Cup Final: 09/05/10 – Brook End Colts Panthers 4 Vs 4 Harrold & Carlton Cougars (U12s)
Well here we were at the MK Dons stadium dressed in smart suits and awaiting our first cup final after 6 seasons of trying. All the players told me they were very nervous. I didn’t tell them that I had hardly slept myself with nerves. We were playing the giants of Brook End. They had already done the double over us with the most recent game decided by the last kick of the game. It was men against boys in terms of size and Simon the opposition manager also admitted that his lads were very nervous as well.
I really didn’t want this game to go to penalties. We had practiced penalties during training the day before and it did not look good.
The team did a lap around the stadium in their suits. They looked very smart and were soaking it all in. We then went into the changing room having been allocated the away team room for a team talk. We also had two junior mascots, Thomas and Harry, who were a picture of excitement. As the buzzer went for us to go out to the pitch; half the team decided to go for what can only be described as a nervous wee!
Walking through the tunnel, with the music playing, the mascots bouncing and the parents and spectators cheering was a very special and surreal moment. Brook End looked even bigger than I last remembered.
The game started and it was all us for the first 5 minutes. And then something unexpected happened – we scored from a corner. I turned around to the parents arms aloft cheering. What was going on… hang on we just scored again – from a throw in I think. This wasn’t in the script. Again I turned to the parents arms in the air. No sooner had I turned around and we had scored again. What was going on? 3:0 up against Brook End – we were in dreamland. An own goal and two efforts from Dan and Tom had turned the game on its head within the first twenty minutes.
But dreams are there to be tested – and Brook End reverted to long throws and corners. One of their high shots drifted in and it was 3:1; and then a long throw seem to go directly in which is not allowed but the ref was adamant there was a touch along the way …ummmm! You could see Brook End had the bit between the teeth and were out for the kill and with half time approaching another high effort found its way into goal. Half time and it was 3:3
At half time Captain Courageous Bradley came on to add some bite to the midfield and Rob went in goal to see if we could stem the high balls that were becoming Brook End’s ploy.
Much of the second half was Brook End throwing and kicking high balls at us but we defended with everything we had. The boys threw their bodies in the way of everything. They would ache in the morning but if we could hold on it would be worth it. Into the last 10 minutes and it was anybody’s game. From a cleverly taken corner Tom scored a super goal. All we had to do was hold on. Again Brook End came at us but we seemed to be defending superbly until a long shot curled into the far corner and 4:4. Another Brook End effort seemed to looping in when Robert somehow with a kangaroo jump managed to get his fingers to it and tip it over. From the resulting corner he again managed to out-jump everyone and thump it away. Come on ref blow the whistle. Last minute ….and another corner for Brook End. Everybody was parked on our goal line as the ball was fizzed in but again Rob managed to thump it away and it was cleared up the pitch. My nerves were shattered. I had no idea what must have been going through the minds of the parents.
The whistle went and it was the dreaded penalties. I really hadn’t wanted it to go to penalties. A number of our players didn’t want to take them as part of the named five takers – but I had to pick five. They were Sam Hammond, Michael Barrett, Jacob Jones, Bradley Raines and Tom O’Neil.
First up was Sam and he smashed it in with his trusted left peg. A great start from the reliable Sam. Rob then saved their penalty – we were 1 up. Up stepped Michael. Michael usually curls them into the bottom right corner, but this wasn’t right in the corner and the goalie got a hand to it…but only helped palm it in – phew. It was Brook End’s turn. Rob paced side-ways and their player ran to take it and… ballooned it. Jacob was next and again it wasn’t the cleanest of penalties but it squeezed in. Brook End scored their next one. Up stepped Bradley – score and we’d won. ‘Come on little man’ I said to myself. He ran up and hit it with venom but hit it high over the bar. Not to worry we still had another chance. Brook End scored again and it was now up to Tom O’Neil, our top scorer, to win the game. He didn’t look confident as he ran up and hit a tame penalty straight at the keeper. It was level pegging again and the tie was turning again – unless Rob saved the next one. The team stood in unison arms around each other in silence. The Brook End player was having a good run up and was going to go for power. He hit it like a rocket…and the rest of it was almost in slow motion as Rob stuck out a hand and saved it. Then there was delirium as the players, parents, spectators and oh yeah the coach cheered in unison. Everyone was hugging each other. We’d only just gone and won the cup for the first time in Harrold & Carlton history.
You could see the pride in their faces as the players took their winners medals…let me say that again…winners medals; and a cheer went up again as our captain Bradley picked up the cup. Every player played their part today – as well as the five named above there were great performances from Tom O’Brien, Louis Saunders, Elliott Parmar, Daniel Lucas, Edward Blayney, Robert Blayney and of course my reliable little soldier Karampreet Bahia – and it was a great achievement that they should all be proud of. With still two more league games to go before we bring the curtain down on 2009/2010 this has already been a telling and successful season.
