “They can do this, you know” came a voice from
over my left shoulder as the whistle began the second half. I looked
round to see an old codger in his 80s (- Paul’s younger brother?).
He was perched curiously on an umbrella with a knowing twinkle in
his eye. Immediately my attention was drawn back to the field of
play and Troy as he out-stripped both the left wing and defence and
found himself through on goal. The Kew keeper was only able to parry
Troy’s initial effort and he was left with the simple task of
slotting home the rebound into an empty net. 2-2. Glancing round to
acknowledge the prescience of the wise old fella, I was amazed to
see that he had vanished. I swiftly checked the ingredients in my
lucozade sport.
The tide had turned and Kew were beginning to form an orderly queue
to be scribbled in the ref’s notebook. A couple of bookings for
dissent later and they turned their attention to each other. The
tackles were still flying in, and Neal also found himself booked for
a cynical late challenge. Luckily Neal remembered his caution when
later instructed by Paul to ‘take out’ his man. By now it was
end-to-end stuff. A Winchmore corner reached Carl just outside the
area. His shot found the big boot of Ken who directed the ball into
the back of the Kew net to put the Purples in front. 3-2
With 10 minutes remaining Kew piled forward in search of an
equaliser. Time and again the Kew attacks were halted before
reaching the final third. Mehmet was thrown on in place of an
exhausted Jason. To shouts of ‘keep it in the corner!’, Mehmet
mesmerised the Kew left back with two minutes remaining. From the
corner flag he cut along the goal line. The defender backed-off, not
wanting to make a challenge. Mehmet seemed to be running down a
cul-de-sac as he approached the keeper. He hopefully poked the ball
goalwards from an acute angle and looked-on as the keeper helpfully
let the ball through his legs and it trickled tantalisingly along
the line. Quick as a flash, Dharmesh ended any uncertainty by
smashing the ball into the back of the net to finish the tie. 4-2
Having turned around an 8-0 deficit in a matter of weeks this must
go down as one of the great Winchmore Hill cup triumphs. Very
sportingly, Kew handed over a bottle of warm cava which the lads
decided to anoint Paul with after his shower.
It was one of those rare occasions when it becomes impossible to
name a man-of-the-match. Dharmesh fought tirelessly as a lone
striker and ultimately got his goal. Jason had his best game of the
season on the left of midfield. Troy once again showed what a threat
he is going forward. Ed and Tom ran themselves into the ground in
the centre of the park, not giving Kew an inch of space. As
mentioned above, the defence had an exceptional game and ensured
that Dave was only called upon on a couple of occasions.
Well done the 8s – now for the league!
Winchmmore Hill 5 Crouch End
Vampires 7s 4
(after
extra time - score at 90 mins 4-4)
SAL Junior Novets Cup - Quarter Final
Saturday 12 January
For a
minimum of £30 on Saturday you could have cruised through the
turnstiles at a north London premiership ground and endured 90
minutes of dire fayre, or, for the more than reasonable price of
nothing, you perhaps should have wandered up to the top pitch at the
Paulin where you would have found an SAL Cup quarter-final between
Winchmore Hill 8s and Crouch End 7s. It had it all: 9 goals
(including some screamers), penalties – scored and squandered, a
sending-off, niggle, controversial decisions and a last-gasp
extra-time victory.
Cooperman has assembled a strong side. He was delighted to welcome
back Dharmesh Garala after a lengthy absence. With Ed and Tom in the
centre of midfield and the significant presence of Neal Keer at the
back, this was a Hill side quietly confident before kick-off. They
took this confidence into the first 20 minutes of the game, swiftly
going 2-0 up with their first two real attacks. Dharmesh latching
onto a through-ball to lob the ball home as he was sandwiched by
defender and keeper. Ed then doubled the advantage with a peach of a
goal which he somehow dug-out from under his right foot and curled
into the top right corner of the goal. Cruising was the word at this
point. However, anyone who has played in the SAL knows that Crouch
End are renowned for their battling spirit. Back they came. Jim did
his best to help them into the game. In attempting to head the ball
clear, he powered a fine effort towards the back of his own net with
Dave the keeper nowhere in sight. Somehow, an unidentified team-mate
popped-up to head the ball to safety. Crouch End were also making
chances of their own, and during one foray into the Hill box, Ed, in
winning the ball, connected with a Vamp leg and was perhaps harshly
penalised. Kevin, aka ‘Rooney’ of the Vamps, stepped up and struck
the spot kick firmly towards the left corner of the Hill goal. Dave
was beaten….but the post was not. The ball ricocheted back to Kevin,
and he placed the rebound past the stranded Dave to reduce the
deficit…….or not. Quick as a flash, referee Johnson blew his whistle
and disallowed the goal with the Hill grateful that the man in black
had spotted the ball had in fact been touched twice by the same
player.
As if to rub salt in the wounds, Hill promptly went up the other end
and scored through right midfielder Jim Leech to give a 3-0 lead.
This game was far from over though as the Vamps began to settle into
the soft conditions. Before the half was out they went close without
really testing Dave, however the signs were there that the second
half would be a battle.
Only one team took to the pitch at the beginning of the second half
and Hill appeared happy to sit back and allow the Vamps back into
the game. That said, the Hill lead was reduced by two sublime
strikes from the same player – first beating Dave with a 22-yarder
in off the left-hand upright, and then topping that with a 30-yarder
which thundered into the top right of the goal. 3-2….game on!
At this point surely a great come-back would see the visitors
through to the semis. Hill had lost their concentration. With the
momentum shifted in their favour, a member of the Crouch End side
exhibited what is probably best described as ‘foolhardy exuberance’
in attempting to headbutt Tom. It was a poor effort for which to
earn a red card.
Even with an extra man, the Hill looked as if they were still
plonked in front of the tv enjoying the Queen’s Speech. Despite
this, the back line of Ken, Neal, Paul and Alan did a fine job until
a shambles in the box saw the ball powered into the roof of the net
to even things up.
This had become a messy battle of a game with occasional football.
It seemed to be heading for extra-time until the final minute when
Hill were awarded a clear penalty. Up stepped Garala and he cleverly
placed the ball under the swinging boot of the Vamps keeper to
restore the lead at 4-3.
With the showers beckoning the game restarted. Hill had clearly
reckoned against the dogged determination of the Vamps and again
failed to clear the ball from their area. With less than 10 seconds
remaining, the ball was bundled into the net to tie the match and
send it into extra-time.
Even the bravest of spectators was struggling to pick a winner, and
there were chances at both ends. Then, with penalties on the
horizon, the ball was hoiked long by the cultured right boot of Neal
Keer up to the crippled Alan Kerridge. He over-limped the ball but
managed to clip it upwards, and crucially, goalwards. Time almost
stood still as the Vamps defender and keeper leapt towards their
goal-line with the ball sailing above. Then, almost as if Alan had
planned it, the ball struck the centre of the crossbar and returned
for Benson to slot home with the defender and keeper in the back of
the net. The game was up for a resilient Vamps side, and a
semi-final tie awaits. All that remained was for the Hill spectators
to politely decline an apparent invitation from a couple of Crouch
End players to go ‘dogging’ in the Paulin carpark – the cheeky
scamps!
[page updated 15 June 2006]
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