AFFINTY THROUGH TO FINAL!
An impressive Affinity performance saw them through the semi-final and into the cup final with a 3-0 victory over St John’s 1. It was the epitome of a team performance with every one doing their job and doing it well with very few mistakes being made.
Affinity started well on a pitch that was flat and wide, suiting our style of play. We exploited that and chances started to come. The first goal came about half way into the half with some excellent interplay between Lee and Luke that led to Luke’s shot hitting the post and he made sure that he was the first one to react and slotted the ball away. We looked on top but St John’s always looked dangerous on the attack and it was an impressive defensive performance to nullify any threatening situations. Others chances came and Lee very nearly got us a second, but it ended 1-0 at half time.
A valiant first half effort from Steve Ward concluded with him making way for Jamie, with Ian sitting back in defence. The second half was perhaps more of an even affair with St John’s producing most of the chances. A couple of superb saves from Dale maintained our 1-0 lead and were pivotal to the game. Affinity kept on pressing, knowing that the second goal would surely seal the result. And the hard work paid off with Jamie winning yet another header in midfield that fell to Mike, who showed great composure in finishing accurately. At 2-0 it looked unlikely that we would lose but St John’s kept attacking and maybe should have taken some chances. It was Affinity’s day though, and persistent work from Mike and Lee up front saw Lee making up for his earlier miss, smashing one into the top corner.
A victory that can be attributed to all round good performances. Dale saved our lead and kept the back 4 in shape. Josh Pointon has cemented his role as left back, being solid at the back and a real threat going forward. Steve Ward had an immense first half, giving us all confidence, dealing with everything that came his way. Matt was unshakeably reliable at right back, always looking to turn attack into defence. Luke was as influential as ever providing us with composure and scoring that first goal, which was the turning point of the game. Ian, managed to break down St John’s attacks in midfield and made a good tackle in the penalty area to prevent St John’s sneaking a goal. Gary made an impressive come back, where he distributed the ball superbly and demonstrated how much we have missed him from injury. Lee looked dangerous all game and continued his impressive goal scoring record in scoring towards the end of the game. Mike’s work rate as always was awesome, which can sometimes go unnoticed. He held the ball up well and showed great composure to score our second. Jamie came on and dominated the midfield winning it seemed every header and 50/50 that occurred. Olly came on and put some excellent balls down the left wing, making it uncomfortable for their defence.
Man of the match could go to any of the above players, however for me it was between two. James has matured over the last few games as a player and put in an outstanding performance today. He battled in midfield and created many chances and contributed to his defensive role expertly. However, it is going to a true captain’s performance by Josh Soesan, who led from the back dealing with everything that came his way masterfully. Examples are when he chested a high ball down and passed it on nonchalantly and when he cooly nodded the ball back to Dale under pressure.
Bring on Cathedral in the final.
Well done men!!!!
