Cumnor "A" (Luke, Ben, Will,
Doddy, Toby, Harry) played scintillating pass and move football in the group
phase, winning all 5 games comfortably, including a very satisfying win over a
less than happy Radley team. This left
them top of the group, awaiting the runners up of the group in which Cumnor “B”
were playing. Could Cumnor B get
through? If they did, would we end up
playing each other?
The tale of Cumnor B (Josh, Adam, Joseph, James, Fyn ,
Rory) was one of excellent defensive work and bad luck in front of goal. Conceding no goals in their 5 group games
should have put them in an excellent position, however they only scored one
goal and ended up going out on goal difference. The team really did suffer from an unlucky day
(started with Henry S’s injury in warm up leaving Josh to take on the GK
jersey). A missed penalty, balls smashed
against crossbar and posts, great goalkeeping and balls cleared off the line
meant that the team only won one of their five games. One goal in any of their four 0-0 draws would
have seen them safely through.
And so it was left to Cumnor A to carry the mantle into the
knockout phase. First up Hinksey. A very tense affair, and the only game in
which Cumnor did not take the chances they were presented, left them heading
towards a penalty shoot out. However, 1
minute from the end some great passing play saw Luke pop up and score a winner.
Next up Grove in the semi-final. With Toby nursing a suspected broken finger,
changes took place and Will started in defence. Following great play by Luke and Doddy, Ben
somehow managed to chip the goalie for the opening goal. With rain now coming down, grove had a couple
of break-aways, however Harry was up to the task and cleared the danger. With Toby on for the second half, Will pushed
forward and managed to smash home a rebound from one of Ben’s shots. 2-0 and a place in the final secured.
Faringdon, who had earlier knocked out Radley, awaited Cumnor in
the final. In a final that was played in
great spirit, Cumnor’s superior pass and move ability was too much for
Faringdon and a number of chances were created.
Once we had one, the floodgates opened and skipper Luke stepped up
(against his school mates) to score a well-deserved hat-trick. The squad of 6 all made great contributions
to this win, with Harry excellent in goal, Toby instrumental in keeping 8 clean
sheets and the attacking force of Will, Ben, Doddy and Luke being too much for
every team we met. Whilst Luke
top-scored with 8 goals, what was really nice was the boys played with an
attitude that said “I don’t care who scores, as long as we score”. This led to many unselfish passes being
played to team mates in better positions to finish moves off.
A big thank you to Summertown for organising a good event, good
trophies and good burgers.
