Well then! what better way to end a satisfying second half to the season than a well deserved cup final,in front of the highest attendance so far! and to avenge the recent defeat last week against Goostrey.
Training had gone well, all players motivated, tactics worked out, strengths of opposition sussed and a full and excited squad to choose from,then......bang! a mini disaster strikes 5 minutes before kick off! in the warm up, Bryan falls awkwardly on his right hand, and is in a lot of pain and cannot possibly take his place in goal, the player tearfully having to go off for ice packing then off the accident & emergency for x rays!
With Max being the next reserve for goal as such, and having performed before so well in that position, he reluctantly volunteered to have to stand in, knowing so well that his chance of playing in his normal left position outfield had gone. A special mention has to go to Max, who excelled himself in between the posts and put his disappointment behind him for the sake of the team and was a true Betley hero tonight.
The team kicked off with Alex and Arron on the bench for the time being, Lol and Mark in front of Max, Ben in the middle, Matt and Eve out on the flanks and the fox, Sam up front.
play was tense for both teams, early exchanges saw plenty of thrown ins, followed by the first serious attack from Goostrey in the second minute resulting in a corner, cleared by Matt up to Ben. From Bens cross Betley gained their first corner which was followed by another after a fine run by Ben again. Goostrey were pressing and in the fourth minute good defending by Mark saw the ball cleared from danger again, but not for long unfortunately, as it the 5 minute, goal!, Goostrey score from a corner which had been scrambled around our box and fell loose close in to their forward, who gleefully hit it under Max who could do nothing about it.
this knocked Betley for a minute or so, which saw Max having to make a great save after a wicked deflection off Lol in the seventh minute, then again Max had to save as Betley tried to steady the ship. to the credit of the Tigers, it was still they who were passing the ball better and chasing it down, but with little penetration so far. Ben had a great run through the middle and shot, to see it just go wide, Eve then crossed but Sam couldn't reach the final touch! Matt was again, as in previous weeks showing enormous amounts of stamina up and down the right and was always a threat on the ball.
Sam was now getting the ball and doing a good job holding whilst support arrived, Mark was making every pass count with precision, not putting a foot wrong both in his defence and forward play, the first half came to and with Goostrey 1 up, but still a lot left in this tie to go for.
For the second half, 2 changes were made, Arron replaced the workhorse known as Matt, and Alex came on to give Lol a rest. Betley came out of the 'traps' first, and in the 16th minute a forceful run from Arron, cutting inside with his clever turns resulted in a free kick 20 yards out. Mark played a lovely left foot in the box which Sam was unlucky to get any power on his shot, encouraging start. After 17 minutes, Eve, a hard shot flew over following another free kick, Goostrey were well on the back foot now, Mark was passing them to death! Arron was doing Gazelle impressions down the right and Alex was comfortable, and blocking any break out by Goostrey. In the 20th minute, another Eve free kick was well saved, surely it was a matter of when Betley were going to equalise?
against the run of play, a Goostrey attack saw Max save from close in only again, for the rebound to fall kindly to Goostry forward, who tapped in from close in, not deserved i tell you, but bad luck on the tigers at the wrong time!
Still, enormous credit, as heads didn't drop, there was still some time left, Eve again, proving how dangerous she is, rattled another free kick wide and in the 23rd minute, a storming run by Ben saw him cynically hacked down just outside the area, hurting his hip in the process. Mark stepped up for a direct free kick and nearly took the crossbar clean off but the ball would not fall to a Betley player.
Just when the team has made all the running, Goostrey did it again, a run up the right and what looked suspiciously like a low cross crept into the corner after 25 minutes, 3 - 0 Goostrey.
slightly now deflated, Matt had to come on for another Betley injury, Ben, limping out due to the knock he took on his hip. Sam then went down with a knock to the head! it was not going to be our day as time was ticking by.Lol came on for Eve who had given her all for the cause.
Goostrey could now afford to relax and take some chances, but resolute goalkeeping by Max, and solid work by Alex, and strong tackling by Mark keeped them at bay. in the last minute, Ben had come back on and had a one on one which again, just over ran for the Goostrey keeper to save.
Time up! whistle goes and celebration on all the Goostrey team and bitter disappointment etched on all Betley players, including Bryan who could only hopelessly watch his mates and not do anything to help at all.
nobody likes loosing, no more so than in a cup final, but Betley were gracious to a man (and lady) in defeat and congratulated Goostrey on their victory. Our time will come, be assured of that, as this team matures and grows together as we go forward.Perhaps we could say we had our 'cup final' in the absolute outstanding game in the semi final before against AB Juniors?maybe circumstances might have been different if Bryan had been in goal from the off? its hard to say, but right now its hard to take.
it is said in football that a good player has to taste defeat to understand that its not a feeling he or she wants to feel again, im sure as we go into next season and we reach another major final, we shall look back and remember this, and that feeling will help us to come out winners next time. We have really good players, team players, as seen tonight, and we can be proud of what we have achieved this season. we will continue to play together, grow together and become another formidable Betley team. The future is bright, the future is Betley!! well done Tigers
(update on Bryan, as i write this at 11.30pm, Bryan has just returned from A&E following a lengthy wait and x rays, right hand has a severe sprain, swollen up and in a sling for a few days, no school (one consolation!), but, thankfully, no break, i would like to thank everyone for their concern, Lyndon)
