The cup final day came around after a long wait and a day we had all looked forward to for a while, The weather was Sunny and warm with a strong wind blowing across the rock hard pitch.
After a delayed KO the lads didn't get off to the best start and Bramford looked the more likely of the 2 teams to open the scoring. Bramford gave us a warning in the 2nd minute with 2 shots that didn't go in but in the 3rd minute Bramford had a good bit of play down our right hand side and a speculative cross come shot managed to get past Finch and Jack and find its way into the back of the net. We hoped that this would be a wake up call for the boys but we still seemed to be playing at about 50% of our normal game. The boys slowly started to get into the game and were pushing forward a bit more on 12 we had a corner that ended up with Rossi getting the ball to Ed who laid it back to Kyle and his shot looked goal-bound but the keeper got down well and tipped it wide. On 15 Ben had a shot from distance that went over the bar and then on 20 Fish got booked for a tackle that the ref told me after the game was dangerous I can't say that it looked it to me but the ref saw it that way. The FK from that went into the box and after a scramble and Sam taking one in the nuts again went out for a corner. Sam has Kyle to thank for this one as he smashed it straight at him from 2 yards I think Sam has a ball magnet in his shorts and he should consider wearing a cricket box for games. Bramford had a good spell but the lads at the back did well and some good defending from Tom and a save from Jack kept us in the game. At 1 – 0 the next goal is always important and the lads were pushing for it Rossi went close after a through ball from Ben and then in the 35th Minute Meiks closed down a player on the half way line won the ball and hit it forward the ball took a bounce over the keeper and as it was about to go over the line Rossi snuck in and tapped it in. This was the start for the boys to actually start playing instead of the long hopeful balls forward they started to pass it around a bit and the Bramford lads looked like they had lost a bit of confidence. We won a free kick on the verge of half time and Arron swung a ball in and Sam jumped the highest to win the header and it went in of the post and the keepers arse, a perfect time to score form a set piece that we have practised over and over and a great game to do it in. The 2 goals were going to make the half time team talk easier for us and bring the lads in on a high.
Half time Bramford 1 – 2 Sax
The lads played in to the wind in the 2nd half which suits our game much better and were told to look out for the long shots, predictably Bramford shot from the KO and the wind took the ball way in to the car park. The boys were looking by far the better team and on 43 Ed got his goal that saved his boots from an early trip to the bin! He got the ball on the edge of the area and hit a great strike that gave the keeper no chance and was the goal that put Sax firmly in charge. Ben played a great ball in to Arron and he hit it well on the volley but it went just over the bar. Sax won a FK just near the half way line and the Bramford no.4 got booked for kicking the ball away a decision that would cost him and his team later. Arron took the free kick and he put it well out of reach of the keeper and in to the net to put the game out of reach of Bramford. Ed was chasing back to win the ball and he tangled his legs with a Bramford player he went down hard on his head and was knocked out, it took us a while to get him up and off the pitch and then off to hospital for a precautionary check. It turns out he has concussion and an injured thumb and it was a shame that he could not be there at the end. Kris went on and we had a reshuffle putting Arron on the right and Rossi up front. Connor came on for Fish and it wasn't long before he set up Meiks to get a goal and number 5 for Sax. The Bramford lads were getting frustrated and the number 4 paid the price after the ref saw him kick out at Jack and he got his 2nd yellow and an early exit from the game. We got George and John on the pitch to replace Rossi and Ben and we still hadn't finished with the scoring Fish had come back on for Kris who had took a nasty knock on his ankle and passed the ball to Connor. Connor burts in to the box beat a defender went round the keeper and tapped in for number 6. The last 5 minutes were played with Sax keeping the ball and running down the clock.
This is a great win for the lads and made myself and Karl very proud to be associated with the team to come from 1 – 0 down and not playing that well to end up with a 1 – 6 win is something to be proud of and to do this in a cup final is special. The only downside is the injuries to Kris and Ed and to not have Ed there to lift the trophy took a bit of the shine off the presentation, we will make up for that at the end of season presentation on 21st May.
1 more game to go this season and another big one a win should see us win the league so the boys will have to lift it again for 1 more game and we will cap off a brilliant season with the double.
Well done lads
David
